This is the right road to socialism

Editor's note: Party General Secretary Hu Jintao addressed the opening session of a workshop for ministerial and provincial officials on July 23. The following is the latest People's Daily commentary on the speech:

The kind of banner we hold to guide social progress and the kind of guiding ideology we depend on to unite public opinion will decide the success or failure of our cause.

Addressing a workshop for ministerial and provincial officials on July 23, Hu Jintao once again stressed that socialism with Chinese characteristics is a distinct achievement of the Party and the people through more than 90 years of struggle, creativity and accumulation, an achievement that we must redouble our efforts to cherish, stick to and develop further.

We have opened a socialist road, formed a socialist theoretical system and established a socialist system, all with Chinese characteristics, in the process of devising a series of theories and practices over the past decades. These theories and practices range from the decision to initiate the reform and opening-up policy to the drafting of an overall plan for socialism with Chinese characteristics, from the creation of Deng Xiaoping Theory to the creation of the important thoughts of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, from the establishment of a socialistic market economic system to the development of a legal system with Chinese characteristics.

On the basis of practice-based theoretical innovations, we have formed and implemented the Scientific Outlook on Development over the past decade, a significant strategic thinking which we must adhere to and implement in developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. All these significant achievements answer such questions as what kind of banner we should hold and what kind of road we should embark on, both of which are pertinent to the fate of the Party, the future of the nation and the welfare of the people.

To fully realize the rich substance and internal requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should fully understand correlations among the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, its theoretical system and its political system. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a banner for the development and progress of contemporary China. It is also a banner for the unity of the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups.

The socialist road with Chinese characteristics is the only road to realize socialist modernization and create a better life for the people. The socialist theoretical system with Chinese characteristics is the theory that can guide the Party and the people to realize national rejuvenation. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics, which will provide fundamental institutional guarantee for China's development and progress, is an embodiment of the characters and advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

By embarking on the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, we have developed ourselves into the world's second largest economy, established the world's largest social security system, succeeded in combating the sudden outbreak of SARS and overcome the deadly Wenchuan earthquake. By following the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics, we have continuously created "miracles" in improving people's living conditions. By adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics, we have given a satisfactory answer to how we have overcome the global financial crisis.

Our adherence to socialism with Chinese characteristics fundamentally depends on our adherence to the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, and its theoretical and political systems.

To fully realize the rich substance and internal requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should have a profound understanding of practical, theoretical, national and contemporary characteristics of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This socialism is the Party's theoretical innovation, based on China's national conditions and the combination of the tide of the times and the practices of reform and development.

To continuously push forward socialism with Chinese characteristics under new historical conditions, we should continue advancing with the times and deepening our perceptions of the laws of the Party's governance, socialist construction and humankind's development.

To fully realize the rich substance and internal requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should have an in-depth understanding of the powerful force of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The reform and opening-up are a crucial choice that has decided the fate of contemporary China and contributed to its rapid development over the past 30-odd years. We should continue unswervingly to adhere to this initiative for further development.

There are no limits for the expansion of the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, and its theoretical innovation and institutional improvements. By holding high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we can firmly take the right direction for the development of the cause of the Party and the nation, and create a broader prospect for it.

(China Daily 08/04/2012 page5)