The Chinese People Have Stood Up!

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of The Chinese People Have Stood Up! has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following edition: The Chinese People Have Stood Up!, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 5, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1977.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is the opening address delivered by Comrade Mao Zedong at the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, China on the 21st of September, 1949. It was first published in the Renmin Ribao (22nd of September, 1949).

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#THE CHINESE PEOPLE HAVE STOOD UP!

#OPENING ADDRESS AT THE FIRST PLENARY SESSION OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE

#Mao Zedong
#21st of September, 1949

#★

Fellow Delegates:

The Political Consultative Conference so eagerly awaited by the whole nation is herewith inaugurated.

Our conference is composed of more than 600 delegates, representing all the democratic political parties and people's organizations of China, the People's Liberation Army, the various regions and nationalities of the country, and the overseas Chinese. This shows that ours is a conference embodying the great unity of the people of the whole country.

It is because we have defeated the reactionary Nationalist government backed by US imperialism that this great unity of the whole people has been achieved. In a little more than three years, the heroic Chinese People's Liberation Army, an army such as the world has seldom seen, crushed all the offensives launched by the several million troops of the US-supported reactionary Nationalist government and turned to the counter-offensive and the offensive. At present, the field armies of the People's Liberation Army, several million strong, have pushed the war to areas near Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Xinjiang, and the great majority of the Chinese people have won liberation. In a little more than three years, the people of the whole country have closed their ranks, rallied to support the People's Liberation Army, fought the enemy, and won fundamental victory. And it is on this foundation that the present People's Political Consultative Conference is convened.

Our conference is called the Political Consultative Conference, because some three years ago we held a Political Consultative Conference with Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Party of China.1 The results of that conference were sabotaged by Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Party and its accomplices; nevertheless, the conference left an indelible impression on the people. It showed that nothing in the interest of the people could be accomplished together with Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Party, the lackey of imperialism, and its accomplices. Even when resolutions were reluctantly adopted, it was of no avail, for as soon as the time was ripe, they tore them up and started a ruthless war against the people. The only gain from that conference was the profound lesson it taught the people that there is absolutely no room for compromise with Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Party, the lackey of imperialism, and its accomplices — overthrow these enemies or be oppressed and slaughtered by them, either one or the other, there is no other choice. In a little more than three years, the Chinese people, led by the Communist Party of China, have quickly awakened and organized themselves into a nationwide united front against imperialism, feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism, and their general representative, the reactionary Nationalist government, supported the People's War of Liberation, fundamentally defeated the reactionary Nationalist government, overthrown the rule of imperialism in China, and restored the Political Consultative Conference.

The present Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is convened on an entirely new foundation; it is representative of the people of the whole country and enjoys their trust and support. Therefore, the conference proclaims that it will exercise the functions and powers of a National People's Congress. In accordance with its agenda, the conference will enact the Organic Law of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and the Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; it will elect the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China; it will adopt the national flag and national emblem of the People's Republic of China; and it will decide on the seat of the capital of the People's Republic of China and adopt the chronological system in use in most countries of the world.

Fellow delegates, we are all convinced that our work will go down in human history, demonstrating that the Chinese people, comprising 1/4 of humanity, have now stood up. The Chinese have always been a great, courageous, and industrious nation; it is only in modern times that they have fallen behind. And that was due entirely to oppression and exploitation by foreign imperialism and domestic reactionary governments. For over a century, our ancestors never stopped waging unyielding struggles against domestic and foreign oppressors, including the Revolution of 1911 led by Dr. Sun Yixian, our great forerunner in the Chinese revolution. Our ancestors enjoined us to carry out their unfulfilled will. And we have acted accordingly. We have closed our ranks and defeated both domestic and foreign oppressors through the People's War of Liberation and the great people's revolution, and now we are proclaiming the founding of the People's Republic of China. From now on, our nation will belong to the community of the peace-loving and freedom-loving nations of the world and work courageously and industriously to foster its own civilization and well-being and at the same time to promote world peace and freedom. Ours will no longer be a nation subject to insult and humiliation. We have stood up. Our revolution has won the sympathy and acclaim of the people of all countries. We have friends all over the world.

Our revolutionary work is not completed, the People's War of Liberation and the people's revolutionary movement are still forging ahead, and we must keep up our efforts. The imperialists and the domestic reactionaries will certainly not take their defeat lying down; they will fight to the last ditch. After there is peace and order throughout the country, they are sure to engage in sabotage and create disturbances by one means or another and every day and every minute they will try to stage a comeback. This is inevitable and beyond all doubt, and under no circumstances must we relax our vigilance.

Our State system, the people's democratic dictatorship, is a powerful weapon for safeguarding the fruits of victory of the people's revolution and for thwarting the plots of domestic and foreign enemies for restoration, and this weapon we must firmly grasp. Internationally, we must unite with all peace-loving and freedom-loving countries and peoples, and first of all with the Council Union and the New Democracies, so that we shall not stand alone in our struggle to safeguard these fruits of victory and to thwart the plots of domestic and foreign enemies for restoration. As long as we persist in the people's democratic dictatorship and unite with our foreign friends, we shall always be victorious.

The people's democratic dictatorship and solidarity with our foreign friends will enable us to accomplish our work of construction rapidly. We are already confronted with the task of nationwide economic construction. We have very favourable conditions: a population of 475'000'000 people and a territory of 9'600'000 square kilometres. There are indeed difficulties ahead, and a great many too. But we firmly believe that by heroic struggle the people of the country will surmount them all. The Chinese people have rich experience in overcoming difficulties. If our ancestors, and we also, could weather long years of extreme difficulty and defeat powerful domestic and foreign reactionaries, why can't we now, after victory, build a prosperous and flourishing country? As long as we keep to our style of plain living and hard struggle, as long as we stand united, and as long as we persist in the people's democratic dictatorship and unite with our foreign friends, we shall be able to win speedy victory on the economic front.

An upsurge in economic construction is bound to be followed by an upsurge of construction in the cultural sphere. The era in which the Chinese people were regarded as uncivilized is now ended. We shall emerge in the world as a nation with an advanced culture.

Our national defence will be consolidated and no imperialists will ever again be allowed to invade our land. Our people's armed forces must be maintained and developed with the heroic and steeled People's Liberation Army as the foundation. We will have not only a powerful army, but also a powerful air force and a powerful navy.

Let the domestic and foreign reactionaries tremble before us! Let them say we are no good at this and no good at that. By our own indomitable efforts, we, the Chinese people, will unswervingly reach our goal.

#THE HEROES OF THE PEOPLE, WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE PEOPLE'S WAR OF LIBERATION AND THE PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION, SHALL LIVE FOREVER IN OUR MEMORY!
#HAIL THE VICTORY OF THE PEOPLE'S WAR OF LIBERATION AND THE PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION!
#HAIL THE FOUNDING OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA!
#HAIL THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE!

  1. Editor's Note: The Political Consultative Conference was attended by representatives of the Nationalist Party of China, the Communist Party of China and other political parties, and by personages without party affiliation and was held in Chongqing from the 10th to 31st of January, 1946. The Conference adopted five agreements: (1) Agreement on Government Organization. This agreement affirmed that «the Organic Law of the National Government shall be revised with a view to strengthening the National Government Council». It increased the number of National Government Councillors and provided that «the National Government Councillors shall be chosen by the President of the National Government from both Nationalists and non-Nationalists»; that «the appointment of members of various political parties as National Government Councillors by the President of the National Government shall be made on the recommendation of the parties concerned, which, in case of the President's disapproval, shall make new recommendations»; that «when the President of the National Government nominates as Government Councillor any personage without political party affiliation, whose appointment is opposed by 1/3 of the Councillors already appointed, the President must reconsider the matter and make a new nomination for appointment»; and that «half the National Government Councillors shall be Nationalists and the other half members of other political parties and public figures». The National Government Council was nominally defined as «the supreme government body in charge of State affairs», with powers to discuss and decide legislative principles, administrative policies and major military measures, financial plans and the budget as well as matters submitted by the President of the National Government for consideration; yet at the same time the President of the National Government was vested with great powers, including the power of nominating persons for office, the power of veto (which, though nominally limited, was virtually absolute, for it required a majority of 3/5 to override a veto, while the President's own political party, the Nationalist Party, had half the seats) and emergency powers. The agreement also provided that «seven or eight members of the Executive Chamber shall be non-Nationalists, who shall either hold the portfolios of existing ministries or hold the proposed posts of ministers of State without portfolio». (2) The Programme for Peace and National Reconstruction. This programme was composed of nine sections, namely, General Principles, Rights of the People, Political Affairs, Military Affairs, Foreign Relations, Economic and Financial Affairs, Education and Culture, Relief and Rehabilitation, and Overseas Chinese Affairs. The section on «General Principles» provided that all political parties of the country shall «unite closely to build a new China, united, free, and democratic»; that there shall be «political democratization, nationalization of troops, and equality and legality for all political parties»; and that «political disputes shall be settled by political means in order to ensure peace and national development». The section on «Rights of the People» provided that «the freedoms of person, thought, religious belief, speech, the press, assembly, association, residence, movement, and correspondence shall be guaranteed to the people» and that «any body or person other than the Judiciary and the police is strictly forbidden to arrest, try, and punish people, and anyone who violates this provision shall be punished». The section on «Political Affairs» provided that «all levels of the administration shall be overhauled, their powers and responsibilities unified and clearly defined, all duplicated agencies abolished, administrative procedures simplified, and each level of administration charged with definite responsibilities»; that «competent office-holders shall be protected, appointments to government posts based not on party affiliation but on competency and seniority, and the holding of concurrent posts and the practice of favouritism forbidden»; that «the supervisory system shall be strictly enforced, corruption severely punished, and facilities given to the people freely to lodge accusations against corrupt officials»; that «local self-government shall be actively promoted and elections from the lower level upward through universal suffrage carried out»; and that «the powers of the central and local governments shall be defined according to the principle of fair distribution of powers, that the local governments may take such measures as are suitable to local circumstances, but those enacted by a province or county must not contradict those of the central government». The section on «Military Affairs» provided that «the military organizations shall be adapted to the needs of national defence, the military system reformed in line with a democratic system of government and the conditions in the country, military power separated from political parties, military authority separated from civil authority, military education improved, equipment be adequate, and personnel and financial systems be improved in order to build a modernized national army» and that «the numerical strength of the nation's troops shall be effectively reduced and reorganized in accordance with the provisions of the Military Reorganization Plan». The section on «Economic and Financial Affairs» provided that «the development of bureaucrat capital shall be curbed and government officials strictly forbidden to make use of their official position and influence to engage in speculation, monopoly, tax evasion, smuggling, embezzlement of public funds, and unlawful use of the means of transport», that «rents and rates of interest shall be reduced, the rights of lessees protected, the payment of farm rents ensured, agricultural credits expanded, usury strictly prohibited in order to better the life of the peasants, and an agrarian law to attain the objective of ‹land to the tillers› shall be put into effect»; that «labour laws shall be put into effect to improve working conditions»; that «the administration of finance shall be made public, the budget system and the system of financial reports strictly adhered to, budget expenditures drastically reduced, revenues and expenditures balanced, central and local government finances defined, the currency in circulation contracted and the monetary system stabilized, and the raising of both domestic and foreign loans and their uses made public and subject to supervision by public bodies»; and that «the system of taxation shall be reformed and all exorbitant and miscellaneous levies and illegal exactions completely abolished». The section on «Education and Culture» provided that «academic freedom shall be guaranteed, and there shall be no interference with school and college administration for reasons of religious belief or political thought»; that «the proportion of the national budget allocated to education and culture shall be increased»; and that «the wartime censorship of the press, publications, motion pictures, the drama, posts, and telegrams shall be abolished». (3) Agreement on the National Assembly. This agreement provided that «there shall be added to the National Assembly 700 delegates from various political parties and from among public figures» and that «the duty and power of the First National Assembly shall be to frame and adopt a constitution». (4) Agreement on the Draft Constitution. This agreement provided for the establishment of a review committee to revise the draft constitution prepared by the Nationalist Party and laid down the principles for revision. In addition to prescribing the principles governing the duties and powers of the National Assembly and government organizations, special provisions were made regarding «local government» and «the rights and duties of the people». With respect to «local government», it provided that «the province shall be the highest unit of local self-government»; that «the powers of the provincial government in relation to those of the central government shall be defined according to the principle of a fair distribution of powers»; that «the provincial governor shall be elected by the people»; and that «the province may have a provincial constitution which, however, must not contravene the provisions of the national constitution». With respect to «the rights and duties of the people», it provided that «all freedoms and rights which are generally enjoyed by the people of a democratic country shall be protected by the constitution against illegal violation»; that «if any provision is made by law regarding the freedom of the people, it shall be aimed at the protection of such freedom and not at its restriction»; that «drafting of labour may be provided for in local laws, but not in the national constitution»; and that «the right of self-government shall be guaranteed to minority nationalities who live together in specific communities». (5) Agreement on Military Affairs. This agreement provided that «the military system shall be reformed in line with a democratic system of government and the conditions in our country»; that «military conscription shall be improved»; that «military education shall be conducted on the basis of the principles governing the building of the army and shall for ever be dissociated from political parties and personal relationships»; that «military power shall be separated from political parties» and «all political parties and individuals shall refrain from using the army as an instrument of political struggle»; and that «military authority shall be separated from civil authority» and «no soldier in active service may serve concurrently as a civil official». With regard to the reorganization of the Nationalist troops and the troops of the Liberated Areas, it provided that «the three-person military sub-committee proceed as planned with all possible speed to reach an agreement on measures for reorganizing the troops of the Communist Party of China and to complete their reorganization»; that the Nationalist troops shall «be reorganized according to the plan already laid down by the Ministry of War into 90 divisions and this reorganization shall be completed at the highest possible speed within six months»; and that «when the above-mentioned two items of reorganization have been completed, all troops of the entire nation shall be unified and further reorganized into 50 or 60 divisions». These Political Consultative Conference agreements were, in varying degrees, favourable to the people and unfavourable to Jiang Jieshi's reactionary rule. While expressing his approval of these agreements in an attempt to use them to carry out his peace fraud, Jiang Jieshi actively made military preparations for launching a countrywide civil war. These Political Consultative Conference agreements were soon torn up by him one after another. ↩