Socialism is Chinese people's historical choice

By People's Daily
It is an objective reality that China has embarked on the road of socialism. Then, why the socialist road the Chinese nation has been taking is said to the people's choice and the choice of history? This question is up to the history of China to "answer" or "elaborate" by itself.

In view of historical development, there are at least three main reasons why China takes the socialist road.

First, China's socio-economic conditions do not allow the Chinese people to take the capitalist road. In old and backward China prior to the national liberation in 1949, the Chinese Kuomintang, or the National Party, worked neither for equitable distribution of land among landless peasants at the time nor the development of the national industry. The bureaucratic capitalists, as represented by the Four Big Families of Chiang Kai-shek, T.V. Song, H.H. Kung and Chen Brothers never developed any industry of their own, but instead amassed great fortunes for themselves, thus plunging the country increasingly deeper in the mire of semi-colonialism and semi-feudalism.

Second, epoch conditions and the new international environment prompted the Chinese people to choose the socialist road. "It is certainly not the purpose of the imperialist powers invading China to transform feudal china into capitalist China," late Chinese leader Mao Zedong once said. The purpose of intruding imperialists, he noted, was to occupy China's markets, plunder China's resources and subject the country to a status of colonialism or semi-colonialism

Third, it is ascribed to the leading force of Chinese revolution to the cause that China will take the road to socialism. After the completion of the democratic revolution, the working class and its vanguard – the Communist Party of China (CPC) are sure to lead the revolution to the correct orientation of socialism.

Precisely for these reasons, China has taken the road of socialism instead of road to capitalism.

In early 1950s shortly after the founding of the People's Republic, China was "poor and blank" with its economy plunged in shambles plus unbridled, malignant inflations. However, great successes made in post-liberation industrial construction and production during the first Five-Year-Plan period far exceeded what Old China had accomplished in the preceding century. Evidence has given an eloquent proof that there was no other way to alter the future and destiny of the Chinese nation but the road of socialism it has embarked on.

Thanks to socialism with Chinese characteristics, China has won the unprecedented rapid economic growth in its modern history. It has recorded an average 9.8-percent growth rate since the country adopted the reform and opening up policy in the late 1970s. And the poor rural population has drastically reduced to the present 40 million from 250 million in 1978.

Meanwhile, among other feats China has created, the mammoth Three Gorges Dam has sprung up in central China, the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway, the highest or "heavenly" railroad on earth, is running smoothly to boost prosperity in western China, and a multi-billion-dollar project to divert water from southern China to the arid north is in full swing, and the country's lunar exploration project and manned space flight have all been crowded with stunning success.

The road of socialism with Chinese characteristics has not only won high recognition of people in China but also has attracted keen attention of people in all countries. What particularly worthy of cheers are that the 2008 Chinese economic stimulus packages and the country's superb economic performance attained in their wake. Consequently, many statesmen and scholars worldwide have all come to witness and praise the superiority of China's socialist system, or socialism with Chinese characteristics.

A few people in China, nevertheless, still admire or envy Nordic countries' multi-party system or "parliamentary road to socialism", and they even suggest China should follow suit. Here, it should be acknowledged first of all that these Nordic countries do not belong to the category of socialist countries.

In case of China, however, it did not possess any essential social conditions to practice reformism or implement the parliament road to socialism in modern times, as it had stood heavy burdens imposed by the three-fold oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism since the beginning of this modern age .

At the same time, the overriding objective conditions，from the longstanding Chinese history and situation in China's economical, political and social conditions also prevent the country from taking on the Nordic pattern or model.

Late senior leader Deng Xiaoping once told foreign guests that China was impossible to take the capitalist road based on its experience. "Our experience has shown, however, that we cannot take that road," he said. "if we took the capitalist road, a small number of people in certain areas would quickly grow rich," while a large number of people cannot get rid of poverty … "The ultimate objective is to achieve common prosperity for all," Deng noted, and this is the essential requirement of socialism.

In marching unswervingly along the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, we need to have a full, profound understanding of the basic national policy in the primary stage of socialism as well as a distinct and in-depth awareness of the protracted nature and complexity of socialism. With respect to the sense of arduousness in building socialism in China, Deng emphatically reminded people that "it will require unremitting efforts by several, a dozen or even dozens of generation to consolidate and develop the socialist system."