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| 09.15.2004 China Daily Hu: Western systems a "dead end" for China (Xinhua) President Hu Jintao said Wednesday that history proves following blindly western political systems would lead China to a dead end, and China's current people's congress system has strong vitality and great superiority. Addressing a grand rally in Beijing to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, Hu recalled the failures of China's bourgeois republic system established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and various forms of political systems introduced into old China. The president described the people's congress system as a great invention of integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the actual conditions of China, a natural choice of China's social development since modern times, and an important achievement in the long-term struggle of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The people's congress system also represents "the common interests and aspirations" of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups," said Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Many Chinese with great ideas had struggled to probe way to save the country when China gradually fell into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society plagued by growing national crises after 1840 as a result of the invasion of western powers and the corruption of the feudal ruling class. The bourgeois democratic revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1911, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty, put an end to the thousandyears-old autocratic monarchy, initiated the modern national democratic revolution in its real sense and opened the gate for China's progress, said the president. The Revolution of 1911, however, failed to change the nature ofold China and the destiny of the Chinese people since the bourgeois republic system established after the revolution could not ensure the rights of the general public and was eventually defeated under the attack of reactionary forces, said Hu. He said all the political systems introduced into old China since then also failed to change their nature as representative ofthe interests of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism,and the Chinese people remained in the miserable position as the oppressed, the enslaved and the exploited. History indicates that indiscriminately copying western political systems is a blind alley for China, Hu stressed. After long-term struggles, the Chinese people came to realize that to achieve national independence, people's liberation, national prosperity and a happy life for the people, it is a must to completely overthrow the political system of the exploiting class and establish a brand new people's democratic political system under which the people act as the master of the country. "The Communist Party of China logically came into the position to shoulder the historic mission of leading the Chinese people forthe great change," said Hu. The people's congress system, established under the Party, laysa political foundation for China's socialist system and greatly mobilizes the enthusiasm of the people of all nationalities in building and administering the country, Hu said. Reviewing the half-century history of the people's congress system and looking into the bright prospect of the country's socialist democratic politics, he said China must stick to and improve the system, continue the process of administering the country under rule of law and mobilize the people to fully engage in the great cause of building a relatively affluent society in anall-round way Socialist legal system takes shape Chinese President Hu Jintao said that a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution has basically taken shape in China, which greatly promoted and safeguarded the country's reform, opening up and modernization drive. China has formulated its existing Constitution and made four constitutional amendments since it started reforms and opening to the outside world in late 1978, the president said while addressing a grand rally in Beijing to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. Hu described the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978 as the turning point for the country since New China was founded in 1949. It was after that meeting that China entered a new historic period of development and the people's congress system also got on a new track of development. The Party called at the meeting to improve the socialist legal system and institutionalize and legalize democracy so as to ensure the stability, continuity and authority of the legal system and laws. Since then great importance has been attached to the building of socialist democratic politics and to improve the building of the people's congress system and the work of people's congresses. "We have expanded general election of deputies to people's congresses to the county level with the introduction of multi-candidate election system," said Hu. While improving the powers of the NPC Standing Committee, it is stipulated that the NPC and its standing committee jointly exercise the state legislative power and supervise the implementation of the Constitution. |