China's "Red Boat" sailing from history to the future

The first National Party Congress of the Communist Party of China was successfully closed on a commonly painted pleasure boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing County, Zhejiang province 90 years ago. Over the past years, this "Red Boat" has been quietly docked at the lake and has received more than 22 million visitors. There is no other boat in the world that is like the "Red Boat," which has received so much attention and provoked such deep thoughts.

The "Red Boat" navigated across history and witnessed a country that has overcome crises and ushered in revival. When 13 Chinese patriots with an average age of 28 years discussed the establishment of the Communist Party of China on the boat, China was just a ship with wounds all over its hull, floating in the sea about to be engulfed by waves.

However, the Party walked out from the "Red Boat" on Nanhu Lake and became increasingly strong while combating the waves of history, and its magic power of turning things around was also inspired. It changed the fate of an ancient nation that had been falling for 100 years and led the country with an ancient civilization onto the track of socialist modernization. We can deeply understand that what happened 90 years ago on the "Red Boat" was indeed an "epoch-making event" if we look back on history.

The "Red Boat" that cleaved through the waves carried the core mystery of a political party. Governors in ancient China summed up that, "the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up." This ancient sentence showed new meaning during the political practice of the Party. A U.S. journalist called the phenomenon of Party cadres and the people sharing the joys and sorrows and uniting in a concerted effort in Yan’an as the "oriental magic."

The deeds of Party members willing to endure hardship for people afflicted by the earthquake in Sichuan after the Wenchuan earthquake was considered as the "scriptures that they can never take away" by foreigners.

These two historical events showed how the Party is deeply connected with the people and shares the same fate as the people, and also interprets how the Party realizes its political ideology, which is to serve the people.

The reason why a single spark can start a prairie fire lies in that Party members are like seeds that are deeply rooted in the people. The boat of China's revolution, construction and development has ridden the wind because the Party has always moved the boat forward along with the current and served the well-being of the people. Thus, the Party has won the people's sincere support that is the foundation of the governance and the source of strength.

The time-tested "Red Boat" has witnessed the capabilities of a ruling party to guide China in moving forward. The Party has always remained alert amid accomplishments over the past 90 years so as to prevent risks during the good times, find the right direction at critical moments or make vigorous efforts to turn the tide during times of crises. The Party has become sophisticated through explorations and turned setbacks into comebacks, displaying the outstanding capacity of seizing opportunities, meeting challenges and tackling crises.

There are many undercurrents and rapids among the current vast tide of world civilization. The Party is key in handling China's own affairs and only the Party with a firm and advanced navigation capacity can guide China along the right direction towards the ideal shore of success.

Despite the heavy rain and high winds outside, members of the First National Congress of the Party had to lower their voices and speak softly the slogans on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing county at the closing of the meeting 90 years ago. Today, the giant Party that originated from the little "Red Boat" is guiding the ship of China's modernization drive to move toward a bright future of national renaissance. China can give its loud voice to the world, and China will have a better tomorrow under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

By People's Daily Online

	Weekly review