Editorial Hails Dawning of New CenturyOur Daily will run an editorial January 1, 2001, to mark the arrival of the 21st century.During the 20th century, colonialism collapsed; National independence and liberation movement surged ahead; Socialism came into being and developed in twists and turns. The first half of the 20th century experienced two world wars while the later half of the century was characterized by peace and development, says the editorial. The editorial says that China, an ancient country in east Asia, marched from poverty to prosperity. It witnessed a number of earthshaking events such as the collapse of the imperial dynasty, outbreak of the May 4th movement, the birth of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45), the founding of New China (1949) and the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the embrace of the motherland (in 1997 and 2000,respectively). The Chinese people will never forget the three historic changes in the history of China, which took place under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. They represented the three eras in the Chinese history. Their ideas, moral characters and merits will go down in history, the editorial stresses. A conclusion can be drawn from the three historic changes in the past century that only the Communist Party of China can lead the Chinese people to win the victory of national independence, people's liberation and socialism, and achieve national revitalization and prosperity. The editorial lists promotion of China's modernization drive, reunification of the motherland and maintenance of world peace as the three major tasks in the new century, with the modernization drive as the core. The editorial calls for adhering to the Party's basic theory, basic line and guiding principles in the primary stage of socialism. It is necessary to properly handle the relationships among reforms, development and stability and deal with all major issues in economic and social spheres to promote an all-round development, the editorial says. The year 2001 will be the first year of China's Tenth Five-Year Plan. Tasks for 2001 will have an important bearing on China's development in the coming five to ten years. As the general principles regarding the Tenth Five-Year Plan has been set forth, it is important that work be done in a down-to-earth manner and pioneering spirit, the editorial says. "Let us hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory and rally around the Party Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core to march into the new century with new endeavors, new creations and new achievements," the editorial concludes. |
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