First Published: Resistance, Vol. 7, No. 10, December 1976.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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One of the most important tasks of all Marxist-Leninists, advanced elements and revolutionary-minded people is to defend those countries under the dictatorship of the proletariat, countries that are building socialism. The People’s Republic of China is one of those countries. The great, glorious and correct Communist Party of China is the party that is not only leading the Chinese people along the brilliant road of socialist revolution and construction. Together with the Party of Labor of Albania, the CPC is giving revolutionary leadership to the international communist movement and world proletariat. The CPC and the PLA have led the struggle against modern revisionism and they have put forward the correct strategy of the oppressed nations and peoples against the main enemies of humanity: the two superpowers.
The capitalists, revisionists and their press have put forward that what is going on in China is a power play between different groups which they have branded as “radicals” and “moderates.” They hope that China will change is revolutionary line, especially on the international situation. The capitalist press expresses its hopes that People’s China will change its color and become an ally of U.S. imperialism, and the revisionists here, particularly the CPUSA, the CLP and the Guardian, hope that the CPC will change its revolutionary stand against modern revisionism and Soviet Social-Imperialism.
The Trotskyites, holding the corrupt, bankrupt, counterrevolutionary thesis of the impossibility of making socialist revolution and building socialism in one country, have consistently slandered the People’s Republic of China. This thesis has been consistently proven wrong and the experience of the Russian, Chinese and Albanian revolutions definitely defeat it.
Other forces that want to remain anonymous for the moment – like the Revolutionary Communist Party and the Workers Viewpoint Organization – are spreading pessimism among our ranks. They try to prove that history repeats itself, and that in the same way in which capitalism was restored in the Soviet Union after the great Stalin’s death, capitalism will be restored in China after the great Mao Tse Tung’s death.
IT IS PRECISELY THIS UNITED FRONT AGAINST CHINA THAT HAS OBJECTIVELY BEEN CREATED BY ALL THESE FORCES,THAT GENUINE MARXISTS-LENINISTS HAVE TO RISE UP AGAINST AND DEFEAT!
The period of building socialism under the dictatorship of the proletariat is one in which all along the road the defeated class makes all sorts of desperate attempts to recapture power and restore capitalism. In order to do this, they try to maneuver from within the Party, securing positions of leadership from where they will attempt to seize state power. That is why Chairman Mao, clearly understanding that the “best form of taking a fortress is from within,” put forward again and again: “You are making the socialist revolution, and yet you don’t know where the bourgeoisie is. It is right in the Communist Party – those in power taking the capitalist road. ”
It is not difficult to understand why those who take the capitalist road in the Party will mask themselves as the most Marxist-Leninist and Bolshevik of them all. The capitalist readers and revisionists know very well that the Chinese people will smash any attempt to change the color of China from red, and to restore capitalism. That is why the capitalist readers within the Party are very careful to at all times wave the red flag and vow loyalty to Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line. Liu Shao-chi, Lin Piao and Teng Hsiao-ping are good examples of those that raise the red flag in order to attack the red flag. This has been correctly grasped by the Communist Party of China and was summed up by Chou En Lai in the following way: “For a long time to come, there will still be two-line struggles within the Party, reflecting these contradictions, and such struggles will occur ten, twenty or thirty times. Lin Piaos will appear again and so will persons like Wang Ming, Liu Shao-chi, Peng Teh-huai and Kao Kang. This is something independent of man’s will. Therefore, all comrades in our Party must be fully prepared mentally for the struggles in the long years to come and be able to make the best use of the situation and guide the struggle to victory for the proletariat, no matter how the class enemy may change his tactics.” (Report to the 10th National Congress of the CPC)
Guided by the revolutionary line of Chairman Mao, the Communist Party of China was able to achieve decisive victories in the 10 major struggles against assorted renegades and capitalist roaders. The death of Premier Chou En Lai opened the way for a new major struggle in which the right deviationist attempt of Teng Hsiao-ping were defeated. It was to be expected then that the death of the great Chairman Mao would be the occasion utilized by the servants of the bourgeoisie in the CPC to launch their biggest attempt to seize state power and restore capitalism in China. This was the attempt orchestrated by the anti-party clique of Wang Hung-wen, Chang Chun-chiao, Chiang Ching and Yao Wen-yuan.
The “gang of four” put forward revisionist lines, against the revolutionary line of Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao has correctly summed up that during the historical period of the construction of socialism the principal contradiction is between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and the main danger is revisionism. However, the “gang of four” put forward that the main danger is empiricism and thus initiated a campaign against empiricism which objectively liquidated the questions of “study Marxism, criticize revisionism,” as well as the struggle against dogmatism. Chairman Mao alerted the “gang of four” of their error, saying: “It seems the formulation should be: Oppose revisionism, which includes empiricism and dogmatism. Both revise Marxism-Leninism. Don’t mention just one while omitting the other.” “In my opinion, those who are criticizing empiricism are themselves empiricists.” (See Peking Review 1976, no. 49)
The “gang of four” refused to follow Chairman Mao’s teaching on art and literature – “Let a hundred flowers blossom, a hundred schools of thought contend.” The struggle around the film “The Pioneers” illustrates this point well. On different occasions, Chiang Ching stopped the distribution of this film, stating that the film has 10 major errors. The fact of the matter is that the attacks on the film were orchestrated as a campaign against the late Premier Chou En Lai, who is portrayed in the film as the great Marxist-Leninist revolutionary that he was. Chiang Ching persisted in attacking the film, disregarding Chairman Mao’s statement that, “There is no big error in this film. Suggest that it be approved for distribution. Don’t nit-pick. And to list as many as ten accusations against it is going too far. It hampers the adjustment of the Party’s current policy on literature and art.” (See Peking Review, 1976, No. 47)
The “gang of four” consistently tried to sabotage production in order to prevent China from becoming a powerful socialist country and to ultimately restore capitalism. They attacked Chairman Mao’s directives on agriculture – “learn from Tachai” – and in industry – “learn from Taching.” Instead, they advanced the metaphysical concept that “Production will automatically rise when revolution is carried out well,” which in practice meant to break the dialectical relationship that exists between revolution and production. Everything hinges upon class struggle, revolution, and this must be understood well because otherwise all our tasks will go astray. But to expect that tasks will “automatically” accomplish themselves is to liquidate all tasks, including class struggle. To promote production means to solve the particular contradictions and practical problems that arise in production which requires hard work, dedication, study and correct leadership. To negate these tasks is to liquidate production, and to liquidate production is also to liquidate revolution. “In the period of socialism, only by taking class struggle as the key link, developing production actively aid building socialism successfully can we provide a solid material basis for consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat, build up a powerful national defense, support the world revolution better, improve the material and cultural well-being of the working people step by step, and create the material conditions for the gradual elimination of the three major differences, for the triumph of socialism over capitalism and the realization of the ultimate goal of communism” (Peking Review #48, p. 13). In sum, the “gang of four,” by rejecting the Marxist-Leninist principle formulated by Chairman Mao of “grasping revolution, promoting production,” (in which revolution plays the leading role) and only taking the aspect of revolution, separating It from production, have liquidated both revolution and production.
The “gang of four” continuously intrigued and conspired, formed factions and split the workers, falling to distinguish between contradictions among the people and antagonistic contradictions between the people and their enemies, thus making all contradictions antagonistic, to be resolved by the use of force. In the spirit of revisionism, they advanced many incorrect lines, made many violations of democratic centralism and finally attempted to organize an armed revolt against Chairman Hua Kuo-feng, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. But, “Poisonous weeds can be transformed into fertilizer,” and this is precisely what the Chinese people and communists throughout the world are doing by the deepening of the criticism of the “gang of four” that is presently being unfolded by the Communist Parry of China and the Chinese masses.
The struggle of the CPC and the Chinese masses against the “gang of four” is a matter that concerns all genuine communists the world over. Since revisionism was consolidated in power and capitalism restored in the Soviet Union, causing the split and disintegration of the socialist camp, the CPC and the PLA have been the parties giving leadership to the international communist movement. This was one of the foundations upon which the anti-revisionist communist movement in the U.S. was developed. On the death of Chairman Mao many forces agreed and put forward in their press that one of these contributions was the founding of the CPC. All these forces put forward the slogan “Long live the great, glorious and correct Communist Party of China”.
Today, a few months after this, the CPC is engaged in a life and death struggle against those who practice revisionism and not Marxism, and attempt to restore capitalism in China. And now these forces claim that they have to “study more the question” (RCP, WVO) or that they have to “check the lines out” (RCL). The crux of the matter is that this is not a question of lack of information (there’s plenty of it) or of “checking lines” that have been put forth and defended historically by the CPC. It’s a question of stand, comrades. And RCP and WVO stand with revisionism and the “gang of four” against the CPC and Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought. RCL is doing what it has done on every burning question: waver.
This is a Marxist-Leninist principle on which all communists agree. We ask: What lines have been changed in China since Chairman Mao died? Why is it that some of those who until recently claimed that they support China, are “neutral” today? Some try to cover themselves arguing that there has not been enough time yet for the changing of the lines. In other words, that lines have not yet been changed but somehow they know that they will be changed (!). And based on the possibility of such change (which actually exists throughout the whole period of socialist construction and not just at the present time), they don’t support the Communist Party of China today. Comrades, this is a crucial question. It is not a question of lack of information, since the line of the CPC is consistently put out in the Peking Review, in the speeches made at the U.N., and in the reprints of the Hslnhua News Agency Press Releases available from the Peoples Republic of China’s mission to the U.N. For example, Comrade Wu Teh vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress in his speech of December 1, 1976 has said:
The shattering of the plot of the ’gang of four’ to usurp party and state power is a great victory. The task at present is to boldly arouse the masses, concentrate our efforts on thoroughly exposing and criticizing the vile crimes of the ’gang of four’ politically, ideologically and organizationally, eliminate their poisonous influence, heighten our class consciousness and the consciousness of two-line struggle and raise our ability to distinguish between genuine and sham Marxism in the course of struggle, persevere in continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat and carry through to the end the proletarian revolutionary cause pioneered by Chairman Mao in China...
In our struggle, we should further consolidate and develop the gains of the great proletarian cultural revolution, whole-heartedly support the new socialist things and take the initiative in restricting bourgeois right. It is necessary to uphold the principle of three-in-one combination of old, middle-aged and young cadres, strengthen and expand the ranks of the new emerging forces that are up to the five requirements for successors to the revolutionary cause: continue to do a good job in the revolution, in education, in literature and art, in health and medical work and in science and technology and the work in encouraging educated young people to settle in the countryside, continue to criticize Teng Hsiao-ping and repulse the right deviationist attempt to reverse correct verdicts. Our cadres at all levels should adopt a correct attitude toward the great cultural revolution, the masses and ourselves. We should apply ourselves to anything on which Chairman Mao gave a directive or which he approved and do it well. Now that we have got rid of sabotage and interference by the ’gang of four’, we should, and certainly can, do our jobs better...
We should continue to persist in taking class struggle as the key link and grasp revolution and promote production and other work and preparedness against war. We should adhere to the principle of building our country Independently and with the initiative in our own hands, through self-reliance, hard struggle, diligence and thrift, and go all out, aim high and achieve greater, faster, better and more economical results in building socialism. We should continue to deepen the movements to learn from Taching in industry, learn from Tachai in agriculture and build up Tachai-type counties throughout the country. We should redouble our efforts and make up for the losses caused by interference and sabotage by the ’gang of four’. We should follow Chairman Mao’s consistent teachings and, first of all run our own affairs well so as to strive to make a greater contribution to humanity.
The people of all nationalities throughout the country should rally most closely round the party Central Committee headed by Chairman Hua Kuo-feng consciously uphold the unity and unification of the party, defend its democratic centralism, develop its style of work which essentially entails integrating theory with practice, forging close links with the masses and practising self-criticism and its fine traditions, strengthen the sense of organization and discipline and obey the commands of the party Central Committee in all our actions. Unite to win still greater victories.
Comrades, it is in fact a question of stand. Either you support or you don’t support the Communist Party of China. If you support the CPC then it is your duty to come out and explain to the masses the struggles presently going on in China and actively counter the campaign of slanders and distortions that have been developed (intensified) by the Trotskyites, the bourgeois press, the revisionist CPUSA, CLP, the Guardian, and others.
Among those always chanting how much they support China, the revisionist RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) and the WVO (Workers Viewpoint Organization) are actually the leading forces of an opportunist attempt to begin to discredit the CPC by spreading rumors, loose comments, etc. All of this is done not by coming out “open and aboveboard” but coming out “unofficially” for the consumption at this moment of only cadres and close contacts. But they will not be allowed by the genuine Marxist-Leninist forces to keep this “neutral” approach in their official statements while at the same time they stab the CPC in the back in their closed meetings.
In its latest issue of Revolution, the so called Revolutionary Party described the historical class struggles within the CPC. However, when they reach the present struggle, they say nothing, and resolve everything by stating that they have faith and hope... When asked directly in one of the workshops of their recently held Conference on the International Situation their Chairman Avakian could only answer that the question was not relevant. RCP is clearly consolidating forces before coming out in the open attacking China. Engaging in much sophistry and demagoguery, the RCP did not answer our question on the present struggle in China and accused LPR of trying to break the Conference.
In their last newspaper WVO followed the suit of the RCP by writing an article on the line struggles in China but falling to mention anything on the present struggle. In private, WVO is putting forward that “the right is in power in China”, that “a process of capitalist restoration has been initiated in China”, etc. They raise to their contacts that the struggle in China today is the most important question and they have to take a stand. Meanwhile, WVO refuses to take an open stand on the question. WVO tries to justify its opportunist private stand toward the CPC by proclaiming that the “gang of four” were the leaders of the cultural revolution and this is supposed to prove that they upheld the correct line. This is an anti-dialectical-anti-materialist view which denies the development of all things, and is also, pure and simple, the revisionist theory of hero worship. On the process of development of things, Chairman Mao taught us that “a good thing can become a bad thing.” Comrade Hoxha has also said:
In socialist society there exists the danger of the degeneration of individuals, of the emergence of new bourgeois elements, of their transformation into counter-revolutionaries. As Marxism-Leninism teaches, this comes about not only because the new socialist society preserves traditions, customs, ways of behaviour and concepts of the bourgeois society from which it has emerged, but also because of certain economic and social conditions which live on in this society In the transitional phase.
And further, Comrade Chou En-lai, at the 10th Party Congress of the CPC in describing the dialectics of the development of Lin Piao, said:
Lin Plao, this bourgeois careerist, conspirator and double-dealer, engaged in machinations within our Party not just for one decade but for several decades. On his part there was a process of development and self-exposure, and on our part there was also a process of getting to know him.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was initiated and led by Chairman Mao Tsetung. Millions upon millions of workers, peasants, soldiers, women, students and youth were mobilized n this great revolutlon to “study Marxism and criticize revisionism,” to “grasp revolution and promote production”. The masses, and only the masses, are the true makers of history, and it was in fact the masses who brought the Great Proletarian Revolution to victory – and not WVO’s heroes, the anti-party clique of the “gang of four”.
The comrades of the Revolutionary Communist League are wavering on this question. They claim they don’t have enough information. We believe this is a poor excuse. RCL’s official position until recently was of support for the CPC. RCL should come out and reiterate precisely that. Or come out and repudiate that position and put forward that they no longer consider correct the slogan “Long Live the Great, Glorious and Correct Communist Party of China*’. To not take a stand on this question is objectively to place yourselves in the camp shared today by the many marsh forces.
On December 10 (Friday), we will be participating in an activity of support for the CPC in its struggle against the “gang of four”. For us that will be the point of a new campaign to spread among the working class, the oppressed nationalities, women, youth and other oppressed people, the achievements that in the construction of socialism have been made both in Socialist China and Albania. In this campaign, we will also continually address ourselves to the question of the consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat, how class struggle is carried out in socialist countries and all other related questions.
The League for Proletarian Revolution (ML) urges all comrades around the country to initiate similar campaigns in your areas. The Peoples’ Republic of China needs today the militant support of all those Marxist-Leninists, advanced elements and revolutionary minded people that are conscious of the leadership role for all oppressed peoples that Peoples’ Republic of China plays In the world today.
Let us joyously repeat the words of Comrade Chou En-lai in the 10th Party Congress:
Under the guidance of the correct line represented by Chairman Mao, the great, glorious and correct Communist Party of China has had prolonged trials of strength with the class enemies both inside and outside the Party, at home and abroad, armed and unarmed, overt and covert. Our Party has not been divided or crushed. On the contrary, Chairman Mao’s Marxist-Leninist line has further developed and our Party grown ever stronger. Historical experience convinces us that “this Party of ours has a bright future. Just as Chairman Mao predicted in 1966, “If the Right stage an anti-Communist coup d’etat in China, I am sure they will know no peace either and their rule will most probably be short-lived, because it will not be tolerated by the revolutionaries, who represent the interests of the people making up more than 90 per cent of the population. ” So long as our whole Party bears in mind historical experience and upholds Chairman Mao’s correct line, all the schemes of the bourgeoisie for restoration are bound to fail. No matter how many more major struggles between the two lines may occur, the laws of history will not change, and the revolution in China and the world will eventually triumph.
LONG LIVE INVINCIBLE MARXISM-LENINISM-MAO TSETUNG THOUGHT!
LONG LIVE THE GREAT, GLORIOUS AND CORRECT COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA!!!