Statement on 65th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China and events in Hong Kong by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)

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The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) salutes the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

Led by Chairman Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people stood up. After long years of struggling against feudal landlords, against colonialism, against Japanese imperialism, against the agents of imperialist trading corporations and finance houses, and against the vicious Guomindang reactionaries, the Chinese nation regained its self-esteem, the Chinese people reclaimed their dignity and became, for the first time, the masters of their own destiny.

The Communist Party vested state power in the hands of the workers and peasants of China. A socialist economy began to meet people’s basic needs for food, shelter, health care and education.  On every front there was a massive upsurge of enthusiasm for the creation of a new society.  A collective morality based on service to the people and putting self-interest last became a motivation for hard work and a simple, unostentatious lifestyle.

Regrettably, the momentum towards socialism has been lost as sections of the economy have been transferred to new capitalist elements through a “reform” movement. Ostentatious displays of personal wealth, criminal activity, corruption and individualism have emerged in the wake of these changes. While there are avenues for some contest over the future direction of China, state power is by and large in the hands of oligarchs within and without the Communist Party.

The 65th anniversary is also witness to a student-led protest movement in Hong Kong.  The former British colony once enjoyed a privileged economic position as the entreport through which capitalist governments (particularly those that refused to recognise the PRC) did business with the mainland of China.  Hong Kong has since lost that monopoly position.  A number of new Hong Kongs have been built in recent years within China itself, most notably nearby Shenzhen. This has caused some grief to the old power-holders in Hong Kong capitalist society who cling to the belief that a British or US-style political system would restore the opportunities they feel have been overtaken by China.

US imperialism is particularly adept at using civil disturbances to its own advantage and manipulating events through bodies like the CIA and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

We call for the peaceful resolution of contradictions between the holders of state power in China and the pro-Western elements in Hong Kong on the basis of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law of Hong Kong.  Genuine causes for complaint among the broader sections of Hong Kong society should be investigated and addressed.  But Chinese sovereignty must be upheld because behind all disruptions in Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan are the US imperialists who desperately want to prevent the further strengthening of China as a competitor and rival.

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