The People Are Our Greatest Strength in Governance

The People Are Our Greatest Strength in Governance* 

March 1, 2018-December 27, 2019 

I 

The people are the creators of history, the fundamental force determining the future of the Party and the country. Our Party comes from the people, has its roots in the people, and serves the people. We will lose this vital force if we are detached from the people. We should learn from Comrade Zhou Enlai, and adhere to the Party's commitment to building itself for the public good and exercising power for the people. We must champion the Party's principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, implement the mass line in every aspect of national governance, and strive to help the people fulfill their desire for a better life. We must always rely on the people to create history. 

(from the speech at a seminar commemorating the 120th
birthday of Zhou Enlai, March 1, 2018) 

II 

We must address the most pressing issues that are essential to people's immediate interests. Their concerns, be they big or small, should be handled with the greatest care and attention. We must start by addressing issues of public concern, delivering the outcomes that satisfy public needs. We will strengthen extensive employment services, make it a priority to help and support people in straitened circumstances, and move faster to complete a multitiered social security system. We will strengthen the system for community governance, continue with targeted poverty alleviation and elimination, and promote more targeted and meticulous measures to ensure public wellbeing. 

(from the speech during a visit to Hubei Province,
April 24-28, 2018) 

III 

We must always uphold our fundamental stance of siding with the people, and striving for the wellbeing of the people as our ultimate mission. We must remain committed to the principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, and carry out the mass line. We must respect the people's principal position and pioneering spirit, always maintain close ties with them, channel their strength into an invincible force, and unite and lead them to create historic achievements. This is a natural choice we have made in keeping with the trend of this era, and a responsibility we undertake as Communists in staying true to our original aspiration. 

(from the speech at the ceremony commemorating the bicentenary of
the birth of Karl Marx, May 4, 2018) 

IV 

Our Party serves the people wholeheartedly in pursuit of their wellbeing. On the long way ahead, we bear heavy responsibility and must not stop or slacken our efforts. Only with determination and perseverance can we carry on to fulfill our mission, do justice to these great times, and live up to the people's expectations. 

(from the speech at a seminar on pressing problems related to the
Two Assurances and Three Guarantees during a visit to
Chongqing Municipality, April 15-17, 2019) 

V 

The people are our Party's greatest strength in governance. They are the solid base of our republic, and the foundation of a well-built Party and a prosperous nation. Our Party is from the people, for the people, and successful because of the people. It must always be close to the people, and work vigorously by their side through thick and thin. 

Every Party member must bear these in mind: The Party works for the people's interests and has no interests of its own. All it does is to realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the people. The people are the creators of history; the people are the true heroes. We must trust and rely on them. We are always ordinary members of the working people, and must maintain close ties with the people. 

(from the speech at the Conference on the Aspiration and Mission
Education Campaign, May 31, 2019) 

VI 

The people are our Party's foundation and greatest strength in governance. It is in this sense that we say people's support is of paramount importance. It is the people who will judge whether our Party members and officials still remember and honor our mission. Their commitment will be tested in practice. To improve the people's wellbeing in all respects, officials at all levels must always bear in mind our purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, always work to ensure the people live and work in peace and contentment, and always be mindful of their difficulties and needs. 

(from instructions on the Aspiration and Mission education
campaign during a visit to Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, July 15-16, 2019) 

 VII 

Staying true to our founding mission is, in essence, a matter of whom we serve and whose support sustains us. Our Party was founded for the people and has always been of one heart with the people. Bound to the people by an inseverable tie, the Party will always be in the service of the people to fulfill its mission. All our work and decision-making must proceed from the people's interests. We must solicit the people's opinions, understand their needs, and welcome their criticisms and suggestions. We must make solid efforts to address their concerns, alleviate their grievances, and warm their hearts, so that they will always have a strong sense of gain, happiness, and security. 

(from the speech at a meeting of criticism and self-criticism on the
Aspiration and Mission education campaign of the Political
Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee,
December 26-27, 2019) 

* Excerpts from speeches made between March 1, 2018 and December 27, 2019. 

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)