PM Oli addresses CPC party school programme, highlights role of political parties
Special Correspondent Hari Lamichhane
Beijing,
June 21 (RSS): Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that political parties
hold the key to development, prosperity and good governance, and they are the
lead actors. They not only steer the present political course of a country but
also shape its future direction, he said.
PM
Oli, who is on a six-day official visit to the People's Republic of China, said
this while addressing the programme organized by Central Party School of the
Communist Party of China in Beijing today. The theme of the programme was 'Role
of Political Parties in Governance and Prosperity.'
In
his speech, the Prime Minister dwelt on four main aspects: the role of party
school in generating innovative ideas; role of political parties in ensuring
governance and achieving prosperity; Nepal's own experiences in pioneering
revolution and championing the cause of prosperity; and socialist movement in
the global context.
The
PM also briefly spoke on the fundamental pillars of Nepal-China friendship and
cooperation.
The
following is the full text of the Prime Minister's speech at the programme:
President
of the Central Party School His Excellency Mr. Chen Xi
Distinguished
Leaders
Comrades
and Friends, and
Ladies
and Gentlemen
I
feel privileged to address this august gathering organized by the Central Party
School of the Communist Party of China on the occasion of my official visit to
China. This is my second visit as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
I
thank President Mr. Chen Xi and the whole School family for hosting this
important programme to deliberate on such a pertinent theme.
Let
me convey warm greetings and expression of solidarity from the Nepal Communist
Party to the General Secretary, His Excellency Mr. Xi Jinping and the entire
party cadres and comrades of the Communist Party of China.
My
speech today will cover four main aspects: the role of party school in
generating innovative ideas; role of political parties in ensuring governance
and achieving prosperity; our own experiences in pioneering revolution and
championing the cause of prosperity; and socialist movement in the global
context. I will also briefly speak on the fundamental pillars of Nepal-China
friendship and cooperation.
1.
Party School: A Centre of Innovative Ideas
A
party school carries a special meaning in the context of the communist
movement. It is a center from where new and innovative ideas blossom, a new
generation of socialist workers are groomed and a new synergy emerges through a
perfect blending of ideological awareness and collective wisdom. Building
socialism does not happen automatically; rather, it is a planned, organized and
envisioned mission. And to fulfill this objective, a right philosophical
outlook and devotion is mandatory. A party school plays a critical role in this
regard.
I
would like to commend the Central Party School of CPC for its role in orienting
and shaping the minds of China’s emerging leaders. The contribution it has made
in generating new ideas and policy suggestions has been significant. The CPC is
strong because its 90 million party members are strong, both ideologically and
organizationally.
I
am confident that the School will continue to make further strides in advancing
the cause of ideological innovations, trainings and nurturing new regiment of
cadres, to arm them with clear socialist outlook and integrity, and to respond
to the new challenges that may arise in future.
Please
allow me now to dwell on today’s theme briefly.
2.
Political Parties: Vital instruments to
promote good governance and prosperity
The
emergence of political parties was the outcome of the democratic revolution
against feudalism during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The
course that parties had to travel was not easy. They had to fight protracted
struggles against various forms of authoritarian regimes to attain political
freedoms. The history of the political parties so far has basically been the
history of struggles and revolutions. The objective is clear- to materialize
the long cherished desire of people for good governance and prosperity.
The
government is not an end in itself. For us, the representatives of the working
class, the communists, socialists or lefts in whatever form, the government is
only a means for serving the people, to transform society for betterment of the
people and to deliver good governance to them.
Political
parties hold the key to development, prosperity and good governance. They are
the lead actors. They not only steer the present political course of a country
but also shape its future directions.
There
can be no other fitting example than China itself to understand the dynamics
and interrelationship between a political party, governance and prosperity. The
vision and the leadership of the Communist Party of China have been crucial in
transforming the development landscape of the country.
We
are happy to see China’s unprecedented growth and development over the years.
We are observing closely the progress made within the framework of 'socialism
with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. I believe that your two centennial goals have
laid a strong foundation to achieve the ‘Chinese Dream of Rejuvenation. And,
the realization of such a dream will have a huge significance for the socialist
movements worldwide.
The
strong emphasis put on purity of party by comrade Xi Jinping in reinforcing his
unwavering determination to fighting against 'tigers' and 'flies', and his
strict instruction to the cadres to serve the people with integrity, reflect
the CPC's clear vision on party's role in governance.
Chinese
determination is inspiring. It defeated the allegation levelled against
communist parties by bourgeois forces that they can only make revolution, but
cannot deliver development, or socialism and prosperity cannot move in
harmonious way.
CPC
has made history by leading the revolution and materializing the long cherished
dream of the people for prosperity. It is an inspiring movement for working
class everywhere.
3.
Nepali Communist Movement: Pioneering Revolution and Prosperity
Nepali
people’s political struggle and movement has a long and glorious tradition. In
early days, it emerged as a patriotic movement for country’s unification and
against the British imperialist aggression.
Prior to taking a clear political course, the movement took forms of
social reforms and ‘humanist’ struggles against conservatism, superstition and
discrimination. Later, it gradually grew stronger as a democratic movement
against the autocratic Rana Regime. Nepali communist movement was born under
the legacy of all these streams.
Nepal
Communist Party was established as a representative body of the working class
in 1949, with clear objectives to end feudalism and establish people’s
democracy under the guideline of Marxism and Leninism; protect national
independence, oppose imperialist and hegemonic interference; and to build an
equitable, just and prosperous socialist society.
The
seventy-year long history of communist movement has experienced highs and lows.
Nepal Communist Party played an important role in overthrowing the Rana regime;
led strong peasant movements; opposed foreign interference; and struggled for
people’s rights in 1950s. It experienced painful series of division and
disintegration in 1960s. The Jhapa Uprising ensued in early 1970s which
proclaimed a bold rebellion against monarchy and laid a foundation for building
and unifying the communist party on the basis of a new ideology. From the
1980s, a serious ideological discussion began on inventing a unique path of
Nepali socialist movement. As a result, we propounded our distinct and innovative
way for Nepali revolution under the leadership of comrade Madan Bhandari.
Similarly,
another group under Nepal’s Communist Movement emerged, which later organized
as CPN (Maoist).
International
communist movement was facing an upheaval at the time when the ideology of
People’s Multiparty Democracy was being propounded in Nepal. Communist parties
pursuing armed rebellion had been facing severe setbacks. Apparently, the
movement was facing new questions and challenges. Deviation and defection from
Marxism would not have been the answers to those questions. Neither would the
problem have been solved by dogmatic recitation of the classical texts. Based
on the assumption of innovative use of Marxism, we focused on the distinctive
attributes of Nepali society and practiced Marxism accordingly.
This
left an extraordinary mark in our society. The Communist Movement in Nepal was
gaining popularity.Nepali communists emerged as the largest party in 1994/95
elections to run the government which was very successful, although its tenure
was short. The idea of People’s Multiparty Democracy contributed enormously in
popularizing the communist movement, establishing its legitimacy and steering
the movement ahead amidst adverse circumstances on both domestic and external
fronts. The credit for this goes indeed to the thoughts propounded by Madan
Bhandari.
The
Maoist armed struggle began in February 1996. That decade-long struggle made
important contributions in generating political awareness among the oppressed
communities, and most importantly, advanced constituent assembly and
republicanism as national agenda.
After
a series of discussions and debates between CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist) on
resolving the political problems in the country in the middle of the last decade,
the basis of cooperation between the then seven mainstream parties and CPN
(Maoist) was formed. This cooperation drove the overall political course
leading to the historical political change in 2006. As a result, the peace
process began in Nepal. The happy outcomes of this decade-long process are:
first, the promulgation of Constitution of Nepal through a democratic process,
incorporating the values of social justice, fundamental freedoms and
socialism-oriented vision; and secondly, the historic unification between CPN
(UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) which resulted in the formation of the strongest
political party in Nepal. Political attributes such as ideological direction-
Marxism-Leninism, programme- people’s democracy based on multiparty competition
and democratic values; main responsibility - socio-economic transformation and
building a strong national economy with socialist orientation; and political
direction- achieving supremacy through peaceful democratic means along with
overwhelming mass support, have been the unique features of Nepal Communist
Party.
At
present, Nepal Communist Party enjoys almost two-thirds majority in federal
parliament, six of the seven provinces and majority of local governments. It
has been established as a party with a strong political base of over 53% of
popular votes. The people have given us the mandate to run the government for
political stability and economic prosperity. Now, the government has
concentrated all its efforts on economic development with the motto “Prosperous
Nepal and Happy Nepali”.
Our
destination is clear- development of socialism with typical Nepali attributes.
Our priorities are clear- enhancement of nationalism, institutional development
of democracy, strengthening of national unity on the basis of social harmony,
achievement of social justice and equality by ending all forms of
discrimination, inequality and suppression and attainment of economic
development and prosperity within a short period of time. We put emphasis on
good governance encompassing such components as accountability, transparency,
austerity and eradication of corruption as its key features.
We
believe the success of our movement in Nepal will be something which all the
Communists worldwide can cherish. Our
topmost priority, at present, is to attain economic prosperity to match our
political achievements.
Our
policies and programmes aim at preparing a foundation for socialism. Our vision
is to establish people’s government through peaceful means of democratic
competition.
Given
these contexts of our two countries, I believe that we have our own unique ways
of pursuing socialism. However, our goals, objectives and strategies have many
similarities. The developmental aspirations that we strive to fulfill are
guided by similar vision. And, more importantly, we are guided by the common
spirit to uplift the disadvantaged, oppressed and the poor people.
4.
Global context
Thecontemporary
world is characterized by conflicts, contradictions and paradoxes. The world
today is witnessing inward-looking tendencies. The identity politics is
apparently seen as undermining the fundamental goals of ideologies. Ethos of
class struggle is being undercut by racial, cultural and ethnic issues.
Amidst
these global realities, communist/socialist movements around the world have
evolved through different forms and structures. Not all of them are at the same
stage of revolution. Some have completed the socialist revolution while others
have made political gains but are yet to achieve economic goals. Some
revolutions are in the phase of mobilizing people in order to materialize the
dream of socialism.
Therefore,
it is obvious that the role of political parties also changes according to the
stage and the form of a ‘revolution’. And, we must understand that no political
party can advance the socialist cause, if it is detached from the political
realities of a country.
It
is in line with this notion that we have taken recourse to competitive
multiparty system in Nepal. We have localized and contextualized Marxism and
socialism as per our unique and distinct needs and challenges.
Some
of the fundamentals we have adhered to can be summed up as follows:
First,
we have been careful in ensuring that the real revolutionary spirit and ideal
does not fade away. We are aware of the danger of complacency and deviation
that might arise in party workers along with our success in party politics. As
Chairman Mao once said that the comrades who were not defeated by the enemies
with guns could be defeated by sugar-coated bullets of luxury, inertia,
corruption and arrogance. I believe both Nepali and Chinese versions of
socialism have internalized this spirit.
Second,
we are mindful of the fact that capitalism and bourgeois culture can derail our
movement through a discourse of capitalism-guided progress of society. We have
witnessed that capitalism can enrich upper strata of society, and neoliberalism
can facilitate class-transformation of a handful of people, but it cannot
provide the answer to the quest for just, equitable and people-centric
development. Real progress that people can feel is only possible in socialism.
Third,
there is a constant need of educating, orienting and guiding the party cadres
and workers so that they do not deviate from the original principles, ideals
and visions. Our focus should be on the younger generation, which has enormous
vigor, energy and innovative strength. But, the influence of global capitalism
which is spreading offensively intends to inject in the youth the culture of
individualism, consumerism and alienation from the social responsibilities. We
should take care in bridging the gap between the veteran generation seasoned in
revolution and the vibrant youth generation.
Fourth,
protection, promotion and innovative implementation of Marxism is vital. We
must always be open to new ideas and thoughts. This is where innovation and
creativity prosper. Chinese comrades very often talk about the three major
ideological junctures in the Party’s history- seventh national congress of the
CPC and adoption of Mao Zedong Thought, which led the creative innovation of
Marxism in China; policy of openness and modernization by Deng Xiaoping, which
heralded a new era of development in China; and the vision of 'Socialism with
Chinese Characteristics' and Xi Jinping Thought for a New Era.
In
Nepal, we also have similar experiences and benchmarks of ideological
innovations. The Jhapa uprising of 1970s, which opened up new pathways to
reorganize and revitalize the then fragmented and divided communist movement,
the rise of peoples' leader comrade Madan Bhandari and his new ideological
innovation -People's Multi-Party Democracy, and the historical unification of
the CPN (UML) and CPN (MC) are such major benchmarks of our movement.
Lastly,
and more importantly, no political party can sustain and contribute to the
social progress if it misses the vital links with the people it serves. It is
only with the support of the masses that political parties can succeed in
transforming society and delivering good governance. This is manifested well in
the success of Communist Party of China and its contributions to the country’s
phenomenal development and prosperity. We too are making every effort to reach
out to the people to hear their voices and put ourselves under the scrutiny of
the people.
Dear
Friends,
We
have adopted competitive multiparty system of governance with constitutional
supremacy, periodic elections, human rights, check and balance as well as
separation of powers, and independent judiciary, among others. Such
appropriation in our communist movement is to address the heterogeneous and
diverse socio-cultural edifice of Nepali society. We respect diversity and
plurality but remain committed to the thrust of Marxism.
The
role of a communist party is unique and special like a torch bearer. It has led
the revolution and will pioneer the socio-economic transformation and
prosperity in respective countries. That's why, the leading role of the
communist party is necessary for prosperity and governance. We think such a
role can be obtained through competition and initiation.
To
conclude, there can be no single formula for political parties to follow. For
them to champion as the agents of development and good governance, they must
internalize the revolutionary spirit with a sole objective of serving the
common people and their aspirations. The idea that can change the world today
is not completely different from the one that changed the world in the past. It
is a constant process of modification, adjustments and re-adjustments. Our
unique and distinct models of socialism are examples of such innovations and
adjustments.
Nepal
-China Relations: Heralding A New Era
Nepal-China
relations began with traders’ caravans crossing the current borders millennia
ago. Although diplomatic relations between our two countries were established
as recently as in 1955, the time-tested, friendly and cooperative relations
have been the hallmarks of our bilateral relations. The narratives of people
crossing the Himalayas for progress, wealth and prosperity still abound in
Nepal. The travelogues of Faxian, Buddhabhadra and Xuan Zan as well as the
stories of Bhrikuti and Araniko support this historical interface between our
two peoples not only at political and economic spheres but more also at social
and cultural domains.
Such
engagements from time immemorial have nurtured mutual understanding and
respect. They have also helped us know each other’s needs and interests. This,
in turn, has inculcated in us the values of peace and harmony in a diverse
society. Lord Buddha’s teachings on peace and harmony have profoundly guided
the socio-cultural ethos of our peoples.
Panchasheel
– the five principles of peaceful co-existence - guide our friendly and cordial
relations. We take pride in pursuing these principles for achieving peace and
progress in a harmonious way.
The
Chinese Government and people have always supported Nepali people in fulfilling
their aspirations for peace, progress and prosperity both in normal times as well
as during crisis. We are appreciative of such support and cooperation.
Finally,
I once again acknowledge the tremendous contribution made by the Central Party
School of the Communist Party of China towards promoting socialist goals and
principles. The ideas and education it provides have been useful in building
socialism and promoting its linkages with the common people. This is where we
see the relationship between Communist Party of China and the country’s
remarkable progress and development.
I
express my best wishes to the School for success in its mission and future
endeavors.
---
