Xi Jinping stresses remembering history at 90th anniversary of Long March victory
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at a Beijing ceremony marking 90 years since the Red Army's Long March victory, urging unity under the party and the promotion of the Long March spirit. He called for high-quality development, military modernisation, and strict party discipline.
A ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Long March was held on the morning of 22 October at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, president of the country and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a keynote speech.
Xi emphasised that remembering history is essential to creating the future. He called on the entire party, military and people of all ethnic groups to unite more closely around the party central committee, to vigorously promote the great Long March spirit, to continue striving and moving forward, and to push forward the great cause initiated by revolutionary predecessors, creating new glories on the new Long March.
Xi pointed out that the path to victory in the Long March relied on the party's correct leadership, firm revolutionary will, independence, pragmatism, and the support of the broad masses. He stressed that promoting the Long March spirit and walking the new Long March requires adhering to the party's ideals, beliefs and purposes; unwaveringly promoting high-quality development to meet the people's growing needs for a better life, achieving effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity, and promoting common prosperity for all people; and bravely engaging in great struggles with new historical characteristics, better coordinating development and security.
Xi also said that the people's military must be accelerated into a world-class force, always adhering to the party's absolute leadership over the military, achieving the goal of the centenary of the military's founding on schedule, and promoting modernisation of national defence and the armed forces with high quality. He added that the party's leadership must be upheld, party building strengthened, and strict governance of the party persistently advanced, achieving the party's self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation and self-enhancement, ensuring the party remains the strong leadership core of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The ceremony began at 10 am, presided over by Zhao Leji, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. Attendees stood and sang the national anthem, then observed a moment of silence for martyrs who died during the Long March and revolutionary struggles. The backdrop displayed the party emblem, and about 3,000 people attended, including senior party, government and military officials, representatives of democratic parties and non-party figures, and soldiers from the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force.
