Liang Heng's "Writings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" mentions that on December 18, 1978, China held the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, marking the abandonment of the line of class struggle and the shift of focus to socialist modernization. This historic turning point became the starting point of China's reform and opening up and changed the fate of the Chinese.
Over the past 44 years, reform and opening-up have transformed China in almost every way. Despite some setbacks and new problems encountered in the process of development, its successes and great achievements far outweigh the problems themselves. Since 1978, after 40 years of development, China has moved from poverty, scarcity and ignorance to being well-off, affluent, open and diversified, and has become the world's second largest economy and the largest industrial country.
The New York Times praised China for lifting "800 million people out of poverty" and creating a miracle of economic expansion in modern history. As Bill Gates put it, "China has achieved more in the last few decades than any other country has achieved." ”
However, the past 40 years of reform and opening up have also brought some new problems, including the gap between the rich and the poor, the consolidation of classes, the hegemony of capital, and environmental pollution. Therefore, while continuing its economic development, today's China urgently needs to pay more attention to the first rich to lead the latter to become rich, common prosperity, solve the problem of fairness and justice, and let everyone share the dividends of national development, while protecting the environment and curbing the hegemony of capital.
Nevertheless, reform and opening up remains decisive for contemporary China. The third historical resolution pointed out: "Since the beginning of reform and opening up, although some problems have arisen in the party's work, on the whole the cause of the party and the country has been smooth, the direction of progress is correct, and the achievements have attracted worldwide attention. ”
Let's read Liang Heng's article and review the process from the Cultural Revolution to reform and opening up. I hope that today's China will continue to reform and open up and make people's lives better.
At that time, the Chinese people hardly set foot outside the country until 1978, when they decided to send a delegation to visit. The delegation was led by the Deputy Prime Minister**, most of whom were going abroad for the first time. They went on an expedition Xi study in five Western European countries, but they had a lot of discomfort and troubles with Western life and culture. For example, in the face of a floor-to-ceiling glass door, the staff reminded them not to touch it, but there were still people who accidentally broke their glasses. When eating ice cream, some people suggested heating it, showing their incomprehension and curiosity about unfamiliar things.
Such a scenario was very rare at the time, and a large country with a population of more than a billion people seemed so helpless. However, it was through this visit that China's leaders began to realize the gaps and shortcomings in the international community, which laid the foundation for the subsequent reform and opening up.
In October 1978, he visited Singapore, which was then known as the "Asian Tigers". There, he was amazed by Singapore's achievements and consulted Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on policies on opening up to the outside world and attracting foreign investment. Lee Kuan Yew bluntly suggested that *** stop supporting the armed forces of other countries and stop setting up radio stations in South China. This interaction showed the willingness to give up his own views in the face of reality, which left a deep impression on Lee Kuan Yew.
China's tremendous progress since the reform and opening up is also reflected in people's daily lives. In 1984, a journalist brought back a piece of tissue paper with a delicate pattern printed on it, which turned out to be a paper towel from a public toilet. This seemingly mundane object caused a sensation at the time, making people lament the magnanimity and waste of the West.
With the deepening of reforms, some new concepts such as the responsibility system, contracting, going to the sea, and commodity economy began to spread among the people. In the spring of 1980, a farmer made a profit by contracting a commune pig farm, and the story caused a strong reaction across the country. This also marked the beginning of the Chinese peasants' desire to get rid of poverty and become rich, and the economic and political spring has arrived.
History has proven that the degree to which a country opens up to the outside world determines the pace of reform. As Marx said, complete spiritual emancipation can only be achieved if one has free access to the greatest information in the world. In the face of external information, China has gradually thawed the system of the past ten years, which has stimulated the vitality of the productive forces.