Patriotism is the heart and soul of the Chinese nation, the core of the Chinese nation's spirit, and the most important spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation. Strengthening patriotic education in the new era will help invigorate the national spirit, unite the strength of the whole nation, and burst out a more sustained and strong historical force. The "Law of the People's Republic of China on Patriotic Education" (hereinafter referred to as the "Patriotic Education Law"), which was voted and passed at the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, for the first time made special legislative provisions on strengthening patriotic education, which is of great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance for further inheriting and carrying forward the spirit of patriotism, bringing together the majestic forces of comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and building China into a great modern socialist country in an all-round way.
The new situation and new tasks have put forward urgent requirements for the legislation on patriotic education. **The general secretary stressed that on the new journey, we must vigorously carry forward the spirit of patriotism, establish a high degree of national self-esteem and national self-confidence, forge a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation, and closely rely on all Chinese sons and daughters to work together. At present, the changes in the world and history are unfolding in an unprecedented way, and how to carry out patriotic education in a complex situation, better maintain strategic focus, and gather development forces has become a new topic and new requirement entrusted to us by the times. Judging from the international situation, the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance have intensified, and the struggle in the ideological field remains fierce. In the midst of the great changes in the world unseen in a century, it is important to enhance our cohesion, centripetal force, and unity and strengthen our patriotic spirit. The legislation on patriotic education is conducive to further promoting the spirit of patriotism, strengthening historical determination, and coping more firmly with the complex and ever-changing international environment. From the perspective of the domestic background, we are facing the arduous and arduous tasks of reform, development and stability, and various uncertain and unpredictable risks and challenges, and in order to achieve the strategic goals set by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we need to strengthen patriotic education and inherit and carry forward the spirit of patriotism. Legislation on patriotic education is conducive to further enhancing people's patriotic enthusiasm and fighting spirit, and stimulating the common will and firm determination to build a strong country. From the perspective of the development of the times, with the continuous popularization of Internet technology and artificial intelligence, the Internet has become the forefront of ideological struggle, and some false, negative and erroneous remarks belittle Chinese culture and distort history, affecting the effectiveness of patriotic education. Legislation on patriotic education is conducive to regulating the conduct of legal subjects, consolidating the responsibilities of internet platforms, punishing illegal acts that affect patriotic education online, clarifying people's ideological understanding, and allowing patriotism to permeate cyberspace.
The practical exploration of the new era has laid a solid foundation for the legislation of patriotic education. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the general secretary has attached great importance to patriotic education, issued a series of important expositions on promoting the spirit of patriotism and carrying out patriotic education, made a series of important instructions, and put forward a series of clear requirements, emphasizing that patriotic education should run through the whole process of national education and spiritual civilization construction, deepen the research on patriotic education and the interpretation of patriotic spirit, and constantly enrich the content of education, innovate educational carriers, and enhance educational effects. All localities and relevant departments have made full use of all kinds of patriotic education resources and platform carriers to promote patriotic education to be deepened and practical, and to be deeply rooted in the mind and heart. Strengthen the protection, management and utilization of red resources, build and make good use of patriotic education bases, and create patriotic education classrooms around the masses. Solemn commemorative activities were held on the Chinese People's Day of Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Martyrs' Day, and other important anniversaries, and folk cultural activities with different characteristics were organized on traditional Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, so as to enhance people's feelings for the country and the country, and to achieve remarkable results in patriotic education, thus providing valuable experience and reference for special legislation. In 2019, the Communist Party of China issued the "Implementation Outline for Patriotic Education in the New Era", which systematically clarified the overall requirements, specific contents, group objects and practice carriers of patriotism, and made arrangements for patriotic education in the new era. In recent years, China has promulgated and revised a number of laws related to patriotism, such as the Law on National Medals and National Honorary Titles (promulgated in 2015), the National Anthem Law (promulgated in 2017), the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law (promulgated in 2018), and the National Flag Law (revised in 2020), which provide a legislative basis for the formulation of the Patriotic Education Law.
The excellent traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture have provided rich cultural nourishment for patriotic education and legislation. Patriotism is the common spiritual core of China's excellent traditional culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture. **The general secretary emphasized that the profound feelings for the family and the country and the deep sense of history have laid the foundation for the Chinese nation to maintain the great unification, and have become the spiritual support for the continuous rejuvenation of the Chinese nation after countless difficulties and dangers. The rich elements of patriotism contained in the excellent traditional Chinese culture, the social ideal of the world for the common good, the tradition of unity in diversity, and the feelings of self-cultivation and unity to govern the country and level the world have deeply flowed in the blood of the Chinese nation and become the unique spiritual temperament and cultural gene of the Chinese nation. The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the most staunch promoter and practitioner of the spirit of patriotism, and patriotism is an important part of the revolutionary culture that unites and leads the people of all ethnic groups across the country to overcome obstacles and write a revolutionary culture. The vivid practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics has condensed the unremitting struggle of hundreds of millions of people in pursuit of a better life, effectively promoted the ideological and spiritual unity of all the people, and built the Chinese spirit, Chinese values and Chinese strength. After thousands of years of development, the excellent traditional Chinese culture has always run through the blood gene of patriotism, providing strong spiritual support for the Chinese nation to overcome all difficulties and obstacles, and providing a profound ideological source for patriotic education and legislation.
Strengthen patriotic education to provide a strong ideological guarantee for comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Building China into a great modern socialist country in an all-round way and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the distinctive theme of patriotic education in the new era. The Patriotism Education Law stipulates that patriotism should be unified with love for the party and socialism. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and without the Communist Party of China, there would be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Carrying out patriotic education in the new era is the fiery practice of educating and guiding the people to devote themselves to the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation under the leadership of the party. The Patriotic Education Law stipulates that all patriotic forces should be strengthened and united, so that patriotism will become a firm conviction, spiritual strength and conscious action of all the people. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be achieved easily and with the beating of gongs and drums, and we must be prepared to make more arduous and arduous efforts, and it is all the more necessary to strengthen patriotic education for all kinds of groups, continue to unify thinking, build consensus, and unite more than 1.4 billion people into a solid piece of steel. The Patriotic Education Law stipulates that patriotic education shall persist in inheriting and developing the excellent traditional Chinese culture and carry forward the core socialist values. The excellent traditional Chinese culture is the crystallization and essence of the wisdom of the Chinese civilization, and the root and soul of the Chinese nationThe core values of socialism are the concentrated embodiment of the spirit of contemporary China and condense the common value pursuit of all Chinese people. To carry out patriotic education in the new era is to guide people to maintain their love for the excellent traditional Chinese culture, internalize the requirements of the core socialist values in their hearts and externalize them in their actions, and firmly establish a correct view of the country, history, nationality and culture. The Patriotism Education Law pays attention to the cultivation of practice, and makes clear provisions on the development of patriotic theme activities, requiring schools to integrate the content of patriotic education into campus cultural construction and various theme activities of schools, requiring enterprises to carry out patriotic education in combination with business management, business training, culture and sports and other activities, requiring grassroots people and grassroots mass autonomous organizations to integrate patriotic education into socialist spiritual civilization construction activities, and requiring all kinds of grassroots cultural positions to integrate patriotic education into socialist spiritual civilization construction activities. Carrying out patriotic education activities in ways such as experience and practice has greatly enriched the practice of patriotic education, allowing people to gain personal feelings, enhance their ideological understanding, and transform patriotism and national aspirations into serving the country.
It marks that our party's understanding of the laws governing patriotic education in the new era has reached a new height, the party's cultural self-confidence has reached a new height, and the patriotic enthusiasm and action consciousness of the people of all ethnic groups across the country have reached a new height. We must hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, adhere to the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, ideology, theory, important thought, scientific outlook on development, and socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, consciously study Xi comprehend and abide by the patriotic education law, improve the quality of patriotism and the rule of law, strengthen our beliefs, work hard, unite as one, unite as one, and make unremitting efforts to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way and promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way.
Zhang Yixiang is a professor and deputy dean of the School of Marxism, Beijing Institute of Technology