‘Amending Party Constitution meets objective needs’

BEIJING—Amending the Party Constitution is designed to meet “objective needs” in strengthening construction of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and “adapting the Party to new trends and tasks”, a spokesmen said on Thursday.
The 17th National Congress of the CPC, which concluded on Sunday, adopted the amended CPC Constitution which includes “the overall plan for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a series of significant policies and guidelines on domestic and foreign affairs and innovations of theories and important experience in party-building”, a spokesman for the secretariat of the congress told Xinhua.
Making the amendment is an important way of “unifying the thoughts and actions and concentrating the wisdom and strength of the whole Party and mobilizing all Party members’ enthusiasm”, said the spokesman. He said the amendment is conducive to the implementation of the Party Constitution, CPC policies, guidelines and important deployment, the progress of all works of the Party and country and”the new great project of Party building with an innovative spirit”.
The amendment, guided by “the Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of the Three Represents”, embodied a series of major strategic thoughts put forward by by the CPC Central Committee since the 16th National Congress of the CPC in 2002, including the Scientific Outlook on Development, he said. The newly amended Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has fully reflected the Scientific Outlook on Development, said a spokesman with the secretariat of the 17th CPC National Congress on Thursday.
The Scientific Outlook on Development is enshrined in the general program of the Party Constitution, which defines it as “a scientific theory that is in the same line as Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents”, the spokesman said. “It’s the primary requirement for promoting sound and rapid development of the national economy and advancing the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics to enshrine the ‘Scientific Outlook on Development’ into the Party constitution,” he said.
He said the “Scientific Outlook on Development” has played an important role in the economic and social development as the Party’s new knowledge gained through solving problems in the process of development. The spokesman added that it is also demonstrated in the concrete chapters when talking about economic, political, cultural and social development and Party building.
The Party Constitution consists of a general program, outlining the characters, objectives, guidelines and principles of the Party, and 11 chapters, which stipulate the rights and duties of Party members, cadres, organizations, Party emblem and flag. “It is an important guiding principle for China’s economic and social development and a major strategic thought that must be upheld and applied in developing socialism with Chinese characteristics,” said the amendment to the Party constitution.
“To study the Scientific Outlook on Development” is also written in the revisions to the duties Party members and cadres should fulfil and the main tasks of the grassroots Party organizations, the spokesman said. The amendment was adopted at the conclusion of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Oct. 21and the full text was released by Xinhua on Thursday.
The political catchphrase was formally put forward by the 16th CPC Central Committee at its third plenary session in October 2003. It stresses people-centered development that is comprehensive, balanced and sustainable. It refers to coordinated development between urban and rural areas, among different regions, between economic and social development, between the development of man and nature, and between domestic development and opening-up to the outside world.
The latest amendment to the Party Constitution was made at the 16th CPC Congress in November 2002, when the important thoughts of “Three Represents” were highly appraised and written into the Constitution.
At the 15th CPC Congress in 1997, Deng Xiaoping Theory was added into the Party Constitution as the guiding theory for the CPC to stand next to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. And the theory on building of socialism with Chinese Characteristics was enshrined in the Party Constitution at the 14th CPC Congress in 1992.