For International Leadership Convocation:

 

 

Reform and opening up is creating a noble China,a peaceful nation

 

                  Hu xingdou

 

 

 

  In Chinese history,there happened or is happening two great social transitions,which were called “historical straits”.The first time passing historical strait was in east Zhou dynasty or nearly the Spring Autumn and Warring states periods,from about 770B.C. to 221B.C.;The second time passing historical strait is from 1840 Opium war to nowadays,especially since 1978 adopting reform and opening up policy,China is now going on a modernization road of rationality,market economy,democracy,rule of law.Reform and opening up is now creating a noble China,a peaceful nation.

 

  Firstly,let me introduce to you an old China,a country of tactics and violence,created by first social transition.

 

  The first social transition lasted for 550 years,China was changed from feudal system or a relative autocracy to the system of prefectures and counties,an absolute autocracy by first emperor of Qin dynasty Qinshihuang.Qinshihuang set up bureaucratic pyramidic power structure.

 

  The characteristics of ancient Chinese absolute autocracy are:political struggle obeys no rule,by all means,politicians behave secretly,carry out non-procedure politics,lie politics and violent politics.Ancient Chinese bureaucratic culture is called the complementarity of Confucianism and Legalist school,or exterior Confucianism interior Legalist school.That is,open propaganda was Confucianist benevolence,morality,but actual means were ancient Legalist school’s tactics,conspiracy,despotism and fascism.So Chinese nation continuously intensified her thinking mode of tactics and violence,became a nation of worshiping stratagem and blooded struggle.

 

  But now China is experiencing the second social transition,that is,we are turning pre-modern,violent,despotic status into a noble,peaceful civilized society,reform and opening up policy will make China a country of democracy,rule of law,cleanness and morality.

 

  That is,the first social transition created an absolute autocratic,trickish and violent China,the second transition will create a noble China,peaceful China.

 

  The noble China will abandon the tradition of blockage,autocracy,rule by bureaucrats and official-centered society,get rid of the politics of lies,trickery and violence,obey rules,procedure,transparency and supervision,perfect democracy and law,protect human rights and property rights,propagate honest,benevolent spirit,enhance officials’ moral level,cultivate public morality,make our ancient nation noblized and civilized.

 

  What encourages us is the fact that,only 20 years since reform and opening up,China has made tremendous progress in building a legal government,transparent administration,and the clauses of protecting human rights and private property rghts have been constitutionalised, so now we should endeavor to build “modern Chinese civilisation” and “modern China’s institution”.

 

  To build modern Chinese civilization,first,we should construct a country of honesty and universal love,reinforce trustworthiness among people,transcend the love of family members,to love other people,to love society,to love mankind,to love nature and creature,to love opponent,to love enemy,to foster a tolerant and lenient soul,to cultivate the spirit of compromise,reconciliation and win-win.

 

  In fact,the thought of universal love can be traced back to ancient times in China.Confucianism advocated “benevolent person loves people”,”harmony is precious”,”loyalty and forgivingness”,”the great Tao is,all the world belongs to people”.Mencius proposed “benevolent government”,he said “if we cheer when people cheer,then people will cheer when we cheer;if we sorrow when people sorrow,then people will sorrow when we sorrow”.Mencius also proposed non-violence thought,he said:”the man waging a war should be put into prison”.Taoist Zhuangzi promoted tolerance,diversity and anti-violence,he said:”be lenient to all things”,”ten suns rise simultaneously”,”no conquest by tactics,no conquest by stratagem,no conquest by war”.Moism advocated:”love equally,gain profit mutually”,Mozi also maintained the thought of “non-attack”,he is the earliest peacenik.

 

  It is a pity,these love and peace thery,human practiced it a little in ancient times,now it decays rapidly.

 

  So the urgent thing to China is to promote the spirit of sincerity,honesty and fraternity,eliminate omnipresent lie,cheat and pitfall,to build modern credit system,to respect human life,to advocate the new ideas of forgivingness,compromise,dialogue and multi-win,to change the traditional ideology of taking over power by guns,political enemy is irreconcilable,”one mountain cannot exist two tigers”,to build a tolerant,reconciliatory,noble,civilized new China.

 

  Also we need to build modern China’s institution,that is,to build China’s modern state system,modern political system,modern government system,modern legal system,modern economic system,modern social system and modern culture system.

 

  All in all,I think,three transformations will take place in China,that is,from planned economy to market economy,from the status of moral degradation,civilization decline to modern Chinese civilization,from traditional institution to modern China’s institution.In one word,China will transform from backwardness,trickery,violence to a noble China,a peaceful nation.

 

 

(Hu xingdou,a professor of economics and China issues at Beijing Institute of Technology, an ambassador for peace of IIFWP.Hu’s influential web:  www.huxingdou.com.cn。 E-mail:[email protected],Tel:86-10-68946812)