The main event on Thursday will be held in Tiananmen Square, but during the week of the celebration, the passage to Tiananmen Square has been closed to keep the preparatory work confidential. Before entry was denied, the tour group had arrived in droves to immerse themselves in this moment and reflect on an important milestone.

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that like other major commemorative events in China, the centennial birthday plays an important role in emphasizing the legitimacy of the Communist Party.

He said it was a reminder, “People should thank the party for continuing to work for them.”

Sari Arho Havrén, a European-Chinese policy researcher at the Mercator Institute, said that the party and its leadership firmly believe that the CCP has established an excellent governance system that has improved people’s lives, Economic growth, stability, security and global status. Berlin China Studies.

But in fact, she said, “We cannot separate the Chinese Communist Party’s desire for control from its unscrupulous persistence in power.”

Two recent examples have attracted condemnation from the international community, including accusations that the Chinese government has imprisoned more than 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps and “de-radicalization” concentration camps in the northwest of the country.Some human rights organizations said China has committed “the ongoing genocide” Against the vast majority of Muslim minorities-the government has denied these allegations.

In Hong Kong, after months of democratic protests, Beijing implemented a new national security law on June 30, 2020.This Laws lead to repression and arrests In the former British colonies, those who disagreed with the government included activists, politicians, and journalists.

From agricultural society to economic power

Despite the alleged violations of human rights, at least in public, Chinese citizens admit that their lives are better than before, and China’s rapid rise from a poor agricultural society in recent years to an economic power is indeed something to be proud of.

When the Communist Party was founded 100 years ago, China had just experienced a devastating famine and was facing social and political unrest.

Since the overthrow of the former National Government and the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the CCP has transformed from a nationalized economy that supervises the state to an economy that contains capitalist elements. Despite opening up the economy, the party continues to maintain absolute control of the country. Patriotism and loyalty to the CCP are inevitably intertwined.

This is a concept that the government is trying to strengthen. 30-year-old Lan Youli is a hotel manager in Guangxi Autonomous Region who grew up during the economic boom in the 1990s. He said that this is the belief that he was grown up since he was a child. People think this is a normal thing.

“It is natural to think this way, because China is a one-party dictatorship… Moreover, party propaganda is everywhere. The same is true for movies and music, so it is impossible for anyone in China not to think that loving the country means loving the party. “

The way the government integrates the concepts of the party and the state into society is seamless. At the Yuefei Martial Arts School in Tangyin County, Henan Province, the day started with a flag-raising ceremony and the singing of the national anthem. The students, some are only six years old, and then start intense training.

Many people who came here continued to work in the army. The school’s eponymous Yue Fei is regarded as a national hero, and he helped retake the territory that was invaded by foreign enemies during the Song Dynasty more than 1,000 years ago.

The school principal Wang Haiying clearly stated why patriotism is the most important virtue.

“Of course it is important. Everyone should love their country. How can they not love it?”

The new museum highlights victory and ignores shortcomings

Gu Xiaoming, 52, is from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. He will move to Singapore to find a job after losing his job in China in 1994. He will celebrate his 100th birthday in Singapore. He now runs a building materials trading company.

Despite the turbulence in the early days of the CCP under Mao Zedong, he said that since Deng Xiaoping brought economic reforms in 1978, the party has made the country better—paving the way for foreign investment.

He said: “Except for the CCP, no other party has the experience and financial resources to effectively rule China.” “The CCP’s role in China is irreplaceable. It is natural for people to think that the party and the country are a whole.”

A new museum dedicated to party history in Beijing is the core content of an educational campaign and part of an initiative to capitalize on the national pride surrounding the centennial birthday. Foreign and Chinese journalists previewed the permanent exhibition that will be held at the Museum of the Communist Party of China after July 1.

The stories found in the museum’s more than 6,000 exhibits—including cultural relics, paintings, and rare, remastered video clips—tell the protracted struggle of the Chinese nation, but there are few flaws.

For example, there is no mention of the failure of the Cultural Revolution led by the founding father Mao, aimed at eradicating capitalism and traditional elements from society, leading to millions of deaths, or the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989-one of the most tragic chapters in China Modern history.

Despite all the successes, the Chinese Communist Party has no apologies for its mistakes-it would rather sweep the dark elements of its history under the carpet and keep them away from the consciousness of the people.

Lan Youli’s birthday happened to be on June 4th, but he said that he was never informed of what happened on that day in 1989, when the government violently suppressed demonstrations mainly by students for greater personal rights and freedom. , Cause hundreds or even thousands of deaths Supporters of democracy.

“Before I was about to study abroad, I had no knowledge of the Tiananmen Square incident. My father told me about it and the arrest of his friend at the time,” Yuri said. “He warned me that militants overseas would tell me about this. He warned me not to participate in any political gatherings because he and my mother still live in China.”

Perhaps as a sign of the Communist Party’s ability to focus China’s attention on its direction rather than on what it left behind, Ulrich said this is not a matter of particular concern to him.

“It didn’t really affect my personal life, so it didn’t really bother me.”

Dealing with COVID-19 is considered a victory

The new museum also includes an area dedicated to showcasing China’s fight against COVID-19. About a year and a half ago, the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus, triggered an outcry against the government for shutting him up, as well as people’s concealment of what is happening in Wuhan. Cases were detected in December 2019.

Today, China has turned the fight against the epidemic into a heroic achievement. Since the first appearance of the coronavirus, China has managed to limit losses through rapid and strict quarantine measures, so its number of cases and deaths is lower than many other countries. So far More than 90,000 people were infected and about 4,600 people died, According to official data, medical experts believe that the number of infections is much higher.

Victor Gao, director of the Chinese Society for International Studies and former translator of the late leader Deng Xiaoping, said that people are grateful for everything the party has done to contain COVID-19.

“The Chinese people have never been so united as they are today, because they have not only known the Chinese Communist Party for many years and decades, but now they can see China in sharp contrast with many other countries,” he said.

However, abroad, people have generally criticized China for lack of transparency in handling the epidemic and sharing key data.Fails to provide access that many in the scientific community consider sufficient World Health Organization team The investigation into the origin of the disease has led to accusations of secrecy and calls for more in-depth research on the theory of the virus leaking from the Wuhan laboratory.

Nonetheless, China’s handling of the epidemic has increased confidence in the party—nothing can highlight nationalist sentiments more than the increasingly fierce competition between China and the United States.

Highly recommended government Counterattack against Washington Reflects the aspirations of the people.

“In four years [the] The Trump administration, we have seen a lot of China attacking, beating the dignity of the Chinese people, pushing China to the corner or trying to press China to the ground, it seems that there will be no consequences,” he said.

“I think everyone in China is fed up with this attack on China. I think the Chinese government is expressing the indignation of the Chinese people. We want to be treated equally.”