CGTN时评丨以人为本：植根于中国古老智慧的执政理念

英国保守党议员托马斯•图根达特最近在中国小小火了一把。他在接受英国广播公司中文频道采访时说，中国共产党“不怕美国或英国”，“只怕一件事，那就是中国人民。”他意欲埋汰中共，但结果却为中国共产党的优点做了背书，许多中国网民认为他的话是对中共的“最高赞誉”。从某种程度上来说，害怕让中国老百姓失望是中共前进的动力。坚持“以人为本”这一核心理念是中国共产党作为后起政党站在中国现代政治舞台上C位的原因，也是中国制度长葆活力的秘诀。
Editor's note: "Roots of China's Growth" is a 10-episode series marking the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which has presided over the country's meteoric rise as a global power. The series focuses on 10 fundamental elements of the strategy that has led to China's transformation from an impoverished nation over the past 100 years. The "people-centered philosophy" is the seventh in the series. The article is part of a special series from CGTN and its international media partners.

英国保守党议员托马斯•图根达特最近在中国小小火了一把。他无意间为中国共产党的优点做了背书，许多中国网民认为他的话是对中共的“最高赞誉”。

British Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat gained fame recently in China after unintentionally extolling the merits of the Communist Party of China (CPC). His comments were described by many Chinese netizens as bestowing "the highest praise."

图根哈特在接受英国广播公司中文频道采访时说，中国共产党“不怕美国或英国”，“只怕一件事，那就是中国人民。”他意欲埋汰中共，但结果却是强调了中共成功治国的秘诀，即以人为本的理念。从某种程度上来说，害怕让中国老百姓失望是中共前进的动力。

In an interview with the BBC's Chinese Service, Tugendhat said that the CPC is "not afraid of America or Britain," but is "only afraid of one thing, and that's the Chinese people." He had intended to knock the CPC but ended up highlighting its recipe for its successful governance of the country, namely a people-centered philosophy. To a certain degree, a fear of failing the Chinese people gives power to the Party.

溯源人本理念

Origin of the philosophy

以人为本的思想早已植根于中国两千年传统文化中。孔子和他的弟子们向各诸侯国的统治者布道时，就将统治者比作舟，将平民比作水，提出“水能载舟，亦能覆舟”的理论。

People-centered thought has long been integrated into China's traditions. Confucius and his disciples preached the idea to the local rulers over 2,000 years ago. They compared rulers to boats and the common people to water. "Water not only can keep a boat afloat but can also sink it," was the way they put it.

“中国的希望在延安”

Founded and thriving on a people-centered approach

中国共产党在1921年成立之初就将“群众路线”作为生命线，倾听民众的声音，满足民众的需求，倡导密切的党群关系。20世纪20年代后期，中共为其武装力量（后来称为人民解放军的部队）制定了诸如“不拿群众一针一线”的严明纪律，意在全心全意为百姓服务。

In the early days of the CPC following its establishment in 1921, the Party made the "mass line" its lifeline, championing close Party-people relations by listening to people and meeting their needs. In the late-1920s, the CPC outlined for its troops, later known as the People's Liberation Army, detailed principles, such as "do not take a single needle or a piece of thread from the masses," with the aim of treating and serving the country's citizens properly and wholeheartedly.

Soldiers and officers strengthen the levee of the Yangtze River for flood prevention in Poyang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 9, 2020. /Xinhua

这一理念帮中共赢得了越来越多国内民众及海外华人的支持，这其中就包括橡胶大王陈嘉庚。这位从渔村走出来的实业家在目睹了蒋介石和他的国民党在重庆的奢侈浪费行为后断言“中国的希望在延安”。国民党在一顿欢迎晚宴上的花费超出了在延安的中国共产党所花费的五百倍，而彼时几亿中国人正因日本侵略而衣食无着。日本在“二战”中战败后，陈嘉庚曾表示：“中共获民众拥护，根深蒂固，不但国民党军队不能加以剿灭，即任何外来金钱武器压迫，亦不能使其软化。”

Such a philosophy helped the CPC win increasing popularity and support from Chinese at home and abroad, including rubber magnate Tan Kah Kee. The village boy-turned-business tycoon concluded that "the future of China lies in Yan'an" after the squandermania he saw under the Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang in Chongqing. Just one welcome dinner cost the Kuomintang over 500 times the money spent by Mao Zedong and the CPC under his leadership in Yan'an. The extravagance came at a time when hundreds of millions of Chinese were suffering from hunger and turmoil caused by Japanese aggression. After the defeat of Japan in World War II, Tan Kah Kee said that "the CPC has won the support of the Chinese people and the support is deeply entrenched. Neither the Kuomintang army can destroy the CPC, nor any foreign suppression with money or weapon is capable of bending it."

他的判断是正确的。通过坚持“群众路线”、把人民放在第一位，作为后起政党的中国共产党成为了中国现代政治舞台上的主角，并成功地建立了中华民族五千年来第一个人民共和国。

His judgment turned out to be correct. By sticking to its "mass line" and putting people first, the CPC, a latecomer, became the leading stakeholder on China's modern political stage and successfully championed the establishment of a people's republic for the first time in the nation's 5,000-year history. 

这就是人民的力量。

That's the power of the people.

保持初心

Staying true to the original aspiration

中华人民共和国成立以来，中国共产党手握人民赋予的权力，依照人民的需求制定国家发展大政方针，但这并不意味着过程中没有犯错或留下遗憾。

Since the founding of the People's Republic, the CPC, with whom the people imbue with the power to lead the governance of the country, has been making plans for development in line with the needs of the people. It doesn't mean there were no mistakes or regrets.

A voting booth to elect new deputies to the local people's congress in Beijing, capital of China, November 15, 2016. /Xinhua

不过，正如中国共产党创始人之一毛泽东所说：“因为我们是为人民服务的，所以，我们如果有缺点，就不怕别人批评指出。不管是什么人，谁向我们指出都行。只要你说得对，我们就改正。你说的办法对人民有好处，我们就照你的办……只要我们为人民的利益坚持好的，为人民的利益改正错的，我们这个队伍就一定会兴旺起来。”

But as Mao Zedong, the founder member of the Party, once said: "If we have shortcomings, we are not afraid to have them pointed out and criticized, because we serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out our shortcomings. If he is right, we will correct them. If what he proposes will benefit the people, we will act upon it… If, in the interests of the people, we persist in doing what is right and correct what is wrong, our ranks will surely thrive."

由此，中共成功地带领国家摆脱了诸如“文化大革命”之类社会运动，经受了1997年亚洲金融危机和2008年全球金融危机的考验，使中国走上正轨，朝着改革开放、改善居民生活水平、缩小城乡收入差距、消除腐败、追求绿色发展、追求技术创新和公平竞争的正确道路前进。

With this approach, the Party has managed to steer the nation away from high-risk social movements like the Cultural Revolution. It was also able to withstand the financial crises of 1997 (Asian) and 2008 (global). All the while, it has kept China on the right track towards reform and opening-up, improving living standards, reducing the rural-urban income gap, stamping out corruption, and pursuing green development, technological innovation and fairer competition.

中国共产党牢记为人民服务的初衷，带领国家较为迅速地控制住了新冠疫情。中国在疫情期间实行免费核酸检测、免费医治、对渎职官员问责，这些措施赢得了中国民众对政府的信任。

Keeping in mind the original aspiration of serving the people, the CPC also led the nation in achieving a relatively quick containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The free testing and treatment of everyone in need and the quick replacement of unqualified and derelict officials won wide acknowledgment from the Chinese people during the epidemic.

Medical staff nurse a COVID-19 patient before transfer at Leishenshan hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 14, 2020. /Xinhua

这解释了为什么在过去的一年（根据加拿大约克大学的研究人员进行的一项调查 ）乃至过去的十年里（根据哈佛大学2003-2016年的一项调查），中共领导的政府在民众中获得了越来越多的支持和越来越高的满意度。 

All these actions explain why the CPC-led government has seen increased satisfaction and support among Chinese citizens over the last year (according to a survey conducted by researchers at Canada's York University), or over the past decade (according to a 2003-16 study carried out by researchers at Harvard University).

“不忘初心，方得始终。”

"Never forget why you started, and your mission can be accomplished." 

2016年，中国共产党建党九十五周年之际，习近平总书记在谈及建党初衷时再次强调了为人民服务的重要性，因为“人心向背关系党的生死存亡。”

When Xi Jinping, the CPC's top leader, reminded Party members in 2016 of the Party's original aspiration at the 95th anniversary of its establishment, he once again stressed the importance of serving the people, as "winning or losing public support is an issue that concerns the CPC's survival or extinction."

长期以来，一些人一直唱衰中共领导的政府，称其行将倒台，但人们却亲眼见证中国不断增强的实力。

The collapse of the CPC government has long been predicted and yet we have only witnessed China going from strength to strength. 

在建党一百周年之际，中共有必要再次重温以人为本的理念，这将增强全党以人民为中心的意识，也是切实将这一理念转化为行动的前提条件。遵循中华民族古老智慧的结晶是中国共产党长期执政、中国制度保持活力的秘诀，坚守对人民的承诺是中国共产党带领中华民族实现伟大振兴的关键。

On the 100th anniversary of the Party, it is worth once again, highlighting its people-centered philosophy. This can help reinforce this way of thinking, which is a prerequisite to translating these thoughts into actions. Adhering to the nation's ancient wisdom has been the secret to maintaining the resilience of the Party's governance and the system it adopted. Persistence in staying true to its commitment to the Chinese people will help the Party ensure the ongoing rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. 

作者系前中国国际广播电台驻伦敦记者涂赟

Tu Yun is an editor at China Plus and China Radio International's former correspondent in London. 

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