[About the Expert]
Ying Ming, associate professor of Shenyang University of Technology.
Q: Good morning, Professor Ying, welcome to Liaoning International Communication Center.
A: Friends at home and abroad, good morning！ I’m Ying Ming. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China puts forward the concept of people-centered philosophy of development. Today, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on this topic.
“This country is its people; the people are the country. As the Communist Party of China has led the people in fighting to establish and develop the People’s Republic, it has really been fighting for their support.” This paragraph in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC profoundly explains the dialectical relationship between the country and its people. A review of the Party’s centenary history shows that the Party has always applied the people-centered philosophy of development to the whole process of national governance. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the word “people” is one of the most frequently used words, appearing 177 times in total. It can be said that in our Party’s governing philosophy, people are of great importance.
Q: How does the concept of people-centered philosophy of development reflect?
A: The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out that “development is for the people and by the people and that its fruits are shared by the people”. The people-centered philosophy of development is reflected in all aspects of our Party’s national governance. For example, in urban construction, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC calls for “cities should be built by the people and for the people”. In implementing the strategy of invigorating China through science and education, it puts forward the principle of “developing education that meets the people’s expectations” and “following a people-centered approach to developing education”. In the development of cultural programs and the cultural sector, we should “encourage people-centered cultural creation and production of more outstanding works that inspire the people”. There are also “working continuously to ensure people’s access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, thus bringing about an all-around improvement in people’s lives”. These efforts are aimed at resolving the pressing difficulties and problems that concern the people most, improving their lives, and ultimately achieving common prosperity for all. In August this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Mudan community at Santaizi subdistrict of Huanggu District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, and pointed out that “the dream of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the dream of building a strong country as well as the Chinese Dream are all meant in nature to realize the people’s dream of happiness.”
If “development is for the people” answers the question of the Party’s pursuit of values, then “development is by the people” answers the question of the source of the Party’s strength. Over the past century, our Party has always regarded the people as its “source” and “root”, maintained close ties with the people, and rooted itself deeply in them. It has given full play to their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and united and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to push forward socialism with Chinese characteristics. As the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out, “the great achievements of the new era have come from the collective dedication and hard work of our Party and our people.”
Q: How to realize that the fruits of development are shared by the people?
A: Let’s take poverty alleviation as an example. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee of the CPC with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has united and led the entire Party, the military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to carry out targeted poverty alleviation and has won the largest battle against poverty in human history. We have achieved moderate prosperity, the millennia-old dream of the Chinese nation, and resolved the problem of absolute poverty in China once and for all, making significant contributions to the cause of global poverty reduction. In this battle, a total of 832 impoverished counties and close to 100 million poor rural residents have been lifted out of poverty, and, among them, more than 9.6 million poverty-stricken people have been relocated from inhospitable areas.
In the future, we will build a great modern socialist country in all respects and realize the Second Centenary Goal. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed in the report that five major principles must be firmly grasped on the way forward, one of which is to “applying a people-centered development philosophy”. And the report points out that “we must do a better job of seeing that the gains of modernization benefit all our people fairly.”
To fully implement the people-centered philosophy of development, the report not only sets out targets, but also gives detailed plans: improving the system of income distribution, implementing the employment-first strategy, improving the social security system, and advancing the Healthy China Initiative. It adopts a series of measures that deliver real benefits to the people and win their approval, focusing on resolving the most practical problems that are of the greatest and most direct concern to the people. We must ensure and improve the people’s wellbeing in the course of pursuing development and encourage everyone to work hard together to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life.
