customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Linda Choy

Modernisation, reunification and world peace will be pursued with equal zeal

The Communist Party's Central Committee yesterday pledged to ensure social stability as it highlighted the need to build a more effective party leadership.

A statement issued after the four-day meeting of the fourth plenum of the 16th Central Committee in Beijing, noted the importance of the party's 'three historical tasks': to continue to promote modernisation, to complete the reunification of China,  and to maintain world peace and promote development.

'This has much to do with the success and failure of socialism, with the future of the Chinese race, as well as with the life and death of the party and the long-term stability of the country,' said the statement issued at the close of the plenary session.

But it fell short of spelling out details of political reforms.

The  party meeting was attended by 194 members of the Central Committee and 152 alternate members.

The meeting also approved the resignation of Jiang Zemin from the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission.

Highlighting the need to maintain a close link between the party and the people, the statement said there was a need to build a quality team of cadres to reform and refine the leadership system and party machinery. And it stressed the need to strengthen the grassroots organisation within the party.

The party said it would strive to make development its priority.

It will improve its ability to 'master the socialist market economy' and reaffirm its determination to make economic construction the core task, the statement said.

The party will also rally every positive means to 'build a harmonious socialist society', 'strengthen the vitality of the entire society', and 'aptly co-ordinate the relationship between different interests'.

The party  put the building of an effective leadership at the top of its agenda at the  plenum. It is seen as a vital step in the transition of the party to a ruling party as  the mainland enters a potentially unstable  period, with its per-capita gross domestic product having just surpassed US$1,000.

The party also pledged to improve its ability  to respond to  international developments.

The party will 'seize the initiative in international affairs and strengthen its capability in interacting with the international community',  the statement said.

With regard to Taiwan, the party said it would continue to follow the principles of 'peaceful reunification' and 'one country, two systems', while stressing its resolute opposition to any moves promoting  independence for Taiwan.

The meeting described the goal of maintaining prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau as 'a brand new task for the party's management of state affairs under the new circumstances'.



Party vows to ensure stability during reform