CHAIRMAN MAO'S OPENING SPEECH AT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S
POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE
21 September 1949

[Text] The following is the opening speech of Chinese Communist Party Central
Committee Chairman Mao Tse-tung at the first session of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference:

Delegates, the Political Consultative Conference eagerly hoped for by the
people of the entire country is now in session. Our conference is attended
by over 600 delegates, representing all the democratic parties and factions,
the people's organizations, the PLA, the areas, the minorities, and the
Overseas Chinese. It indicates that ours is a conference of the great unity
of the people of the entire nation.

The success of this great unity of the people is a result of our victory
over the Kuomintang reactionary government aided by American imperialism.
In a little over 3 years the courageous and outstanding PLA defeated the
several million troops of the Kuomintang reactionary government aided by
America and shifted to counterattack and offensive. Currently, several
million troops of the PLA field forces have reached the vicinities of
Taiwan, Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Kweichow, Szechwan and Sinkiang, and the
majority of the Chinese people have gained liberation. In a period of 3-odd
years the people of the entire country united, aided the PLA, resisted the
enemies, and won a fundamental victory. The people's Political Consultative
Conference today is convened on this foundation.

The reason we have convened the Political Consultative Conference is that
3 years ago we held a similar conference with Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang.
The conference at that time was sabotaged by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang
and its accomplices, but it left an indelible impression on the people.
It proved that nothing favorable to the people could be accomplished with
imperialist running dog Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang and its accomplices,
that even if we barely managed to do the work it would be of no benefit,
and that the moment they had the opportunity they would tear up all the
resolutions and oppose the people with a cruel civil war. The only product
of that conference was its profound lesson to the people, enabling them to

understand that there was no room for compromise with imperialist running
dog Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang and its accomplices; either we overthrew
such enemies or were killed and oppressed by them, either one or the other,
without any other way. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,
the Chinese people, in a period of 3-odd years, rapidly became conscious,
organized themselves, formed a united front on a national scale to resist
imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism and its representative,
the reactionary Kuomintang government, aided the people's liberation war,
basically smashed the reactionary Kuomintang government, overthrew imperialist
control in China, and restored the Political Consultative Conference.

The current Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is convened
on a completely new foundation. It represents the people of the entire
country and has their confidence and support. Therefore, it declares that
it will perform the functions of the National People's Congress. It will
formulate its own organization law, the organization law of the Central
People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and the common program
of the Political Consultative Conference, elect the Political Consultative
Conference National Committee and the Central People's Government Committee,
decide on the national flag and national emblem of the People's Republic of
China, determine the location of the capital, and adopt the calendar followed
by the majority of the nations of the world.

Delegates: We have a common feeling that our work will be recorded in the
history of mankind. It will show that the Chinese people, constituting
one-quarter of mankind, have stood up. The Chinese people have always been
a great, courageous, and industrious people, but they have dropped behind
in modern times. This was completely the result of the oppression and
exploitation of foreign imperialism and domestic reaction. In the past
century or more our forebears never stopped their indomitable struggles
against internal and external oppressors. Such struggles included the
1911 revolution led by China's great revolutionary pioneer, Dr Sun Yat-sen.
Our forebears instructed us to carry out their wishes, and we have now done
so. We rallied together, smashed the internal and external oppressors by
means of the people's liberation war and the great people's revolution,
and declared the founding of the People's Republic of China. Our nation
will, from now on, become a member of the big family of all peace-loving
and freedom-loving nations of the world, working with a courageous and
industrious attitude and creating our own civilization and happiness, while
also promoting the peace and freedom of the world. Our nation will never
again be humiliated. We have stood up. Our revolution has won the sympathy
and applause of the broad masses throughout the world; our friends are found
everywhere.

Our revolutionary work has not ended. The people's liberation war and the
people's revolutionary movement are still progressing, and we must continue
our efforts. The imperialists and domestic reactionaries will never accept
their failure but will make a last desperate struggle. Even after the
whole country is settled, they will sabotage and disrupt in all kinds of
ways; they will attempt a restoration in China every day and every hour. This
is inevitable and without doubt. We must not relax our vigilance.

## OUR STRATEGIC POLICY

Our state system of the people's democratic dictatorship is an effective
weapon for safeguarding the victorious results of the people's revolution
and resisting the restoration conspiracies of internal and external enemies.
We must tightly grasp this weapon. Internationally, we must ally with all
peace-loving and freedom-loving nations and peoples, primarily the Soviet
Union and the new democracies, so that our struggles to safeguard the
victorious results of the people's revolution and resist the restoration
conspiracies of internal and external enemies will not be conducted in
isolation. As long as we adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship
and unity with our international friends, we will always be successful.

The people's democratic dictatorship and unity with our international friends
will bring rapid success to our construction work. Economic construction on
a national scale confronts us. Our most favorable conditions are the
475 million people and 9.597 million square kms of land. We will have
difficulties ahead of us, and many, but we believe that all difficulties
will be surmounted by the courageous struggles of the people of the whole
country. The Chinese people have extremely abundant experiences in overcoming difficulties. If our forebears and we ourselves could survive
extremely arduous times over a long period and overcome powerful internal
and external reactionaries, why can't we build a prosperous and flourishing
nation after our victory? As long as we preserve our work style of arduous
struggle, as long as we unite, and as long as we adhere to the people's
democratic dictatorship and unity with our international friends, we will
rapidly win victories on the economic front.

With the arrival of the high tide of economic construction, a high tide of
cultural construction will be inevitable. The time when the Chinese
were considered uncivilized has passed, and we will emerge in the world as
a highly civilized nation.

Our national defense will become consolidated, and no imperialist will be
permitted to invade our land. On the foundation of the courageous and
tested PLA, our people's armed forces must be preserved and developed. We
will have not only a powerful army but also a powerful air force and a
powerful navy.

Let the internal and external reactionaries tremble in fear before us; let
them say that we are no good at this or at that; the Chinese people, by
their indomitable effort, will steadily achieve their goal.

Long live the people's heroes sacrificed in the people's liberation war
and the people's revolution!

Celebrate the victories of the people's liberation and the people's revolution!

Celebrate the founding of the People's Republic of China!

Celebrate the success of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference!