June 14, 1954

[Speech at the Thirtieth Session of the Central People's Government Council.]


This Draft Constitution obviously has popular support. From the discussions
by more than five hundred people in Peking and by activists from various
circles in the provinces and municipalities, that is, from the extensive
discussions by over eight thousand people representative of the whole country,
we can tell that the preliminary text was quite good and won general approval
and support. At today's session many have also spoken in approval.

Why organize these extensive discussions? There are several advantages. First,
will what has been worked out by the few meet the approval of the many? The
discussions indicate that there is general approval of the main provisions
and the basic principles of the preliminary text. All that is sound in the
preliminary text has been retained. The fact that the ideas of a few leaders
have won the approval of several thousand people shows that these ideas are
well grounded, suitable and feasible. This gives us confidence. Second, in
the discussions over 5,900 suggestions (not including queries) have been
collected. They are of three kinds. The first consists of suggestions that
are incorrect. The second consists of suggestions that are not so much wrong
as unsuitable and that had better not be adopted. If they are not going to
be adopted, why collect them? Does it do any good to collect these suggestions?
Yes, it does. It enables us to know that such views about the constitution
exist among the eight thousand people and to make comparisons. The third
consists of those suggestions that have been adopted. These are of course
very good and necessary. But for these suggestions, the preliminary text,
although basically sound, would have remained imperfect, faulty and not well
thought out. The draft in its present form may still have faults and
imperfections, and we shall have to ask the people throughout the country
for their opinions. As far as we can tell now, this draft is relatively free
from imperfections, and that is the result of adopting rational suggestions.

Why has the Draft Constitution won popular support? I think one reason is
that in drafting it we adopted the method of integrating the ideas of the
leading body with those of the masses. This Draft Constitution combines the
ideas of a few leaders with those of more than eight thousand people and,
after publication, it will be discussed by the entire nation so that the
ideas of the Central Committee will be integrated with those of the whole
people. This is the way to integrate the leadership with the masses and with
the large numbers of activists. We adopted this method in the past, and we
shall do so in future. It should be used in all important legislation. By
this method we have now produced a Draft Constitution which is fairly good
and relatively free from imperfections.

Why do all of you here and the vast numbers of activists support the Draft
Constitution and find it satisfactory? There are two main reasons: one is
that it sums up the experience of the past and the other is that it combines
principle with flexibility.

First, it sums up the experience of the past, especially that in our revolution
and construction over the last five years. It sums up our experience in the
people's revolution led by the proletariat against imperialism, feudalism
and bureaucrat-capitalism as well as our experience in social reform, economic
construction, cultural construction and government work over the last few
years. Besides, it sums up the experience in constitution-making since the
last years of the Ching Dynasty, that is, from the Nineteen Constitutional
Articles [1] in the final days of the Ching Dynasty
to the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
[2] in 1912, the various constitutions and draft
constitutions under the governments of the Northern warlords,
[3] the Provisional Constitution of the Republic
of China in the Period Under Political Tutelage of the reactionary Chiang
Kai-shek regime and right up to Chiang Kai-shek's bogus constitution. One
of these was positive in nature and the others negative. Thus the Provisional
Constitution of the Republic of China in 1912 was a fairly good one for its
time. Of course it had its imperfections and faults and was bourgeois in
nature, but there was something revolutionary and democratic about it. It
was concise and is said to have been drafted in haste, taking only a month
from the time of its framing to its adoption. As for the other constitutions
and draft constitutions, they were altogether reactionary. This Draft
Constitution of ours is chiefly a summing-up of our experience in revolution
and construction, but at the same time it is a synthesis of domestic and
international experience. Our constitution is of a socialist type. It is
based mainly on our own experience but has drawn upon what is good in the
constitutions of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. Speaking
of constitutions, the bourgeoisie was the forerunner. The bourgeoisie, whether
in Britain, France or the United States, was revolutionary for a period,
and it was during this period that the bourgeoisie began making constitutions.
We should not write off bourgeois democracy with one stroke of the pen and
deny bourgeois constitutions a place in history. All the same, present-day
bourgeois constitutions are no good at all, they are bad, particularly the
constitutions of the imperialist countries, which are designed to deceive
and oppress the majority of the people. Our constitution is of a new, socialist
type, different from any of the bourgeois type. It is far more progressive
than the constitutions of the bourgeoisie even in its revolutionary period.
We are superior to the bourgeoisie.

Second, our Draft Constitution combines principle with flexibility. There
are two basic principles, the principle of democracy and the principle of
socialism. Our democracy is not bourgeois democracy but people's democracy,
that is, a people's democratic dictatorship led by the proletariat and based
on the worker-peasant alliance. The principle of people's democracy runs
through the whole constitution. The other principle is that of socialism.
Socialism already exists in our country today. The constitution stipulates
that socialist transformation must be accomplished and the socialist
industrialization of the country realized. That's our principle. To carry
out this principle of socialism, are we to put socialism into practice overnight
in every sphere throughout the country? This might seem very revolutionary,
but for lack of flexibility it just won't work, it will meet with opposition
and end in failure. So, what cannot be done for the moment must be given
time to be done gradually. For instance, state capitalism, as stipulated,
is to be put into practice gradually. It takes various forms, not just that
of joint state-private management. Note the words "gradually" and "various".
That is to say, state capitalism in various forms is to be put into practice
gradually so as to attain socialist ownership by the whole people. Socialist
ownership by the whole people is the principle, but in order to realize this
principle we should combine it with flexibility. And flexibility means state
capitalism, which takes not one but "various" forms, and which is to be realized
not overnight but "gradually". That makes for flexibility. We write into
our constitution what is feasible now and exclude what is not. Let us take
for instance the material guarantees for civil rights. They will certainly
expand when production grows in future, but the wording in the constitution
is only "gradually expand". This, too, means flexibility. Take another instance,
the united front. This was written into the Common Programme. And now it
is again written into the Preamble to the Draft Constitution. It is necessary
to have a "broad people's democratic united front composed of all democratic
classes, democratic parties and groups, and people's organizations". This
will serve to reassure the various social strata, the national bourgeoisie
and the democratic parties as well as the peasants and urban petty bourgeoisie.
And then there is the question of the minority nationalities, which has both
its generality and its particularity. The general provisions in the constitution
apply to its generality and the particular provisions to its particularity.
The minority nationalities have characteristics of their own politically,
economically and culturally. What are the characteristics of their economy?
To cite one example. Article 5 of our Draft Constitution states that four
forms of ownership of the means of production exist in the People's Republic
of China. In fact, there are other forms of ownership in our minority nationality
areas. Does primitive communal ownership still exist in our country? I'm
afraid it does among some minority nationalities. Similarly, slave ownership
and feudal ownership still exist. From a contemporary standpoint the slave
system, the feudal system and the capitalist system are all bad, but historically
they were more progressive than the primitive communal system. These systems
were progressive at first but not later on and were therefore supplanted
in their turn. Article 70 of our Draft Constitution stipulates that the minority
nationality areas "may, in the light of the political, economic and cultural
characteristics of the nationality or nationalities in a given area, make
regulations on the exercise of autonomy as well as specific regulations".
All these are instances of the integration of principle and flexibility.

This Draft Constitution has won general praise and support precisely for
these two reasons: it correctly and properly sums up past experience, and
it correctly and properly integrates principle and flexibility. Otherwise,
I don't think people would praise and support it.

It is entirely possible and it is necessary to put this Draft Constitution
into force. Of course, it is still a draft today, but a few months from now,
after it has been approved by the National People's Congress, it will be
the formal constitution. We should be getting ready now to enforce it. Once
it is approved, the whole nation, one and all, should observe it. State personnel
particularly, and in the first place those present here, should take the
lead in observing it. To fail to observe the constitution is to violate it.

When promulgated, our Draft Constitution will win the unanimous support of
the whole people and enhance their enthusiasm. An organization must have
rules, and so must a state. A constitution is a set of general rules, it
is the fundamental law. To codify the principles of people's democracy and
socialism in the form of a fundamental law, in the form of the constitution,
so that there will be a clear course before the people of the whole country
and they will feel sure they have a clear, definite and correct path to follow
-- this will heighten their enthusiasm.

Will this Draft Constitution produce an impact on the world when it is
promulgated? Yes, it will, both on the democratic camp and on the capitalist
countries. People in the democratic camp will be glad to see that we have
charted a clear, definite and correct path. They will be glad because we
Chinese are glad. The oppressed and exploited people in the capitalist countries
will also be glad when they come to know about it. Of course there are some
who will not be pleased, neither the imperialists nor Chiang Kai-shek will.
Do you think Chiang Kai-shek will be happy? I say you know without asking
him that he won't. We know Chiang Kai-shek only too well, he will definitely
be against it. And President Eisenhower will not be happy either, he will
say it's no good. They will say that this constitution of ours has charted
a clear and definite but very bad path, a wrong path, and that socialism
and people's democracy are blunders. Nor will they approve of our flexibility.
What they would like best would be for us to conjure up socialism overnight
and make a mess of everything. That would make them really happy. Also, they
won't like China having a united front, they want us to play "a one-party
game". Our constitution has national characteristics but at the same time
has an international character; it's a national and also an international
phenomenon. Many nations are oppressed by imperialism and feudalism, as we
were once, and they are a majority of the world's population. It will be
helpful to the people of these countries that we have a revolutionary
constitution, a people's democratic constitution, and a clear, definite and
correct path.

Our general objective is to strive to build a great socialist country. Ours
is a big country of 600 million people. How long will it really take to
accomplish socialist industrialization and the socialist transformation and
mechanization of agriculture and make China a great socialist country? We
won't set a rigid time-limit now. It will probably take a period of three
five-year plans, or fifteen years, to lay the foundation. Will China then
become a great country? Not necessarily. I think for us to build a great
socialist country, about fifty years, or ten five-year plans, will probably
be enough. By then China will be in good shape and quite different from what
it is now. What can we make at present? We can make tables and chairs, teacups
and teapots, we can grow grain and grind it into flour, and we can make paper.
But we can't make a single motor car, plane, tank or tractor. So we mustn't
brag and be cocky. Of course I don't mean we can become cocky when we turn
out our first car, more cocky when we make ten cars, and still more cocky
when we make more and more cars. That won't do. Even after fifty years, when
our country is in good shape, we should remain as modest as we are now. If
by then we should become conceited and look down on others, it would be bad.
We mustn't be conceited even a hundred years from now. We must never be cocky.

This constitution of ours is of a socialist type, but it is not yet a completely
socialist constitution. It is a constitution for the transition period. We
must now unite the people of the whole country and unite all the forces that
can and should be united in the struggle to build a great socialist country.
And the constitution has been drawn up specifically for this purpose.

Finally, a word by way of explanation. Some say that it is out of exceptional
modesty on the part of certain individuals that some articles have been deleted
from the Draft Constitution. This is not the way to put it. It is not out
of modesty but because inclusion of these articles would be improper,
unjustifiable and unscientific. In a people's democratic state like ours
such improper articles ought not to be written into the constitution. We
have not omitted, out of modesty, what ought to have been included. With
science, modesty or immodesty is not the issue. Constitution-making is a
matter of science. We must believe in science and nothing else, that is to
say, we must not have blind faith in anything. What is right is right and
what is wrong is wrong, whether it concerns the Chinese or foreigners, whether
it concerns the dead or the living. To believe otherwise is blind faith.
We must do away with blind faith. We should believe in what is correct and
not in what is incorrect, be it ancient or modern. Not only that, we should
criticize what is incorrect. This alone is the scientific approach.

NOTES


1. This refers to the Nineteen Constitutional Articles
promulgated by the Ching government in November 1911.

2. The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
was promulgated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen when he took office as Provisional President
of the Republic of China after the 1911 Revolution.

3. These refer to the Yuan Shih-kai government's Temple
of Heaven Draft Constitution of 1913 and its Provisional Constitution of
1914, the Tsao Kun government's Constitution of 1923 and Tuan Chi-jui's
provisional government's Draft Constitution of 1925.

Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.