The Speech at the Meeting to Commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Long March by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

Xi Jinping's speech at the meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army on October 21, 2016, discussed the great significance of the Long March and the issue of inheriting and carrying forward the spirit of the Great Long March. Xi Jinping pointed out that the Long March was a magnificent epic written by the CPC and Red Army, and a great milestone on the Chinese nation’s historic path to rejuvenation.

The Long March was a great journey built on ideals and beliefs, a great journey of testing truth, the Long March saw the awakening of the people, and our Party had ushered in a new era.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the most precious spiritual gem left by the Long March was the spirit of the Long March, which was forged with the lives and blood of Chinese Communists and Red Army soldiers. The spirit of the Long March was about putting the fundamental interests of the Chinese people and nation above all else, about upholding firm revolutionary ideals and beliefs, and about the belief that a just cause would surely succeed; it was about a willingness to sacrifice everything to save the country and people, no matter what difficulties and obstacles lay ahead; it was about remaining committed to independence and autonomy, to seeking truth from fact, and to proceeding from reality in all endeavors; it was about seeing the bigger picture, maintaining strict discipline, and uniting closely; and it was about relying closely on the people, sharing the same fate as the people, and fighting bitterly alongside the people.

Xi Jinping pointed out that every generation has its own long march, and every generation must undertake such a long march through.

The long march always continues on the way. There can be no future for a nation which does not remember the path that brought it to where it is today.

To carry forward the spirit of the Long March and succeed in our present long march, we must remain committed to the great ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and engage in a tireless struggle to realize our ideals and beliefs; we must remain confident in the path, theories, system, and culture of Chinese socialism, and engage in a tireless struggle to win new victories for this great cause; we must put the people at the very center of our hearts, remain committed to serving the people and relying on them in all endeavors, and engage in a tireless struggle to make life better for them; we must stay on the right course, keep sight of the bigger picture, and make sound overall arrangements, engaging in a tireless effort to accomplish our overall tasks, fulfill our plans, and achieve our goals; we must build a solid national defense capacity and strong military that is commensurate with China’s international standing and that can meet the country’s security and developmental needs, and engage in a tireless effort to preserve national security and world peace; we must strengthen CPC leadership, remain committed to governing the Party strictly, and engage in a tireless effort to advance the great new undertaking of Party-building.