The two CPCs allow their mistakes to be repeated by not recognizing them, while Americans can accept mistakes and take lessons.
Two mighty countries, two major anniversaries. Recently on July 1, the Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated its 100th foundation day. On July 4, America completed 245 years of its Declaration of Independence. Politically both are milestones, but there is a big difference between the two. The basis of the American Declaration of Independence lies in the liberal belief that ‘all persons are equal and have non-transferable rights, such as the right to life, liberty and happiness’. In contrast, there was no mention of the personal rights of the people in the Chinese President’s Foundation Day address. Everything was collective – the Chinese nation, the Chinese people, the Chinese Communist Party. Xi asked the people to maintain the strong leadership of the party (CPC) because “China’s success rests on this”. ‘ The question arises that how does the Communist Party get the right to rule China? Not by the will of the people, as in free and fair elections. Nor does the party seem to follow Marxist principles any longer. Its economic system is now ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’. In the past hundred years, the party unitedly led the Chinese people and wrote the most important chapter in Chinese history, Xi said. For the Chinese Communist Party, history gives it legitimacy. Journalist Ian Johnson writes that the CPC spends extra time writing and rewriting history to ensure that history is on its side, and does not allow anyone else to interfere. Clearly, the Communist Party has been a constant defender against instances of ‘historical nihilism’, such as ‘tampering with the party’s history or attacking its leadership’. ‘ Actually, the party Its real purpose is not to stop tampering with history, but to stop its accurate portrayal. Nowhere in President Xi’s speech was the mention of the horrific crimes committed during the ‘Great Leap Forward’ (the CPC economic social movement from 1958 to 1962), the Cultural Revolution, or the Tiananmen Square massacre, the scale of which in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Much less than the ongoing human rights abuses. It is accepted in the official document that in the history of the party there has been one spectacular victory after another. Xi proudly reiterated several times that the party has revitalized China as a nation. If anyone in China raises voice against this official stand, it is considered a crime, he can also be sent to jail. But America is different. America is free, where nothing is out of bounds. We can talk about good and bad. One can agree or disagree on an idea that arises for what is right. As such I agree that racism is part of American society. But not that the arrival of the early African slaves here is the ‘true foundation’ of the country, a claim which was mirrored in the ‘1619 Project’. The government should not instruct schools what not to teach in the classroom. This is what is happening in China and other monarchies. The basic principle of America is freedom of speech for the people and therefore Americans have the right to see their country as a critic. The Chinese Communist Party does not recognize its past mistakes and allows them to be repeated, while Americans can accept their mistakes and take lessons. The country should celebrate this freedom and not undermine the importance of this freedom in the name of false ‘patriotism’.