PLA Daily 2005-03-16

　　PLA Daily released an editorial yesterday which said that after the accomplishment of the various pre-set agenda, the 3^rd Session of the 10^th National People's Congress and the 3^rd Session of the 10^th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have come to a successful close. All the officers and men of the PLA and the Armed Police Force warmly congratulated the successful close of the “Two Sessions”!

　　The editorial emphasized that an important achievement of the sessions is the deliberation and adoption of the “Anti-Secession Law”. Preserving China's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the core interest of China. Enactment of the “Anti-Succession Law” has reflected our persistent proposition to do our utmost with maximum sincerity to achieve a peaceful reunification, it has also displayed the common will and firm resolution of the entire Chinese people to maintain the national sovereignty and territorial integrity and never allow the “Taiwan Independence” secessionist forces to make Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means. This is bound to have positive and profound significance towards checking the “Taiwan Independence” secessionist activities, promoting the stable development of the ties across the Taiwan Straits and realizing the final national reunification, to which our officers and men give their firm endorsement and support. On the question of anti-secession, we will never hesitate, be ambiguous or make concession. We have the determination, confidence and ability to smash any scheme and provocation to split the motherland, and unswervingly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

　　The session approved the resignation of Comrade Jiang Zemin from the chairmanship of the state Central Military Commission and elected Comrade Hu Jintao to succeed. This is conducive to the long-term development of the cause of the Party and the army, to the long-term stability of our country, and also to the adherence to the fundamental principle and system of the absolute leadership of the Party over the army. We firmly believe that under the correct leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu, our army will surely make new strides in its drive to build itself into a revolutionary, modernized and regularized people's army.

　　The editorial pointed out that Chairman Hu Jintao attended the plenary meeting of the PLA delegation and at which he made an important speech. The most important thing for the army to implement the spirit of the “Two Sessions” is to earnestly study and implement the spirit of the important speech made by Chairman Hu, enhance the sense of historical responsibility and sense of urgency, faithfully implement its historical mission in the new period of the new century, put safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and support national development above everything else. The army must earnestly implement the military strategic guideline for the new period, speed up the military changes with Chinese characteristics, attend most closely to the preparations for the military struggle and enhance its capabilities of coping with the crisis, safeguarding peace, curbing war and winning battles. The army must give priority to ideological and political construction in its work, unremittingly arm the whole army with Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of “Three Represents”, unswervingly adhere to the fundamental principle and system of the Party's absolute leadership over the army, ensure the Party's control over the army ideologically, politically and organizationally, and obey the orders of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu.

　　The editorial pointed out that giving overall consideration to the relations between the national defense development and the national economic construction is the inevitable requirement for implementing the scientific concept of development, it is also an important aspect of faithful implementation of the historical mission of our army in the new period of the new century. The army must rely on national economic and social development and integrate the national defense development into the national economic construction, attach importance to the combined development of national defense economy and social economy, military technology and civilian technology, and military talents and civilian talents, so as to create a fine situation in which national defense development and economic construction would promote and coordinate with each other. The army must intensify scientific management, reinforce the concept of quality and efficiency, faithfully realize transformation from a numerically superior to a qualitatively superior type, and from manpower-intensive to a technology-intensive type of army, seek efficiency from scientific management and combat effectiveness through scientific management, and constantly upgrade the quality and efficiency of national defense development and modernization drive of our army. The army must, on the basis of national economic development, speed up national defense development and its modernization drive, and strive to build itself into a force capable of ensuring China's security and protecting China's interests of development, effectively maintaining national security and unity, and safeguarding the smooth building of a well-off society in an all-round way.

　　The editorial emphasized that in order to faithfully implement its historical mission in the new period of the new century, the army must energetically promote the spirit of being truth-seeking and pragmatic. The army must also uphold a scientific outlook on development and a correct attitude toward our performance, and take the boosting of the battle effectiveness of the troops as the starting point and goal of its work. The army must stick to the scientific work appraisal standard, and take the progress of army building, boosting of combat effectiveness of troops and the satisfaction of the officers and men as the basic yardstick for judging and examining the performance of leaders. We must enable all our work to be able to bear the test of practice and history. We must make great efforts to explore the characteristics and laws on governing the army under informationized conditions and socialist market economic environment, constantly summarize new experience, learn new skill and knowledge and make new progress.

　　(Mar. 16, PLA Daily)