Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee
Encyclopedia
The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee was a meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
(elected by the 11th National Congress
) held in Beijing
from December 18 to 22, 1978. It marked the beginning of the "Reform and Opening Up
" (改革开放) policy, and is widely seen as the moment when Deng Xiaoping
became paramount leader
of China
replacing Hua Guofeng
, who remained nominal Chairman of the Communist Party of China
until 1981.
In 2008, big celebrations took place throughout the People's Republic of China
for its 30th anniversary.
increased, especially by those who were persecuted during Mao Zedong
's last year. In October
1976, the radical Gang of Four
led by Mao's widow Jiang Qing
was arrested, and Deng Xiaoping himself—Mao's chief rival from 1975 to 1976—was officially rehabilitated in 1977.
Although Hua Guogeng, who succeeded "the great helmsman" in 1976, tried to carry on the Maoist rhetoric and to gain an authority like that of Mao's, he also allowed the rehabilitation of many of Deng's allies, who then revolted against him calling for economic reform. During the 1978 working conference held in November
, preparing the plenum, Chen Yun
raised the "six issues"—Bo Yibo
, Tao Zhu
, Wang Heshou and Peng Dehuai
; the 1976 Tiananmen Incident
; and Kang Sheng
’s errors—to undermine the leftists. At the same conference, Deng said it was necessary to go over ideological barriers.
practice which put politics before economy, the Third Plenary Session argued that extensive criticism campaigns against Lin Biao
and the Gang of Four were to be abandoned in favour of a greater attention to economics. The "four modernizations" of industry, agriculture, national defence and science-technology were considered the Party's key tasks for the new period. Former President
Liu Shaoqi
's theory that under socialism
, mass class struggle
came to and end, and it was necessary to develop relations of production in order to follow the growth of social forces, was openly endorsed, while Mao's theory of continued revolution under socialism was abandoned. Changes in economic management were called for.
The new slogan was to "make China
a modern, powerful socialist country before the end of this century".
Although it didn't took any open resolution against Mao, the Plenary Session attacked his leadership, impliciting that it didn't guarantee full democracy
nor collective leadership. Particularly it criticized the use of issuing Mao's "instructions", as it was said that "No personal view by a Party member in a position of responsibility, including leading comrades of the Central Committee, is to be called an 'instruction.'" It also put an end to the extensive personality cult towards Mao and Hua, avoiding them from being called "Chairman Mao" and "Chairman Hua".
Putting forward the "Seeking truth from facts" principle, the plenum started the repudiation of the Cultural Revolution: the "oppose the Right-deviationist wind to reverse correct verdicts" campaign aimed against Deng was openly rejected, and Peng Dehuai
, Tao Zhu
, Bo Yibo
and Yang Shangkun
were rehabilitated. The Cultural Revolution was openly rejected only in 1981 at the Sixth Plenary Session. The weakness of the National People's Congress
and the Supreme People's Court during this period was criticized as well.
Chen Yun
was appointed Politburo Standing Committee
member, as well as Party Vice-Chairman and First Secretary of the newly-created Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Deng Yingchao
, Hu Yaobang
and Wang Zhen
were all made new Politburo
members, and they were given important posts in the Discipline Inspection Commission.
9 new members, former Head of the PLA General Staff
Huang Kecheng
among them, were co-opted in the Central Committee.
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
(elected by the 11th National Congress
National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a party congress that is held about once every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within the Communist Party of China, but in practice important decisions are made before the meeting. Since 1987 the National...
) held in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
from December 18 to 22, 1978. It marked the beginning of the "Reform and Opening Up
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
" (改革开放) policy, and is widely seen as the moment when Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
became paramount leader
Paramount leader
Paramount leader literally "the highest leader of the party and the state ", in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China....
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
replacing Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng
Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...
, who remained nominal Chairman of the Communist Party of China
Chairman of the Communist Party of China
The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was the head of the Communist Party of China . In 1982, it was succeeded by the General Secretary of the Central Committee.-History and functions:...
until 1981.
In 2008, big celebrations took place throughout the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
for its 30th anniversary.
Preparation
Before the plenum, demands for a repudiation of the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
increased, especially by those who were persecuted during Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's last year. In October
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the...
1976, the radical Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
led by Mao's widow Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
was arrested, and Deng Xiaoping himself—Mao's chief rival from 1975 to 1976—was officially rehabilitated in 1977.
Although Hua Guogeng, who succeeded "the great helmsman" in 1976, tried to carry on the Maoist rhetoric and to gain an authority like that of Mao's, he also allowed the rehabilitation of many of Deng's allies, who then revolted against him calling for economic reform. During the 1978 working conference held in November
November
November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...
, preparing the plenum, Chen Yun
Chen Yun
Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...
raised the "six issues"—Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China....
, Tao Zhu
Tao Zhu
Tao Zhu is a Former Member of the 8th Communist Party of China Politburo Standing Committee.-Biography:He was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region....
, Wang Heshou and Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
; the 1976 Tiananmen Incident
Tiananmen Incident
The Tiananmen Incident took place on April 5, 1976 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The incident occurred on the traditional day of mourning, the Qingming Festival, after the Nanjing Incident, and was triggered by the death of Premier Zhou Enlai earlier that year...
; and Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
’s errors—to undermine the leftists. At the same conference, Deng said it was necessary to go over ideological barriers.
Relevant decisions
Trying to distance from the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
practice which put politics before economy, the Third Plenary Session argued that extensive criticism campaigns against Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
and the Gang of Four were to be abandoned in favour of a greater attention to economics. The "four modernizations" of industry, agriculture, national defence and science-technology were considered the Party's key tasks for the new period. Former President
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China...
's theory that under socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, mass class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
came to and end, and it was necessary to develop relations of production in order to follow the growth of social forces, was openly endorsed, while Mao's theory of continued revolution under socialism was abandoned. Changes in economic management were called for.
The new slogan was to "make China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
a modern, powerful socialist country before the end of this century".
Although it didn't took any open resolution against Mao, the Plenary Session attacked his leadership, impliciting that it didn't guarantee full democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
nor collective leadership. Particularly it criticized the use of issuing Mao's "instructions", as it was said that "No personal view by a Party member in a position of responsibility, including leading comrades of the Central Committee, is to be called an 'instruction.'" It also put an end to the extensive personality cult towards Mao and Hua, avoiding them from being called "Chairman Mao" and "Chairman Hua".
Putting forward the "Seeking truth from facts" principle, the plenum started the repudiation of the Cultural Revolution: the "oppose the Right-deviationist wind to reverse correct verdicts" campaign aimed against Deng was openly rejected, and Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
, Tao Zhu
Tao Zhu
Tao Zhu is a Former Member of the 8th Communist Party of China Politburo Standing Committee.-Biography:He was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region....
, Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China....
and Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
were rehabilitated. The Cultural Revolution was openly rejected only in 1981 at the Sixth Plenary Session. The weakness of the National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
and the Supreme People's Court during this period was criticized as well.
Leadership changes
Despite its great relevance in advancing Deng Xiaoping's ideas and leadership, during the Third Plenary Session no critical or substantial reshuffle occurred, as opposed to the Sixth Plenary Session held in 1981 when Hua Guofeng was removed from his posts. Important additions were made, however.Chen Yun
Chen Yun
Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...
was appointed Politburo Standing Committee
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China, whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are...
member, as well as Party Vice-Chairman and First Secretary of the newly-created Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Deng Yingchao
Deng Yingchao
Deng Yingchao , was the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai, Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988 and a member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:...
, Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
and Wang Zhen
Wang Zhen
Wang Zhen was a Chinese political figure and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China.-Early years:Like most Chinese communist leaders, Wang was a commander in his early years...
were all made new Politburo
Politburo of the Communist Party of China
The Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China or Political bureau of the CPC Central Committee , formerly as Central Bureau before 1927, is a group of 24 people who oversee the Communist Party of China...
members, and they were given important posts in the Discipline Inspection Commission.
9 new members, former Head of the PLA General Staff
People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
The People's Liberation Army General Staff Department is the command organ and the headquarters for the Chinese People's Liberation Army . It is under the absolute leadership of the Central Military Commission...
Huang Kecheng
Huang Kecheng
Huang Kecheng was one of ten senior generals of People's Liberation Army.-Biography:General Huang Kecheng was born in Yongxing, Hunan, China, and he was the third of four children...
among them, were co-opted in the Central Committee.