Zhang Donggang & Liu Wei: Party-founded University Reassures the PartyPeople's University Lives up to the People's Expectations

Days before May 4th, the Youth Day of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to the Renmin University of China (RUC) for a survey and research and delivered a speech, which fully reflected his close attention to and deep concern for the development and progress of the university, his insightful thoughts on and expectations for high-quality development of China’s tertiary education, innovative and scientific development of philosophy and society and developing excellent teaching faculties and cultivating talents for the new era. His words have injected faith in us, blazed the road of progress and charted a blueprint for development for our mission in the new era which is to build a party-reassuring, people-satisfying and world-class university.

The Renmin University of China was founded during the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and progressed under the party’s care. It carries the glorious revolutionary heritage and distinctive patriotic genes. In the past 85 years, the university was committed to its foremost mission, to nurture and educate talents for the party and the country. It has educated and trained outstanding personnel for our revolution, national development and reform from generation to generation, therefore the university was awarded the honor of "the flag and forerunner of China’s education of higher learning in cultural and social science". Represented by Wu Yuzhang, Cheng Fangwu, Song Tao, Wei Xinghua and Gao Mingxuan, many educators who are loyal to the party and the people dedicated their lives to RUC and nearly 370,000 young people came here to pursue enlightenment and truth and later went to posts where the party and people need them with the lofty mission to serve the people. The exploration and development of Renmin University of China over the past 85 years exemplify the historical process of a new type of institute of higher learning founded by the party.

Entering the new era, the university centers around the “five-in-one” overall planning and “four comprehensives” strategic planning, focuses on “uniqueness”, provides answers to issues rooted deeply in the Chinese society, takes the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its mission, focuses on “four services”, closely follows major national strategies, provides high-quality intellectual support and accumulates our own experience of building a world-class socialist university of Chinese characteristics which reassures the party and lives up to the people's expectations.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has always had deep concerns for the development and progress of the Renmin University of China. On October 3, 2017, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of RUC, General Secretary Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to express warm congratulations to and earnest hope for the university.

We shall learn and appreciate General Secretary Xi’s care, love and expectations by heart, and make the spirit of his speech the essence of progress, the foundation of the operation of the university, the primary objective and the source of confidence. From the perspectives of politics, history, times and values, we shall understand the innovation of the road to a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, and transform the university’s featured advantages into the capacity to cultivate the main force and the next flag bearers of socialism by making “listen to the party’s words and follow the party’s lead” as a voluntary pursuit for both teachers and students.

Deeply rooted in China, the university will achieve that “Party-founded University Reassures the Party, People’s University Lives up to the People's expectations”. The party leadership is the most essential feature and the most significant advantage of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics. Therefore, we shall always adhere to the highest political principle, the party leadership. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, we shall have an in-depth understanding of the significance of the “Two Establishments”, strengthen the “Four Consciousnesses” and “Four-sphere Confidence” and achieve “Two Upholds”, focus on the overall strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the great changes in the world unseen in a century, bravely undertake the new mission entrusted by the party and the people in the new era, integrate the patriotic genes into the efforts to accelerate the new round of featured, competence-oriented and high-quality implementation of “Double First-class Initiative” and confidently declare to the world the direction of building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics.

Focusing on “uniqueness”, we shall step up our pace to build a discipline system, academic system and discourse system of philosophical and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. The Renmin University of China will further capitalize on the unique advantages of cultural and social sciences, adhere to combining the basic principles of Marxism with the reality of China and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture, so as to provide the university’s solutions and opinions. The university, committed to answering questions from China, the world, the people and the times, demonstrates China’s development path, governance and guiding principles, better grasps the significance of the new form of human civilization to make philosophical and social sciences with Chinese characteristics recognized by the global academic community.

We shall always stand with the people and promote the spirit of patriotic educators and people’s educators. When facing the new landscape and new demands of education in universities, the Renmin University of China will build a high-quality teacher development system based on the standards of educators, continue to deepen the reform of the teacher development in the new era, pay close attention to teachers’ virtue and morality and guide them to always be loyal to Marxism, to socialism with Chinese characteristics, and be confident in realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation and to achieve both professionalism and morality in education in the new era.

Adhering to the task of teaching as a paragon in virtue and educating a great number of talents to achieve national rejuvenation and development, the Renmin University of China will focus on this fundamental task, educate the youth with the “broad ideological and political” system, promote the development of ideological and political system of curriculum in an all-round way, adhere to the integration of ideological and political courses in primary, secondary and tertiary education, use the core socialist value for education, and realize education both in professionalism and ideology and politics. We shall continue deepening reform and innovation of ideological and political education, and fully explain every detail in ideological and political education to help young students to have a deep understanding of the reality and situation of the party, the country, the society, the public and the university, and enhance student’s confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics and call on young people to be brave pioneers in the new journey of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way.

Adhere to the party’s leadership, carry out the patriotic genes, take root in China and become a world-class university. The Renmin University of China will fully implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech, adhere to serving the party and the people, implement the fundamental task of teaching as a paragon in virtue, blaze a new path to build a world-class university with Chinese characteristics and make a new and greater contribution to building a high-quality educational system and a modern socialist country in an all-round way, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.