By Adnan Akfırat – China
Mao Zedong was recognized with heartfelt fondness and respect on the 130th anniversary of his birth in China, developing countries, and scientific socialist parties. The following is an explanation for this interest.
Mao Zedong was a great revolutionary who brought Marxism, founded by Marx and Engels, and developed by Lenin, into the 21st century and led the transformation of the lives of millions by using scientific socialism as a guide to action. Mao Zedong is a great teacher not only of the Chinese people but also of the cause of humanity. Mao demolished the dogma that socialism “can only exist in developed capitalist countries”. Thanks to the horizon opened by Mao, oppressed nations have gained their independence and brought freedom, prosperity, and happiness to their people to build socialism unique to their own countries. Mao Zedong courageously determined that the transition to a classless society would take a long historical period, theorized that the class struggle persists in different forms under socialism, and discovered and applied the means and mechanisms to mobilize the great power of the people to build socialism from the top down. Mao’s most important achievement was to lead the building of the Communist Party of China, which was resilient, strong, vibrant, and based on the people in all circumstances.
Mao demonstrated via his theories and actions that scientific socialism is the only possible path to human liberation.
Today, with imperialism making our world uninhabitable, the value of the horizon opened up by Mao is better understood. We can say that Mao’s words “US imperialism is a paper tiger” is the greatest spiritual source of both the scientists who produce the 3 nm microchip in their laboratories and the Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza.
“Without Mao Zedong, there would be no New China”
As a foreigner living in China for 12 years, I can say with confidence: There is a slogan in China today that all the Chinese people, whether CPC members or not, would agree with: “Without the CPC there would be no New China”. It would not be wrong to say this, as “Without Mao Zedong, there would be no New China”. Of course, the proposition that “without the CPC there would have been no Mao Zedong” is also true.
“The greatest productive force is man!” is the most potent scientific socialist tenet. Mao Zedong’s ideas and actions have demonstrated this to be true. The Chinese revolution’s accomplishment in emancipating the Chinese people is the key to the country’s remarkable achievements. With the revolution, the Chinese people, who had been despoiled by imperialism and feudalism and had grown numb and contaminated, rose up and were purified of their filth. Because of this, China accomplished in 30 years what took 300 years for capitalist nations to accomplish in the areas of agriculture, industry, education, and culture.
Mao’s great affection for the Chinese people made Chinese culture the spiritual fuel for the construction of New China. He based it on the Chinese people’s incredible ingenuity, knowing that a country is only as strong as its culture. This insight enabled Mao to permeate every element of Chinese life. Mao, by his actions and ideas, has risen to the highest in the hearts of Chinese people. This affection is carried down through generations. It cannot be taken out with force.
China owes its current prosperity to the great change during the Mao Era
Humanity is always moving forward not by doing what is perfect, but by doing what is possible. It can be said that the China of Mao’s rule and the China of today are different in many ways. However, without Mao’s contributions, China would not have advanced to its current state of development. The first generation of the Chinese revolution was heroic enough to use their bodies to fill the trenches to pave the way for the next generation. Mao Zedong is one of the great leaders of history for spearheading this great humanitarian mission.
Today, Xi Jinping is developing China’s modernization path by applying Mao’s route to the realities of the 21st century. Mao’s vision of achieving a “society of abundance” and the method of advancing to a classless society remain unchanged. Today, the CPC, led by Xi Jinping, represents the hope of the Chinese people and all humanity because it adheres to Mao’s path.
Türkiye and China get closer with the revolutionary approach created by Mao
Türkiye and China are two developing countries whose national interests are not in conflict but in alignment. Regretfully, Türkiye committed the grave error of joining NATO during Mao’s rule and submitted to the alliance’s anti-Chinese policy. The result was a protracted era of gloom in the two nations’ ties. Nevertheless, Mao made serious efforts in the 1960s to improve relations with Ankara by utilizing Türkiye’s unique position within NATO.
The current Chinese leadership needs to develop the understanding, as both Mao and the great statesman and revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai did, to consider Türkiye as a partner, not an adversary. Because a stronger Turkey serves a stronger China. A strong China is one of Turkey’s greatest bulwarks against the imminent and tangible threat of disintegration.
If Türkiye and China join forces in the Belt and Road Initiative, the most significant development breakthrough in human history, it will benefit not only both nations, but also Asia, Europe, and Africa in particular, and, gradually, the entire world. Türkiye can be transformed into a production and distribution hub with Chinese financing and technology by collaboratively developing the Belt and Road Initiative. In this approach, China can get around the European Union regulations, while Türkiye can supply the quality food products and intermediary commodities that China requires. This would benefit both countries, fully achieving the principle of “development through sharing” advocated by Xi Jinping. This success would assist West Asia in breaking free from the US yoke and rapidly developing; oppressed Africa in developing even quicker and assuming its rightful place in the world; and Europe in breaking free from US domination.