To embrace the incoming "decade"
To embrace the incoming "decade"
16:20, January 04, 2010 
Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 
2010 has come trippingly and gracefully with thousands of bells ringing one after another in 24 times zones of the world to reverberate in the boundless sky of our planet for the arrival of the new year. So, this is no ordinary New Year, but the end of 00 years in the new millennium as well as the beginning of the 10s.
According to convention, people are accustomed to dividing a century into an interval of 10 years, and a decade from 1980 to 1989 is known as the 80 years of the 20th century, during which birth is called the "post-80s". By analogy, the first 10 years of the 21st century, is named with the "post-00", while the decade from 2010 to 2019 is called the "post -10" to compare with the preceding 10 years.
In the opening 10 years for the 21st century, the Communist Party of China (CPC) convened its 16th and 17th national congresses, respectively in 2002 and 2007, signifying that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics was further improved and the Sinification of Marxism more in-depth or penetrating, in a bid to spur China's reforms in various realms.
Economically, China has maintained a growth of more than 9 percent for the nine straight years and, despite a grave impact of the world financial crisis, the nation was still able to retain an 8-percent annual growth in 2009, the last year of the past decade.
The sudden magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake rocked Sichuan province and adjacent areas in western China on May 12, 2008 and wrought unprecedented human casualties and property damage to China. The heroic Chinese people, nevertheless, have amazed the world by making courageous efforts and working with a united will.
Then, the Chinese nation's great spirit was again released and demonstrated at the ensuing Olympic Games held in Beijing from August 8 to 24 of the same year, and this matchless Beijing Olympic let people worldwide again see China in a new light.
Hardly was the Beijing Olympics over, the world was plunged into the "financial hurricane" turmoil. China, however, played the backbone role to turn the tide, so global attention turned focused on the East once again, and after more than a year of practice, the broad daylight has shone right ahead eventually.
In face of global warming, environmental crisis, China made strenuous, tireless efforts at the United Nations General Assembly held from 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark to the welcome and respect of all other nations. China can be said to have made a very good start in the first ten years of the new century. So, the Chinese nationals or people of the Chinese origin all over the world, without exception, have never felt such unprecedented excitement, glory and pride as they do today.
To date, the humans on earth are yet to shake off the shadow or spectre of the financial storm and to greet the arrival of the new decade in the freezing cold. However, the crisis co-exists with immense opportunities; human beings of the Internet age, fully capable of overcoming the current financial crisis with their collective wisdom, will have bright prospects in the era of new decade.
Acknowledging that China is still full of rapids in the new era and will continue to share a sense of crisis, the nation will first of all usher in this decade the Shanghai World Expo, to be held from May 1st to October 31st of 2010, and approximately 70 million visitors are expected to converge on Shanghai, once again drawing the global attention to the Orient.
Politically, the CPC will convene its 18th and 19th national congresses, deepen reform and further promote democracy, enforce the law-based governance and curb corruption, so that the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics would be more healthy and further enhanced or improved.
Economically, China will not only fulfill its "11th five-year plan" from 2006 to 2010 but also begin to carry out its "12th and 13th five-year plans" in this decade. China's economic structural adjustment will be more rational and its economic growth will maintain an annual growth of about 7 percent; the country's overall economy will surpass Japan to rank the second in the world, and the living standards of Chinese people will get closer to a comprehensive well-off.
With regard to Culture, with the establishment of China's economic power status, the nation's status is bound to rise or upgrade culturally. The Chinese culture will surely be able to ascend the international stage and contribute more to the humanity.
Furthermore, along with the in-depth development of the health reform and education reform and improvement of the social insurance reform, the Chinese government will provide more public services, and citizens, via various volunteer activities, webs and civil society organizations, would participate in more social affairs and, hence, society at large would become more harmonious.
On the basis of the reform and opening to the outside world over the past three decades, China would adhere to or persevere in its reform and opening-up undertakings in the next three decades. To do a good job in the incoming decade, it is imperative to hinge on 2010, the first year. In wishing for 2010, "tigers are howling as the wind rises" and the "Year of Tiger" will definitely be auspicious and extremely fortunate anyway!
By Zhu Xiangyuan, a Standing Committee member of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), and translated by the People's Daily Online
According to convention, people are accustomed to dividing a century into an interval of 10 years, and a decade from 1980 to 1989 is known as the 80 years of the 20th century, during which birth is called the "post-80s". By analogy, the first 10 years of the 21st century, is named with the "post-00", while the decade from 2010 to 2019 is called the "post -10" to compare with the preceding 10 years.
In the opening 10 years for the 21st century, the Communist Party of China (CPC) convened its 16th and 17th national congresses, respectively in 2002 and 2007, signifying that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics was further improved and the Sinification of Marxism more in-depth or penetrating, in a bid to spur China's reforms in various realms.
Economically, China has maintained a growth of more than 9 percent for the nine straight years and, despite a grave impact of the world financial crisis, the nation was still able to retain an 8-percent annual growth in 2009, the last year of the past decade.
The sudden magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake rocked Sichuan province and adjacent areas in western China on May 12, 2008 and wrought unprecedented human casualties and property damage to China. The heroic Chinese people, nevertheless, have amazed the world by making courageous efforts and working with a united will.
Then, the Chinese nation's great spirit was again released and demonstrated at the ensuing Olympic Games held in Beijing from August 8 to 24 of the same year, and this matchless Beijing Olympic let people worldwide again see China in a new light.
Hardly was the Beijing Olympics over, the world was plunged into the "financial hurricane" turmoil. China, however, played the backbone role to turn the tide, so global attention turned focused on the East once again, and after more than a year of practice, the broad daylight has shone right ahead eventually.
In face of global warming, environmental crisis, China made strenuous, tireless efforts at the United Nations General Assembly held from 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark to the welcome and respect of all other nations. China can be said to have made a very good start in the first ten years of the new century. So, the Chinese nationals or people of the Chinese origin all over the world, without exception, have never felt such unprecedented excitement, glory and pride as they do today.
To date, the humans on earth are yet to shake off the shadow or spectre of the financial storm and to greet the arrival of the new decade in the freezing cold. However, the crisis co-exists with immense opportunities; human beings of the Internet age, fully capable of overcoming the current financial crisis with their collective wisdom, will have bright prospects in the era of new decade.
Acknowledging that China is still full of rapids in the new era and will continue to share a sense of crisis, the nation will first of all usher in this decade the Shanghai World Expo, to be held from May 1st to October 31st of 2010, and approximately 70 million visitors are expected to converge on Shanghai, once again drawing the global attention to the Orient.
Politically, the CPC will convene its 18th and 19th national congresses, deepen reform and further promote democracy, enforce the law-based governance and curb corruption, so that the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics would be more healthy and further enhanced or improved.
Economically, China will not only fulfill its "11th five-year plan" from 2006 to 2010 but also begin to carry out its "12th and 13th five-year plans" in this decade. China's economic structural adjustment will be more rational and its economic growth will maintain an annual growth of about 7 percent; the country's overall economy will surpass Japan to rank the second in the world, and the living standards of Chinese people will get closer to a comprehensive well-off.
With regard to Culture, with the establishment of China's economic power status, the nation's status is bound to rise or upgrade culturally. The Chinese culture will surely be able to ascend the international stage and contribute more to the humanity.
Furthermore, along with the in-depth development of the health reform and education reform and improvement of the social insurance reform, the Chinese government will provide more public services, and citizens, via various volunteer activities, webs and civil society organizations, would participate in more social affairs and, hence, society at large would become more harmonious.
On the basis of the reform and opening to the outside world over the past three decades, China would adhere to or persevere in its reform and opening-up undertakings in the next three decades. To do a good job in the incoming decade, it is imperative to hinge on 2010, the first year. In wishing for 2010, "tigers are howling as the wind rises" and the "Year of Tiger" will definitely be auspicious and extremely fortunate anyway!
By Zhu Xiangyuan, a Standing Committee member of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), and translated by the People's Daily Online
Related Reading
Special Coverage
Major headlines
Editor's Pick
Most Popular
Hot Forum Dicussion
