Few people may know that the site of Xibaipo Memorial which records the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a replica, since the original one is now under the Gangnan Reservoir, said a veteran CPC member in the village of Xibaipo.
"Late Party leader Mao Zedong allowed the site to be submerged under a severe flood in 1957 in order to save people's life. The flooded area was later turned into the reservoir, where my fleet of sight-seeing boats are floating," said Yan Haiqing, manager of a boat firm in the North China village, 4 hours drive from Beijing.
"The Party has the tradition of putting the People first. The Party members should always remember 'The Two Musts,' core of the Xibaipo spirit given by Mao, otherwise they would be too vulnerable to guard against 'sugar-coated bullets', "said the 64-year-old Party member.
It was here in Xibaipo where Mao admonished that all Party members "must be taught to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work," and "must be taught to preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle" after the Party took over the national power.
Xibaipo was the last village headquarters of the CPC Central Committee and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), where the Party spent 10 months in preparations for the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1 in 1949.
It was at this village in Hebei Province, where the Second Plenary Session of the 7th CPC Central Committee was held on March 23, 1949. At the meeting, Mao Zedong proposed the famous motto, known by Party members as "The Two Musts," which is also called the Xibaipo spirit.
"Mao Zedong regarded leaving Xibaipo for Beijing as 'going in for an exam in the capital city.' He said the CPC would not allow arrogance and corruption to ruin its performance in the 'exam' as did the farmer-turned leader of the insurrectionary army Li Zicheng (1606-1645) who only sustained 42 days of rule in Beijing after he subverted the Ming Dynasty emperor," said Wang Rongli, curator of the Xibaipo Memorial.
She said Xibaipo is now the place where crowds of CPC members come to review the roots of the spirit every year.
"The motto reflected the sober state of mind of Chinese leaders before they came into power," Wang said.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, also came to Xibaipo in 2002 to again talk about the spirit. He reiterated it has always been the magic weapon for the Party to keep the flesh-and-blood ties with the People.
"The motto in 1949 still sends alarm sounds, as the Party regards the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of New China as a new start for its governance," she said.
Hu Jintao said at a group study for the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau earlier this month that the Party should "regard the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China as a new starting point to deepen socialist modernization and make new achievements in building a well-off society."
Hu said to enhance the Party building in the new situation, the Party should redouble efforts to improve its work style, build a clean government and fight corruption to maintain its advanced nature.
"The Party leader talked with me during his visit to Xibaipo in 2002," said the boat manager Yan.
He said Hu shared with him the memory of Mao's admonition.
Mao also warned in 1949 that some Party members who were not conquered by enemies with guns may not withstand sugar-coated bullets in the time of peace.
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2009)
