CGTN Poll: Long March spirit explains why the CPC can succeed

Editor's note: Song Youwen is the vice dean of the School of Marxism Studies, Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN. In 1936, American journalist Edgar Snow introduced the Communist Party of China (CPC) to the world through his bookRed Star Over China, answering why the CPC is capable of accomplishing great things with what he saw and heard. Today, 90 years after the victory of the Long March, a new generation of global observers is still seeking answers to this question. A survey conducted by CGTN among 12,000 respondents in 41 countries offers some insights: "strong and capable leadership" is the most common impression respondents have of the CPC, followed by "a positive force for global stability" and "a representative of the interests of developing countries." The Long March is first and foremost a story about faith. In the face of overwhelming difficulties, Red Army soldiers pressed forward courageously because they firmly believed that their cause served a goal larger than individual lives. The principle of "placing the people's interests above all else" remains central to the CPC's identity today. The CGTN poll found that in 30 of the 41 countries surveyed, respondents believe that the CPC can better safeguard the country's overall and long-term interests than Western political parties. In Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia and Pakistan, more than half of respondents agree with this view. Putting the fundamental interests of the people and the nation above all else and holding firm to ideals and convictions are precisely the most solid political foundation of the CPC. One of the most decisive moments in the Long March was the Zunyi Meeting in 1935. At that meeting, the CPC broke free from the shackles of rigid dogma, chose a path grounded in reality, and opened a new stage in which the Party would act on its own initiative to address practical problems concerning the Chinese revolution. This habit of self-reform has continued to this day and has been integrated into modern state governance. The CGTN poll shows that 63.7% of respondents in Global South countries believe that the CPC offers a governance model different from that of Western political parties. In Kenya, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, South Africa and Indonesia, this share exceeded 70%....