What are the Four Cardinal Principles? When and why were they introduced? How have they impacted on the media in China?

The four cardinal principles are

To uphold the socialist path / road

To uphold the dictatorship of the proletariat

To uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China

To uphold the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Thought

These four cardinal principles were introduced by Deng XiaoPing in March 30 , 1979 during a speech at a forum on the principles for the Party 's theoretical framework . These four cardinal principles were presented to attain the four modernizations of China . These modernizations were modernization in China 's industry , modernization in agriculture modernization of China 's national

defense , and modernization of science and technology in China . The four cardinal principles were introduced with two important features of China 's situation during that time taken into account

First is that China 's scientific and technological forces are weak . Even though the growth of industry and agriculture were high , China was still one of the poorest countries in the world

Second is that China has a very large population but not enough amount of land that can be cultivated . Around eighty percent (80 ) of China 's population are peasants , which have some advantages but also disadvantages . This could pose serious problems like unemployment and food shortage . This unique characteristic of China should be taken into account when carrying the four modernization program

The introduction of these principles led to demonstrations formed by people who refused the advice and explanations of the Communist Party of China and the government regarding these four cardinal principles Instead , they provoked the masses to hold hunger strikes and disrupting the production in the country . They also created slogans like Oppose Hunger ' and Give us Human Rights ' to further provoke the people to demonstrate against the government

Reference

Deng X .P (1979 , March 30 . Uphold the Four Cardinal Principles Retrieved October 29 , 2007 , from http /english .peopledaily .com .cn /dengxp /vol2 /text /b1290 .html

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