Children are the future and hope for the development of a nation and a country. Adhering to the subjectivity of women and children, fully affirming the value of women and children in the development of human society, and realizing the free and comprehensive development of human b

Zhang Laiming Fang Jin Chen Guotang Zhu Meili

Women are the pioneers of human civilization and promoters of social progress. Children are the future and hope for the development of a nation and a country. Respecting women and caring for children are important symbols of social civilization and progress. Adhering to the subjectivity of women and children, fully affirming the value of women and children in the development of human society, and realizing the free and comprehensive development of human beings is the core content of the Marxist view of women and children. In the century-long struggle, the Communist Party of China has absorbed the ideological resources of the Marxist view of women and children, and has regarded the cause of women and children as an important part of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and has been continuously advancing. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has attached great importance to the important role of women and children, and has formulated a series of policies and measures with distinct characteristics of the times. This is a new development of the Marxist view of women and children in China, and has promoted the historic achievements and historic changes in my country's women and children's cause.

The Communist Party of China has always attached great importance to the healthy development of women and children's cause

In the classic works of Marx and Engels, it attaches great importance to the subjectivity of women and children, adheres to the value and dignity of people, fully affirms the value of women and children in the development of human society, and opposes the materialization and alienation of people. Marx proposed: "There is no great social change without women's enzymes. Social progress can be accurately measured by the social status of women." At the same time, protecting children is regarded as the social responsibility of the proletariat. Marx emphasized in the " Communist Manifesto ": "Practice public and free education for all children. Abolish the current form of factory labor for children." Based on these discussions, Marx, Engels further emphasized: "Everyone's free development is a condition for the free development of all people." It is based on these profound insights and humanistic care full of glorious humanity that Marxist theory advocates the liberation of women and children from oppressive social relations, emphasizes gender equality, provides women with fair opportunities for economic, social and political participation, provides children with fair opportunities for education, emphasizes the organic combination of cognition and practice in education, and achieves the comprehensive and free development of people.

As a political party armed with Marxist thought, the Communist Party of China has attached great importance to the development of women and children since its birth. In 1922, the Second National Congress of the Party passed the "Resolution on the Women's Movement", the first resolution in Chinese history on women's issues passed in the name of political parties. The land revolution that began in 1927 placed women's liberation at a key position in the national liberation movement, pointing out that women are also an important support force in promoting revolutionary development. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Liberation, the Communist Party of China proposed a series of policies and policies for women to liberation and led the vast number of women to launch a variety of liberation movements. Children also fully exerted their autonomy during the New Democratic Revolution period and made positive contributions to the revolution. In 1933, Mao Zedong summarized the reasons for the elimination of superstitions of rural elderly people in "Hanml3 Respect for Gods and " as follows: "First, the anti-supercredibility propaganda of the Children's League and the Young Team, and the money-saving movement of the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Communist Party (special and large numbers) and the Chinese Communist Party (eliminate their incense and candles)." Fully affirmed the revolutionary role of children.

After the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China was able to fulfill its ideals and mission on a larger scale and more comprehensively, and the development of women and children in New China has achieved remarkable achievements. The vast majority of oppressed women in China were liberated from the feudal ethics of ", three, four virtues, and four, and three, and five constants" and regained their dignity as "humans". At the beginning of the founding of New China, as one of the achievements of the New Democratic Revolution, equality between men and women was written into the Constitution. The shackles of traditional oppressive family relations and social relations on the development of women and children have been broken, and China has gradually established a relatively sound development system for women and children. The opportunities for Chinese women to participate in economic, political, cultural and social activities have been unprecedentedly expanded, and the health and education levels of Chinese children have been rapidly and generally improved.The concepts such as "Children unite and learn to be the new masters of New China" and "women can stand half the sky" are deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Since the reform and opening up, my country's economy has achieved rapid development and people's living standards have significantly improved, laying a solid material foundation for the development of women and children's cause. The Fourth National Women's Congress in 1978 proposed the call for "four modernizations need women, and women need four modernizations." In 1990, the State Council established the Women and Children Work Committee. In October 1992, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress promulgated and implemented the first "Women's Rights Protection Law" in New China. The Fourth World Congress of Women was held in Beijing in 1995. The Congress passed the Beijing Declaration and the Programme of Action, becoming a milestone in the global gender equality movement.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has placed the cause of women and children in a more prominent position and achieved remarkable results

Under the guidance of the fundamental purpose of Marxism, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has further developed the Marxist outlook on development of women and children in combination with the reality of China's economic and social development.

General Secretary Xi Jinping, standing at the strategic height of the overall development of the Party and the country, made a new analysis and judgment on the theme of the women's movement in the era: "Realizing the goals and tasks proposed by the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the overall situation of the work of the Party and the country, and the theme of the era of the women's movement in contemporary China." The basic connotation of gender equality was explained from the three dimensions of system, practice and goal, and emphasized that "there is no women, there will be no humanity, and there will be no society. In the process of the Chinese people pursuing a better life, every woman has the opportunity to shine in life and dreams come true. China will more actively implement the basic national policy of equality between men and women, give full play to the role of women in the "half of the sky", support women to make achievements and realize their life ideals and dreams." "Protecting women's rights and interests must be elevated to the will of the country."

"Youth is strong, China is strong." Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward a series of important statements on the healthy growth of children and adolescents from the perspective of cultivating new people in the era of national rejuvenation and ensuring the successors of the cause of the Party and the country. He pointed out, "Ten years of trees, a hundred years of cultivation. The future of the motherland belongs to the next generation. Doing a good job in caring for the next generation is related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." He emphasized, "Our party is determined to be the great cause of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. We must cultivate generations of useful talents who support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and our country's socialist system and are determined to strive for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics for life." Encourage children to "be pioneers from elementary school and be pioneers, and strive to grow into new people of the era who can shoulder the great responsibility of national rejuvenation."

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important statement on women and children has profoundly analyzed the path and theme of the times for the development of women and children under new historical conditions, answered major overall and strategic issues of women and children’s development in the new era, and is the latest theoretical achievement of the sinicization of the Marxist concept of development of women and children. It has pointed out the direction for the development of Chinese women and children in the new era, provided fundamental guidelines, and contributed Chinese solutions to the global problem of women and children.

In the past decade, women have achieved new historic achievements in the comprehensive development of women. 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have established a gender equality assessment mechanism, and some places have incorporated gender equality into local legislation. In 2021, the proportion of women who have suffered from physical violence between spouses and mental violence between and in their marriage life was 8.6%, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from 2010. The life expectancy of women increased from 77.37 years in 2010 to 80.88 years in 2020, 4 years higher than the world average. The maternal mortality rate of has dropped by more than 40%. The maternal and child health service capacity and the level of women and reproductive health services have been significantly improved. It has been rated as "one of the ten high-performance countries in the world for maternal and child health" by WHO. The gap between female average years of education and male narrowed from 0.8 years in 2010 to 0.6 years in 2020. The proportion of girls receiving preschool education (47.2%) was 1.7 percentage points higher than in 2010. The gender gap in compulsory education and high school education has basically been eliminated, and the proportion of girls in various higher educations is even greater than that of boys. In 2020, women employed in urban units increased by 39.5% compared with 2010, and the labor protection of female employees was greatly strengthened.The proportion of National Women's Congress representatives and Female CPPCC members has hit record highs, and women participate in corporate management and grassroots democratic management has become more extensive. The number of women participating in medical care, pension, unemployment and work-related injury insurance has increased significantly.

In the past decade, children's health has continued to improve, their education level and welfare level have been continuously improved, and their growth environment has been further optimized. In 2020, the health level of children has improved significantly, and the incidence of birth defects in children with severe disabilities decreased by more than 40% compared with 2010. The prevalence of anemia, slow production rate, and low weight rate in children under five years old decreased by 0.87, 0.13 and 0.36 percentage points respectively compared with 2010. The vaccination rate of children of appropriate age is close to or exceeds 99%. Education at all stages has reached a new level. In 2020, the gross enrollment rate of preschool education (85.2%) increased by 28.6 percentage points compared with 2010, the consolidation rate of nine-year compulsory education (95.2%) increased by 4.1 percentage points compared with 2010, and the gross enrollment rate of in high school (91.2%) increased by 8.7 percentage points compared with 2010. The opportunities for children with disabilities to receive special education and rehabilitation services have also been continuously improved, and the living conditions of orphans have improved significantly. The living environment and social environment of children are constantly being optimized, and the legal system for protecting children's rights and interests is more perfect.

Main experience in the development of women and children's cause since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the development of China's women and children's cause has implemented the Marxist view of women and children, embarked on a path of development of women and children's cause with Chinese characteristics, and formed valuable experience in the development of women and children's cause.

(I) Adhere to the Party’s leadership throughout the entire process of the development of women and children’s cause

The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core incorporates the promotion of gender equality and the implementation of the principle of children’s priority into the overall work of the Party and the state. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will include "adhering to the basic national policy of equality between men and women and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of women and children" in the policy program. The "Outline of China's Women's Development (2011-2020)" and the "Outline of China's Children's Development (2011-2020)" were vigorously implemented, and the goals determined were basically achieved. Standing at the historical intersection of " two hundred-year ", the State Council promulgated the "China Women's Development Outline (2021-2030)" and the "China Children's Development Outline (2021-2030)" to plan and deploy new goals and tasks for women and children's development in the next 10 years, always adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and truly integrate the Party's leadership into the organization and implementation of the outline and throughout the entire process and all aspects of the development of women and children's cause.

(II) Adhere to the idea of ​​women and children as the center throughout the development

The Communist Manifesto points out that "everyone's free development is the prerequisite for the free development of all people", and its spiritual purpose is creatively implemented in China's women and children's cause. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party and the government have focused on the shortcomings and weaknesses in the development of women and children, actively responded to the concerns of the masses, and added new areas and new content. In response to development needs, we emphasize strengthening the construction of public service systems and institutional mechanisms, and emphasizing the focus on protecting the rights and interests of women and children in special difficulties. The scope of women and children's protection is gradually increasing and specific. In addition to traditional health, education, social security and other content, the development of children since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will also include "effective control of children's myopia", "preventing and controlling adolescent obesity ", "preventing and interfering with children's addiction to the Internet", and "strengthening students' mental health" in the scope of child development. As the goal of "common prosperity" is formally incorporated into the national policy system, "development of all" will be further emphasized.

(III) Adhere to the comprehensive development concept of highlighting the subjectivity of women and children

Marxist view on women and children attaches great importance to giving full play to the subjectivity of people. In the development of my country's women and children's cause, we attach great importance to giving full play to the main role of women and children. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have focused on guiding and supporting women to actively play the role of "half of the sky" and participate in co-construction, co-governance and sharing in all areas of economic and social development. From the proposal of "fully implementing quality education " at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the proposal of "developing quality education" at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the recent " double reduction " policy, promoting the free and comprehensive development of children is putting into practical policies and actions from concepts.The emphasis on children's development has also expanded from the combination of Marxist classic learning and labor, and the combination of learning and skill training to more development dimensions in the new era.

(IV) Adhere to the top-level design that matches the development stage

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party and the government have increased their efforts in top-level design and included more women and children in the policy scope. Provide special women's groups with opportunities to participate in various fields, and establish rules and regulations for children who have not been included in the existing children's policy system and cannot enjoy the public service guarantee for children's development. Enable every woman and child to develop comprehensively through the national women and children development projects and enjoy appropriate public services, so as to ensure that all women and children share the fruits of social and economic development. At the same time, it is emphasized that the women and children development system is moderately universal and a gradual development process, fully taking into account China's financial capacity, population structure, income level, marketization degree, regional development differences, urban-rural dual structure, urban-rural level and other characteristics in different development periods. The improvement of the women and children development policy system is in line with the development stage of China's social and economic development.

(V) Adhere to the leadership role of organizational construction

The development of women and children's cause is inseparable from organizational mechanisms and a perfect governance system. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has emphasized that trade unions, the Communist Youth League, the Women's Federation and other mass organizations must effectively maintain and enhance the political, advanced and mass nature of the Party's mass organizations and mass organizations, and create a new situation of the Party's mass organizations under the new situation. Promote the formation of a new working mechanism of "going to the grassroots, visiting women's feelings, and doing practical things", and provides organizational guarantees for improving the women and children's governance system.

(VI) Creatively play the role of family in social relations and production

In Marxist theory, family relations, as the basic social relations, have a prominent and important position. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the construction of family style. He pointed out, "We must attach importance to the construction of family civilization, and strive to make thousands of families an important basis for national development, national progress, and social harmony, and become a place where people's dreams set sail." Women and children are important members of hundreds of millions of families. Creatively playing the role of families in social relations and production is a new development of the Marxist view of women and children in China.

(VII) Adhere to the principle of co-construction, co-governance and sharing

According to the information of the National Social Organization Management Platform of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, there are currently 886 social organizations engaged in women's work and 4,203 are engaged in children's work. Among them, there are 48 foundations engaged in women's work and 89 foundations engaged in children's work. The development of public welfare and charity projects such as Hope Project, Mother's Water Cellar, Spring Bree Plan, and Free Lunch have witnessed the participation of social forces in the cause of women and children. China Development Research Foundation has long focused on the original concentrated and contiguous poverty-stricken areas and the deeply impoverished areas of " three districts and three prefectures " with the focus on child development, and has carried out in-depth "Breastfeeding Improvement Plan", "Huiyu China: Mountain Village Household Early Education Plan", "One Village One Park: Mountain Village Kindergarten Plan " and other groups that are in line with the central decision-making and improve the welfare of the people. Since 2009, the project has gradually covered 34 counties in 13 provinces, serving 100,000 infants and young children every year, providing continuous professional training to 4,500 women in the village, and employed as child care counselors or kindergarten education volunteers to work nearby. The "One Village, One Park" project liberated more than 80,000 parents of young children, most of whom were women. Based on solid practice and research, it provides decision-making support for Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou Province to implement the "one village, one kindergarten" and accelerate the popularization of rural preschool education. In 2021, the Foundation cooperated with Guizhou Province to establish the first comprehensive demonstration zone for children's development in underdeveloped areas in , Bijie , which will provide relevant decision-making basis for rural revitalization and lay a human capital foundation for national development.

(8) Adhering to the systematic concept of promoting women and children's cause

System concept is an important part of dialectical materialism and historical materialism.Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has stood at the height of the overall situation of the cause of the Party and the country, and placed the cause of women and children in the overall pattern of coordinating the promotion of the "five-in-one" overall layout of and coordinating the promotion of the "four comprehensive" strategic layout. He has made forward-looking thinking and overall planning for the cause of women and children, and has raised the understanding of the regularity of the leadership of the Communist Party of China in the development of women and children to a new height. The Party and the government fully grasp the essential characteristics and development laws of the women and children group, and pay attention to comprehensively, dialectically and coordinatedly promoting the development of women and children's cause. Dialectically understand the development needs of women and children, and correctly understand the relationship between women and men in the process of implementing gender equality, and always adhere to the promotion of work from the perspective of collaborative cooperation between the two genders. Dialectically view the differentiation of internal development of women and children, and focus on special women and children. We have continuously improved the women's working mechanism with leadership of the Party Committee, main responsibilities of the government, coordination of the Women and Children's Work Committee, cooperation of multiple departments, and participation of the whole society. We have insisted on jointly promoting the simultaneous development of women and children's cause and economic and social development, and achieved the same deployment, planning and implementation of women and children's cause and economic and social development.

(9) Adhere to the common path of common development of women and children in the world

Women and children are important forces in promoting world peace and development, and the development of women and children themselves is closely linked to global development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the development of women's cause cannot be separated from a peaceful and peaceful international environment and sustainable development." Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has been insisting on promoting global cooperation in women and children's cause, and actively supporting the United Nations , to give priority to women and children's work. In 2015, China proposed to hold a Global Women's Summit and put forward a series of global cooperation initiatives. In 2020, China proposed to continue to increase support for the global women's cause. From 2020 to 2025, China will provide another $10 million in donations to UN Women .

New Era and New Mission

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of my country, the historic achievements and historic changes in the development of women and children in China have come from the Party’s overall leadership, the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the Party Central Committee’s understanding and grasp of the essential characteristics and laws of women and children’s development. The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. The group of women and children, which accounts for most of our country's population, are great builders of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. On the new journey, we must give full play to the great role of the women and children group and strive to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

First, deeply grasp the decisive significance of " two established ", guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and continuously improve the political stance of women and children. Lead the women and children to listen to the Party and follow the Party, arm their minds with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply understand the decisive significance of the "two establishments", effectively enhance the "four consciousnesses", firm up the " four self-confidences ", achieve " two safeguards ", and continuously enhance the ideological, political and action consciousness of women and children.

Second, in the process of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, give full play to the great role of women and children and build the Chinese dream together. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the theme of the women's movement in the new era is to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; emphasizing that the future of the motherland belongs to the next generation, and doing a good job in caring for the next generation is related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Focusing on the theme of the times, women should give full play to the unique role of women in promoting the family virtues of the Chinese nation and establishing good family style, and promote women to take the lead in promoting the excellent traditional Chinese virtues, practice the core socialist values, manage families well, cultivate good family education, and cultivate good family style, and create a good growth environment for the next generation. Use socialist core value system to cultivate people, lead the healthy growth of children, and become successors who are responsible for the important tasks of the times. Let the vast number of women and children actively participate in the cause of socialist construction with high fighting spirit and full spirit, and jointly become dream builders of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Third, grasp the role of women and children from the perspective of the generation and development of new forms of human civilization, promote the comprehensive progress of women and children's cause, and provide Chinese wisdom for world civilization. In December 2020, at the United Nations High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the World Congress of Beijing, President Xi Jinping pointed out that "Women are the pioneers of human civilization and the promoter of social progress, and are writing extraordinary achievements in all walks of life." This is a forward-looking thinking and strategic guidance on the role of women in the new form of human civilization. The development of Chinese women and children is not a copy of the model of a certain country, but a crystallization of wisdom that is constantly explored and summarized in practice based on the situation in China. Summarizing China's experience in the field of women and children's development and poverty alleviation, spreading China's voice to the world and showing China's wisdom will help to widely publicize China's wisdom and China's solutions to the world, and work with all countries to make greater contributions to solving the problems of all mankind.

Fourth, take the implementation of the "new two principles" as a starting point, actively mobilize social forces to participate and write a new chapter in the cause of women and children. The "Outline of China's Women's Development (2021-2030)" and the "Outline of China's Children's Development (2021-2030)" set a roadmap for the development of women and children's careers in the next ten years. At present, the women and children's work mechanism with leadership of the Party Committee, main responsibilities of the government, coordination of the Women and Children's Work Committee, cooperation of multiple departments, and participation of the whole society has basically been formed. The cause of women and children is an important part of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and social forces play a positive complementary role in promoting the development of women and children's cause. With the promulgation of the " Charity Law ", the state attaches more importance to the cultivation, support and management of public welfare and charity and other social organizations. It should take the promotion of the implementation of the "new two principles" as a starting point, actively mobilize social forces to participate, pay attention to giving full play to the talent advantages, technological advantages and resource advantages of social forces, and form a good situation in which the whole society attaches importance to the cause of women and children and jointly promotes the cause of women and children.

The historic achievements and historic changes in the development of women and children in my country since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China demonstrate the significant advantages of the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and lays a solid foundation for us to stand at a new historical starting point and scientifically plan the various goals and tasks of the comprehensive development of women and children. At present, facing the great changes in the world that have not been seen in a century, the challenges we face are more arduous and the goals are more ambitious. More actively plays the unique role of the women and children group in the progress and development of human civilization, and will surely promote the women and children's cause to write a greater chapter on the new era and new journey!

(Author’s unit: Development Research Center of the State Council )