The first epidemic on the first day of the Chinese New Year also made this year's National Day a little different: after experiencing the unity of the whole people to fight the epidemic, we have seen the hard work of front-line personnel, witnessed the birth of the Chinese miracl

National Day, celebrate the birthday together.

On this special National Day, Observer.com interviewed Zhang Weiwei, Dean of the China Research Institute of Fudan University, and asked him to review this extraordinary year and also make an outlook for the future national development.

Visitors are watching the "Blessing of the Motherland" flower basket in Tiananmen Square. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhonghao

[Interview/Observer Network Xiaoting]

Observer Network: I think you must still remember the scene when you took a float to Tiananmen Square on the 70th anniversary of National Day last year. How did you feel when you recall it today?

Zhang Weiwei: The National Day celebration a year ago was very unforgettable. That day, as a representative of the ideological and theoretical circles, I boarded the float to participate in this grand ceremony. The deepest feeling it gave me was people's surging patriotic enthusiasm.

At 9 am that day, we arrived at the float collection area outside Jianguomen in Beijing. Next to our "Heart and Soul" float was the "Chinese Literature and Art" float. While we were waiting, singer Liao Changyong led everyone to sing "My Motherland and Me" together. Later we met with the 100,000 mass parade waiting in Jianguomen, and then we sang along the way, and 100,000 people on Chang'an Street sang "Singing the Motherland". This touching experience is hard to describe in words.

Our square array is also called the "Peking University Square Array". It consists of more than 2,000 teachers and students from Peking University , and most of them are young students born in the 1995s. They waved the "torch" to form a rectangular team, surrounded our float in the middle, and rushed to Tiananmen with our float.

National Day 70th Anniversary Celebration, Professor Zhang Weiwei took a float to pass by Tiananmen Square

Observer Network: The patriotic enthusiasm inspired by the 70th anniversary of the National Day has continued to the "united unity" shown in the fight against the new crown epidemic this year. Why is the patriotic atmosphere particularly strong in recent years? Is it related to changes in the external environment?

Zhang Weiwei: I think yes, the trade war, diplomatic war, technology war, encirclement and suppression of Huawei, the United States began to launch against China the year before yesterday, and the indulgence of "Taiwan independence" have all inspired the Chinese people's righteous indignation and patriotism. This is the first wave.

Then last year, the "Hong Kong independence" elements challenged a China, and their actions gave the Chinese a "epic patriotism class", which can be said to be the second wave.

Then we ushered in the largest National Day military parade and grand parade since the founding of New China, which can be said to be the third wave.

Today we are experiencing the fourth wave of patriotism, which is this great fight against the epidemic. We are all participants. It can be said that this is the largest open and experiential open class in history. The Western epidemic prevention and control is a waste of time. For most Chinese people, this is a new ideological liberation: the Western model has come down from the altar and the American myth is coming to an end. Many people say that this year is the first year of the collective collapse of Chinese public intellectuals.

Observer Network: After a year, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic and Sino-US relations, the whole world has undergone earth-shaking changes, and there is even a situation where China and West are changing their offense and defense. How do you evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global development on the first day of the year?

Zhang Weiwei: The major epidemics in human history often change the historical process. For example, the Black Death in Europe has been raging for more than ten years, causing nearly one-third of the European population to die. This plague had a profound impact on the later historical process of Europe. It severely damaged the dominant Catholic Church at that time, and made many people no longer believe in the paradise made by religion, which laid the spiritual foundation for Europe to come out of the long medieval times.

Like many major epidemics in history, I think this new crown epidemic will also change human history. We are witnessing a great turning point in human history.From the general trend, although there will be bumps and even storms, my prediction is that the world will tilt to the east at a faster speed, towards China, and towards socialism. This "world war of the epidemic" can be said to be a catalyst for this tilt.

Observer Network: Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, you have repeatedly conveyed a concept in the program "This is China": the failure of the West to fight the epidemic is largely attributed to prejudice and arrogance against China, as well as the shortcomings of its own system. Judging from your observation, what are the institutional shortcomings exposed by the West represented by the United States during this COVID-19 pandemic?

Zhang Weiwei: This new crown epidemic is a common challenge encountered by human society. Countries around the world should unite and respond together are the right way in the world, but some Westerners and media have gloated and taken advantage of the situation. They believe that this epidemic is China's " Chernobyl moment" and look forward to the collapse of China's system. However, the epidemic soon underwent a shaking reversal. China's fight against the epidemic was steadily towards victory, while Western countries were in disaster one after another. Western paranoia was facing their own "Chernobyl moment".

The West has exposed many shortcomings in this epidemic. First of all, it is the crisis of concept. Our concept of fighting the epidemic is to put people's lives first, and the West puts economic and commercial interests first, and the result is completely different. Practice has proved that the West is short-sighted, and their hardest hit areas are the most economically developed sectors, such as New York in the United States and in California, . Now it is completely out of control, with an explosion in the east, west, south, north, and center.

The value that the West advocates most is freedom, and it has made it absolute, but the Chinese have always believed that there must be a balance between freedom and self-discipline. Now it seems that the Chinese philosophy can better cope with many challenges in modern society. The West must reflect on many of its own ideas, otherwise Western society will not be able to adapt to the challenges of the 21st century.

As for issues at the Western system level, this time it has been exposed. I recently posted articles on Guan.com and Toutiao to talk about the system issues of the United States. Among them, the "Ten Questions about the United States" article quickly had millions of views on the Internet. I wrote this:

It is said that the Western democratic system can better hold accountable, but unexpectedly, a province in Hubei, China handled more than 3,000 cadres. So many people died in the United States. By August 10, the number of deaths in the United States in the United States was 35 times that of China, and the American population was less than a quarter of that of China. Half a year has passed. How can the United States have any accountability?

It is said that multi-party competition can better produce leaders who serve the people, but why do you choose such uneasy leaders and deal with the epidemic more like willful naughty children, following feelings rather than following science, and not taking no matter how many people die seriously. Isn’t this just taking human life?

It is said that freedom of speech can make whistleblowers alert in advance, but the situation in the United States shows that you have 10 20 whistleblowers, and it is useless. As long as you dare to violate the power of capital, it will silence you, whether you are a scientist, a doctor or an aircraft carrier captain. Fauci, chief expert in epidemic prevention and control in the United States, exclaimed that his lives and his family were threatened. McCarthyism has hit the United States again, and many American scholars are now silent, and objective introduction to China has become a taboo.

In short, this battle of the epidemic has brought the United States back to its original form. We have seen an America without an emperor's new costume. For most Chinese people, this is an unparalleled "heart victory". It will bring about the de-Americanization of Chinese people's thoughts. I think the far-reaching significance of this ideological liberation to China's rise cannot be overestimated.

"Monument to the Anti-epidemic" drawn by Li Zhuo, a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts,

Observer Network: China's outstanding achievements in anti-epidemic have made the West, which has always been afraid of China's rise, spared no effort to smear China this time, and the "China threat theory" has risen again. But we have always adhered to the path of not seeking hegemony and peaceful development, and have also proposed to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Has this epidemic deepened the understanding of this concept among countries?

Zhang Weiwei: This epidemic has indeed deepened the understanding of more countries in a community with a shared future for mankind.We can also look at this understanding from a different perspective: the United States is out of order in the fight against the epidemic this time, and has suffered heavy losses. Looking back at the United States, even if it can partially accept the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, its epidemic prevention and control situation should be much better than it is now. For example, if it did not choose to blame China, but seek China's help, and instead choose to withdraw from the World Health Organization, but listen to the prevention and control of the World Health Organization, its epidemic prevention and control will be much better than it is now.

Chinese wisdom emphasizes the relationship between "Tao" and "art" when doing things, and emphasizes that "those who do not plan the overall situation are not enough to plan a domain." We always first understand the tide of the times and promote the "art" based on grasping this "Tao". Today's tide of the times is that the people must be peaceful, develop, united and fight the epidemic, and point to a community with a shared future for mankind.

But the United States believes in the Cold War, I am the only one, I win, you lose, and refuse international cooperation. As a result, it becomes the epicenter of the world's epidemic. Many Americans lament that the United States has become the abandoned child of the international community in the fight against the epidemic. There have been several polls recently, such as the poll published by Pew Center in September. The favorable view of countries around the world for the United States is at a record low, and their favorable view of Trump is only 16%. Isn’t this what we call “lost the power and few supporters”?

Observer Network: The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee will be held on October 26 after National Day. This meeting will study suggestions for the 14th Five-Year Plan and the long-term goals for 2035. What are your expectations for the next five years?

Zhang Weiwei: In view of the Sino-US science and technology war, I am more concerned about the deployment of solving core technology boredom problems in the 14th Five-Year Plan. In addition, starting next year, we will start a new stage, from a comprehensive well-off society to a basic modernization by 2035. There will be many highlights on how to deploy this process in the first five years.

In this regard, I pay more attention to China's "new infrastructure" and its reflection in the 14th Five-Year Plan. You know, the threshold for "new infrastructure" is very high, involving new technology infrastructure represented by 5G, industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, etc. In the world, only two companies in China and the United States have reached this threshold, and China is not behind, and it is even ahead of the starting line. This is not only because China already has the world's largest digital economy, but also China has many unique advantages. For example, in the world, China is the only one with developed Internet technology and manufacturing industries.

Moreover, China has the institutional advantage of "concentrating efforts to do big things", the world's strongest planning, execution and reform capabilities, the world's most complete industrial chain, the world's largest consumer market, and the well-educated, confident and patriotic young generation. I am as optimistic as ever. It’s not that our Chinese model is perfect. Our model has its own shortcomings and is still being improved. However, other models do not compete with the Chinese model. Let me celebrate the 71st anniversary of the People’s Republic with this conclusion.

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