Full Text of Hu Jintao's speech at CPC anniversary gathering

To make Party building more scientific under the new historical conditions, we must place power, Party affairs, and Party members under institutional safeguards, improve democratic centralism, and promote Party building in an institutionalized and standardized way and through due process.

The growth of the Party over the past 90 years shows that Party institutions are of fundamental importance in building and running a party with several dozen million members, as such institutions bear closely on the Party's long-term and overall performance and its stable growth. Institutional building must be fully integrated with our efforts to strengthen the Party ideologically and organizationally, improve its style of work, combat corruption and ensure the integrity of the Party. In improving Party institutions, we must set out clear priorities, take a holistic approach, carry on fine traditions while innovating boldly. Our goal is to establish a system of Party institutions which are well coordinated in terms of scope, comprehensive and effective and are governed by rigorous procedures.

In enhancing the building of Party institutions, we should follow the Party Constitution, exercise democratic centralism, adhere to and improve the Party's leadership system, reform and improve its leadership and governance. We should develop intra-Party democracy, promote transparency in Party affairs in an active yet prudent manner, ensure the principal status and democratic rights of Party members, improve the system of Party congresses and the intra-Party electoral system, and improve the mechanism for democratic decision making in the Party. We must safeguard the solidarity and unity of the Party, enhance its creativity and fight arbitrary behavior by individuals and weakness and laxity, which violate the principle of democratic centralism. All the comrades in the Party should bear in mind that all people are equal before the law, that no one has the privilege to overstep institutions and that no exception should be made in enforcing institutional safeguards. We should familiarize ourselves with, strictly apply and conscientiously safeguard Party institutions.

In short, if all the comrades in the Party care about the Party's future, fulfill their responsibility for its growth, and promote Party building with greater vigor, our Party will better keep up with the trend of history, stand firm in the forefront of the times and advance social progress.

Comrades and Friends,

Since the very day of its founding, the CPC has heroically shouldered the historic mission of uniting with and leading the people in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In pursuing this great cause, we must unswervingly follow the basic line of the Party, continue to free up our minds, forge ahead with reform and opening up, promote scientific development, enhance social harmony, and make overall progress in the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics from the new historical starting point.