On May 7, 2013, Guangming Daily published an article explaining the political significance of the speech Xi Jinping gave on January 5, 2013. When discussing the relationship between Mao’s class struggle period (1949 to 1978) and the economic reform and opening period (1978 to the present), Xi Jinping said, “We cannot use the historical period after the reform and opening to negate the historical period before the economic reform and opening; we cannot use the historical period before the reform and opening to negate the historical period after the economic reform and opening.”
According to the article, the whole history before the reform and opening is closely related to Mao Zedong. The Chinese regime must maintain the historical status of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong thought. If the Chinese regime negates Mao Zedong, it is negating the history of the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Republic of China, and also the Party’s leadership and China’s socialist system, since Mao Zedong was the creator of the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Republic of China, and China’s socialist system.
Source: Guangming Daily, May 7, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-05/07/content_7538912.htm