Comrade commanders and fighters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army! All fellow-countrymen, comrades and friends!

On this glorious occasion of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the great People's Republic of China, I wish to express my warmest congratulations to the comrades, compatriots and friends who are working for our socialist modernization, for the reunification of our motherland and for the security of our country.

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The ``one country, two systems'' concept was not formulated today. It has been in the making for several years now, ever since the Third Plenary Session of our Party's Eleventh Central Committee. The idea was first presented as a means of settling the Taiwan and Hong Kong questions. The socialist system on the mainland, with its population of one billion, will not change, ever. But in view of the history of Hong Kong and Taiwan and of their present conditions, if there is no guaranteed that they will continue under the capitalist system, prosperity and stability cannot be maintained, and peaceful reunification of the motherland will be out of the question. Therefore, with regard to Hong Kong, we propose first of all to guarantee that the current capitalist system and way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years after 1997.

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Since the defeat of the Gang of Four and the convocation of the Third Plenary Session of the Party's Eleventh Central Committee, we have formulated correct ideological, political and organizational lines and a series of principles and policies. What is the ideological line? To adhere to Marxism and to integrate it with Chinese realities -- in other words, to seek truth from facts, as advocated by Comrade Mao Zedong, and to uphold his basic ideas. It is crucial for us to adhere to Marxism and socialism. For more than a century after the Opium War, China was subjected to aggression and humiliation. It is because the Chinese people embraced Marxism and kept to the road leading from new-democracy to socialism that their revolution was victorious.

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The Chinese Government is firm in its position, principles and policies on Hong Kong. We have stated on many occasions that after China resumes the exercise of its sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Hong Kong's current social and economic systems will remain unchanged, its legal system will remain basically unchanged, its way of life and its status as a free port and an international trade and financial centre will remain unchanged and it can continue to maintain or establish economic relations with other countries and regions. We have also stated repeatedly that apart from stationing troops there, Beijing will not assign officials to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This policy too will remain unchanged. We shall station troops there to safeguard our national security, not to interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs. Our policies with regard to Hong Kong will remain unchanged for 50 years, and we mean this.

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China's foreign policy can be summed up in two sentences. First, to safeguard world peace we oppose hegemony. Second, China will always belong to the Third World. It belongs to the Third World today, and it will do so even when it becomes prosperous and powerful, because it shares a common destiny with all Third World countries. China will never seek hegemony or bully others, but will always side with the Third World.

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Last year the leaders of our two countries made a wise and far-sighted policy decision in Tokyo: to consider and develop Sino-Japanese relations from a long-term point of view. They decided to develop relations through the 21st century and on into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, so that the people of our two countries will be friends forever. This is something more important than all the other issues between us.

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I gathered some impressions from my recent tour of three special economic zones in Guangdong and Fujian provinces and of the Baoshan Iron and Steel Complex in Shanghai. Today, I have invited you here to discuss the best ways of running the special economic zones and the question of opening more cities to the outside world.

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There are many disputes in the world, and we must find ways to solve them. Over the years I have been considering how those disputes could be solved by peaceful means, rather than by war. The plan we have proposed for reunifying the mainland with Taiwan is fair and reasonable. After reunification, Taiwan can go on practising capitalism while the mainland maintains socialism, all within the same unified China. One China, two systems. The same approach will be applied to the Hong Kong question -- one China, two systems. But Hong Kong is different from Taiwan in that it is a free port.

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The major question before this plenary session of the Central Committee has been the rectification of Party organizations. The Central Committee's decision on this question has been adopted after deliberation by all present. That decision is a very good one, and I fully agree with it. After the session we shall discuss the Party's leadership on the ideological front. At this time, however, I should like to make two points: the rectification movement must not be conducted in a perfunctory way, and people working in the ideological field must not spread mental pollution.

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Education should be geared to the needs of modernization, of the world and of the future.

(A nine-year school in Beijing.)