Don't we say that at the beginning of a war we have to be cautious to ensure victory? We need to look back over the period since the Third Plenary Session of the Twelfth Central Committee.

I said a while back to some foreigners that the reform had been going well. I made this remark at a time when there had been panic buying in Beijing, and the people here had been in a state of anxiety for two weeks. Nevertheless, I was optimistic. Things are still going well; I have thought so all along. It will be three to five years before we can tell whether the reform of the economic structure is successful and to what extent. Only when it has shown positive results will we be able to convince people that the resolution of the Third Plenary Session was correct.

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The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is an experiment. It will be some time before we know whether we are doing the right thing there. It is something new under socialism. We hope to make it a success, but if it fails, we can learn from the experience. In building socialism the central task is to develop the productive forces. We are adopting all measures to develop them, including use of foreign funds and introduction of advanced technologies. This is a great experiment, something that is not described in books.

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At this important meeting I should like to say a few words first about troop reduction. We are determined to reduce the People's Liberation Army by one million men. This bears witness to the strength and confidence of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government and the Chinese people. It shows that the People's Republic of China, with a population of one billion, is willing to take concrete actions to help maintain world peace. In fact, reducing the army by one million men will not weaken but enhance its combat effectiveness. Even if the world situation deteriorates, this reduction will still have been necessary -- indeed, all the more necessary. As we said before, if we don't cut back the overstaffed army units, in wartime it will be difficult for us to disperse them, let alone to command the troops. But if we do cut back, it will be hard to find jobs for several hundred thousand demobilized army cadres. At the group discussion Comrade Yang Shangkun raised this problem, and we have to find a solution to it. This meeting has been going on successfully, and we have reached a consensus. I think there are no differing opinions on this subject. That shows that our comrades from the army approach problems by taking into consideration the overall interest and the situation both at home and abroad.

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My purpose in attending this conference today is primarily to show my support for education and to salute you and the other workers in education throughout the country.

I think the draft decision on reforming the educational structure is a good document. Now that we have the guiding principle and a plan, the main thing is to recognize their importance, take practical steps to implement them and to organize the work well.

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When you visited China in 1973, there was great unrest because of the ``cultural revolution'', which was still going on. At that time the ``Left'' ideology was predominant in our society. As a consequence social and economic development was very slow.

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The reform we are now carrying out is very daring. But if we do not carry it out, it will be hard for us to make progress. Reform is China's second revolution. It is something very important that we have to undertake even though it involves risks. The ``Report on the Work of the Government'' made at the Third Session of the Sixth National People's Congress [held from March 27 to April 10, 1985] points out that we have already encountered some problems. When we decided to carry out reform, we anticipated that possibility. Our principle is to be bold, take a confident step and then look around carefully before taking another. Our policy is firm, and we are not going to change it. What is important is that we should review our experience at regular intervals, because reform involves the vital interests of the people, and every step we take will affect hundreds of millions of them. We shall see in a few years whether the reform is successful. It took three years for the rural reform to show results. As the overall reform involving both urban and rural areas is more complex, we think it will take five years to show results. In the process, we are bound to make mistakes, and problems are bound to arise. The crucial thing is to review what we have done and correct every wrong step promptly.

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The domestic situation is excellent. Still, I'd like to call your attention to one point: while building a socialist society with Chinese characteristics, we must continue to promote not only material progress but also cultural and ideological progress. We must uphold the principle of the ``five things to emphasize'', ``four things to beautify'' and ``three things to love'' and encourage all our people to have lofty ideals and moral integrity, to become better educated and to cultivate a strong sense of discipline. Of these, lofty ideals and a strong sense of discipline are the most important. We must constantly urge our people, young people in particular, to have high ideals. How was it that we were able to survive untold hardships, overcome the most difficult and dangerous conditions and bring the revolution to victory? It was precisely because we had ideals and a belief in Marxism and communism.

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I have come here today to congratulate you on the success of your conference and to show my respect for science and technology and for knowledge.

Seven years ago, also in the month of March, we held another conference on science at which I spoke. I talked mainly about two points that can be summarized in two sentences. One was that science and technology constituted part of the productive forces. The other was that China's intellectuals had become part of the working class. The reason I talked about those two points was that at the time they were controversial. Seven years have passed, and the controversy has been settled. How was it settled? Through practice and by the masses.

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Different people may have different attitudes towards the development of China. They analyse this question from different standpoints, depending on whether they think China's development will or will not be in their own interest. I should like to examine this question from two points of view, one political, the other economic.

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