1. The Development of Relations between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labour of Albania - The Joint Struggle against Modern Revisionism

Mao Tsetung died on September 9, 1976. The same year, in November 1976, Enver Hoxha declared in the Central Committee's report to the Seventh Party Congress:

"The historic victories which the Chinese people have attained in their glorious revolution and the construction of socialism, the creation of the new People's China and the high prestige it enjoys in the world, are directly linked with the name, teachings and guidance of the great revolutionary, comrade Mao Tse-tung. The work of this outstanding Marxist-Leninist represents a contribution to the enrichment of the revolutionary theory and practice of the proletariat. The Albanian communists and people will always honour the memory of comrade Mao Tse-Tung, who was a great friend of our Party and people...
The dictatorship of the proletariat and the construction of socialism which were betrayed by the revisionists, have been carried forward by Albania and China, which remained loyal to Marxism-Leninism, defended it with determination, and declared stern ideological war on Khrushchevite revisionism and its followers. Communism did not die out, as the bourgeoisie hoped, and the opportunists and the liquidationists rejoiced too soon."(1)

Less than two years later Hoxha himself fell in line with the liquidationists. In his book Imperialism and the Revolution, which according to the PLA was first published in the Albanian language in April 1971, he defames comrade Mao Tsetung as a "Chinese Khrushchev" and Mao Tsetung Thought as an "anti-Marxist theory". According to him, China never followed "the road of socialism, but the road of building a great bourgeois, social-imperialist state". In order to destroy Mao Tsetung's high esteem in Albania and in the communist world movement, E. Hoxha slanders the principled struggle fought against modern revisionism by the Communist Party of China under the leadership of Mao Tsetung. According to him, "its struggle against Soviet revisionism was not dictated from correct, principled Marxist-Leninist positions" and was full of vacillations.

In order to get a better understanding of the mendacity of these assertions, it is necessary to recall some facts. The struggle against modern revisionism began with the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February 1956. This Congress was the starting point of fundamental change within the socialist society of the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Khrushchev, a substantial section of degenerate petty-bourgeois bureaucrats in the party, state and management apparatus took over political power in order to replace the dictatorship of the proletariat by the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie of a new type. To meet his end, Khrushchev defamed Comrade Stalin, who had died in 1953, in his notorious secret address to the 20th Congress. Under the pretense of fighting the "personality cult" he called him a "megalomaniac criminal".

"In completely negating Stalin at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Khrushchov in effect negated the dictatorship of the proletariat and the fundamental theories of Marxism-Leninism which Stalin defended and developed. It was at that Congress that Khrushchov, in his report, began the repudiation of Marxism-Leninism on a number of questions of principle."(2)

The 20th Congress revised Marxism-Leninism in questions such as war and peace and the road to socialism. Very early the Chinese Party leadership and particularly Comrade Mao Tsetung began to criticize these fundamentally false positions. As early as April 1956 the Communist Party of China published an article "On the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat", and in December 1956 a second article, "More on the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat", criticizing the false theses of the 20th Congress. These articles analysed Comrade Stalin's life, confirmed the general significance of the October Revolution and summed up the historical lessons of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

After the 20th Congress a two-line struggle between Marxism-Leninism and modern revisionism developed within the international communist movement and finally led to the split and disintegration of the socialist camp. In Moscow in 1957 at the Conference of Delegates of Communist and Workers' Parties it was above all the Chinese Communist Party and the PLA that waged a principled and successful struggle against the false position of the Khrushchev group. In April 1960 the Chinese Communist Party published the article "Long Live Leninism", forcibly stating the basic principles of Marxist-Leninist theory of imperialism, on war and peace, on the proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. At the Bucharest and Moscow conferences in 1960, the contradictions sharpened.

A smear campaign against the CPC was launched, and the leaders of the CPSU extended the ideological differences to state relations between the two countries. At the Bucharest conference the PLA strongly opposed the sudden attempt to condemn the CPC. In October 1961 the 22nd Congress of the CPSU adopted a new program that was totally revisionist. The leadership of the CPSU furthermore started an open attack on the PLA and even advocated overthrowing E. Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu.

In spite of strong pressure and a world-wide smear campaign by the modern revisionists, the Chinese Communist Party defended the revolutionary principles in a number of additional articles. This ideological-political struggle with the Central Committee of the CPSU found its climax in A Proposal Concerning the General Line of the International Communist Movement, which in an outstanding way applied and further developed Marxism-Leninism.

How does Hoxha suddenly "prove" the alleged lack of principles and vacillations of the CPC? In Imperialism and the Revolution he asserts:

"In the light of these events, our party began to look more deeply into the causes of the vacillations which had been observed in the stand of the Chinese leadership towards Kruschevite revisionism, such as the instance in 1962, when it sought reconciliation and unity with the Soviet revisionists, allegedly in the name of a common front against American imperialism, or in 1964, when, continuing the efforts for reconciliation with the Soviets, Chou En-lai went to Moscow to hail the coming to power of the Brezhnev group. These vacillations were not accidental. They reflected the lack of revolutionary principles and consistency."(3)

In his so-called "diary", Reflections on China, Vol. 1, he refers mainly to Liu Shao-chi. But Liu was a traitor who flirted with Khrushchev and was condemned for that. At the same time Hoxha has to admit in his "diary":

"However, we did not see any concrete action in this direction on the part of the Chinese comrades…." (p. 117)

And, commenting on Chou En-lai's trip to Moscow, he writes:

"The Soviets demanded from Chou En-lai that they cease the polemic, and he did not promise them anything."(p. 178)

In this context it is important to quote from the message from the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to the 5th Congress of the PLA in 1966. It is an example for the principled stand of the Central Committee and Mao Tsetung:

"The leading clique of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is Khrushchev’s faithful successor. It practises Khrushchev revisionism without Khrushchev and pursues a line of collaboration with U.S. imperialism to safeguard imperialist and colonialist domination in the capitalist world and to restore capitalism in the socialist world.…

There is and there cannot be a middle road in the struggle between Marxism-Leninism and modern revisionism. The only way is to draw a clear line of demarcation between ourselves and modern revisionism with the leading clique of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as its center, and thoroughly to expose their true features as renegades. Any united action with them is out of the question.

Whoever is intent on having united action with them will inevitably take part in the anti-Chinese chorus of imperialism, modern revisionism and reaction and sink into the morass of opposition to socialist China." (4)

How can Hoxha explain the contradiction between his statement at the 5th Congress of the PLA and his numerous entries in his so-called diary, Reflections on China, Vol. 1, written at the same time? The entry on September 15, 1964 reads as follows:

"Throughout the development of the struggle of the Communist Party of China against modern revisionists, and mainly against the Khrushchevites, some 'astonishing' vacillations have appeared in its tactic. In my opinion this tactic can only originate from pronounced lack of clarity on principles over the struggle which must be waged against modern revisionists."(5)

And, as another example:

"The Chinese comrades seem hesitant … and afraid…. In this situation, China is taking a centrist course, hesitating."(6)

Hoxha declared quite the opposite at the 5th Congress in 1966:

"In the face of the great treachery of the Khrushchevite revisionists, the glorious Communist Party of China, the Party of Labour of Albania (continued applause, ovations), the other Marxist-Leninist parties and all true Communists and revolutionaries stood up with all their might, called 'stop' to revisionism and began to wage a fierce, principled and uncompromising struggle against it. (applause)"(7)

And how can he explain the contradiction to Comrade Hysni Kapo's speech at the celebration of Comrade Mao Tsetung's 80th birthday?

The Party of Labour of Albania has publicly stated that the Communist party of China, and in particular its great leader, comrade Mao Tse-tung, has performed the great task of exposing Soviet-led modern revisionism, for the defence of Marxism-Leninism. Concerning this courageous, principled and determined struggle against the great revisionist betrayal, comrade Enver Hoxha has said: 'We, the Albanian communists, say with full conviction that it is extremely fortunate for the peoples, their freedom, world peace, Marxism-Leninism and the destiny of socialism that particularly now, the People's Republic of China exists, powerful and revolutionary, as does the Great Communist Party of China, militant and firmly loyal to Marxism-Leninism, and headed by its outstanding leader comrade Mao Tse-tung'. …

In the great battle with the Khrushchevite revisionists about the general line of the international communist movement, in the fierce struggle to defend Marxism-Leninism from the perfidious attacks and base blows of the Soviet leaders, the Communist Party of China and comrade Mao Tse-Tung have shown a fine, revolutionary spirit of principle and determination, high Marxist-Leninist maturity, communist patience and courage, to see the matter through to the finish."(8)

Does Hoxha honestly believe that Marxist-Leninists all over the world will believe his sudden conclusions about the vacillations and lacking clarity of principle of the CP of China under the leadership of Chairman Mao in the struggle against modern revisionism? That would be ridiculous!