Liu Qibao, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, spoke at a symposium held on September 26 in Beijing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. The full text of his speech is as follows:

Experts, comrades,

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia, which is a landmark event in the world's history. As Vladimir Lenin said, "the farther that great day recedes from us, the more clearly we see the significance of the proletarian revolution in Russia, and the more deeply we reflect upon the practical experience of our work as a whole." Today, we hold the symposium to further explore the revolution's significance and influence. By absorbing power and wisdoms from the past, we can better uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Just now, a launch ceremony was held for the revised and expanded version of the second edition of the Collected Works of Lenin. We chose to launch the books before the revolution's anniversary day in order to pay our utmost respect to the revolution. Containing extensive and definitive notes on Marxism and Leninism, the books are the most reliable documents we can refer to when studying the October Revolution. The speeches by the comrades before me at the symposium were very thought-provoking, with insightful views and supported by historical details. Taking this precious chance, I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts.

From hypothesis to science, and from scientific theory to established systems, socialism has evolved for centuries. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels created the materialist conception of history and the theory of surplus value, based on which they developed socialism thoughts. Thanks to their efforts, socialism managed to transform from hypothesis to science, thus was able to offer us scientific theoretical guidance and guide to action for building a communist society that is free of exploitation and oppression. Scientific socialism tells us that capitalism will inevitably give way to socialism, as this is an objective law of social development. Under the guidance of Marxism, worldwide proletarians and working people have done their utmost to build a socialist society. While the Paris Commune made the world's first major attempt at overthrowing capitalist rule and establishing a proletarian power to allow the people to master their own affairs, the first victory in establishing a socialist state was achieved by the October Revolution. When celebrating the October Revolution's fourth anniversary, Lenin said, "This first victory is not yet the final victory… [But] we have made the start. When, at what date and time, and the proletarians of which nation will complete this process is not important. The important thing is that the ice has been broken, the road is open, and the way has been shown." The October Revolution has given profound influence on the development of the human race. Acting as a lighthouse, it has guided the following generations of proletarians towards a new era of glorious revolutions.

The October Revolution turned socialism from an ideal into reality, from theory to practice. Understanding clearly the new characteristics in the development of capitalism in the imperialist age, Vladimir Lenin integrated the basic principles of Marxism with the specific situation facing the Russian Revolution to create Leninism. He creatively put forward a series of theories on the socialist revolution and socialist construction, including the theory that socialism could be first achieved in one country or several countries, offering a powerful ideological weapon for proletarian revolution in the imperialist age. Led by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party, the Russian people were able to convert the bourgeois democratic revolution into a true socialist revolution. Through armed struggle and breaking up the old bourgeois state apparatus, they achieved the earthshaking victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution and established the Soviet system dominated by the dictatorship of the proletariat. As Lenin said, "The Soviet system is a proof or a demonstration of how one revolution could develop into another." Soviet Russia promulgated an instrument of a constitutionalist nature, and established, at the preliminary level, a system of economy, politics, culture and education suffused with a socialistic nature. A socialist state was established for the first time in human history whereby socialism was translated from a theory into an actual social system. Thereafter, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union led the people to give full play to the advantages inherent in the socialist economic, political and cultural system, and launched an unprecedented modern mode of governance previously unknown in world history. Soviet modernization involved many fields, including industry, agriculture, education, science, the social system and daily life, which changed within several decades Russia's century-old poverty, famine and backwardness and developed the country from a small peasant economy into a powerful industrial country through industrialization and agricultural collectivization. During the World War II, the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics relied on its strong national strength to defeat the fascist threat posed by Germany, Italy and Japan, together with its allies, contributing greatly to the victory in the worldwide struggle against Fascism and peace and progress of humankind. The epoch-making historical feat of the October Revolution and the major achievements of the Soviet socialism system cannot be negated by dissolution of the Soviet Union. The reasons behind the Soviet breakup are many, including rigidity and conservatism; yet, the root cause was its turning away from Marxism-Leninism and from the socialist path created by the October Revolution.