Published : 2024-09-21
From September 21 to 30, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(中國人民政治協商會議) was held at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, Beiping (now Beijing).
The conference was initiated and led by the Communist Party of China to discuss matters related to the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
During the opening speech, Mao Zedong(毛澤東) also delivered the famous quote: "The Chinese people have stood up."
The conference passed the "Common Program"(共同綱領), the precursor of the first constitution of new China, the "Fifty-four Constitution"(五四憲法), which pointed out that the nature of the People's Republic of China is a people's democratic dictatorship of the people's regime led by the working class, based on the worker-peasant alliance, and uniting all democratic classes and minorities.
The "Common Program" also laid out the general principles for new China's governing bodies, military system, economic policies, cultural and educational policies, ethnic policies, and foreign policies.
The conference also made various decisions, including moving the capital to Beiping, renaming it Beijing effective immediately, adopting the Gregorian calendar, using the "March of the Volunteers" as the interim national anthem until a formal one was decided, and confirming the five-star red flag as the national flag.
The meeting also elected a Central People's Government committee composed of 63 members, with Mao Zedong appointed as the chairman.
