Special Issue Celebrating the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China | The Battle Flag Follows the Party Flag
A Note at the Outset: The journey has been magnificent and turbulent; the founding aspiration grows ever firmer with the passage of time. From fighting bloody battles to win national independence and the liberation of the people, to blazing a trail and laying the foundations of the state through arduous exploration of socialist construction, to opening up the broad road of socialism with Chinese characteristics through reform and opening up — the Communist Party of China has always shared the same breath, the same fate, and the same heart with the people. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has, with tremendous political courage and a strong sense of historical responsibility, driven the Party and the nation's undertakings to achieve historic accomplishments and undergo historic transformations. Looking back over more than a century of trials and tribulations, history has eloquently proven: the Communist Party of China is the strong core that has led the Chinese people to stand up, grow prosperous, and grow strong, and is the irreplaceable helmsman for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation — the Chinese Dream.
On the joyous occasion of welcoming the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, we take pride in the brilliant achievements already attained and are filled with even greater confidence in the future. Pressing forward through wind and rain, our advance is like a song. Standing at a new historical starting point, we must hold fast to our convictions as firm as bedrock, carry forward the red bloodline, and gather the immense and mighty force of those who keep their founding mission in mind and forge ahead on the journey of rejuvenation. Beginning today, the PLA Daily launches the "Special Issue Celebrating the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China." We invite your attention.
[Caption] Wu Shuai, political instructor of the "Red First Company" of a certain brigade under the 83rd Group Army, explains to officers and soldiers the story of the Red Dish, guiding everyone to carry forward glorious traditions and deepen their loyalty and faith. Photo by Qiao Zifeng.
A Certain Brigade's "Red First Company" Under the 83rd Group Army Persists in Carrying Forward and Promoting Fine Traditions——
The Battle Flag Follows the Party Flag
■ PLA Daily Reporter Wang Yue, Contributing Reporter Li Shaoqing
Deep in the mountains and dense forest, the moonlight dim and hazy, a group of camouflage-clad figures moved swiftly through the undergrowth. Though already exhausted to the bone, every officer and soldier in the formation gritted their teeth and charged forward.
Day-and-night marching and long-distance raids — this is one of the commemorative activities that the "Red First Company" of a certain brigade under the 83rd Group Army has carried on for many years. In November 1942, in order to smash a "mopping-up" (扫荡) operation by Japanese puppet forces, the officers and soldiers of the company's Second Platoon launched an overnight raid of more than 80 kilometers, successfully completing the combat mission of cutting off the enemy's line of retreat, and were awarded the title "Flying Feet Platoon" by the Third Division of the New Fourth Army.
"Whatever the Party tells us to do, we do it. No matter what difficulties or what enemies lie ahead, we will charge forward without fear!" Having crossed the finish line, Senior Sergeant Second Class Zhou Yang's words gave voice to the shared conviction in the hearts of all officers and soldiers of the "Red First Company": with the Party in our hearts and rifles in our hands, the military flag will forever follow the Party flag.
This iron-like conviction is rooted in the unbroken bloodline inheritance of the "Red First Company" over more than 90 years.
At the Sanwan Reorganization in 1927, Comrade Mao Zedong personally developed six Party members in the "Red First Company" and established our army's first company-level Party branch, pioneering our army's practice of "building the branch at the company level" (支部建在连上). From that time on, the principle of "the Party commands the gun" (党指挥枪) took root in the people's army.
Over more than 90 years, the company has consistently maintained the loyal character of "the birthplace of the military soul" (军魂发源), following the Party through wind and rain, never turning back in the face of a thousand hardships and ten thousand dangers.
During the revolutionary war years, the company participated in more than 300 battles, including the Defense of Huangyangjiе, the Battle of Pingxingguan, and the Liaoxi Campaign, and was awarded honorary titles such as "Courageous Company" and "Hundred-Battles, Hundred-Victories Company." Entering the new era, the company has performed with distinction in major missions including international peacekeeping, disaster relief, and parade reviews on the battlefield.
Invincible because it has a "soul" (魂); fearless because it has "roots" (根). Where does the "soul" come from? Where do the "roots" take hold? The answer lies in the day-after-day arming through theory.
How can theoretical arming truly enter the mind and heart? The "Red First Company's" answer is: make learning a habit, make theory within reach. The company has explored a "five-study" (五学) approach — "the branch organizes study, systems promote study, Party members lead study, backbone personnel assist study, and situational scenarios aid study" — integrating the study of the Party's innovative theories into the daily lives of officers and soldiers. On the newspaper and magazine rack in every squad sits a well-thumbed theoretical text. Everyone records key theoretical phrases daily, explains fundamental viewpoints weekly, and evaluates outstanding theory-study exemplars monthly — through plain-language explanations, story-based enlightenment, and case analysis. Theory is no longer a slogan hung on the wall but spiritual nourishment held in one's hands.
Soldier Dai Zhifei, a college-graduate conscript, has felt this deeply. When he first arrived at the company, he would "rather run five kilometers than read a theory book." During one theory study session, then-Political Instructor Liu Wentao called on him by name to share his reflections; he flushed red and stammered without being able to say a single word.
As a soldier of the "Red First Company," one's theoretical grounding must absolutely not "drop the chain" (掉链子). So Liu Wentao specifically arranged for him to play the role of "Guo Daxi, an exemplary soldier who studied Mao's works" in a situational education class. In order to portray the character, Dai Zhifei buried himself in historical materials. Moving from initial indifference to truly entering the spiritual world of that exemplary figure, he not only brought the role to life but also, through deep and careful study, genuinely came to understand the weight of "listening to the Party and following the Party" (听党话、跟党走), and truly felt the power of theory.
"A person cannot live without spiritual support, and this is even more true for a revolutionary soldier." After this spiritual baptism, Dai Zhifei began to take up theoretical books on his own initiative.
The clearer one is in theory, the more resolute the steps of inheritance. In the "Red First Company," the "three dares" (三敢) spirit — the masses dare to speak up about problems with Party members, Party members dare to point out problems with branch committee members, and branch committee members dare to raise problems with the secretary — has been passed down for decades.
At a post-exercise review meeting for a tactical exercise, a branch committee member, in front of all the company's officers and soldiers, challenged Company Commander Li Yanfei's on-the-spot handling of the situation, arguing that his decision-making at a critical moment had been overly conservative and had missed a combat opportunity.
After this "salvo," the tent fell silent.
Li Yanfei humbly accepted the criticism, walked to the sand table, and conducted a fresh deduction. After the review, he found that he had indeed made errors in his command, and on the spot conducted a thorough self-criticism before all the company's officers and soldiers.
This scene of daring to speak frankly and of superiors and subordinates sharing the same purpose (上下同欲) is frequently seen in the "Red First Company."
Following the Party's command and being loyal to the Party have never been abstract concepts — they are actions taken underfoot. Over the years, the "Red First Company" Party branch has persisted in making good use of the weapon of criticism and self-criticism, making it routine, institutionalized, and mass-based. Every Party member consciously fulfills the "five take-the-lead" (五个带头) requirements: take the lead in study, take the lead in training, take the lead in work, take the lead in daily life, and take the lead in moments of crisis.
In May of last year, the brigade underwent a comprehensive re-equipping with new wheeled equipment, and the "Red First Company" proactively took on the pilot training task. Faced with new equipment they had never encountered before, Company Commander Li Yanfei was resolute: "We will absolutely never bow our heads before difficulties — the more critical the moment, the more we must step up!"
He led several backbone personnel to climb into the vehicle cabin during the day to practice operations, and at night they were riveted to the combat research room studying the training materials. The entire company fought hard for a month, collecting more than 100 key training data points, sorting out three sets of operating manuals, and having their training methods promoted throughout the entire brigade.
Where the Party flag points, the military flag follows. The formula behind the "Red First Company's" more than 90 years of invincibility is clearly discernible: theoretical arming forges the military soul (军魂); the military soul guides fine work style; fine work style generates the capability to win battles.
The three are interlinked and progressively layered, together forming the complete logic by which this heroic company grasps Party building to strengthen combat readiness.
Today, the experience of the "Red First Company" has long since extended beyond a single company. The brigade to which the company belongs has broadly carried out the activity of "building the entire brigade in the image of the First Company" (全旅照着一连建), emphasizing the exemplary and leading role of the "Red First Company" and promoting its Party branch construction experience throughout the entire brigade. Officers and backbone personnel enter the "Red First Company" to sit in on organizational life meetings; each company, drawing on the "Red First Company's" practices and combining them with its own realities, has established systems such as monthly evaluations of outstanding Party members and officer-soldier candid discussion meetings; the brigade's political education officers and video production personnel have formed a small team to carry out root-seeking activities (寻根活动) along the unit's line of development.
"We stand at the birthplace of the military soul, shouldering the responsibility of loyalty and fearlessness. Let that battle flag of a hundred victories fly forever high…" In the evening breeze, the "Red First Company's" company song echoed in one's ears. As the reporter looked back from the vehicle at the barracks gradually receding into the distance, thoughts surged: a unit's combat effectiveness is reflected not only in advanced weapons and equipment and solid military skills, but even more in that invisible yet sustaining, uncrushable depth of faith and bedrock of loyalty.
From a single company to a powerful force, the same loyalty and sense of responsibility are converging into a torrent charging toward the future battlefield. That battle flag that has passed through the smoke of war shines ever more brilliantly red on the new journey.
Voices
Chen Lin, an officer in the information support room of a certain airfield station, Naval Aviation University:
As a naval aviator, my battle station is far from the sea and not in a cockpit — yet I guard the pulsing "digital heartbeat."
Not long ago, a landing gear status auxiliary identification system that I participated in developing was put into use and played a role in flight support missions. Previously, in foggy conditions, when returning aircraft entered the landing sequence, there was a problem of being unable to clearly see the status of the landing gear. I volunteered, led an attack team, and for several consecutive months went back and forth between the computer room and the runway for verification, collecting large quantities of image materials, repeatedly deducing algorithm models, and ultimately developed this system.
Reflecting on this experience, my deepest understanding is: loyalty to the Party is concrete and practical. It is reflected both in resolutely implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and in faithfully fulfilling one's duties and having the courage to tackle hard problems. Party member cadres must be willing to shoulder the heaviest burdens, capable of gnawing on the hardest bones, and adept at handling the hottest potatoes — demonstrating their sense of responsibility in their own posts through solid capabilities, not disgracing their mission, and creating achievements worthy of the Party and worthy of the era.
(Compiled by Zhang Yidong)
Li Shun, an officer in a certain unit of the People's Armed Police Chongqing General Contingent:
I have discussed with comrades many times how to achieve loyalty to the Party. In my view, loyalty has never been a slogan on one's lips but a conviction in one's heart — it shows in whether one can faithfully perform one's duties in ordinary times, and even more in whether one can charge forward bravely in difficult, dangerous, and arduous missions. One charge during a flood-control and rescue operation that year left a deep impression on me. At the time, turbid waves surged and civilians were trapped on the other side of the river. Without a moment's hesitation I jumped into floodwaters up to my waist, with only one thought in my mind — I am a Party member, I go first. The comrades around me followed me into the water one after another, and in the end the trapped civilians were safely evacuated.
Awarded first-class merit, second-class merit, and third-class merit citations; honored as a "Loyal Guard of the Chinese People's Armed Police" (中国武警忠诚卫士)… Over the years, I have trained hard and tempered myself like steel, striving to fulfill the pledge of "whatever the Party needs me to do, I should do it well." Pressing forward on the new-era path of strengthening the military, no matter when or where, as long as the Party and the people give the order, I will always be like that moment I jumped into the floodwaters — giving my life without hesitation, forging ahead with no second thoughts. For me, loyalty is not just a single charge; it is a lifetime of "being visible in ordinary times, standing up at critical moments, and giving everything at moments of crisis" (平时看得出来、关键时刻站得出来、危急关头豁得出来).
(Compiled by PLA Daily Contributing Reporter Zhang Yongqing)