Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Tuesday called on the country's writers and artists to contribute more to the revival of the Chinese nation.

The president made the call in Beijing while addressing the 7th National Congress of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and the 6th National Congress of the Chinese Writers' Association.

Jiang said that Chinese writers and artists have created a great number of excellent works during the past few decades, making a significant contribution to literature and art in China and enriching the life of the general public.

By the middle of this century, China will have reached its goal of modernization, and the Chinese nation will then be revived, said the president.

By that time, a rich, powerful, democratic and more civilized China will have emerged and the Chinese nation will make a far bigger contribution to mankind. That has been what the Chinese people have been striving for in modern times, Jiang said.

He went on to say the revival of the Chinese nation requires not only material advancement but also cultural advancement.

The coordinated development of both material civilization and culture is the only way for Chinese society to make balanced progress, and China's writers and artists shoulder great responsibility in this area, says the president.

Jiang said that the essential tasks for China's modernization are to work hard to establish an advanced culture, to make this culture more attractive and inspiring to people everywhere, and to quickly become a developed country by expanding its advanced productive force.

Only by establishing an advanced culture fitting in with modernization, the world and the future, with national characteristics and suitable for the all people, he said, can the growing cultural needs of the general public be met, and people's ideological and moral standards improved.

This will provide strong intelligent support for economic development and will help boost an advanced productive force, he added.

The president called on the thousands of representatives at the congresses to carry on the spirit of the Chinese nation, the outstanding part of which is to keep united, independent, peace- loving and making unremitting efforts to overcome difficulties, through which the amazing Chinese civilization was created.

Jiang told the representatives that it was worth thinking, learning and using for reference the spirit of cultural and art creativity in the history of both China and other countries.

Literary and art workers should adhere to the truth, oppose falsehood, glorify beauty and goodness, fight evil, advocate science and combat foolishness, he added.

Governments at all levels, Jiang said, should attach great importance to literary and art work through enthusiastically promoting the development of literary and art causes.

Jiang said the Chinese Communist Party and government officials should continue to respect knowledge and talent, sincerely unite and trust writers and artists, and create better working conditions for them.

Governments at all levels should provide support and rewards for fine works and outstanding professionals, Jiang said.

The governments should encourage the spirit of creativity of literary and art workers so as to enable them give full play to their skills and knowledge, while helping them grasp the spirit of the era and the demands of the general public and give serious thought to the influence of the works on society, Jiang said.

As non-governmental organizations of writers and artists, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and the Chinese Writers' Association should improve their contact with writers and artists and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, he said.

International exchange and cooperation in literary and art fields should be expanded, the president said.

To promote the development and prosperity of literature and art in China, more efforts are needed to deepen reform and form organizational, managerial and operational mechanisms adaptable to the socialist market economy and the law of literature and art, Jiang said.

(China Daily December 19, 2001)