CHINA'S Communist Party has stepped up its campaign to restore traditional socialist values with a hard hitting commentary calling on party members to ''arm their minds with Marxism''.
The commentary in yesterday's Beijing Daily stressed that only through the ''earnest study'' of Marxism could party members and officials meet new challenges posed by economic reform.
''Some people think it is not important to study [Marxist theory] well. Such thinking is lopsided and wrong.
''Without the firm foundation of Marxism to stand on, one can only do things blindly and may even deviate from the correct path,'' it said.
''As reform and opening to the outside world enters a new stage, there has been an unprecedented level of social change and new problems have emerged . . .
''It is especially important to strengthen theoretical study and arm the minds of our party members and cadres with Marxism.'' The commentary echoes a front page article in Monday's People's Daily which called for a strengthening of ideological and political education in order to combat the ''unhealthy social tendencies'' which had arisen the past few years.
The People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, noted that many cadres had seemingly lost their way, or been tempted down the wrong path by the ''blind pursuit of profit''.
