President Hu Jintao gave a speech to thousands of party officials at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. President Hu said the Communist Party, to continue its rule, must adapt to a changing nation and a changing world.

He said that without continued fast economic development and social order, the gains of the past twenty years will be lost.

President Hu urged the party to fight corruption and create what he described as a clean government. He warned that acts of corruption by party members who hold political office could cause the public to lose trust.

In his speech, the president said that in the past, the Communist Party has made mistakes and suffered setbacks. He said the party learned from its mistakes and today is leading the Chinese to a victorious future. He said that after ninety years, it is clear that only the Communist Party can properly govern China.

Millions died under the policies of the Great Leap Forward in the nineteen fifties and the Cultural Revolution in the sixties. Hundreds and perhaps thousands died when troops crushed the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in nineteen eighty-nine.

Mao died in nineteen seventy-six. Deng Xiaoping took his place and launched a period of reforms. Today China has the world's second-largest economy. But the small group of top leaders in the party continue to crush dissent, control the media and deny basic rights.