(Redirected from Chinese Communists)
The 'Communist Party of China (CPC)' (), also known as the ''Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'', is the
ruling political party of the
People's Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the country's constitution. The Communist Party of China was founded in 1921, and fought the National Government of China (
Republic of China) led by the
Kuomintang (KMT) during the
Chinese Civil War, which ended with the Communist Party of China's victory in the
Chinese Revolution. With more than 70 million members,
[1] the CPC is the largest
political party in the world, with this number being but 5% of the total population of
China.
Role within the People's Republic of China
Flag of the Communist Party of China
The CPC is one of the three centers of power within the
People's Republic of China, the other two being the state apparatus and the
People's Liberation Army. It is the main center of power in the PRC. In areas administered by the PRC outside of the
special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the Communist Party of China functions effectively as a
single party state.
The relationship between party:::: and state is somewhat different from that of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union under
Stalin's successors, in which the party controlled the state. In the current PRC structure, power derives from the state position, but key state positions are invariably held by members of the party and the party through its organization department makes crucial decisions on who occupies what position. However, in contrast to the Soviet situation where the party had extra-legal authority, it has been established since the early 1990s that the party is subject to
rule of law and is therefore subject to the authority of the state and the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
Within the central government, the Party and state structures are fused with the leader of a ministry or commission also being the leader of the party body associated with that ministry. At the provincial or lower levels, the party and state heads are invariably separate, although the party head has a high state position and the state head has a high party position. The general practice at the provincial level has been for the governor of the province government to have been promoted through the local bureaucracy and for the party general secretary to be an outsider.
Although the People's Republic of China exercises sovereignty over
Hong Kong and
Macao, the Communist Party of China does not play an active political role in these two
special administrative regions.
Organization
The party's organizational structure was destroyed during the
Cultural Revolution and rebuilt afterwards by
Deng Xiaoping, who subsequently initiated "
Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and brought all state apparatuses back under the control of the CPC.
Theoretically, the party's highest body is the
National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which meets at least once every 5 years. The primary organization of power in the Communist Party which are listed in the
party constitution include:
★ The
Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members; see
Politburo Standing Committee - Current members for a complete list.
★ The
Politburo, consisting of 24 full members (including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee) and one alternate; see
Politburo - Current members for a complete list.
★ The
Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CPC, headed by the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China;
★ The
Central Military Commission (a parallel organization of the government institution of the same name);
★ The
Discipline Inspection Commission, which is charged with rooting out
corruption and malfeasance among party cadres.
Other central organizations include:
★ General Office;
★ Organization Department;
★ Propaganda (Publicity) Department;
★ International Liaison Department; and
★
United Front Department
In addition, there are numerous commissions and leading groups, the most important of which are:
★ Commission for Politics and Law
★ Work Committee for Organs under the Central Committee
★ Work Committee for Central Government Organs
★ Central Financial and Economic Leading Group
★ Central Leading Group for Rural Work
★ Central Leading Group for Party Building
★ Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group
★ Central Taiwan Affairs Leading Group
★ Commission for Protection of Party Secrets
★ Leading Group for State Security
★ Party History Research Centre
★ Party Research Center
★ Central Party School
Every five years, the Communist Party of China holds a ''National Congress''. Formally, the Congress serves two functions: to approve changes to the Party constitution and to elect a
Central Committee, about 300 strong. The Central Committee in turn elects the
Politburo. In practice, positions within the Central Committee and Politburo are determined before a Party Congress, and the main purpose of the Congress is to announce the party policies and vision for the direction of China in the following few years.
The party's central focus of power is the Politburo Standing Committee. The process for selecting Standing Committee members, as well as Politburo members, occurs behind the scenes in a process parallel to the National Congress. The new power structure is announced obliquely through the positioning of portraits in the ''
People's Daily'', the official newspaper of the Party. The number of Standing Committee members varies and has tended to increase over time. The Committee was expanded to nine at the 16th Party National Congress in 2002.
There are two other key organs of political power in the People's Republic of China: the formal government and the
People's Liberation Army.
There are, in addition to decision-making roles, advisory committees, including the
People's Political Consultative Conference. During the 1980s and 1990s there was a
Central Advisory Commission established by
Deng Xiaoping which consisted of senior retired leaders, but with their passing this has been abolished.
Internal groupings
Political scientists have identified two groupings within the Communist Party
[2]
leading to a structure which has been called "one party, two factions".
[3] The first is the "elitist coalition" or "Shanghai coalition" which contains mainly officials who have risen from the more prosperous provinces. The second is the "populist coalition" or "Youth League faction" which consists mainly of officials who have risen from the rural interior, through the
Communist Youth League. The interaction between these two factions is largely complementary with each faction possessing a particular expertise and both committed to the continued rule of the Communist Party and not allowing intra-party factional politics threaten party unity. It has been noted that party and government positions have been assigned to create a very careful balance between these two groupings.
Within his "one party, two factions" model, Li Chen has noted that one should avoid labeling these two groupings with simplistic ideological labels, and that these two groupings do not act in a zero-sum, winner take all fashion. Neither group has the ability or will to dominate the other completely.
[4]
History
As Revolutionary Party
Marxism ideas start to widely spread in China after the
May Fourth Movement. The Communist Party of China was initially founded by
Chen Duxiu and
Li Dazhao in
Shanghai in 1921 as a study society and an informal network. There were informal groups in China in 1920, and also overseas, but the official beginning was the 1st Congress attended by 13 men in July 1921, when the formal and unified name ''Communist Party of China'' was adopted and all other names of communist groups were dropped.
Mao Zedong was present as one of two delegates from a Hunan communist group, which had maybe 10 members out of 53 for all China. Other 12 members attended included
Zhang Guotao,
Wang Jingwei,
Dong Biwu, Li Hanjun, Li Da,
Chen Tanqiu, Liu Renjing,
Zhou Fohai, He Shuheng, Deng Enming,
Chen Gongbo, Bao Huiseng (represented by
Chen Duxiu sheltering in Canton at that time) and a representative from the
Comintern.
Under the guidance of the
Soviet Union, the party was reorganized along
Leninist lines in 1923, while party members were encouraged to join the
Kuomintang as individual members in preparation for the
Northern Expedition - a policy recommended by the
Dutch communist
Henk Sneevliet, then
Comintern representative in China (see
Henk Sneevliet#Working for the Comintern).
The party was small at first, but grew intermittently through the first Chinese Revolution of 1925-27. Even during that revolution, which was far before the rapid growth of the 1940s and 1950s, the party was the largest communist party in the world, larger even than the
CPSU. With the collapse of the revolution in 1927 the party was
massacred at the hands of the
Kuomintang with more than 4 in 5 members being killed. The only major section of the party which survived was the section built around Mao Zedong, which through its loyalty to the
Comintern line and short-lived strategic "alliances" with the
Kuomintang, was able to survive the slaughter. Mao Zedong achieved success using
Mobile Warfare, which was at first rejected by the leadership and then resumed on the famous
Long March. The
Western world first got a clear view of the Communist Party of China through
Edgar Snow's ''
Red Star Over China''.
After 1945, the
civil war resumed and despite initial gains by the
Kuomintang, it was defeated and forced to flee to off-shore islands, the biggest among which is
Taiwan. The Kuomintang's defeat marked the onset of the
Chinese Revolution whence Mao Zedong proclaimed the
People's Republic of China in
Beijing on
October 1,
1949.
As Ruling Party
The Communist Party of China has been penetrated by those it sought to defeat, originally a party based around the Marxist-Leninism principles it has evolved into a Stalinist/Nationalist organization. The CPC is now condemned by many if not all Socialist movement around the world for its deviation from Socialism. The CPC has been criticized specifically by Marxists, Leninists and Trotskyists.The CPC's ideologies have significantly evolved since its founding. Mao's revolution that founded the PRC was nominally based on
Marxism-Leninism with a rural focus based on China's social situations at the time. During the 1960s and 1970s, the CCP experienced a significant
ideological breakdown with the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union under
Nikita Khrushchev and their allies. Since then Mao's peasant revolutionary vision and so-called "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat" stipulated that class enemies continued to exist even though the socialist revolution seemed to be complete, giving way to the disastrous ''
Cultural Revolution''. This fusion of ideas became known officially as "
Mao Zedong Thought", or Maoism outside of China. It represented a powerful branch of communism that existed in opposition to the
Soviet Union's "
Marxist revisionism".
Following the death of
Mao Zedong in 1976, however, the CCP under the leadership of
Deng Xiaoping moved towards ''
Socialism with Chinese characteristics'' and instituted
Chinese economic reform. In reversing some of Mao's "extreme-leftist" policies, Deng argued that a socialist country and the
market economy model were not mutually exclusive. While asserting the political power of the Party itself, the change in policy generated significant economic growth. The ideology itself, however, came into clash on both sides of the spectrum with Maoists as well as progressive liberals, culminating with other social factors to cause the
1989 Tiananmen Square Protests. Deng's vision for economic success and a new socialist market model became entrenched in the Party constitution in 1997 as ''
Deng Xiaoping Theory''.
The "third generation" of leadership under
Jiang Zemin,
Zhu Rongji, and associates largely continued Deng's progressive economic vision while overseeing the re-emergence of
Chinese nationalism in the 1990s. Nationalist sentiment has seemingly also evolved to become informally the part of the Party's guiding doctrine. As part of Jiang's nominal legacy, the CPC ratified the ''
Three Represents'' into the 2003 revision of the Party Constitution as a "guiding ideology", encouraging the Party to represent "advanced productive forces, the progressive course of China's culture, and the fundamental interests of the people." There are various interpretations of the ''Three Represents''. Most notably, the theory has legitimized the entry of private business owners and quasi-"
bourgeoisie" elements into the party.
The insistent road of focusing almost exclusively on economic growth has led to a
wide range of serious social problems. The CPC's "fourth generation" of leadership under
Hu Jintao and
Wen Jiabao, after taking power in 2003, attempted reversing such a trend by bringing forth an integrated ideology that tackled both social and economic concerns. This new ideology was known as the creation of a
Harmonious Society using the ''Scientific Development Perspective''.
The degree of power the Party had on the state has gradually decreased as economic liberalizations progressed. The evolution of CCP ideology has gone through a number of defining changes that it no longer bears much resemblance to its founding principles. The CCP's current policies are fiercely rejected as
capitalist by most communists, especially
anti-revisionists, and by adherents of the
Chinese New Left from within the PRC. Today,
college-educated people within the People's Republic of China are said to be more likely to join because of
economic benefits of membership.
The Communist Party of China comprises a
single-party state form of government; although, there are parties other than the CCP within China, all of these report to the
United Front Department of the Communist Party of China and do not act as opposition or independent parties. Since the 1980s, as its commitment to
Marxist ideology has appeared to wane, the party has begun to increasingly invoke
Chinese nationalism as a legitimizing principle as opposed to the
socialist construction for which the party was originally created. The change from
socialism to
nationalism has pleased the CCP's former enemy, the
Kuomintang (KMT), which has warmed its relations with the CCP since 2003.
[5]
Viewpoints: criticism and support
There are a variety of opinions about the Communist Party of China, and opinions about the CPC often create unexpected political alliances and divisions. For example, many
chief executive officers of Western companies tend to have favorable impressions of the CPC, while many revolutionary
Maoists and other
Marxists have strongly negative opinions.
Trotskyists argue that the party lost its Marxist credentials in the 1920s and adhered to a
Stalinist political doctrine, with many calling for
political revolution. Opinions about the CPC also create very strong divisions among groups normally ideologically united such as
conservatives in the
United States.
Many of the unexpected opinions about the CPC result from its rare combination of attributes as a party formally based on
Marxism which has overseen a dynamic
market economy, yet maintains an authoritarian political system.
Supporters of the
International Tibet Independence Movement, the
Republic of China (Taiwan),
Falun Gong, a spiritual group,
Taiwan independence,
neoconservatives in the
United States and
Japan, international human rights groups, proponents of civil liberties and freedom of expression, advocates of democracy, along with many
democratic and anti-authoritarian
left-wing forces in those same countries, are among the groups which have opposed the CPC government because it is said to be a repressive
single-party state regime.
In addition, the extremists within the American neoconservatives sometimes argue that the Communist Party of China is a grave threat to peace because of its authoritarian nature, its military build-up of offensive capabilities, and threats made to Taiwan.
Some of the opponents of the Party within the
Chinese democracy movement have tended not to argue that a strong Chinese state is inherently bad, but rather that the Communist leadership is corrupt. The
Chinese New Left, meanwhile, is a current within China that seeks to "revert China to the
socialist road" -- i.e., to return China to the days after
Mao Zedong but before the reforms of
Deng Xiaoping and his successors.
Another school of thought argues that the worst of the abuses took place decades ago, and that the current leadership is not only unconnected with them, but were actually victims of that era. They have also argued that while the modern Communist Party may be flawed, it is comparatively better than previous regimes, with respect to improving the general standard of living, than any other government that has governed China in the past century and can be put in more favorable light against most governments of the
developing nations. However, farmers and other rural people have been marginalized, and their standard of living and national influence have been greatly reduced, as a result, the CPC has recently taken sweeping measures to regain support from the countryside, to limited success.
In addition, some scholars contend that China has never operated under a decentralized democratic regime in its several thousand years of history, and therefore it can be argued that the structure present, albeit not up to western moral standards, is the best possible option when compared to its alternatives. A sudden transition to
democracy, they contend, would result in the economic and political upheaval that occurred in the
Soviet Union in the 1990s, and that by focusing on economic growth, China is setting the stage for a more gradual but more sustainable transition to a more liberal system. This group sees Mainland China as being similar to
Spain in the 1960s, and
South Korea and
Taiwan during the 1970s.
As with the first group, this school of thought brings together some unlikely political allies. Not only do most intellectuals within the Chinese government follow this school of thinking, but it is also the common belief held amongst pro-
free trade liberals in the West.
Many observers from both within and out of China have noted the CCP's gradual but sure movement towards democracy and transparency, hence arguing that it is best to give it time and room to evolve into a better government rather than forcing an abrupt change.
Current leadership
The Members of the
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China are:
★
Hu Jintao -
President of the People's Republic of China,
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and
Chairman of the Central Military Commission
★
Wu Bangguo - Chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
★
Wen Jiabao -
Premier of the
State Council of the People's Republic of China
★
Jia Qinglin - Chairman of the National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
★
Zeng Qinghong -
Vice President of the People's Republic of China, member of the CPC CC Secretariat
★
Huang Ju (deceased) - Vice Premier, State Council
★
Wu Guanzheng - Secretary of the CPC Discipline Inspection Commission
★
Li Changchun - Head of the CPC CC Central Leading Group for Propaganda [Publicity] and Ideological Work
★
Luo Gan - Secretary of the National People’s Congress Commission for Politics and Law. Educated in
Germany.
Members of the Politburo of the CPC Central committee:
Wang Lequan,
Wang Zhaoguo,
Hui Liangyu,
Liu Qi,
Liu Yunshan,
Li Changchun,
Wu Yi,
Wu Bangguo,
Wu Guanzheng,
Zhang Lichang,
Zhang Dejiang,
Chen Liangyu (dismissed in September 2006),
Luo Gan,
Zhou Yongkang,
Hu Jintao,
Yu Zhengsheng,
He Guoqiang,
Jia Qinglin,
Guo Boxiong,
Huang Ju,
Cao Gangchuan,
Zeng Qinghong,
Zeng Peiyan,
Wen Jiabao.
Alternate member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee:
Wang Gang
Members of Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee: Zeng Qinghong,
Liu Yunshan,
Zhou Yongkang, He Guoqiang,
Wang Gang,
Xu Caihou,
He Yong.
List of leaders of the Communist Party of China
In reality, since the founding of the PRC, only four individuals have held the formal position of CPC leadership (''Chairman'' before 1982, ''General Secretary'' thereafter) concurrent to being China's
paramount leader. They were:
★
Mao Zedong (1949-1976)
★
Hua Guofeng (1976-1982)
★
Jiang Zemin (1992-2002)
★
Hu Jintao (2002-present)
Deng Xiaoping was notably the Chinese leader who did not hold formal leadership posts in the Communist Party during his tenure as China's paramount leader, a period which in reality lasted from 1978 to the mid-1990s.
Two people held the position of Communist Party General Secretary without holding paramount power (both were dismissed for holding stances of social reform):
★
Hu Yaobang (1982-1987)
★
Zhao Ziyang (1987-1989)
References and Notes
1. CPC holds grand rally to celebrate 85th founding anniversary, Xinhua News Agency, June 30, 2006
2. http://chicagosociety.uchicago.edu/china/coverage/PoliticsPanel.pdf
3. http://chinavitae.com/reference/conferencepapers/Li_Cheng.pdf
4. http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=210
5. See 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China.
See also
★
Chinese Anarchism
★
Communist Party
★
List of Communist Parties
★
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
External links
★
Official News of the Communist Party of China
★
Official newspaper
★
Mao-era Communist Party of China books and articles in English
★
A Struggle Within the Chinese Communist Party Montly Review Article May 2002.
★
Short History of Communist Party
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