Changing face of China’s Communists

[TruthSeeker]

The changing face of China’s Communists

by mark mackinnon

BEIJING— From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Jun. 24, 2011 9:41PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Jun. 24, 2011 10:08PM EDT

As the Communist Party secretary for his work unit, Xiao Jinquan is theoretically the person who should be guiding his colleagues in how best to apply “socialism with Chinese characteristics” in their daily lives.

But as a senior partner in China's biggest law firm – and someone who bills 5,000 yuan (about $750) an hour – Mr. Xiao confesses that studying the latest mutterings from the party's Central Committee isn't high on his priority list. “We bill a lot per hour. It would be very expensive to organize people into reading the People's Daily [newspaper] each day,” he said with a chuckle.

Being a member of today's Communist Party of China has little to do with the writings of Marx or Mao, though both have some lingering adherents. Many party officials are now better known for their love of high-fashion labels and sleek sports-utility vehicles than the rigorous classlessness sought by the clutch of staunch socialists who gathered on July 1, 1921, in Shanghai.

Mr. Xiao and his 200 fellow party members who work in the 15th-floor Beijing offices of the Da Cheng firm are certainly a very different face for the Communist Party than the austere image of Mao Zedong and his comrades proclaiming the People's Republic from atop the rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square.

Mr. Xiao's experiences with the party are also very different from those of someone like Ai Weiwei, the dissident artist who disappeared into custody for two months after offending the country's rulers (he was released on bail on Wednesday).

“I know many Americans and Westerners have some bias against the Communist Party of China. They compare us with Nazis, with dictatorship. They think we read the Little Red Book every day,” Mr. Xiao said, laughing again.

As the party gets set to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its foundation on July 1 with gala performances and a big-budget propaganda movie (known in Chinese as The Founding of a Party and in English as Beginning of the Great Revival), the official Xinhua newswire extolled people to “draw profound inspiration from the glorious historic journey of the party and stride confidently toward the lofty goal of national rejuvenation under the guidance of the glorious banner of the party.”

The changing face of China’s Communists - The Globe and Mail

 

[TruthSeeker]

More than 80 million are Party members

By Zhao Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-25 07:20

BEIJING - The number of Communist Party of China (CPC) members has exceeded 80 million, a senior CPC official said on Friday.

The CPC had 80.269 million members by the end of last year, Wang Qinfeng, vice-minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, said at a news conference.

The Party grew from about 50 members at its birth to nearly 4.5 million when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

By the end of last year, the number of the Party's grassroots organizations was 3.89 million, including 187,000 grassroots Party committees, 242,000 general chapters and 3.46 million chapter branches.

Last year, 3.075 million people joined the CPC, the world's largest political party - a net increase of 2.274 million, Wang told the news conference organized by the International Communication Office of the CPC Central Committee.

The two leading groups of new members are college students and workers, such as industrial workers, farmers, herders and migrant workers, both accounting for more than 40 percent of the new Party members.

It has more than 18 million female members, accounting for 22.5 percent of its total membership, Wang said, adding 6.6 percent of the Party members are from ethnic minority groups and 37.1 percent have received higher education.

There were nearly 6.99 million industrial workers in the Party by the end of last year, while the largest occupational group in the Party was the combination of farmers, herders and fishers, amounting to more than 24.4 million.

Employees of Party departments and government departments also occupied a fair share of the Party's membership, with more than 6.8 million of them paying a monthly Party fee.

The CPC received more than 21 million membership applications last year, a year-on-year increase of 861,000, according to Wang.

"Recent years have witnessed Party members offering their toil and sweat in their daily work. They have made tremendous contributions to the country and have become models of the Chinese people," the vice-minister said, citing the dedication the Party members have demonstrated in confronting the global financial crisis, volunteering during the Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo and fighting natural disasters.

"Eighty-nine people died last year fighting the floods and participating in the rescue or reconstruction efforts," Wang explained. "Among them, 52 were Party members."

Wang also suggested that the connection between the Party and the people has become closer because of Party members lending a hand to those who were in need of help.

"Last year, the grassroots Party organizations and Communists across the country set up more than 27 million 'people-to-people aid alliances' with those facing adversity or poverty, and more than 23 million difficulties and problems afflicting people were overcome with the help of our Party members," he said.

The "people-to-people aid alliance" refers to a pair in which a Party member usually helps the disadvantaged in life and work.

In response to a question on the number of people quitting the CPC, Wang said that most of the 32,000 people who had their Party membership revoked last year were expelled from the CPC, claiming their leaving will "guarantee the advanced nature and purity of the Party".

Talking about the ongoing reshuffling of Party committees at the provincial, city, county and township levels, Wang said the progress is satisfactory, with nearly half of the 34,000 township-level committees and 230 out of some 2,700 county-level committees having already re-elected their leaders.

China Daily More than 80 million are Party members

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Being a member of today's Communist Party of China has little to do with the writings of Marx or Mao, though both have some lingering adherents. Many party officials are now better known for their love of high-fashion labels and sleek sports-utility vehicles than the rigorous classlessness sought by the clutch of staunch socialists who gathered on July 1, 1921, in Shanghai.

You have to adapt and evolve, or else you will get left behind.

There is a reason that Commuism collapsed in the 1990's, yet the CPC is still going strong.

 

[siegecrossbow]

You have to adapt and evolve, or else you will get left behind.

There is a reason that Commuism collapsed in the 1990's, yet the CPC is still going strong.

According to a rumour Jiang Zeming even thought about changing the name of the party. Don't know how reliable it is though.

I think the CCP will fade away once China becomes sufficiently developed. I hope that the future, centralized political system will have a greater basis in traditional Chinese values. Political parties are a hindrance. I think they should be eradicated.

 

[lcloo]

CPC understands Darwin's evolution theory. Constant evolution ensure adaption and survival in new environment. On the opposite side is the extinction.

 

[JayAtl]

80 million signed up to belong to one borg! wow... you will be assimilated

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

I think the CCP will fade away once China becomes sufficiently developed. I hope that the future, centralized political system will have a greater basis in traditional Chinese values. Political parties are a hindrance. I think they should be eradicated.

That's very possible, however it will take more than a decade for China to be classified as a developed country, according to the World Bank definition anyway. And to reach a "sufficient" level of development (in my opinion) will take much longer than that.

All things come to an end, but I personally hope they stick around for at least the next few decades.

P.S. And I love the idea of creating a system with more basis in traditional Chinese values.

 

[JayAtl]

How Public Officials Took $120 Billion, And Ran
Corruption In China: How Public Officials Took $120 Billion, And Ran - Worldcrunch - All News is Global

By Xin Haiguang
经济观察报E.O./Worldcrunch

BEIJING - Just how many corrupt Chinese government officials have fled overseas? How much money have they stashed away? And how did they manage to transfer such colossal sums abroad?

Last week the Bank of China published a report entitled “How corrupt officials transfer assets overseas, and a study of monitoring.” The report quoted statistics based on research by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Since 1990, the number of Communist Party and government officials, public security members, judicial cadres, agents of State institutions, and senior management figures of state-owned enterprises fleeing China has reached nearly 18,000. Also missing is about 800 billion yuan (more than $120 billion).

The Bank of China emphasized the fact that nobody, up to now, has been able to provide an authoratitive figure of the exact sum pilfered, and the recent figure of 800 billion yuan is only an estimate. It is nonetheless an astronomical sum. It is equivalent to China’s total financial allocation for education from 1978 to 1998. Each official stole, on average, an estimated 50 million yuan (more than $7 million). Precisely because this is only an estimate, one can imagine the real numbers are actually much bigger. Some media have reported that the wife of the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Railways, Zhang Shuguang, recently caught for corruption, owns three luxury mansions in Los Angeles, and has bank savings of as much as $2.8 billion in America and Switzerland. This gives a glimpse of the broader picture.

The number of corrupt officials fleeing China is a sign of the seriousness of the government’s attempt to tackle corruption. But if corruption, dereliction of duty and the abuse of power are the norm, then this escape of corrupt officials represents the corruption within a corrupt system. It highlights multiple embarrassments in China’s anti-corruption campaign.

From the initial corruption to organizing the smuggling of large sums of money abroad takes some time. For someone to be corrupt during this time without being caught, this is the first embarrassment.

Next, when a corrupt official prepares his flight, he usually starts by sending his wife and children overseas, and stays alone in China as a so-called “naked official.” To have such “naked, yet unexposed" officials makes for a second embarrassment.

In a country where capital outflow is strictly controlled, how on earth do these people manage to transfer their money overseas successfully? This is the third embarrassment.

And the fourth embarassment? How they manage to change their identity. These crooks usually hold multiple passports and use many identities. For instance, the former Governor of Yunnan Province, Li Jiating, had five passports, all real.

How they escape punishment adds the fifth embarrassment. Extradition involves the political and judicial systems of two countries, each with its own concept of law enforcement. The judicial procedure is often complicated and tedious. Extradition is very often obstructed by the fact that a person condemned to death in absentia cannot be extradited for human rights reasons. In addition, China has not signed extradition treaties with the main destinations, the U.S. or Canada, so once the official has run away, the chance of catching him and putting him on trial is near zero.

Even if they do get caught, the stolen funds are rarely recovered. This is the sixth embarrassment. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption sets out the principle of returning illegal assets, but in practice the procedure is difficult. Not only does China have to show that it owns the assets, it also has to share some of the money with all countries participating in the joint action. After deductions here and there, there won’t be much left.

And, finally, the seventh embarrassment: the government officials who have managed to escape set an example for those still hiding at home. Some used to hold high positions with access to important state secrets, and were very likely bribed by hostile forces. This is a potential threat to China’s political, military and economic stability.

It is for these reasons that it is more important to stop corruption at the source than to catch the culprits after it has happened.

Policies combatting money laundering or obliging leading government employees to report their personal wealth will not solve this problem. Nor will the close monitoring of so-called “naked officials”. The efficient solution would be to establish a clean system where nobody dares to become corrupt. Certain media have suggested the implementation of a property declaration system. This would be like using anti-aircraft guns to fight mosquitoes. Still, at least it is a weapon that knows its target.

 

[tanlixiang28776]

80 million signed up to belong to one borg! wow... you will be assimilated

 

[JayAtl]

China's Communist Party Members Exceed 80 Million China's Communist Party Members Exceed 80 Million


BEIJING -- China's Communist Party, the world's largest political party, said Friday that it has grown even bigger, with the number of members passing 80 million people last year.

Party membership in 2010 swelled to 80.27 million, an increase of more than 2 million from 2009, the party's deputy minister Wang Qinfeng said at a news conference.

The number of members is almost equal to Germany's population.
More than just an ideology, membership in the elite Communist Party also means getting ahead and gaining access to China's ruling class, often bringing perks such as health care and retirement benefits, as well as more attractive career opportunities.

Wang said 21 million people applied to join in 2010 but only about 14 percent were accepted.

Applicants for party membership need recommendations from current members and his or her company or work unit leader showing a strong degree of party loyalty, plus "good behavior."

They also have to submit essays expressing support for the party. ( HAHA- my comment )


With its 90th anniversary coming July 1, state media outlets have recently run articles saying the Communist Party is the reason for China's rapid rise in the world.

Wang said about 24 million party members are farmers, more than 38 percent are women and nearly a quarter are younger than 35.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

How Public Officials Took $120 Billion, And Ran
Corruption In China: How Public Officials Took $120 Billion, And Ran - Worldcrunch - All News is Global

Only $120 billion relative to the total of $3 trillion in currency reserves, is not as bad as I thought it would have been.

Compare the ratio to other developing countries. There are plenty of exmaples where money in Swiss Bank accounts, are several multiples more than the total currency reserves of that country.

 

[JayAtl]

I'm sorry, I'm cracking up about this part " They also have to submit essays expressing support for the party" . I wonder how many words

Chinese dragon - can you show us your essay

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Chinese dragon - can you show us your essay

It's much more rare to have Communist party members in Hong Kong compared to the mainland. Given the fact that Hong Kong only reunified with the PRC in 1997.

I don't actually know any native Hong Kongers who are party members, but I have several friends from the mainland who are CPC members.

This trend will only improve as time goes on.

 

[Brotherhood]

Only $120 billion relative to the total of $3 trillion in currency reserves, is not as bad as I thought it would have been.

Compare the ratio to other developing countries. There are plenty of exmaples where money in Swiss Bank accounts, are several multiples more than the total currency reserves of that country.

And the most funniest part was that we are being making fun at from Indians of India, a well know fact that more than 30% of their population are utterly corrupt.
The Supreme Court has called the corruption in India “mind boggling” while the Chief Vigilance Officer had earlier called 30% of India’s population utterly corrupt.
http://greenworldinvestor.com/tag/jan-lokpal/

 

[JayAtl]

Only $120 billion relative to the total of $3 trillion in currency reserves, is not as bad as I thought it would have been.

Compare the ratio to other developing countries. There are plenty of exmaples where money in Swiss Bank accounts, are several multiples more than the total currency reserves of that country.

• the number of Communist Party and government officials, public security members, judicial cadres, agents of State institutions, and senior management figures of state-owned enterprises fleeing China has reached nearly 18,000.
  
  
• The Bank of China emphasized the fact that nobody, up to now, has been able to provide an authoratitive figure of the exact sum pilfered, and the recent figure of 800 billion yuan is only an estimate. It is nonetheless an astronomical sum. It is equivalent to China’s total financial allocation for education from 1978 to 1998
  
• Each official stole, on average, an estimated 50 million yuan (more than $7 million). Precisely because this is only an estimate, one can imagine the real numbers are actually much bigger. Some media have reported that the wife of the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Railways, Zhang Shuguang, recently caught for corruption, owns three luxury mansions in Los Angeles, and has bank savings of as much as $2.8 billion in America and Switzerland. This gives a glimpse of the broader picture.