Seizing Responsibility

This year Mao Kuai turns 22 and is in his senior year at China University of Political Science and Law. In college he served as president of the student union and secretary of the CPC committee of his grade. When reflecting on why he decided to join the Party as a teenager, he responded that the urge was in his “seething blood.” “For high school students, joining the Party is more of an emotional rather than a political choice. I was innocent and full of passion then, and the Party’s tenet of serving the people whole-heartedly appealed to me in itself,” admits Mao.

After entering the university that made its reputation for political science and law, Mao gradually realized that the choice to join the Party is a political one and should be made rationally. He started to read up on Party history and theories.

In China, only the best students stand a chance to be admitted to the Party as early as their high school years and Mao was one of them. With an outstanding academic performance and a strong moral character, Mao was eligible for the first batch of Young Pioneers of China in primary school and the Communist Youth League of China in junior high school. It naturally occurred to him that he should join the CPC in senior high school.

“Sometimes I feel perplexed, but I still firmly believe my path is the right one. I think what is most precious about the CPC lies in its strong sense of responsibility to the Chinese people and the society,” comments Mao, and adds: “In the nation’s modern history the CPC led the Chinese people in overcoming countless difficulties and setbacks; the Party has made huge contributions to China’s development, especially since the reform and opening-up drive. I want to be part of an organization with tangible achievements and an ongoing sense of responsibility for improving our society, instead of sitting back and pointing a finger at its imperfections,” Mao adds.

The proportion of Party members among college students keeps climbing. When Mao reached his senior year, about 40 percent of the students in his grade held Party membership. Mao points out that it was inevitable that some people would join the Party for utilitarian purposes. “They understood that Party membership will move them up to the top of the list when competing for civil service jobs and the like. Others were just following the crowd as they think to be a Party member couldn’t be a bad thing anyway,” says Mao. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the CPC attracts lots of outstanding talent,” he emphasizes.

Mao decided to serve as a volunteer teacher for a year in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region before starting his post-graduate studies. Born and raised in Sichuan Province in China’s less developed west, he had stronger connections to China’s economically challenged central and western areas. “I hoped then and still do that I can do something to help the children there broaden their vision and make their way in life,” says Mao.

Mao views Party membership as a responsibility rather than an article of faith. “We can’t just receive but not give. The Party’s tenet of serving the people can be interpreted as a fundamental and actionable principle that leads to a better society,” explains Mao.

In Pursuit of Advancement

Chen Sumei is a real up-and-comer in Liangjiagou Village in Xibaipo Town. With only nine years of schooling, she was elected head of her village chapter of the Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL). In 1998, at the age of 27, she joined the CPC when there was a fixed quota of only one to two recruits a year for the whole town.

Recalling the moment, Chen explained she felt it a great honor that made her different from others: “I always thought I should take more responsibility and be in a position to make sacrifices when necessary. My motive was quite simple – it was necessary if you sought personal development and planned to contribute to social advancement.”

A few years later the village council downsized and Chen was laid off. To make a living she opened a restaurant. However, not long ago the village planned new construction and had to tear down Chen’s business. The compensation offered by the village, on a shoestring budget, was not enough for her to recoup her initial investment in the restaurant’s construction and decoration, not to mention the loss of future profits.

“To be honest, I felt very unhappy about it at first, but then our village Party secretary came to comfort me by reminding me that I am still a Party member. My sense of responsibility was reawakened,” Chen said. “I feel I am obliged to make sacrifices as a Party member when needed,” she added.

But Chen goes on to point out that being a Party member doesn’t always mean suffering losses. “Whenever a big decision had to be made in the village, the cadres call all the Party members together for a discussion, and we express our opinions freely,” says Chen.

Chen accepted that young women in the rural areas are generally more interested in the fads and hype on the Internet than in politics these days. But for her, the CPC membership offered a leg up on the ladder of self-actualization.

Good Members, Better Staff

A mother-to-be surnamed Tang currently works in a U.S. invested software company in Shanghai. Even though in the late months of her pregnancy, Tang insists on taking the CPC history classes and relevant programs for Party applicants. Such training is a requirement for those seeking CPC membership. Tang is bright, open-minded and warm-hearted; so her friends often joke that she is a perfect fit for working on neighborhood committees.

Tang admits that it was her mother’s strong sense of justice that shaped her attitude to life. “My mother used to take charge of women’s affairs in our village. She had the chance to join the Party but she gave it up as she felt herself insufficiently educated and therefore unqualified, and that has remained the regret of a lifetime for her,” says Tang. “When she found out I planned to join the Party, she could not have been more supportive,” Tang adds.

Tang didn’t apply to join the CPC at college because she was averse to the directness and seeming naivety of the propaganda. However, her years of working experience led her to conclude that she should re-think the Party membership issue and avoid all forms of extreme positions.

“Many people around me are Party members. They are warm-hearted, nice, easy to get along with and willing to help others. I was strongly attracted to an organization consisting of so many nice people,” says Tang.