What impressed her most in the Party classes were lectures given by teachers from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shanghai. “What they said was very neutral and sincere. They didn’t simply sing the praises of the Party, but talked of the mistakes the Party has made. I think it is good that the Party can acknowledge and face up to its shortcomings,” says Tang.

Tang says that she has no plans right now to seek a government job, but if there was any opportunity she would switch to the public service, such as working in a labor union in a foreign-funded company or in a neighborhood community. “If I could join the Party, I would probably consider a public service job,” says Tang.

“Being a Party member is sometimes regarded as an act of political faith. But for ordinary people like me, it just means being willing to help others and becoming a useful person in society. Perhaps my intentions are just a miniature version of the CPC’s tenet of serving the people,” says Tang with a smile.

According to an administrative staff member surnamed Wang at the Party Committee of Shanghai Foreign Service Co., Ltd., very few employees in foreign-funded companies have joined the Party for utilitarian reasons. His company provides professional human resources services for foreign-invested enterprises in Shanghai, including handling the procedure for employees’ enrolling in the CPC.

“The applicants are mostly young people with a good educational background and excellent job performance record,” says Wang. “The culture in foreign-funded enterprises and their career planning methods mean their employees’ professional advancement has very little to do with politics. Many applicants self-select into Party membership because they are impressed and influenced by the virtue of Party members around them,” adds Wang.

Wang also revealed that when foreign-invested companies first entered China they were reluctant to recruit the CPC members. However, gradually they found that Party members normally performed better than the average employee. “Now the bosses have set Party member status as a recruitment criterion,” says Wang. “Even though they may not favor the political choice.”