Keeping Up with the Times

The Party members interviewed all hold the opinion that the CPC, far from becoming rigid, has kept up with times.

"The CPC doesn't stick to rigid concepts; it's very sensitive to changes in the outside world, and adept at adjusting its policies in light of new social trends. With the advancement of science and technology and rapid social development, the Party's organizational forms and methods with regard to the younger generation have been constantly responsive," Zhao Zhongxiu asserts. Zhao Fengjun sees changes in the CPC falling into four categories. First, it shifted its work focus to economic development from political campaigns, and second, it carried out reform and opening-up. A big step was diversifying Party membership by cultivating new recruits at the grassroots, and changing the policy that only those who were born into farmer, worker or revolutionary families were qualified to join. Again, directed to the development of membership, it undertook measures to improve the moral and ethical maturity of Party members. The quality of economic and social development was anchored in scientific approaches, and out of concern for people's livelihoods; it made sustainable and coordinated development its top priority.

Zhang Manzhao and Li Maoru regard the constant state of adaptation that characterized the CPC's guidelines, principles and policies to have been justified, from the land reform in the early days of New China, to the centrality of economic development in the period of reform and opening-up, to the current scientific grounding of development efforts.

Zhang Yuxin holds that the reform and opening-up drive, the implementation of a market-oriented economy, and recent acceptance of some Western theories and practices concerning management and finance, to name but a few, have all reflected changes in the CPC itself.

Meanwhile, some core principles of the CPC remain unchanged, such as its tenet to serve the people. Zhao Zhongxiu is satisfied that for decades the CPC has been "doing its best to satisfy the populace at large and earn its support," and it has never positioned itself in opposition to the public will. In Li Maoru's opinion, what is constant about the CPC is the courage, daring spirit, and selfless sacrifice. Whether in times of war and struggling to achieve independence and democracy, or in periods of peaceful construction, the CPC has never relaxed its efforts to realize more benefits for the country, whether by coming up with new policies or facing up to difficulties, however serious those difficulties are.

Biggest Threats: Corruption and Lack of Oversight

Problems and challenges still lurk in the CPC. Of the five Party members we interviewed, four believe the deterrence of corruption and sufficient penalties for corrupt officials are the Party's biggest challenges today. Li Maoru commented, "Existing penalties for corrupt officials are insufficient to deter them and the populace is not appeased. Corruption among CPC officialdom is also a manifestation of its alienation from the masses." In Zhang Manzhao's opinion, the behavior of Party cadres and leaders is a potent determiner of how the CPC as a whole is perceived, even to the point of determining its survival or downfall. Zhao Fengjun endorses the criticism that corruption is an expanding trend, and is concerned it appears to have reached the level of the grassroots in rural areas. For example, right down to elections for village head, the practice of buying votes with money or favors has been known to occur. This development endangers the CPC and if corruption is not curbed by bringing the guilty to justice, matters will go beyond what the masses can tolerate, with unimaginably horrible results.

Li Maoru responded with a proposal that the CPC should mobilize the masses to man oversight mechanisms that supervise officials. Zhang Yuxin regards lack of effective supervision as key to creating conditions where corruption can thrive, and supervision as the necessary antidote; transparency depends on interested but "opposing" stakeholders becoming more involved in the process. Zhao Fengjun thinks in spite of national anti-corruption legislation and parallel precautionary mechanisms, toothless oversight and inefficient implementation of measures means corners still exist where corruption continues unabated.

In Zhao Fengjun's words, the attitude of the populace to corruption is a "coexistence of dissatisfaction and expectation." On the one hand, people show their discontent with the level of corruption; on the other, the populace still expects the Party to solve the problem.

What's more, Zhao Zhongxiu regards the patriarchal structure that persists within the CPC as further evidence that democratic centralism needs strengthening, so that Party organizations build up their immunity against individual leaders at any level making arbitrary decisions to override its formulas. He proposes that expanding democracy within the Party would be a powerful way to realize this improvement. So for example, when appointing leading cadres, nominations and elections would replace a resolution made and carried out by a few insiders. Procedures and rules would govern the process.