Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The party gets bigger

The world's largest political party keeps growing even though only a small percentage of applicants is accepted.

Heard of guanxi? If you've been reading this blog, you have. See: Guanxi and ethics or Xi Jiping and guano. And that might help explain why so many people want to join the Party.

China Communist party 'exceeds 80 million members'
China's governing Communist Party, the world's largest political party, says its membership now exceeds 80 million.

Some 21 million people applied to join in 2010 but only about 14% were accepted, a party official said.

Applicants need the backing of existing members and must undergo exhaustive checks. Membership brings many perks including better career opportunities…

Most significantly in China, where correspondents say personal relationships [guanxi] often matter more than ability, members get to network with decision-makers influencing their careers, lives or businesses…

The percentage of full party members in 2010 who were under 35 was 24%, while women made up about 22%…

The changing face of China’s Communists
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…

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.”

Instead, The Globe and Mail talked to five Chinese citizens about what the Communist Party means to them in 2011.

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