Bigger Is Not Always Better

　　The CPC explores ways to limit its scale and expel unqualified members

　　For the first time in a decade， the Communist Party of China (CPC) saw a decline in its membership growth rate last year. The revelation was announced by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee on June 30， a day before the world’s largest political Party celebrated the 93rd anniversary of its founding.

　　The number of CPC members totaled 86.69 million at the end of 2013， up 1.8 percent year on year. The growth rate saw a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 2012， according to a statement from the department. Some 2.41 million people joined the Party in 2013， 825，000 fewer than the previous year， which marked the first drop in newly enlisted CPC members in the past decade.

　　Official statistics showed that 2.42 million CPC members enlisted in 2004 and the number of new members per year kept growing and finally reached 3.23 million in 2012. Some 21.66 million people had filed their applications by the end of 2013， read the statement.

　　“The drop in new Party members has resulted from the CPC’s initiative to improve its quality and optimize its structure，” said Xin Ming， a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

　　At its birth in 1921， the CPC only had about 50 members. This grew to nearly 4.5 million when the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.

　　Stricter rules

　　On June 10， the General Office of the CPC Central Committee published detailed rules for recruiting new Party members， replacing the previous version， which had been effective for 24 years.

　　Under the new rules， all localities and organizations are required to enlist new Party members in a “prudent” and “balanced” manner.

　　The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee said in a statement the next day that the revamp was motivated by the many new circumstances and problems that have emerged in enlisting new Party members， and have rendered the old version no longer adequate. At the same time， it said that some Party organizations are not strict enough with their enlistment and the quality of members who are recruited needs improvement.

　　“Such problems have affected the Party’s vigor and vitality， its image and prestige among the public， and also impaired the CPC’s creativity， cohesiveness and power. They must be resolved effectively，” the statement said.

　　The new rules stipulate that efforts should be made to keep the Party’s overall size in check， to improve its structure and quality， following requirements raised at a meeting of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on January 28， 2013.

　　A document issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee after the meeting stated that the net annual growth rate for new CPC members would be kept at around 1.5 percent in the next 10 years.

　　Cai Xia， a professor of Party building at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee， said that the quality of its members is more important than its size for a Party like the CPC.

　　The CPC is at the vanguard， so it must be strict in its recruitment to select the best and maintain the integrity of the frontline role played by Party members， Xin said.

　　Stringent discipline should also be applied in the daily management of Party members， according to the CPC’s new membership recruitment regulations.

　　The rules also address the increasing number of migrant Party members， as China now boasts a migrant population of 250 million.

　　Under the rules， background checks on prospective members for Party organizations will not only consult their current employers and organizations， but also those in places in which they were previously registered.

　　Expelling the disqualified

　　The CPC Constitution stipulates that CPC members are the forefront of the Chinese working class， people and nation. But there are people who strove to join the Party in order to receive a push up the bureaucratic ladder or pursue personal interests in other ways， said Chen Shenghua， a professor at the China Executive Leadership Academy， Jinggangshan， a CPC cadre training institution in south China’s Jiangxi Province.

　　Chen said that some Party members have become indifferent to the Party’s role in society. Although they do not violate laws， their behavior does not follow conventional social morality and their professional manner is deeply flawed.

　　Therefore， the CPC has been exploring ways to phase out unqualified members who have not violated laws and Party discipline but whose conduct is nevertheless poor.

　　Huang Genbao was deemed unqualified for CPC membership by a democratic vote in a village-level Party committee in Jiangxi’s Yichun City last year. The decision to eliminate him from the Party was endorsed in June.

　　Though he had been a CPC member for 40 years， Huang was unfamiliar with the process that led to his expulsion. Anyone leaving the CPC normally does so voluntarily or after being expelled by the Party’s disciplinary organs for breaching codes of conduct. Neither situation applied to Huang.

　　The public discontent toward Huang emerged after he joined his son in abusing inspectors checking an unauthorized construction built by the latter last year. Though Huang had committed no formal violation of Party disciplines， the village’s CPC committee held that his behavior was not befitting a CPC member.

　　The village committee’s resolve needed to be reviewed by township- and county-level CPC committees before taking effect.

　　Yichun is one of the first cities in China to explore means of voting out Party members. Between 2003 and the end of June 2014， 674 CPC members were classified as unqualified and 114 similar to Huang were forced out. The city has around 220，000 Party members in total.

　　“Some people’s discontent toward the CPC might simply stem from an incompetent Party member around them，” Xin said. “So finding ways to root out unqualified members is necessary and must be dealt with earnestly.”

　　The Yichun CPC Committee rules that local Party organizations should carry out democratic appraisals regularly to rid themselves of unqualified members.

　　Early in May 2013， Zhang Xi’en， a professor at Shandong University’s School of Political Science and Public Administration， wrote an article in the People’s Tribune， suggesting the CPC membership be cut by 30 million. People’s Tribune is an academic magazine under People’s Daily， the CPC’s flagship newspaper.

　　Party leaders need to find a way to jettison corrupt and opportunistic members who had damaged the Party spirit. “Only if the Party keeps improving the quality and ability of its members can it ensure lasting rule，” Zhang said.

　　Wang Wenzhang， a professor at the Institute of Social Development of Peking University， said that the number of members does not determine the overall quality of a political Party. The fundamental issue is renewing the party’s management style. “This is no longer the era when the CPC had to tightly control loyal members to push for a revolution. A freer way of managing the members is now viable，” he said.

　　While the CPC Constitution allows members to “quit freely，” an invisible barrier has blocked the way out.

　　Cai Zhiqiang， a professor of Party building at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee， said that there’s a prevalent yet mistaken concept that only traitors will quit， and they are usually discriminated against. “Those members who choose to leave need to be treated fairly，” he said.

　　Cai said that the Party should raise the bar for accepting new members to ensure creativity and vitality in the Party. “The punishment of unqualified members should also be strictly in line with Party regulations，” he added.

　　By Yin Pumin

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