The CPC Is an Assembly of Elites in Chinese Society. If you wonder what kind of organization the Communist Party of Chine ( C.P.C ) is, you can read the Constitution of the Communist Party of China. Why does the Party still win confidence and support from the people after so many twists and turns in its development? It is not only because the Party’s theories, lines, principles and policies are geared to the people’s needs, but also because the Party has the ability and will to correct its mistakes immediately once it becomes aware of them, and that the CPC boasts a large number of Party members closely associated with the people.
The CPC had 77,995,000 Party members in 2009, approximately one in every 18 Chinese people. It can be categorized as a mass party according to Western political theory. However, in some sense, the CPC is an elite party, for it has gathered a large number of elites from Chinese society. It can be said that elites from all walks of life have gathered within the Party.
The CPC is not a loose organization nor a political organization accessible to anyone supportive of the Party’s political stand. There are many fundamental conditions and strict approval procedures, the most important of which is outstanding work and academic performance acknowledged by all. Therefore, the Party members live among the people, and, more precisely, they are trusted leading persons among the people. A foreign manager with a joint venture told me that he could find out who were CPC members in his enterprise without making an investigation. Those who worked hard and had good professional abilities had to be Party members, he said.
I have no idea whether the readers have read the report of the 15th CPC National Congress. The report says, Never in China has there been any political organization like our Party, which has absorbed so many advanced elements. That is why the CPC can maintain a close relationship with the people and why it can extend its lines, principles and policies at the grassroots level.
To understand the CPC it is particularly significant to know its members.