On the afternoon of January 16, members of the Communist Party
of China (CPC) in Guang'an, Sichuan Province, attended a
mobilization rally.
"The meeting marks the beginning of a citywide education
campaign aimed at assisting members to maintain the Party's
advanced nature," said Party official Guo Jianping.
The rally at Guang'an -- the hometown of former paramount leader
Deng Xiaoping -- is just one small part of the largest education
drive the CPC has seen in the 26 years since Deng's reform and
opening policies were first implemented in 1978. All 68 million
Party members will be participating in the three-phase education
program that is to run from January 2005 to June 2006, when the
party will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its founding.
Classes began on January 14 in Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound,
where the CPC headquarters and the Chinese cabinet are located.
President Hu Jintao announced that strengthening the CPC's advanced
nature is essential to the Party's survival, development and
expansion.
The CPC Central Committee issued a document stating that the
21st century has brought profound changes to the environment the
Party operates in, the tasks it performs and the composition of its
membership. The campaign is intended to help the Party adapt to
these changes and will be an important part of improving the
Party's governance capability and consolidating its authority.
According to the Organization Department of the CPC Central
Committee, maintaining the Party's advanced nature is an issue
affecting its cause and the nation's long-term stability.
"The CPC has throughout its history carried out various internal
education campaigns to help solve problems. This time, it has given
sufficient attention to learning helpful lessons from the past,"
said Professor Zhang Rongchen of the CPC Central Committee Party
School.
Currently unqualified Party members are expected to obtain the
proper qualifications through the campaign. Those who continue to
fall below standards will be dealt with according to regulation,
according to Zhang.
The Party will set up an open-end, long-term feedback mechanism
to invite criticism and comments from non-Party citizens to
guarantee the effectiveness of the campaign.
"The campaign is not only to resolve problems of the Party
members, but also to address complaints of ordinary people," said
Zhang.
In Guang'an, the leading group for the education campaign
conducted a survey of more than 3,000 Party members. Nearly half
the respondents said that local leading Party officials have not
performed well and cannot serve as examples for other Party
members.
A special website was opened at www.xf.org.cn?to help
promote the campaign. Called "Vanguard" (Xianfeng), the
website will provide related news, report on implementation and
detail helpful experience collected from around the nation.
(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2005)