Opinion
Everyone Has a Say
All CPC members have a say in the Party
By Lan Xinzhen  ·  2017-11-02  ·   Source: | NO. 44 NOVEMBER 2, 2017

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) drafts a blueprint for the development of the Party and the country in the future. Meanwhile, a lot of people at home and abroad might be curious about how the report addressed by Xi jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to the national congress came out.

According to a press briefing before the opening of the 19th CPC National Congress, Xi's report was produced after widely soliciting opinions, holding discussions and absorbing opinions and suggestions from within the Party and beyond.

A drafting group was established with Xi as the head. The group, which also included heads of central and local government departments and experts and scholars, carried out its work under the direct leadership of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and its Standing Committee.

The drafting of the report involved a lot of study and research. The CPC Central Committee organized 59 institutions to research on 21 key topics and produced 80 reports. The drafting group was divided into nine teams which conducted onsite research in 16 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Related government departments and 25 national-level think tanks also submitted research reports on certain topics. All of these laid a solid foundation for drafting the report.

During the drafting of the report, opinions were solicited from a total of 4,700 people, including business leaders and intellectuals with non-CPC background.

Needless to say, the creation of the report to the 19th CPC National Congress was a democratic process. The CPC adopts democratic centralism and collective leadership. The norms and rules of the Party state that decision-making should follow majority rule; all members are equal within the Party; the Party committees at all levels should collect opinions from all members. Democratic centralism and collective leadership are the major reasons for the high efficiency in the CPC's decision-making process.

All CPC members have a say in the Party. What about non-CPC members? Do they have a say as the CPC governs China? Currently, there are nine political parties in China. With the CPC governing the nation, the other eight political parties also participate in the governance.

This political system is suitable for China. It was formulated and developed through decades of revolution, construction and reform. It's a historical and inevitable choice of the Chinese people. The other eight parties gradually adopted the CPC's political philosophy and accepted its leadership during China's long revolutionary journey.

China's political system is a consultative democracy with Chinese characteristics. First of all, the CPC shares the same political foundation as the other parties. The CPC has been striving for a better life of the people and the rejuvenation of the nation. Its efforts and spirit propelled the other parties to support the leadership of the CPC and follow its revolutionary footprint. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is also recognized by and incorporated into their parties' constitutions, thus forming a common ideological foundation for multiparty cooperation.

The CPC is the vanguard of China's working class and represents the fundamental interests of an overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. The other eight parties, mainly comprising elite intellectuals, are political allies each representing a segment of society's workers, builders of the socialist cause and patriots supporting socialism. Therefore, the system of multiparty cooperation showcases the diversity of China's political affiliations, representing interest groups from every walk of life.

There is no opposition between the CPC and the other parties. They operate on the principles of "lasting coexistence, mutual supervision, working together with open minds, and sharing weal and woe." With the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, the CPC governs the nation, while the other parties take part in the governance. It's a consultative democracy in which everyone has a say in their own affairs and every party is able to extensively, persistently and thoroughly exercise their political rights.

Therefore, the CPC and the other parties are more like close brothers who work together.

Soon after the 19th CPC National Congress opened, all the other political parties extended their congratulations to the congress, saying that they would firmly support the CPC's leadership with Xi as the core, and together strive for the socialist cause in the new era and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Copyedited by Chris Surtees 

Comments to lanxinzhen@bjreview.com 

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