Lecture 10-03-05, Foreign Cultures 63

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Note: October 1 is Chinese National Day secular/state holidays replaced religious/cultural holidays under Mao Chinese New Year replaced with “Spring Festival” traditional holidays were supposed to be ignored, although since 1978 there has been somewhat of a revival Political Institutions in the Mao era Society organized such that mobilized political power can be used to exert control over the family, society at large, the economy, etc. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Fundamentally modeled off of the communist party system in the Soviet Union Note: original motivation for forming a communist party in the USSR was to enact a revolution It was unclear what would happen to the communist party after the revolution was realized Settled only after considerable debate The party would continue in its highly disciplined, hierarchical structure to better society CCP still operating under the Leninist framework (details below) Goals of the CCP Formulation of policy – Supposed to develop policies that apply to all realms of social life via the Marxist doctrine, therefore policies are handed down to control all aspects of society (nothing is “out of bounds”) Oversee the implementation of policy at all levels – actual implementation occurs via the state bureaucracy (not the party itself). Becomes complicated when the state official is also a party member (this occurs in some periods). Choose the individuals who will assume leadership positions – this happens at all levels of society. Nomenklatura: actual lists of posts to which the party has to lend its approval. Conduct propaganda for its ideas and policies – propaganda is necessary and desirable in communist society; communist party must make sure everyone knows and believes the communist ideology. Ideological watchdog – awareness of deviations from the orthodoxy (this can be behavior, political views, etc); note that ideology can change over time. Concern with preempting any autonomous organizational activities – any organization must be officially registered and overseen by some bureaucratic officer (although this has been relaxed a great deal in the post-1978 period). Contrast with Western society Very large party (70 million members) Designed to be the only party and dominate national politics (note: 8 democratic parties in China now, but severely limited in size and scope – CCPCP:

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congress of outside political parties that occasionally advises the CCP – abolished during the Cultural Revolution). CCP is written into the Chinese constitution The general secretary (i.e. “chairman”) of the CCP is much more important than any party chairman in the US (current CCP leader: Hu Jintao) CCP is an elite party (specially selected organization) Western parties reflect their social “base” – not so in China and Leninist systems (the party sets the goal, then recruits accordingly) Party Structure Congress every 5 years – they elect a Central Committee (300+ members) Central Committee meets intermittently – several plenary sessions (“plenums”) every year Within the Central Committee there is selected a political bureau (27 members) Within the political bureau there is the standing committee (9 members) These 9 individuals have the greatest power over Chinese politics/society They control the day-to-day running of the party Secretariat of the CCP 7 of the top party officials Zeng Qinghoung is currently leader The administrative wing (the Central Committee is responsible for policy) Central Military Commission Hu Jintao leads this Central Discipline Inspection Commission looks for corruption, political dissent Organizational Department within the CCP approves people for membership can expel people from the CCP Propaganda Department within the CCP handles the party ideology and its dissemination to the population Note: party structure extends down to lower levels of society; lower levels are to follow the edicts of the CCP closely Mass associations (“transmission belts of the party”) Communist Youth League (age 15-28) Young Pioneers (9-14) All-China Women’s Federation All-China Federation of Trade Unions State government State council led by premier Wen Jiabao National Peoples Conference every 5 years (party-controlled legislature) Approves laws and regulations Party structure is interwoven e.g. Universities Party branches of each department that hold regular meetings At the college level, there would be a college-wide branch

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Joining the CCP (in the Mao period) Candidates subjected to scrutiny for a long time before acceptance Wanted to accept those who were most devoted to the party, most selfless, but because the CCP was so elite, the candidates were sometimes careerist and self interested Certain categories were selected for recruitment (e.g. worker recruitment just after founding, exclusion of landlords/capitalists); recent desire to recruit experts and intellectuals from colleges Existing party member will engage with the candidate – party investigators will look into past history Party branch will vote to admit the candidate as probationary member Final vote by a higher-level for admission Occasional rectification exercises (examinations) even after admission.