Organization of the Chinese Communist Party
[1] Gu Su, a constitutional law professor from Nanjing University, believed it was "a significant step by the new leadership to introduce rule of law into the management of party members amid a legitimacy crisis due to widespread abuse of power and corruption".
[2] The 8th Central Committee, elected by the 8th National Congress, promulgated an 8-point resolution in 1956;[2] First, the CCP must without exception implement the principle of collective leadership and expand internal party democracy.
"[2]However, these points were not implemented under Mao Zedong, in most parts because of the Cultural Revolution in which the CCP returned to the norm of issuing policy on the basis of centralism.
[5] However, with the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong, the party began looking in on itself, reflecting on the ills which had manifested themselves under its guidance.
[7] In the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping enacted unofficial term and age limits, intending to prevent the problems of the kind which arose in the late Mao Zedong era.
[8]: 68 The party's term limits reflect the implicit assumption that if a person remains in office too long, they lose touch with the people.
[10] A congress may be held before the given date if the Central Committee so decides, or if "one third of the party organizations at the provincial level so request".
[11] At the 15th National Congress in 1997, for instance, several princelings (the sons or daughters of powerful CCP officials) failed to be elected to the 15th Central Committee; among them were Chen Yuan, Wang Jun and Bo Xilai.
[10] Despite this, certain seats are not subject to elections; instead, the outgoing Central Committee "recommends" certain choices to the party electorate.
[22] In contrast, in China, when the CCP dismissed Hu Yaobang (in 1987) and Zhao Ziyang in 1989, the Politburo, not the Central Committee, convened a special session.
[23] The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is responsible for monitoring and punishing CCP cadres who abuse power, are corrupt or in general commit wrongdoing.
In 1945, Mao was elected Chairman of the CCP Central Committee, the title he held for the rest of his life.
[28] The PSC is the highest decision-making body of the Communist Party, though since Hu Jintao's term as General Secretary there is some evidence to suggest a greater role for the collective consultation of the entire Politburo.
The membership of the PSC has historically varied between 5 and 11 members, and usually consist an odd number of people to avoid tie-breaking votes.
[45] Unlike the collective leadership ideal of other party organs, the CMC Chairman acts as commander-in-chief with the right to appoint or dismiss top military officers as he pleases.
[45] In theory, the CMC Chairman is under the responsibility of the Central Committee, but in practice, he reports only to the paramount leader.
It acts as the primary day-to-day administrative body of the Central Committee, responsible for communication and drafting party documents.
[48] A Functional Department (职能部门) is a body of the CCP that is tasked with a certain aspect of work by the Central Committee.
There are currently six departments: These commissions are tasked with policy formulation and implementation, led by high-ranking officials within the CCP.
[62][non-primary source needed] Party committees also exist at the neighborhood level and even within landlord and property management organizations.
However, this requirement was lightly enforced until 2012 when the CCP began strengthening party committee in private companies.
[69] In addition to increasing the number of Party organizations, the CCP has concurrently attempted to raise its influence over management decisions since 2012.
[64] Furthermore, the CCP is pushing for a "modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics" that involves inserting Party building provisions directly into corporate charters.
[64] The CCP's efforts to promote Party organizations in the private sector have led to concerns from foreign entities.
European trade groups resisted attempts by their SOE joint venture partners to incorporate Party organizations into company charters in 2017.
In May 2018, the US-China Business Council reported that some SOE joint ventures requested foreign partners to amend their articles of association to support CCP groups and even allow party organizations to approve critical matters before presenting them to the board.
A 2018 analysis by the European Commission highlighted the potential significant influence of party organizations in both SOEs and private companies, enabling the CCP to directly impact business decisions.
[70] In contrast to the past, when emphasis was placed on the applicants' ideological criteria, the current CCP stresses technical and educational qualifications.
After 1949, people joined to gain good government jobs or access to universities, which were then limited to CCP members.
[70] In 2023, Chen Wenqing of the CCP's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission directed party cadres and committees at all levels to "attach great importance to, concern themselves with, and support covert front work.
