Zhong Nanshan leads Guangdong’s front-line health care workers in the fire to join the Party.
On January 4, the newly revised “Regulations on the Protection of the Rights of Party Members of the Communist Party of China” was published in full. Officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have increased publicity about the new version of the regulations, which refine the “13 rights of party members,” but scholars who have been in the system, including Cai Xia and Deng Iuwen, have interpreted the revised regulations as in fact increasing the overall control over 90 million party members.
This is the first revision after a 16-year hiatus. The newly revised Regulations have more than 2,000 words and have been expanded from five chapters and 38 articles in the 2004 version to five chapters and 52 articles.
Official Propaganda on 13 Rights of Party Members Old Wine in New Bottles
China’s official narrative focuses on Chapter 2, which promotes the refinement of the “13 rights of party members.
A video on the website of the State Supervision Commission of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, “Three minutes to learn about the Regulations on the Protection of the Rights of Party Members of the Communist Party of China”, says: “The revised regulations, with 13 articles, refine and clarify the rights of party members, including the right to be informed, the right to receive education and training, the right to participate in discussions, the right to propose and The right to supervise, the right to request removal, the right to vote, the right to elect and be elected, the right to defend, the right to dissent, the right to request, the right to appeal, the right to sue, and 13 other rights.”
However, these so-called rights were listed in the old version long ago, and several scholars who had been in the system commented that the official propaganda was just old wine in a new bottle.
Deng Iuwen, an independent scholar who was deputy editor of Study Times, the journal of the Party school of the CPC Central Committee, and now lives in the United States, told the station that the propaganda was meant to coincide with the re-revision, and that it was always necessary to bring to the fore some good-sounding regulations that could not possibly be those that put restrictions on party members.
“The implication is that while I (the CCP) will do this formalized rule refinement, how to use the rule that’s my problem. So it’s just a nice looking article, at best, something to plug the outside mouth. When (party members) say we have no rights, (the CPC can say) how do we have no rights? I have all the provisions! It’s like …… Constitution also states that China can have freedom of speech! ” Deng said.
Cai Xia interpreted the details of the regulations to strengthen the core control of Xi Jinping‘s power
Cai Xia, a former professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee who was involved in the construction of the CCP’s system and philosophy, said bluntly that the newly revised regulations promulgated this time are a “total regression” of the CCP.
“In the formulation of any system, there is a basic system concept, which is a value orientation, a value choice.” In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Cai Xia explained, “But this time, the basic concept of the newly amended regulations is to control the whole party, not really for the exercise of democratic rights by party members.”
Cai Xia focused on Article 1 and Article 2 of the opening chapter of the Regulations.
The first article deleted the 2004 version of “adhering to the principle of democratic centralism” and “safeguarding the normal exercise and inviolability of the rights of party members” and replaced it with “adhering to the leadership of the party and strengthening the construction of the party “The second article adds a whole paragraph. The second article adds a whole paragraph, talking about “adhering to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, but also to enhance the “four consciousness “, firm “four self-confidence”, to achieve “two maintenance”.
“Marx, Lenin, Mao and Deng are all words on the hat …… are false words; where is the truth? In two four, a two.” Cai Xia analysis, although the “Regulations” is not written, but the four consciousness refers to Xi Jinping in 2016 the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting proposed to enhance “political awareness, awareness of the overall situation, core awareness, awareness of alignment”; four self-confidence also in 2016 by Xi Jinping plus cultural self-confidence, after the completion of the supplement; two maintenance is firmly The two safeguards are to maintain Xi’s core position in the Party Central Committee and to maintain Xi’s core position in the whole Party.
“It is 90 million party members around a core, do you think this party is still a political party? Why do I say that this party has become a zombie, 90 million people have become party slaves. The four consciousness, two maintenance completely changed the political relationship within the party. Now the first article took away what, the second article added what, you can see the fundamental goal of this regulation, not to develop internal party democracy, but to strengthen the control of the whole party.”
Encourage party members to “speak from the heart” How is Ren victimized?
In addition, the fourth article of the opening chapter adds “party members should enhance the concept of the party and the awareness of the main body”, encouraging party members to “tell the party organization the truth, tell the truth, tell the heart”.
Cai Xia criticized that the newly revised Regulations are based on “power and control”. She rhetorically asked, “What does the fate of Ren Zhiqiang, who told the truth, show?
Encouraging “repentance” and “spirit of struggle”
Cai Xia, who has been studying official Communist Party documents for years, also noted several new terms in the Regulations. For example, in the article on party members placed on probation, a new concept of “repentance” has been added, and the Regulations state that “if a party member really shows repentance during the period of probation, his or her rights as a member shall be restored after the expiration of the period.” In addition, the new version of the Regulations, Article 32, in order to ” open up channels of supervision “, the text for the first time appears ” support and encourage party members to carry forward the spirit of struggle.”
“What does it mean to show repentance? Repentance, on behalf of their own defilement of themselves, no human dignity.” Cai Xia explained, “and encourage the spirit of struggle, is to help remove dissent, persecution of dissenting views within the party, these two words just give a legitimacy.”
It is worth mentioning that in the new Regulations, the paragraph “shall not force electors to elect or not to elect a person, shall not engage in unorganized activities to hinder the election” was deleted from the old version.
“Now Xi that a small group of people, a group in control of the party, non-organizational activities on the head of who is more appropriate to use? Not in other party members, but precisely in a group like Xi, who has taken out these words that are taboo. “Cai Xia said.
Deng Iwuwen analysis, Xi Jinping has always been a person who emphasizes the need for “rules and regulations”, “he stressed the so-called modernization of state governance, that is, there should be rules and regulations within the party, outside the party to have national laws. But who will determine the rules and regulations? The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you are doing. Turn Xi Jinping’s will into the party’s law and the state’s law.”
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