On February 28, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretaries of the Secretariat, as well as members of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the State Council and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Party Secretaries of the Supreme People’s Court and the Procuratorate, joined Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC, in a written presentation of their duties. On February 28, members of the CPC Political Bureau, Secretaries of the Secretariat, as well as the National People’s Congress, the State Council, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Procuratorate “reported to the Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping”, the highest system of the Party and State without exception. The analysis said that the authorities have intensified and publicly expressed their loyalty, paving the way for Xi to further consolidate his authority at the 20th Communist Party Congress next year.
According to the CCP’s constitution, the general secretary is responsible for convening meetings of the Central Political Bureau and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and presiding over the Central Secretariat. However, according to the decision of the 19th CPC National Congress, the top officials of the CPC, including members of the Standing Committee, will be required to make a written report to Xi Jinping every year, and members of the Central Politburo will be required to make a written report to Xi Jinping. It is said that this is the first Time since Xi Jinping’s presidency, and the time is usually in the sensitive period just before the “two sessions”.
According to the report, the decision of the 19th National Congress is a subversive one, as the so-called collective leadership and decision-making system of the Deng era no longer exists in its superficial form, and all leaders of the Standing Committee, Politburo members, secretaries of the Secretariat, and the “five major organs” are required to write written reports.
Xinhua reported yesterday that members of the Politburo and the “relevant comrades” of each of the above-mentioned organs recently made written reports to the Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping, as required. Xi reviewed the reports and made demands, stressing that this year marks the centennial of the Communist Party’s founding and that they should uphold the “two safeguards” (upholding Xi Jinping’s central position in the Party and the authority and centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee).
The details of the “written statements” of these party and state officials are not disclosed.
Some analysts believe that the written reporting mechanism has been in place for a long time, and that the party media is now taking the trouble to list all the key officials who have reported on their duties in order to reinforce Xi’s absolute authority.
Hong Kong‘s Apple Daily quoted current affairs commentator Liu Ruishao as saying that in the past, the authorities only failed to publicly indicate to what extent the reporting mechanism was implemented, but this time the party media disclosed for the first time that the “four sets of teams” of the National People’s Congress, the government, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and even the courts and the procuratorate all have to report to Xi, with the aim of institutionalizing and making public such actions to show their loyalty to Xi, so as to provide an opportunity for Xi to make a more effective contribution to the Chinese government. The purpose is to institutionalize and publicize this show of loyalty to Xi, paving the way for Xi to further consolidate his authority at next year’s 20th Communist Party Congress.
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