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| CPC amends its Constitution to adapt to times |
| CCTV.COM 2002-11-14 16:11:18 |
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One of the major achievements of the CPC Congress is that the Party has amended its Constitution. The new Constitution says the Party represents the interests of the whole Chinese people and the Chinese nation, not only just the working class that forms the base of the Party in the past. The changes put Jiang Zemin's "Three Represents" thought alongside the theories of Marx, Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping.
Significant changes are underway in the CPC. With the conclusion of the 16th National Party Congress, the CPC has endorsed a vision for remolding the Party to ensure its development.
First, the amended Constitution redefines the Party's fundamental identity—that the Party is both the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and also, the vanguard of all Chinese people and the Chinese nation.
Second, it revises rules on recruitment －－－ the Party may now absorb not only members who are outstanding workers, farmers, soldiers, and intellectuals, it may also recruit outstanding people from all social strata. That could mean the Constitution will allow outstanding private entrepreneurs to join the Party.
Third, the Constitution broadens its general principles, by incorporating the "Three Represents" thought. This idea is expressed by Jiang Zemin's interpretation that "the judgment of progressive or backward is not how much property they own, but whether they should be able to lead the masses to development."
Of all of these changes, the adding of the "Three Represents" thought to the CPC Constitution is being hailed by many as the most important achievement.
Zhang Qi, Senior Research fellow of Party History Research Center, says: " Putting the “Three Represents” thought into the CPC Constitution is a way to legitimize the “Three Represents” thought's supreme position in guiding the Party's actions. This will make the “Three Represents” thought a long－term principle for all members, and it will be a milestone for the CPC's party building. "
The redefinition of the CPC will lead its members to rethink the Party. Not all of them can accept the changes at once.
Wang Zhongqing, a senior Party history researcher and a CPC member for over 50 years, says that it took him a process of evolution to accept the changes. But he agrees that members should not simply shut the door on anything other than what China's past leaders have said. Instead, he says members should accept practical changes to meet the needs of development, or in a popular phrase, "to advance with the times". What impressed Wang most is the change in the composition of Party membership, which he believes is an inevitable product of social and economic progress.
Wang says: "After the amendments, the CPC has broadened the support base and appeal of the Party. The CPC embraces fresh blood, while further changes could help attract even more members. This will help to stabilize the Party, reinforce its power, and advance social development."
The increased number of young and educated members, as well as a change in the membership structure of the Party from a composition of workers and farmers to multi－sector diversification has not gone unnoticed over the past years. And with the Party's policy to invigorate the nation through science and education, this proportion will continue to rise.
When it was born 80 years ago, the CPC saw itself as a small vanguard of the country's proletariat. Decades later, the Party not only has evolved into a large family, but it is also accepting new members it would not have expected to attract in the past. The change of the Party's Constitution will likely have an even greater impact on the ever－advancing CPC in the future.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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