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| Private businesspeople among delegates at CPC Congress |
| CCTV.COM 2002-11-10 14:11:33 |
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For the first time in the history of the national congress of the Communist Party of China, private businesspeople are participating as delegates.
These delegates from the private sector have not only been successful in their businesses, but more importantly, they have contributed much to social development in the country.
For each delegate, walking up these stairs to the Great Hall of the People brings a surge of pride. But for Qiu Jibao, president of Zhejiang Feiyue Group, it takes on additional significance. For he's one of the first few private businessmen to ever participate in a CPC national congress.
Qiu Jibao said, "I am very excited that I can attend this big event. This has been the highest honor given to me by the Party and the people. I feel that my responsibility is greater than ever and I will live up to their trust in me."
For Qiu Jibao, the fact that he's able to attend the Party Congress is a major departure from the days when his application for party membership met controversy.
Indeed, this Party Congress brings good news for private entrepreneurs －－ as General Secretary Jiang Zemin has said －－ "it's improper to judge whether people are politically progressive or backward simply by whether they own property or how much they own. But rather, they should be judged by their political awareness, how they have acquired and used their property, and how they contributed to the country."
Qiu Jibao has answered these questions in his practice. His Feiyue Group has an annual output exceeding 100 million US dollars.
But even though he's in every way a rich man in the locality he comes from －－ he still leads an incredibly simple life. He reserves his plush Mercedes Benz for business purposes only, and lives in a small apartment above the company's warehouse.
He dines everyday at the employee's canteen. Many of his employees say that he doesn't carry with him the air of a big boss.
And Qiu Jibao ploughs a good portion of the company's profits back into the community. The projects he has helped finance range from homes for the elderly to local libraries to numerous student scholarships at universities.
Qiu also said, "I am confident that corporations like ours represent the pioneering force of the nation. We share the country's unemployment problems, enrich local people's lives, and exert international influence. I don't think my joining the CPC will affect the party's pioneering role."
Qiu Jibao is one of around 2 million private bosses in China today. In many parts of the country, the private sector has come to occupy more than 80 percent of the economy. It represents an emerging force that the party welcomes.
Shi Zhongquan, deputy director of Party History Research Center, CPC Central Committee said: "During our survey of those private businessmen who have joined the party, we have been very much impressed by what they do for the welfare of society －－ in addition to developing their own business. They are well qualified for party membership."
The number of such private bosses is on the rise.
In Zhejiang Province where the private sector is the most robust, the number of private businessmen who are also CPC members has reached 5,000.
This accounts for about two percent of the bosses of the private sector. It's believed that their membership will bring fresh blood to the party.
Twenty years ago, "private businessman" and "party member" made an uneasy combination. Now for the first time, in a report being delivered to the Party national congress, "private entrepreneurs" are being regarded as "builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics".
This transformation reflects the advancing CPC today.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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