useful material at http://www.china.org.cn/english/index.htm
                         http://www.chinatoday.com/reference/reference.htm

Note that there are 8 other parties, but they are small, weak, and are basically controlled by the CCP.
Chinese Communist Party is organizationally distinct    details

• The CCP has its own constitution, rules, dues, budget, staff  summary
• Party constitutions: 1956, 69, 73, 77, 82   with ammendments 2002
• has defined membership: about 63 million members (4.8 percent of 1,300 million people)

 
Top committee:  Standing Committee of the Political Burea
 

• democratic centralism: individuals and minorities are subordinated to the party center
• Levels: Center, Province, County-District, primary party organization
• enables top to bottom control over policy, personnel, in both party and state
• Collective Leadership, no personality cult
• Protection of minority rights

• differs from theory
• personal networks and factions
• personal rule
• paramount leaders: Mao, Deng, Jiang, Hu Jintao
• succession of leadership by anointment
• Mao anointed Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, Hua Guofeng (didn't work)
• Deng anointed Jiang Zemin  (did work)
• Jiang anointed Hu Jintao (so far, so good)
• Factionalism has contributed to instability, breakdown
• disputes are magnified by factionalism
• bring purges and campaigns throughout the system (e.g.: Cultural Revolution)
• system has been remarkably stable since after July 1989.

• National Party Congress
• lasts for five years: 13th: 1987-92; 14th: 1992-97; 15th: 1997; 16: 2002
• Website for 16th National Congress of the CCP, 2002
• meets annually for Plenary Sessions (usually in Fall)
• 2,074 delegates, 1-2 weeks
• general secretary report
• If new congress, selects central committee and its standing committee
• Note: often the are enlarged Politburo meetings in Beidaihe in the late summer to plan the Party Congress

• Central Committee,
• 193 full members, 151 alternates
• attributes: becoming better educated, more technocratic, younger
• fewer military delegates
• few women, declining from 10 percent to 4 percent
• Political Bureau (Politburo) 22 members-- (executive council);
• Standing Committee (executive committee -- about 9 members now, meets regularly)

• General Secretariat -- manage day to day administrative issues

• Organization Department -- appoints personnel, manages them

• Party School
• gives party members better understanding of current policy
• facilitates networking within the party

• Military Affairs Committee

• Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
• oversight on style, rules, excessive corruption

• Central Advisory Committee

• Provincial and Local organizations

• Several of these institutions have unclear responsibilities, overlap, sometimes are taken over by one faction or another

• Since 1982, Party has represented all Chinese people, not just working class
• anyone with political ambitions joins the party
• members have very broad range of ideas

• Reforms in 1987 tried to divide party from government
• get party out of day to day administration
• stop dual holding of posts
• end party core groups in government
• freedom for policy makers from party control

• Since 1991, party 's social political role is strengthened
• integrate reform with party
• networks of family, kinship friendship
• "nomenklatura Capitalism"
• primary purpose is to retain power to protect their own interests

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