Chinese Communist Party Gets A Facelift

China Reform Monitor No. 620, March 14, 2006
American Foreign Policy Council, Washington, DC
Editor: Joshua Eisenman

 In an effort to combat corruption and consolidate power, the Chinese Communist Party, under the leadership of Party Chairman Hu Jintao, is moving ahead with a major reshuffling of personnel and a Mao-style reeducation campaign known as "Bao Xian," or "preserving the progressiveness." Chinese sources tell the New York Times that since the campaign began, roughly 80,000 cadres have been promoted to leadership positions and 115,000 party members disciplined for corruption. Remarkably, unlike past house-cleanings, which remained almost entirely domestic, this shakeup has touched the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the highest levels. In December, assistant foreign minister Shen Guofang - one of China's most prominent diplomats - was effectively fired in a move that was likely intended to blunt the influence of Shen's former superiors, retired Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and President Jiang Zemin.

     The "Bao Xian" campaign also includes an aggressive reeducation component for the Party's 70 million members - including self-criticisms and mandatory readings of Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. "'Bao Xian' is an effort to cope with the declining reputation of the party and the distrust of the people toward party officials," Wenran Jiang, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, tells the Times.