The organization of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is based upon the Leninist concept of democratic centralism.
Mechanisms and regulations In May 2013, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued a resolution on which bodies were empowered to draft, approve, publish, amend and abolish party regulations, making it the first party document since 1921 (when the party was founded) on how to regulate party life. Gu Su, a constitutional law professor from Nanjing University, believed it was "a significant step by the new leadership to introduce rule of law into the management of party members amid a legitimacy crisis due to widespread abuse of power and corruption".
Inner-party democracy
History It has been the party's policy since the 8th Central Committee (1956–1969) to democratize the CCP, and by 1994 the goal was to promote people's democracy by developing inner-party democracy. The meaning of democracy in CCP parlance has its basis in Vladimir Lenin's concept of democratic centralism. From its establishment in 1921 to it seizing power in 1949, the CCP was in effect continuously at war, and the centralizing element of democratic centralism became the basis on how the party was ruled. However, with its rise to power, members began to demand the democratization of the party. The 8th Central Committee, elected by the 8th National Congress, promulgated an 8-point resolution in 1956;
First, the CCP must without exception implement the principle of collective leadership and expand internal party democracy. Second, the principle of democratic centralism was defined as democracy under the guidance (rather than under the leadership) of centralism and the essence of democratic centralism is democracy rather than centralism. Third, all the business of the 8th Central Committee was made public. Fourth, there should be no idolatry. Fifth, the CCP should have regular deputies to Party congresses. Sixth, a strict and effective supervision mechanism within the CCP should be established. Seventh, the CCP should explore fixed terms of appointment (rather than lifelong terms). Eighth, the CCP should protect and expand the democratic rights of members."
However, these points were not implemented under Mao Zedong, in most parts because of the Cultural Revolution in which the CCP returned to the norm of issuing policy on the basis of centralism. However, with the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong, the party began looking in on itself, reflecting on the ills which had manifested themselves under its guidance. The 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee was the first to dwell on these issues. In 1980, Deng Xiaoping published "On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership", in which he criticized the party's emphasis on unified leadership which, he believed, had led to power concentration in the hands of a few persons. In practice this was made even worse because executive committees at all levels concentrated all power, and this power was then re-concentrated in the hands of the head or heads of the committee. He then concluded that because of the unified leadership system thought, most decisions were taken by all-powerful individuals (more often than not first secretaries) rather than by the party. The 6th Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee endorsed these views. This stance was mentioned again in the Political Report to the 13th National Congress (held in 1987), in which it was stated that developing democracy within the party was a feasible project to develop socialism. The 14th Plenary Session of the 14th Central Committee became the CCP's first endorsement of developing intra-party democracy so as to develop people's democracy. This line has continued to this day. The Political Report to the 16th National Congress stated that strengthening the democratic character of the party was a "life and death issue" for the party (without more democracy the CCP would face the same fate as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, CPSU). The party has made it clear, with announcements from both party and state organs, that the policy of strengthening the party's democratic character will continue.
Age limits and term limits In the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping enacted unofficial term and age limits, intending to prevent the problems of the kind which arose in the late Mao Zedong era. The party's term limits reflect the implicit assumption that if a person remains in office too long, they lose touch with the people. Positions at the level of the Politburo Standing Committee have term limits.
Below the Politburo Standing Committee, positions have age limits rather than term limits. Age limits nonetheless operate as de facto term limits. The age limit for a minister-level appointment is retirement at age 65, and a person older than 58 will not be viewed as an eligible candidate. Department directors have an age limit of 60. A vice premier must be under 68 when appointed and must retire by 72.
National Congress
The National Congress is the party's supreme organ, and is held every fifth year (in the past there were long intervals between congresses, but since the 9th National Congress in 1969, congresses have been held regularly). According to the party's constitution, a congress may not be postponed except "under extraordinary circumstances". A congress may be held before the given date if the Central Committee so decides, or if "one third of the party organizations at the provincial level so request". Under Mao, the delegates to congresses were appointed; however, since 1982 the congress delegates have been elected, due to the decision that there must be more candidates than seats. At the 15th National Congress in 1997, for instance, several princelings (the sons or daughters of powerful CCP officials) failed to be elected to the 15th Central Committee; among them were Chen Yuan, Wang Jun and Bo Xilai. The elections are carried out through secret ballots. Despite this, certain seats are not subject to elections; instead, the outgoing Central Committee "recommends" certain choices to the party electorate. These figures are mostly high-ranking members of the party leadership or special guests. For instance, at the 15th National Congress, 60 seats were given to members who had joined the CCP before 1927, and some were given to the outgoing members of the 15th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the 15th Central Committee.
The party constitution gives the National Congress six responsibilities: (1) electing the party's Central Committee; (2) electing the CCDI; (3) to examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee; (4) examining the report of the outgoing CCDI; (5) discussing and enacting party policies; and (6) revising the party's constitution. However, the delegates rarely discuss issues in length at the National Congresses; most discussion takes place before the congress, in the preparation period.
Constitution
According to the CCP-published book Concise History of the Communist Party of China, the party's first constitution was adopted at the 1st National Congress. Since then several constitutions have been written, such as the second constitution, adopted at the 7th National Congress. The constitution regulates party life, and the CCDI is responsible for supervising the party to ensure that it is followed. The constitution currently in force was adopted in 1982 at the 12th National Congress. It has many affinities with the 1982 state constitution, and they are generally amended either at party congresses or shortly thereafter. The preamble of the state constitution is largely copied from the "General Program" (the preamble) of the party constitution.
Central Committee
The Central Committee is empowered by the party constitution to enact policies in the periods between party congresses. A Central Committee is de jure elected by a party Congress, but in reality its membership is chosen by the central party leadership. The authority of the Central Committee has increased in recent years, with the leaders rarely, if ever, going against Central Committee, which often occurred during the early years of the People's Republic. The Central Committee is required to meet at least once every year; however, in the early years of the People's Republic there were several years when it did not convene at all; 1951–53, 1960, 1963–65, 1967, 1971, 1974 and 1976.
While the Central Committee is the highest organ in the periods between party congresses, few resolutions cite its name. Instead, the majority of party resolutions refer to the "Party Centre" (Dangzhongyang), an indirect way of protecting the powers of, and resolutions produced by, the Politburo, the Politburo Standing Committee and the General Secretary. This method shields the central party leadership from lower-level bodies, reducing accountability, as lower levels can never be sure which body produced which resolution. In contrast to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the CCP Central Committee does not have the power to remove general secretaries or other leading officials, despite the fact that the party constitution grants it those rights. When the CPV dismissed its General Secretary Do Muoi, it convened a special session of its Central Committee, and when it chose its new general secretary, it convened another Central Committee plenum. In contrast, in China, when the CCP dismissed Hu Yaobang (in 1987) and Zhao Ziyang in 1989, the Politburo, not the Central Committee, convened a special session. Not only did the meeting itself break constitutional practices, since the CCP constitution clearly states that a Central Committee session must be called, but the meeting included several party veterans who were neither formal members of the Politburo nor of the Central Committee. In short, the CCP Central Committee, in contrast to the CPV Central Committee, is responsible to the higher bodies of the party (the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee), while in Vietnam the higher bodies are accountable to the Central Committee.
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is responsible for monitoring and punishing CCP cadres who abuse power, are corrupt or in general commit wrongdoing. CCDI organs exist at every level of the party hierarchy. The CCDI is the successor to the Control Commission, abolished in 1968 at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Although the CCDI was originally designed to restore party morale and discipline, it has taken over many of the functions of the former Control Commission. The CCDI is elected by the National Congress, held every fifth year.
Bodies of the Central Committee
General Secretary
At the party's founding in 1921, Chen Duxiu was elected as the party leader, holding the position of Secretary of the Central Bureau. As the party expanded, the title changed several times over the next 3 years, until in 1925 the title General Secretary was introduced. The term General Secretary continued in general use until 1943, when Mao Zedong was elected as Chairman of the Politburo. In 1945, Mao was elected Chairman of the CCP Central Committee, the title he held for the rest of his life. The office of General Secretary was revived in 1956 at the 8th National Congress, to replace the office of CCP Secretary-General, but it functioned as a lesser office, responsible to the office of the CCP Chairman. At a party meeting in 1959, Mao explained the relationship between the CCP Chairman and the CCP General Secretary as follows: "As Chairman, I am the commander; as General Secretary, Deng Xiaoping is deputy commander."