History of the CCP - Part 3
Reading the recently published history of the Chinese Communist Party is like reading the constitution and rules of a religious order. Central to the document is an insistence that the current leadership of the party understands the one true version of the country’s history and possesses an all-knowing prescience about the future. The chronicle of the past frames the narrative that the party leadership projects about the future. Only one quarter of the document is devoted to the past; the majority is about the program that will ensure the membership remains faithful to the dictates of Xi Jinping and the Central Committee of the Communist Party, without which the nation will slip back into the evil ways of the past.
This Gospel of Xi sets out 13 commandments which party members are required to study and meditate upon. At the centre of these requirements is Xi and the Central Committee. ‘The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and that the Party is the highest force for political leadership.’ Hence party members, like novices in a religious order, must ‘strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership; stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’ core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralised, unified leadership.’
There is little doubt to the reader, that following the prophets Mao and Deng, Xi is the chosen one ordained to lead the Party to the promised land. Like other religions, adherents are instructed that problems in the past have been because some members deviated from the rule. ‘In particular, the Central Committee’s major decisions and plans were not properly executed as some officials selectively implemented the Party’s policies or even feigned agreement or compliance and did things their own way.’
This was the result of moral failings, including ‘hedonism, and extravagance, and a prevalence for privilege-seeking attitudes and behaviour.’ The misconduct of these sinners is spelt out: ‘some officials engaged in cronyism, and ostracised those outside of their circle; some formed self-serving cliques; some anonymously lodged false accusations and fabricated rumours; some sought to buy popular support and rig elections in their favour; some promised official posts and lavished praise on each other for their promotions; some did things their own way and feigned compliance with policies while acting counter to them; and some got too big for their boots and made presumptuous comments on the decisions of the Central Committee.’
Officials who committed these sins have and will be punished according to the ‘history’. Like the Superior of a religious order, Xi has ‘investigated and handled cases of deviation from the Party’s line, principles, and policies as well as instances in which the Party’s centralises, unified leadership has been undermined; and rid the Party of members who acted duplicitously.’
The antidote for the corrupt behaviour is to adhere strictly to the dictates of Comrade Xi and the Central Committee, which unashamedly promote a ‘top-down approach’ to decision-making for the nation. ‘The centralised, unified leadership of the Central Committee is the highest principle of the Party’s leadership, and upholding and strengthening this is the common political responsibility of each and every Party member.’ If this is not clear enough, the document demands the ‘whole Party obeys the Central Committee.’ This, according to the CCP, is ‘democratic centralism’!
The need to maintain this unbending approach is described in religious terms, stressing ‘our faith in Marxism’, ‘the great ideal of communism’, and the ‘common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics’. Without these ideals and convictions, ‘we would become frail and susceptible to corruption, greed, degeneracy, and decadence’, insists the document.
Like members of a religious order or group, members of the Party must ‘be strict in practising self-cultivation’ and avoid temptation. Importantly, they should imbue themselves in the great texts: ‘the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s major policy addresses.’ In many other speeches and writings, Xi has insisted that CCP members study his works.
Compliance with the dictates of the Xi and the Central Committee is critical for promotion. ‘In appointing officials, the Party has adopted a rational approach with greater emphasis on political integrity’; in other words, to subscribing to the rule of Xi. The Party ‘has adhered to the principle of selecting officials on the basis of both integrity and ability, with greater weight given to the former. . . ‘
Significantly, these two objectives - upholding the Party’s leadership and exercising its rules - are more important than any other, including economic development and reform. These ‘two upholds’ are the foundations of the Party’s authority without which the country would presumably return to the bourgeois state that Xi rails against. All officials are commanded to cultivate this ‘proper worldview’ and ‘willingly submit’ to the Central Committee’s oversight.
Like the adherents of other religions, Communist Party members are reminded that ‘solidarity is strength’ in their global mission. While persecuting any individual and group not adhering to its teachings, the CCP projects a narrative to its selected elite of promoting ‘harmony between different political parties, ethnic groups, religions, social strata and compatriots at home and abroad.’ Yet there is no other political party in China, ethnic groups such as the Uighurs and Tibetans are persecuted, as are members of most religious groups not under the direct control of the CCP.
The Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century is part hagiography of XI Jinping, and part a semi-religious apologia for the rule of the CCP. Unlike a western history, its intention is to maintain the totalitarian rule of the CCP. The communists may decry religion, but they have adopted its structure, style and narrative to proclaim their rule.
