China’s new “Patriotic Education Law” marks the latest expansion of leader Xi Jinping’s efforts to deepen the Communist Party’s presence in all aspects of life.
The new law follows past efforts, such as smartphone apps for people to “learn about new socialist thought” - including a lesson on how “Grandpa Xi led us into the new era” - and for adults to read up and take quizzes on Xi’s latest theories.
The latter was deemed a success in terms of downloads – as all 90 million Communist Party members were ordered to use it alongside many employees of state-owned enterprises.
China has other legislation aimed at stamping out unpatriotic behavior, such as banning the desecration of national flags and insults to soldiers. And under Xi in recent years, any dissent in China – even in the form of online comments that don’t toe the party line – is enough to land people in trouble with authorities.
But the latest law appears to hint at the introduction of penalties for acts not already punishable under existing laws, according to Ye Ruiping, senior law lecturer from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
For example, it states that behaviors “advocating, glorifying and denying acts of invasion, wars and massacres” and “damaging patriotic education facilities” could be subject to punishments, she said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose real power derives from his position as the head of the ruling Communist Party, has placed more emphasis on quality over quantity. He has demanded absolute loyalty from party members, launched an ideology drive to shore up their faith, and unleashed a crackdown on internal dissent. Members are bound by more stringent rules – and millions of cadres have been investigated for violating them in the past nine years since Xi took control of the party.
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What, exactly, are the requirements to become a Communist Party member in China? 90 million members seems pretty low.
If just any community member can join the communist party, then it’s hardly a ruling class.
Here is what CSIS(Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. Not the Canadian Security Intelligence Service) has to say on the matter.
There’s a long read on what has changed since Xi has been leading the CCP. The rules have slightly changed.
Xi Jinping only wants the most devoted Chinese Communist Party members