Op-Ed Contributors

Transparency in Party affairs

By Deng Yuwen (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-23 08:05

Granting all its members equal rights to participate in party affairs is a basic pre-requisite to realizing the goal of intra-party democracy.

And, a democratic organizational structure becomes the institutional guarantee that upholds and improves the Party's leadership system.

The procedural guarantee of intra-party democracy is ensured by strengthening democracy in the Party's routine affairs, including Party officials' elections and its decision-making mechanisms.

The CPC's transformation shows its capability to adapt to the changing social and economic realities in China.

First, the varying social structure, especially the differentiation and integration of interests, have changed the foundations of the ruling party. The development of a market-oriented economy and the resultant societal transformations has resulted in various stakeholders, market clusters and interest groups, and their democratic and property rights must be guaranteed and fully respected.

Establishing a reasonable power architecture and governance structure is vital to ensure harmonious social development. Democracy is the basic institutional guarantee that will contain and coordinate among diverse social groups and mediate value conflicts in order to sustain a harmonious society.

Only by promoting democracy, and extensively understanding and acting as per the wishes of the people can the CPC represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of Chinese.

This will ensure that its decision-making is correct and implemented effectively.

Second, the rapid development of modern information technology and communication tools - the emergence and popularity of the mass media in particular - has changed political parties' operating patterns from relative confinement to openness and transparency.

The expansion of people's information rights have forced parties, especially ruling parties, to upgrade their information dissemination models in a bid to make policies better reflect public aspirations.

Consequently, in interactions between the public and political parties, the former are no longer passive recipients but disseminators of information. This undoubtedly allows people to know more about party affairs and thereupon better exercise their rights to know as well as supervise Party affairs.

All in all, the Party deserves praise for making unremitting efforts to strengthen communication with the public through institutionalized measures and exposing itself to supervision, both from within and outside.

It seems certain that the CPC, a party with an 89-year history, of which it has been in power for more than 60 years, will achieve this transformation sooner than later.

The author is a senior editor with the Study Times.

(China Daily 07/23/2010 page8)