Online Party branch set up in Chongqing

BEIJING - An "online Communist Party of China (CPC) branch" was set up in Banan district of southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality after voted for by dozens of floating Party members, Chongqing Daily reported Sunday.

Floating Party members, whose credentials are now still kept in Shitan township of Banan district, participated in the vote on Friday. The members elected the secretary and members of the Party branch via mobile phones, iPads and personal computers.

Floating Party members are Party members who have left their original work places or residences' Party organizations, and moved elsewhere but are unable to re-enroll or transfer their credentials to the new Party location.

As of 6 pm Friday, the online election results were published on the official Party website for Bannan district, announcing that Yang Guoming was elected as the secretary of the online Party branch, and Qiu Yong and Peng Yong were elected as the members of the branch.

"I've been a Party member eight years, but I had no fixed Party relationship most of the time. This is the first time I exercised my voting rights as a Party member," said Wang Jun, a floating Party member whose original workplace was in Shitan township.

"From now on, I will be able to take part in Party activities online, and our floating members finally have a voice," Wang said.

"The floating Party members are widely distributed, and doing different work in a wide range of fields," said Yang Zhongkui, head of the Organization Department of local Party committee of Banan district. "They haven't been able to participate regularly in the Party for a long term. So we had this idea to build an 'online Party branch,' which allows them to organize and regroup 'online',"

Banan district will set up other 23 "online CPC branches" in subdistricts by the end of 2012, and elect branches' secretaries and members through an online vote, said Yang.