ESTABLISHED in 1933, the Community Party of China’s (CPC’s) Central Committee Party School is hailed as the nerve center of the People’s Republic of China’s remarkable transformation from poverty to global economic prominence and prosperity.
The school discharges the crucial functions of cultivating the ideology of Marxism in government officials, educating them about the CPC party policy, enhancing their leadership capacity, and serving as the think-tank to the CPC.
Vice-President of the CPP Central Committee Party School, for Gong Weibin highlighted the functions of the training institution, and attributed China’s economic “victory” to the institution in a seminar in Beijing on Monday 19 May for international journalists undertaking a three-month study tour in China.
“The party school was established by the party to perform three chief functions. The first is theoretical and that is to impart the party’s theory (ideology) to government officials. The Party School tenders the Marxism theory, literacy and knowledge with particular emphasis on party loyalty to ensure party members serving in all levels of the government serve whole-heartedly and with integrity,” Gong said.
“Secondly, the Party School also enlightens government officials about the CPC development policy so they could have accurate understanding of the party’s principles and major policy developments.
“This will make it easier for government officials serving in the five different levels of government to faithfully implement policies in alignment with their intentions as designated by CPC,” he added.
The five-levels of Government in China are the Central Committee, which is the top level of government, then followed chronologically by the Provincial Level, Municipal Level, County Level and Township Level.
Gong said some commissions, major state-owned enterprises and institutions of higher learning do have their own party schools.
He said the third function of the Party School is to enhance leadership capacity at all government levels to enable government officials to make sound decisions, communicate effectively with the masses and promote development, and effectively handle conflicts, social problems and emergencies.
Gong said further to the Party School’s three chief functions, it also serves as a think-tank to the CPC.
“We shoulder the responsibility of providing advice to government decision-making. We provide support as think-tanks. We present our suggestions to decision-making by the CPC because in the party schools, we have a high-quality faculty team who can provide suggestions in terms of social philosophy and party-building theories. We are familiar with these areas and can provide advice to decision-making as think-tanks.
“We have great practical experience and therefore, our faculty can guide participants from various government organs to make their contribution to party decision-making and address the socio-economic problems of different localities. They can also come up with their own suggestions and solutions as they judge.
“Yes, we have a large number of faculty members. We also have research institutions with a lot of researchers. This is the function of the CPC Central Committee party school and our contribution to Chinese modernization in different strategical periods,” he elaborated.
Gong said to understand China and its modernization drive, one must understand the CPC and the crucial role it plays on this front.
“We have come very far since the CPC leadership started and it is hard to understand the CPC without understanding the CPC Central Committee Party School because this party school plays a crucial role in improving our quality of leadership and governance capacity. It is really why we have achieved victory in Chinese modernization,” an impassioned Gong emphatically stated.
By DELI-SHARON OSO
In Beijing, China
