CPC speaks of “coalition” with non-Communist Parties

The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), which has a monopolistic hold on power over the country for over six decades, has offered to have a “coalition” with eight officially approved non-communist parties as part of its reforms and opening up policies.

Yu Zhengsheng, a Standing Committee member of the Politburo of the CPC’s Central Committee has stressed “coalition with non-communist parties,” state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

“As China faces the long-term underdevelopment of productive forces, we should strive to coordinate conflicting interests from different sides via cooperation,” Yu said.

The senior CPC leader also appealed to non-communist parties to give full play to their supervisory role, and urged party committees at all levels to improve their work style in order to continue united front work.

Yu’s comments come in the backdrop of comments by Party’s new leader Xi Jinping in his first meeting with non-communist party leaders few days ago during which he spoke about the danger of rot setting into his own party, warned officials against corruption and complacency.

With absolute control on the state and the military, the CPC with 80 million members retained full control in China’s power structure.

CPC vigorously pursued economic reforms in the past three decades, but studiously kept away political reforms.

The outgoing Chinese leaders especially Premier Wen Jiabao spoke about opening up time and again but has not implemented it.

There are eight state permitted minor non-communist political parties with about 8.40 lakh membership. They have little role in the system dominated by CPC.

Early this year Zhang Xiansheng, spokesman of the Communist Party Party, saw these parties as “friends” not as opposition parties.

“Unlike in other systems, these parties are not the opposition. Rather, they participate in the administration of state affairs,” he said without specifying their role.

Also in a marked departure from the practice of appointing only Party men as Chiefs of prominent official posts, the government said early this year that it plans to employ more non-communists as heads of official bodies.

Official statistic shows that about 32,000 non-CPC members worked as senior officials of county or above-county level in various levels of government, legislatures and judicial authorities by the end of 2011.

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