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Alienation from people the biggest threat to the Party
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DURING its 65 years of power, the CPC has made China into the world’s second largest economy, but the Party, with its 85 million members, is well aware that legitimacy does not spring solely from economic development.
According to the constitution of the CPC, “the Party has no special interests of its own, apart from the interests of the working class and the broadest masses of the people.” “Winning or losing public support is an issue that concerns the CPC’s survival or extinction,” said Chinese president and general secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping last June.
Xi has been to Hebei Province many times over the past year to learn about public concerns and stay in touch with the masses. For impoverished Fuping County, Xi’s visit in December 2012 has indeed been a game changer and the Party-people bond there has never been stronger.
“Xi came into my house, sat down and didn’t care if the place was dirty at all,” 69-year-old farmer Tang Zongxiu who lives in Luotuowan, a village in Fuping, said as she recalled the President’s visit more than a year ago.
“He asked about how much we earned each year, whether we had enough to eat, whether we had enough to get through the harsh winter, how long it took for the kids to get to school and whether we had easy access to health care,” Tang said.
Only about three hours from Beijing, Fuping County has been on a national poverty alleviation plan since 1994. Xi spent over 20 hours in the village and his visit has kindled hope that the county might make its way off that list before long, as an influx of funds followed the visit.
“The General Secretary knows life here is difficult,” she said, adding that she was astonished by Xi’s affability when they chatted to each other.
In a later visit to Tayuan in Zhengding County Xi not only brought joy to the hamlet, but also called back old memories. Xi was Party chief of Zhengding County from 1983 to 1985. Many former county officials still remember him as the young man in his late 20s, who would squat down under the tree outside the government canteen just like all his colleagues and eat with everyone.
“The tide of time has not washed away his rustic charm,” said Yin Xiaoping, current Party chief in Tayuan. “The General Secretary remains, by nature, one of the masses.” Sun Ruibin, Party chief of the city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, was embarrassed during a trip to a village in northern Hebei, where his visit literally surprised the locals.
“I remember one villager said ‘Hey, I can barely see you these days. This time, I finally got you,’” Sun said, “It just struck me how distant I had been from the people I had vowed to serve.”
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