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China leadership
ChinaPolitics

Chinese Communist Party members take enterprising short cuts to study the thoughts of Xi Jinping

  • Busy cadres can go online to buy ready-made studies of the leader’s speeches to submit to their superiors for less than US$5
  • One ghostwriter says he caters for officials at all levels – and can even throw in a suitable self-criticism

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Chinese President Xi Jinping pictured on a screen in Tiananmen Square as he delivers his speech to mark the party’s centenary. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
William Zheng

China’s Communist Party demands that its members hang on every word of the party’s general secretary, President Xi Jinping, and submit their reflections to their superiors.

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But for those who lack the time or inclination to do so, the spirit of free enterprise could come to the rescue with a service that allows them to buy ready-made studies of Xi’s comments.

One service being advertised on WeChat, the country’s most popular social media platform, offers studies for as little as 28 yuan (US$4.30).

The man behind the service, who identified himself by his surname Wang, boasted that he already has a stockpile of writings on Xi’s July 1 speech to mark the party’s centenary.

The requirement that cadres of all levels study the leader’s comments and submit their reflections has become the norm in China’s top-down governance system, and since Xi came to power in 2012 a number of initiatives have been launched to “unify thoughts within the party”.

An app called Xuexi Qiangguo, or study the strong nation, offers daily tests on Xi’s thoughts with rewards on offer for the most active users. Downloading and using the app is compulsory for the party’s 95 million members.
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