NANJING PARTY SCHOOL ON PARTY SCHOOLS AND ORGANIZATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000802 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM, INR/B AND INR/EAP STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD, WINTER, MCCARTIN, WINELAND, READE TREASURY FOR OASIA - DOHNER/CUSHMAN, WRIGHT USDOC FOR ITA/MAC - DAS KASOFF, MELCHER, MCQUEEN NSC FOR WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2032 TAGS: PGOV CH SUBJECT: NANJING PARTY SCHOOL ON PARTY SCHOOLS AND ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENTS CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Beede, Political and Economic Section Chief, U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Officials at the Nanjing Party School (NPS) explained how the Party School system in China is set out, with central, provincial, municipal, county, and district level schools in place. Schools are typically run by one of the Deputy Party Secretaries at their respective levels, although it is possible that the Party Secretary can also be the Party School president. NPS officials also commented on the new "permanent tenure system" for Party Congress representatives, noting that there is not yet much meat on the pronouncement from the 17th Party Congress work report calling for the strengthening of the representative system. NPS officials also discussed the role of Organization Departments in leadership selection. End summary. Fight for Your Right to Party ¶2. (C) During a November 27 discussion with officials from the Nanjing Party School (NPS),NPS Vice President He Jiaquan explained that the massive size of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) necessitated a broad network of training facilities to ensure the proper education of its officials. He said that in addition to the central-level schools used to train central-level officials, provinces, municipalities, counties, and districts (sheng, shi, xian, qu) all have Party Schools to train officials at each level. Beginning in the 1990s, the Party saw a need to train a growing number of officials who are not party members and began opening "Schools of Administration" to accommodate them. These "Schools of Administration," He said, are one and the same as the Party Schools: they are co-located with the Party Schools; share the same curriculum; and students from each attend the same classes together. One need not be a Communist Party member to be selected for training at a Party School/School of Administration, and the Nanjing Party School has at least one instructor (in economics) who is not a Party member, He said. ¶3. (SBU) Party Schools at all levels work to implement a three-fold curriculum that includes ideological education, skills training, and moral and character instruction. Beijing provides the guidance on ideological education, helping maintain uniform Party discipline. However, skills training and moral instruction are largely left up to the different levels to establish curriculums to meet the local needs. Typical Party School programs run for six months, although there are some that are much shorter. The Central Party School, however, has programs that can last up to a year. ¶4. (SBU) Professor He said that by law, the head of the Party School at any given level is either the Party Secretary or a Deputy Party Secretary. In practice, most Party Secretaries are too busy to take on this challenge and delegate this to one of their deputies. Given recent personnel reforms, each Party Secretary now has only two deputies; one who serves as the SIPDIS government unit head and one who serves as head of the Party School. Coming to Terms with the Party Congress ¶5. (SBU) Professor He turned to recent reforms in the "permanent tenure system" (renqizhi) for Party Congress representatives announced at the 17th Party Congress. On paper, the Party Congress is technically the most powerful organization within the CCP, with the Central Committee answering to it. However, in practice, it has been a relatively weak body, given the fact that it only meets once and then disbands. However, with the new reforms, Party Congress representatives will now have continuing responsibilities within their five-year term until a new Congress is elected. Representatives will now be able to make suggestions to the Central Committee about their SHANGHAI 00000802 002 OF 003 work throughout their terms. ¶6. (SBU) NPS Professor Shao Jianguan added that currently, there are no real rules about how often Party Congresses should meet. Each level has "space" to experiment and decide for itself how often to hold meetings. Professor He noted that one county in Jiangsu Province, for instance, has mandated its Party Congress meet twice a year. NPS Professor Wu Shu said that the 17th Party Congress Work Report indicated that Beijing will be selecting some cities, counties, and districts to conduct experiments with the permanent tenure system. ¶7. (SBU) Professor He said strengthening the permanent tenure system is one method the Party is using of strengthening intra-Party democracy. Eventually, Professor He predicted, the Party Congress will take on a role with the Central Committee similar to the advisory role played by the National People's Congress to the government. Party Congress representatives are elected through a mixed direct and indirect process. Party groups within various units (and these can be as small as three people) are allowed to nominate candidates for Party Congress representative. This ensures that there are more candidates than actual positions. Then all party members at the local level vote to choose the local Party Congress representatives. Those representatives, in turn, follow a similar process to nominate and vote on representatives to the next level up. This process replicates itself until the central Party Congress representatives are chosen. Organization Department: The Party's Head Hunters ¶8. (SBU) When asked about the selection process for Party officials, Professor He explained that the Organization Department oversees that work. As with other Party and government structures, the Organization Department is mirrored at the different levels of governance down to the county level. These bureaucracies are responsible for the appointment and removal of Party leaders. The Organization Departments investigate the characters of prospective candidates, oversee training, and nominates candidates. ¶9. (SBU) Professor He continued that there are both horizontal and vertical controls within the Organization Department system. Horizontally, the local Organization Department head is chosen by the Organization Department at the level above. Vertically, the local Organization Departments--particularly at the provincial level--are guided in their work by the Central Organization Department. Party Secretaries, Deputy Party Secretaries, and Party Committee members are all recommended by SIPDIS the Organization Department one level above. Accordingly, provincial Party Secretaries are nominated to the Politburo for approval by the Central Organization Department. Likewise, municipal Party Secretaries are recommended by the provincial-level Organization Departments for the approval of the provincial Party Committees. ¶10. (C) Separately, on November 26, Jiaotong University Professor Hu Wei explained that Li Yuanchao, head of the Central Organization Department and a Hu Jintao protege, has little actual authority when it comes to making central-level appointments. Decisions on candidates are made by the Politburo Standing Committee. While the Organization Department must investigate the candidates, it cannot do so with a partisan bias seeking to favor one leader's candidates while digging harder to find dirt on other candidates. ¶11. (SBU) Professor He at the NPS added that Party leaders have the authority to put forward their own candidates for positions to the Organization Departments. However, if that candidate is chosen, the leader who recommended the candidate is held responsible for the candidate's performance. If the candidate turns out to be corrupt or inept, it reflects poorly on the Party official who recommended them. Moreover, even though a leader might recommend an official for a position, the person must be voted in by the Party Committee (or the Politburo in the case of the center). Candidates can ill afford to be seen as SHANGHAI 00000802 003 OF 003 too factional, lest they fail to garner the votes needed to ascend to the positions for which nominated. No Rule on the Politburo Numbers ¶12. (SBU) When asked about the likelihood of possible changes in the number of Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) members, Professor He explained that it is unimportant how many people serve on the PBSC, whether it be seven, nine, or any other number. He said that there is no rule--written or otherwise--on the number of people who will serve there. In contrast, local level Party Committees are required to have 11-13 members. Professor He, who himself previously served as a local-level Party Secretary, said that having a large number of people on the Party Committee ensures that important issues enjoy a thorough discussion and that different interest groups are all represented. ¶13. (U) Professor He said the Nanjing Party School would welcome U.S. Government speakers and U.S. expert speakers, including about the 2008 elections. He expressed interest in learning more about government executive training programs in the United States, both within the government and at institutions such as the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. JARRETT