Welcome to the party!
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:19 am
When most westerners try to put a face to the Communist Party of China, the same mental image pops up: an elderly male with badly dyed hair and an ill-fitting suit. That is the public face of the CPC: nine identical Politburo standing committee members. The other 83 million party members – the young, the ethnic, the female, the radical, the businessman and the banker – might just as well be invisible.
Now, as the CPC prepares for a once-in-a-decade political transition – which will mostly involve replacing one set of grey-faced leaders with another – the Financial Times has set out to assemble an Everyman gallery of party members. When the party meets for its 18th congress in Beijing next month, most of these people will not be making any headlines. But they offer rare insights into what life is like as a member of one of the world’s most secretive political parties.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/83780b3c-0830 ... z283n20fnU
Now, as the CPC prepares for a once-in-a-decade political transition – which will mostly involve replacing one set of grey-faced leaders with another – the Financial Times has set out to assemble an Everyman gallery of party members. When the party meets for its 18th congress in Beijing next month, most of these people will not be making any headlines. But they offer rare insights into what life is like as a member of one of the world’s most secretive political parties.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/83780b3c-0830 ... z283n20fnU