Guangdong party launches scheme to eject 'unqualified' members
Provincial body's pilot scheme is in line with the Politburo's ambition to control party numbers
Guangdong's Communist Party committee has launched a pilot programme to eject "unqualified" party members. It says the drive is in line with a recent Politburo decision to control the size of the world's biggest political organisation.
Under the scheme, local party committees will be allowed to set different qualification criteria, with the provincial party organisation department having the final say on approving assessment rules and regulations.
Political analysts warned that local leaders could use different membership criteria as a tool to squeeze out political opponents or minority voices.
The party had more than 82 million members by the end of 2011, exceeding the population of Germany, the biggest country in the European Union.
The Beijing Youth Daily said yesterday that Guangdong's party committee had set up eight experimental units in townships and counties in Shenzhen, Dongguan , Qingyuan and other cities since July, with some local committees including "illegal petitioning" among their criteria for expelling members deemed "unqualified".
In other places, members could be expelled for a "lack of revolutionary will" and "failing to perform party members' obligations", the daily reported.
The party magazine Outlook Weekly said in Qingyuan's Qingxin county, 14 members rated unqualified faced expulsion.