Communist ‘aristocrats’: Party watchdog takes aim at ‘self-serving’ youth league cadres
Top government think tank comes under fire for not adequately toeing the Marxist ideological line
The Communist Youth League, once the cradle for promising young cadres and future political high-fliers, has been criticised by inspectors from the Communist Party’s top disciplinary watchdog for its self-serving attitude, with some cadres considering themselves “political aristocrats”.
The results of the two-month inspection into the league, among other party agencies, came after a graft probe into one of the league’s alumni, Ling Jihua, a one-time top aide to former president Hu Jintao. It also underscored the apparent low-key profiles of other once rising league stars.
In its latest round of inspections of 31 institutions, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection also criticised the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top think tanks, for not sufficiently toeing the Marxist line, in what an analyst said was another sign of tightening in ideology.
The CCDI said in a statement late Thursday that the league’s central committee had not fully implemented the party’s decision to improve the work of mass organisations. The committee was also overly bureaucratic, and some officials regarded themselves as “political aristocrats”, according to the statement.
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The statement did not elaborate but Beijing-based historian and political commentator Zhang Lifan said “political aristocracy” referred to the belief among some officials that joining the league’s central committee, or becoming the part of tuanpai faction, automatically opened the door to a promising political career.
Hu and Premier Li Keqiang are among the retired and serving senior officials who have youth league backgrounds. Several other rising political stars were also promoted from the organisation.