Lawyers in Chinese megacity the new front in Communist Party’s push for greater control

The northern Chinese city of Tianjin is set to become a new front in the Communist Party’s war for ideological control, with political commissars to be installed in lawyers associations in the megacity this week.

Tianjin will be the first city in China to have commissars in professional groups not directly under the government’s authority, reflecting a tighter grip by the party on the public sphere.

While it is still unclear whether other cities will follow suit, Tianjin has been playing a pilot role in political developments for rest of the country since Li Hongzhong became its party boss in September 2016. Li has been one of the most vocal advocates of “absolute loyalty” to President Xi Jinping.

Tianjin’s move was in line with the nationwide development of enhanced party control over non-governmental organisations and social groups.

In a joint directive released in August, the party and the central government said they encouraged the development of NGOs to complement the official provision of public services. At the same time, the authorities said they were ramping up control over these groups.