China’s Communist Youth League told to limit membership to elite pupils
Move seen as an attempt by the party to control membership from an early stage
A one-time launch pad for Communist Party rising stars has been told to rein in secondary school student membership as part of a sweeping overhaul of its operations.
Over the next three to five years, the Communist Youth League, which helped launch the political careers of former president Hu Jintao and Premier Li Keqiang, will cap membership at 30 per cent of final-year junior high school pupils and 60 per cent of high school pupils.
In effect, almost all mainland pupils can join the youth league’s ranks now.
The orders from the league’s central committee and the Ministry of Education come after President Xi Jinping accused it of being aristocratic and losing touch with the “grass roots”. Some party media outlets also linked the league to various corrupt officials.
Shanghai University of Political Science and Law political scientist Chen Daoyin said the orders were part of the party’s push to consolidate its power by controlling membership from the outset.
