Party

An extremely insightful book. I have been puzzled by many actions of the players of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) until I have read this book. The central thesis of the book is this: the primary aim of all the important players of the CCP was the survival of the Party, all else are secondary - the people, the nation, morality and so on.Once one accepts that idea, then many of the actions of the CCP become understandable. Take for instance Xi's drive to weed out corruption. Since taking power, Xi has been issuing statement that it is important for the survival of the party to weed out all corruption. But then a few weeks ago, 2 activists who were calling for the declaration by party members of the assets they own to be made public, arguing this is one way of preventing corruption in high places. But to the dismay of many, these two were arrested. Surely, if Xi was sincere in trying to weed out corruption, those two activists should not be arrested. However, having read the book, their arrests were fully understandable.First, note that Xi's reason for his weeding out corruption was that if corruption was to continue on its grand scale, that would undermine the survival of the party. He is doing it not out of any sense of justice or morality, it's out of necessity for the survival of the party.Second, if he takes heed of the activists call for transparency of asset holdings by party members, that would probably show to the Chinese people that everyone in the party, and possibly even he himself or his family, are corrupt! That would undermine the survival of the party.By arresting the two activists, and keeping the mechanism for the weeding out of corruption within the party itself, that would both assuage the anger of the people regarding corruption as well as allowing those untouched by any scandal to continue their robber baron method of getting rich, at the same time ensuring the survival of the party. The party HAS to survive in order to allow them to continue to make money.In so far as the people must be kept docile in order to let the party survive, the people would be allowed economic freedom, particularly when economic freedom can let the people make money, which the Party can then parasitize upon.

Richard McGregor was The Financial Times former Bureau Chief and has reported from Asia for over twenty years. In  The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers , he sheds light on China's behind the scenes political process and shows us how China really works. Although relatively short, this book is dense with information. His journalistic style does not leave room for a lot of fluff and filler.We're privy to the backroom bargains, power brawls and scandal eruptions that lead the selection of the twenty-five member Politburo, the nine member standing committee (China's true rulers) and how Hu Jintao was elevated to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party and President.That same process is going on today as the leadership for the next decade is currently being chosen. We can see the same Macbeth worthy machinations going on in the crackdown and fall of Bo Xilal. Far from being truly democratic, official government documents state: "Democratic government is defined as the Communist Party governing on behalf of the people."MacGregor traces Chinese history from the internal party struggles just after the Tiananmen Square incident to the present day. On the positive side, China's shift toward capitalism has led the economy to double every eight years which has lifted millions of people out of abject poverty. At the same time, suppression of thought and the countries poor civil rights record continues. Internally, at least, the country is still awash in propaganda. The new post Mao social compact seems to be "take it or leave it." If you play by the party's rules, which means staying out of politics, then you and your family can get on with your lives.An interesting tidbit is that the leading Chinese search engine sells protection agreements to Chinese firms which screen out negative information about them. It also blocks negative commentary about the Communist Party.The smoke screen is used internationally as well. When China began selling off small unprofitable companies in their entirety, large profitable companies were given a 20% - 30% listing on foreign stock exchanges. Little explanation was given that the remainder was owned and controlled by the Communist Party and that their motivations would not always be in accordance with best practices or focused entirely on profitability. McGregor puts a spotlight on the Sanlu tainted milk scandal and the frustrations of Sanlu's foreign partners.We revisit how the famously anti-union Wal-Mart was pressured and ultimately legally obligated to unionize in China. They needn't have worried that the union would hurt their business: "We will never take simplistic measures such as launching a strike. With the union there will be a harmonious relationship between labor and capital." The focus of China's only legal trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, has always been to stop the emergence of an independent labor movement. Rather than representing workers, the union represents the Party.All told, the Communist Party is all about maintaining and enhancing the wealth, power and privilege of the Communist Party. Richard McGregor takes a hard hitting journalistic approach to revealing what the Party tries to very hard to hide. A must read for anyone who wants to know what's really going on in China and with the country's ascendance that means anyone who really wants to develop a complete and coherent view of the world we live in.

If you have ever wondered how a country as complex as China can be governed by one party, can develop so quickly and can act in a unison towards long term goals - then this is the book for you. It pulls the curtain back on how the Chinese communist party actually governs - how power is exercised and stability maintained. Brilliant read.

This is a great book. If you want to know how China works I think it does the job very well. The fact that while I was reading this book I got an endorsement from a government ambassador in China also gave me confidence that where the book is subjective that it remains credible and authoritative.

This is the PRC politburo version of Vasari’s “Lives of the artists”. It’s a great read and full of juicy gossip and facts

Il est parfois difficile d'expliquer la hiérarchie du PCC, l'organisation du pouvoir à travers ce pays si vaste avec différentes formes de gouvernements selon le type de province, le type région. Un livre illuminant toute l'emprise du PCC sur la société chinoise dans tous les aspects de la vie.

Nice indepth, honest analysis of the chinese communist party.

Rechtzeitig zum 01. Oktober, dem Nationalfeiertag und 65. Jahrestag der Volksrepublik China, fiel mir heute die Lektüre von Richard McGregors exzellent geschriebenem und äußerst lesenswertem Buch "Der Rote Apparat" (auf englisch schlicht "The Party") ein.McGregor zeigt auf, wie von dem kommunistischen Erbe hauptsächlich der leninistische Staatsaufbaus zurückgeblieben ist, welcher einer für westeuropäische Begriffe unvorstellbar korrupten, brutalen und dabei ihrer selbst nie gewissen Elite Vorschub leistet.Wer China ein wenig kennt und weiß, was es bedeutet, wenn keine nennenswerte Zivilgesellschaft besteht und Rechtsstaatlichkeit durch die Einparteienherrschaft verhindert wird, zweifelt keine Sekunde an der Wahrhaftigkeit der Schilderungen auch groteskester Zustände und Verhältnisse.Besonders beeindruckend sind die Schilderungen der Werdegänge hochrangiger Parteifunktionäre. Während in Westeuropa der Verlust der Macht ein für den gestürzten Politiker zwar schmerzhaftes und für die Opposition lustvolles politisches und mediales Ereignis ist, das sich aber größtenteils doch nach gesitteten Regeln vollzieht, müssen entmachtete chinesische Parteikader regelmäßig um Leib und Leben fürchten, zumindest aber mit langen Haftstrafen rechnen. Häufig werden auch die Familien in Sippenhaft genommen und genau so gnadenlos verfolgt wie sie sich zuvor bereichert und ihre Macht ausgebaut haben. Machtwechsel vollziehen sich gewalttätig und eruptiv, da es im intransparenten Einparteiensystem leninscher Prägung scheinbar keine ausreichenden innerparteilichen Verfahren der politischen Auseinandersetzung gibt.Wer Richard McGregor liest, wird verstehen, warum die Hongkonger Studenten dieses Jahr zum chinesischen Nationalfeiertag gegen die immer engere Umarmung durch den volksrepublikanischen großen Bruder aufbegehren.

Important reading, The one caution is that it is written before the Xi Xingping era in 2009. So it remain a basic form which further book are - and need - to be read, This is needed as a foundation for further reading bur reveal itself through more recent reports. It provides a core understanding upon which further reading will make sense. My score of 4 is only based on the fact that it does not continue to the current era. But to enter more recent documentation without this understanding is precarious.