On this past July 1st, I had the interesting experience of being in China for the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. Upon finding out that this historic date would be occurring while I was in the country, I immediately envisioned a Beijing Olympic style celebration with the whole country egged and prodded to pay its respects to the party that has lead and held absolute control for almost a century. I expected fireworks, parades, and people in the streets. Instead, much to my surprise, the day passed quietly with much less fanfare than any yearly 4th of July celebration in the United States.
That Friday, people went about their daily lives largely uninterrupted. While I was not present in a major city like Beijing or Shanghai, I was in the heart of Nanchang, a place with historical ties to the CCP that rivals that of places like Yan’an. In fact, the only acknowledgement of the anniversary was the broadcast of President Hu Jintao’s speech to the People’s Congress on multiple state-run news channels and the showing of the pro-party movie The Beginning of the Great Revival at all movie theatres.
Curious about the lack of festivities, I asked coworkers and others why there did not seem to be any celebration of the ruling party’s 90th anniversary in a country where said party’s power is absolute. The responses I received were very surprising. Most people initially did not know the significance of the date and, after being reminded, just said that they did not care. I, like everyone else, have marveled at the speed of the country’s economic development, and directly witnessed the profound impact that economic improvement had on societal and cultural outcomes. However, it was this expression of apathy that made me realize the true breadth of China’s change in the past twenty some odd years by hinting at some of the political attitudes that have developed along with economic growth.
The party seems to have retreated from its image that people traditionally associate with it: massive amounts of propaganda and grandiose claims of leading and protecting its people. As such, it has become a more distant figure that is less involved in the daily matters of most people’s lives. This development has been occurring ever since Mao Zedong died in 1976 but has accelerated since the 1997 death of Deng Xiaoping. It is because China’s leadership as well as much of the party was changed under Deng and has become more of a technological bureaucracy. Such cultural and procedural changes have transformed the party and its leaders from ideologues to technocrats. While this change may have secured the country largely competent leaders who might even have good intentions, what effect this may have on the people’s relationship with their government is not very clear. However, one thing is for certain, the CCP whether as an omniscient presence in people’s lives, a distant government of powerbrokers, or an endless bureaucracy is here to stay for the indefinite future.