South China Morning Post. Wednesday, March 7, 2001 Businessmen still barred from party DANIEL KWAN in Beijing Business people cannot join the Communist Party although it is commonly recognised that they have become key contributors to the economy, a top party theorist confirmed yesterday. Xing Bensi, an NPC delegate and a scholar at the Communist Party School, said the Organisation Department of the ruling party had decided it was still not possible to admit businessmen to the party. "This [membership for businessmen] has now become an issue," Mr Xing said. "Since the Communist Party is a party of the proletariat or the labouring class, the Organisation Department has decided it is not permissible to admit private businessmen." He said although business people could not become party members, they could take part in political activities through the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). "This is not discrimination against private businessmen," Mr Xing said. He said amendment of the party's charter to admit private businessmen had not yet come under consideration. Businessmen have become a fast-growing economic force in China. On Sunday, President Jiang Zemin took part in a discussion meeting with delegates of the CPPCC - the top political advisory body - and praised the contribution of entrepreneurs. "Business people active in the non-state-owned sector should be supported, encouraged, helped, guided and educated so that they will combine their personal goals with national interests," the President, who is also the party General Secretary, said. There is no official estimate on the number of businessmen in China, but economists believe that together with foreign business representatives, private companies in China now account for about half of the country's output. In some provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong, the percentage may even be higher. Along with the rise of the private sector, the sharp decline in the social status of workers has become a widespread social phenomenon in China. Workers laid off from state-owned enterprises often have to rely on help from family members, relatives and friends to survive. Mr Xing acknowledged that many workers had "bad feelings" about their bleak future. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- SCMP.com is the premier information resource on Greater China. With a click, you will be able to access information on Business, Markets, Technology and Property in the territory. Bookmark SCMP.com for more insightful and timely updates on Hong Kong, China, Asia and the World. Voted the Best Online newspaper outside the US and brought to you by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's premier English launguage news source. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
