- The Communist Party of China (CPC) is making its members celebrate their “political birthday,” or the day they joined the party.
- Commemorating “political birthdays” can “fuel, recharge, and supplement” members’ love and loyalty to the party.
- Celebrations are not like typical birthdays: Members are told to host study groups and discussions on CPC’s politics.
- Applicants have to go through multiple background screenings, exams, and interviews in order to join the CPC.
- The CPC’s new “political birthday” directive comes as it ramps up members’ loyalty to the party and its leader, President Xi Jinping.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is telling its members to celebrate two birthdays a year: The day they were born, and the day they joined the party.
The party’s disciplinary watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), told members in a Tuesday notice to start observing their “political birthday” to remind themselves of their pledge to uphold communist principles.
“For ordinary people, there is only one birthday, which is the day of birth,” the CCDI said. “But for Chinese Communist Party members, there are two birthdays. In addition to birthdays, another special birthday is the ‘political birthday.'”
“When members swear by the party’s bright red flag, ‘I volunteer to join the Chinese Communist Party,’ they are making a political choice to firmly believe in communism and making a solemn commitment to hand everything over to the party,” it continued. “Such an important moment in life should be…
