The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently allocated party funds for “disaster relief.” However, since the CCP itself is funded by public money, the authorities’ actions have been criticized as political theater. The opaque system of the CCP, where the party and the state are inseparable, has once again come under scrutiny.
Provinces and cities such as Anhui, Guangxi, and Chongqing have been hit by floods in recent days. CCP state media reported that the Organization Department of the Party Central Committee allocated 72 million yuan from the party funds managed by the central government to support disaster relief efforts in six provinces and cities.
Investigations by Dajiyuan have found that the Organization Department has occasionally allocated special party funds for disaster relief in the past few years. However, the CCP’s use of party funds for disaster relief is seen by the public as a political show.
David Wong, an American economist, told Dajiyuan that the CCP’s practice represents a misalignment between public finances and party funds. In a normal constitutional state, disaster relief is a statutory responsibility of public finance. As a political party, the CCP’s budget should theoretically be strictly separated from the national public finance. The Organization Department’s use of the party’s internal “small fund pool” (party funds) to fulfill the disaster relief function that should be borne by the state’s finances is a typical case of “using the party in place of the government.” This practice would be impeached by the voters in mature democratic countries for encroaching on public functions and blurring the lines between party and government.
Wong also pointed out, referring to the political economist Davy J. Wong’s concept of a “centralized authoritarian meat-mining socio-economic structure,” that both ordinary CCP members and grassroots people in China are essentially “meat miners” within the system. They bear one of the heaviest financial burdens in the world to sustain the huge party-state apparatus. When disasters occur, the CCP uses funds that were originally forcibly collected from the people under the name of “party fees” and allocates only a small portion of it in a high-profile manner, packaging it as the central government’s “selfless gift,” while in reality, this is a control mechanism to maintain the system’s reliance on the “meat miners” economically and psychologically.
Sun Guoxiang, a professor at the Department of International Affairs and Business at Nanhua University in Taiwan, also told Dajiyuan that disaster relief should be a basic government responsibility. By having the Organization Department step in and allocate funds in the name of party fees, the act of disaster relief is being presented as a political show of “party generosity.”
He pointed out that the strange logic of the party-state system lies in the fact that the people support the country, which is then controlled by the party, and finally, the party allocates a small fraction of resources for disaster relief while expecting gratitude from the people. This twisted logic of the party-state system results in the politicization of public responsibilities, the confounding of government functions, and the propaganda-driven disaster management.
The CCP’s allocation of party funds has drawn attention to the clandestine control of the nation’s wealth.
Unlike political parties in Taiwan, the CCP does not have a clear concept of “party assets” and does not disclose their total value. Modern democratic countries around the world have regulations on party finances. However, the CCP’s finances are highly opaque, with its resources overlapping significantly with the state apparatus and state-owned assets.
According to regulations set by the Organization Department in 2008, CCP members are required to pay party fees based on their monthly income (after tax): 0.5% for income below 3,000 yuan, 1% for income between 3,000 and 5,000 yuan, 1.5% for income between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan, and 2% for income above 10,000 yuan. Farmers, students, and low-income individuals are eligible for fixed low fees or exemptions. Those voluntarily contributing over 1,000 yuan must surrender the entire amount to the central party. Party fees are managed by party committee organizations at all levels, with the Organization Department “managing party fees on behalf of the central government.” Each province remits 5% of their actual collections to the central government annually.
However, the detailed data on the use of party funds is not publicly disclosed by the CCP.
Wang He, a China expert, stated that the CCP has never been registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, making it an illegal organization from a legal standpoint. Not only are the accounts of party fees not disclosed to the public, but more critically, the CCP blurs the line between party and government. All levels of party committees have no separate financial budget, and all party organization personnel are treated as government officials. Party-owned properties and facilities are purchased using state finances.
During the press conference of the CCP National People’s Congress on March 11, 2016, the spokesperson responded to questions from Chinese journalists about when the budget for party affairs departments would be made public, stating that “this is a bit difficult,” and acknowledged that the central budget includes the budget for party affairs departments.
The book “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” reveals that the CCP’s conflating of the party and the state is a characteristic of a “demonic possession society.”
Wang He emphasized, “This party monopolizes all the resources of the country. Party members and cadres are paid with public funds, and yet the party fees that members contribute are considered the party’s income, not included in the national financial expenditure. This is a very ugly aspect of Chinese politics.”
Yang Shaoping, a former professor at Guizhou University, revealed in a 2017 overseas publication the CCP’s practice of “feeding the party with public funds,” stating that the CCP appropriates tax revenue and state-owned income, annually supporting around 20 million full-time party personnel and some non-party members, resulting in an estimated loss of value to society of around 20 trillion yuan. If this situation does not change, society will eventually collapse. Subsequently, Yang Shaoping faced persecution by the authorities.