SUPERVISION FROM THE PUBLIC: A representative of citizens (above) in Huangshi, Hubei Province, asks the vice mayor of the city why a stone pit operated in a local scenic area has not been closed at an open query meeting directed at Party member representatives and hosted by the local government on June 29 (HAO TONGQIAN)

For the first time in a decade, the Communist Party of China (CPC) saw a decline in its membership growth rate last year. The revelation was announced by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee on June 30, a day before the world's largest political Party celebrated the 93rd anniversary of its founding.

The number of CPC members totaled 86.69 million at the end of 2013, up 1.8 percent year on year. The growth rate saw a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 2012, according to a statement from the department. Some 2.41 million people joined the Party in 2013, 825,000 fewer than the previous year, which marked the first drop in newly enlisted CPC members in the past decade.

Official statistics showed that 2.42 million CPC members enlisted in 2004 and the number of new members per year kept growing and finally reached 3.23 million in 2012. Some 21.66 million people had filed their applications by the end of 2013, read the statement.

"The drop in new Party members has resulted from the CPC's initiative to improve its quality and optimize its structure," said Xin Ming, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

At its birth in 1921, the CPC only had about 50 members. This grew to nearly 4.5 million when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

Stricter rules

On June 10, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee published detailed rules for recruiting new Party members, replacing the previous version, which had been effective for 24 years.

Under the new rules, all localities and organizations are required to enlist new Party members in a "prudent" and "balanced" manner.

The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee said in a statement the next day that the revamp was motivated by the many new circumstances and problems that have emerged in enlisting new Party members, and have rendered the old version no longer adequate. At the same time, it said that some Party organizations are not strict enough with their enlistment and the quality of members who are recruited needs improvement.

"Such problems have affected the Party's vigor and vitality, its image and prestige among the public, and also impaired the CPC's creativity, cohesiveness and power. They must be resolved effectively," the statement said.

The new rules stipulate that efforts should be made to keep the Party's overall size in check, to improve its structure and quality, following requirements raised at a meeting of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on January 28, 2013.

A document issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee after the meeting stated that the net annual growth rate for new CPC members would be kept at around 1.5 percent in the next 10 years.

Cai Xia, a professor of Party building at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that the quality of its members is more important than its size for a Party like the CPC.

The CPC is at the vanguard, so it must be strict in its recruitment to select the best and maintain the integrity of the frontline role played by Party members, Xin said.

Stringent discipline should also be applied in the daily management of Party members, according to the CPC's new membership recruitment regulations.

The rules also address the increasing number of migrant Party members, as China now boasts a migrant population of 250 million.

Under the rules, background checks on prospective members for Party organizations will not only consult their current employers and organizations, but also those in places in which they were previously registered.