More diverse representation(2)

There is also a substantial increase of delegates from the business community. According to the China Enterprise News, 131 delegates work for Central Government-owned companies, accounting for 5.77 percent of the total number and 26 more than the number at the previous congress.

The representation of the private sector has further grown. Twenty-seven private enterprise owners will attend the 18th CPC National Congress. The number of the delegates from this group to the previous two Party congresses was seven in 2002 and 17 in 2007.

Professor Chen said that the rise in the number of entrepreneur delegates at the national congresses could help consolidate the Party's ruling base, broaden the Party's knowledge of social situations and improve the Party's leadership capacity.

Another group of delegates garnering media attention are scholars. More than 20 academics with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering will attend this year's Party congress as delegates. Most of these scientists and engineers have studied or worked abroad and are leading experts in China in their respective fields, including Bai Chunli, President of the CAS and a leading scientist in nanoscience; Zhan Wenlong, Vice President of the CAS and a nuclear physicist; Zhou Ji, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Li Jiayang, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; and Zhao Xiangeng, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics.

When the CPC Central Committee decided in June to give Beijing two more seats at the upcoming Party congress, Hu Angang, a renowned economist and professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University, and Zhang Xueji, a biological sensor expert who had worked in the United States for a decade, were elected as delegates.

Female delegates account for 23 percent of the total and ethnic minorities account for 11 percent.

According to established practices, the CPC Central Committee will also invite some Party members who have retired from their leadership posts as special delegates to the congress, Wang said.

Intra-party democracy

To ensure the election of more outstanding delegates, the CPC has, for the first time, carried out a multi-candidate survey on the preliminary candidates of the delegates to the upcoming Party congress.

The loss margins in electing delegates to the 18th CPC National Congress were required to be 15 percent or above nationwide, according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. The required loss margin was also above 15 percent for the 17th CPC National Congress and above 10 percent for the 16th CPC National Congress.

Both Chen and Bai believe that the right to vote is key for Party members, which was better materialized in multi-candidate elections. Compared with single-candidate elections, multi-candidate elections are competitive, where winners often really care about intra-Party affairs and can more effectively express their opinions on political issues. They believe that the introduction of more competitive elections for national congress delegates is out of respect for public opinion and helps to promote intra-Party democracy.

Wang Changjiang, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said the introduction of the multi-candidate survey on the preliminary delegate candidates is a positive change. "More competitive election campaigns must be introduced," he said, adding that regulations need to be drafted to make these kinds of elections regular.

The election process was "open and transparent," with each Party member having access to election information, said Deng Shengming, a spokesman for the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. He also revealed that up to 98 percent of Party members participated in the election.

CPC members participated in and supervised the election through party member meetings, published notices and text messages sent to their cell phones, Deng said, adding that the media have covered the entire process.

The CPC Central Committee imposed strict discipline on the election to ensure a sound and healthy process and forbid bribery and pulling strings to draw votes.

Discipline agencies, organization departments as well as the electoral units closely monitored the process of the election. The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee sent inspectors to supervise and check the elections at the local level.

Some local Party committees had, for the first time, publicized delegate candidates' personal information via the mass media, in a bid to mobilize the participation of and solicit feedback from Party members. In previous elections, such a list was only circulated among those in the Party.

Chen said that such efforts brought the election process under public supervision.

According to a survey by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, about 97 percent of the Party members were satisfied with the election, said Wang, the department's deputy head.

"The CPC will continue its efforts to promote intra-Party democracy by improving the Party congress system and promoting intra-Party elections and supervision," Wang said.