[Image courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk]
Today, China is holding a grand gathering ceremony to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered the keynote address at the grand gathering, highlighting the major accomplishments of the Party over its long history.
Please click here to read more about President Hu's speech.
The CPC has seen its membership grow spectacularly during its 90-year history, and the CPC now stands as the largest political party in the world. At its founding in 1921, the Party had only 50 members, but that number had grown to 4.5 million when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. Wang Qinfeng, Vice-Minister of the Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, announced that the number of CPC members had surpassed 80 million by the end of 2010. More than three million people joined the Party last year.
Please click here to read more official coverage of the Party's 90th anniversary.
Kindly note that China Direct will be taking a break early next week returning Wed 06 July.
Finally China Direct would like to thank Ben Cooper, Policy Analyst, at CBI Beijing for preparing this note.
