Understanding why the CPC endures

The Communist Party of China, the CPC, still mystifies foreigners. As the 95th anniversary of its founding on July 1, 1921 approaches, it's worth wondering why the lingering mystery. Two unambiguous facts confound the critics - the CPC has led China in its historic, sustained development, and the CPC continues to be, after 67 years, China's uncontested ruling party. The two facts are not unrelated.

In general, foreigners do not understand the CPC; worse, they feel no need to do so. This is a mistake, because in order to understand China today, one must understand the CPC.

Here are the kinds of questions that foreigners should ask. What are the CPC's philosophies and how do its policies reflect its philosophies? How is the CPC organized and how does its governance mechanism depend on its organizational structure? Why has China opted for what it calls multi-party cooperation under CPC leadership? Would China be more stable with a multi-party competitive system? What's the relationship between "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and both the market playing a decisive role in the economy and the non-public ownership of enterprises? Can a system with a single ruling party increase transparency, standardize decision-making, and establish credible checks and balances? What's the relationship between the ruling party and the rule of law? What challenges does the CPC face? What can be learned from the CPC's history - we know about its triumphs, what about its tragedies? Why has the CPC now increased its crackdown on corruption, extravagance, and abuses of power? Why must the CPC now be rejuvenated? Finally, how does the CPC as the ruling party claim legitimacy?