The CPC also summarized its educational campaign on maintaining the vanguard character of CPC members, launched in January of 2005, at the rally.

All the nine members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee attended the rally.

Hu Jintao, who is General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a speech at the rally.

Hu summarized the glorious achievements of the party over the past 85 years, experiences of its success and issues facing the party. He called on all party members to keep the vanguard character and continue to work for the development of the country.

The CPC Central Committee issued awards to outstanding grass-roots organizations of the party, outstanding party members and party members that had made outstanding contributions to party work, at the rally.

The CPC was founded on July 1, 1921. Since then, it has grown from a small party of 50-plus members to a party with more than 70 million members.

Hu said an important factor of the CPC's long-time governing status in a country of 1.3 billion people lies in the party's strict administration of party affairs and constant emphasis on party-building.

He said the educational campaign of the party on maintaining the vanguard character of CPC members has achieved marked results. Continuous efforts should be made in this field as strengthening the vanguard character of the party is a long-term historic task.

"All party members, especially the leading cadres at various levels, should firmly establish scientific world outlook, outlook on life and value and correct outlook on power, status and interests," said Hu.

He urged party members to always use their power for the people, care about the people and work to benefit the people.

"Hot issues and difficult issues facing the masses should always be made the emphasis of our work," said Hu.

China National Radio, China Central Television and China Radio International carried out live broadcast of the rally.

Two major news Website, xinhuanet.com and people.com.cn, also carried out real-time webcast of the event.

Keeping progressive nature is root cause of CPC's success: Hu

Keeping the progressive nature is the basic cause of the success of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Hu Jintao on Friday.

The reason why the Party can be the core force in leading the nation to the victory of revolution, construction and reform and why it can always stand fast in the international and domestic changes is that it always represents the development requirements of China's advanced social productive forces, the progressive course of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the majority of the Chinese people, said Hu, who is also Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

"It is also because the CPC always attaches great importance to maintaining and developing the progressive nature as a Marxist party," he said at a grand rally to mark the 85th founding anniversary of the CPC.

The 85 years of CPC's history is a history to pursue the independence, liberation and prosperity for the Chinese nation, and a history to achieve the freedom, democracy and happiness of the Chinese people, Hu said. Full story>>

Hu calls on Party members to intensify anti-corruption efforts

Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Friday called for intensified anti-corruption efforts at the grand rally to mark the 85th founding anniversary of the CPC.

Hu, also Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on the nation's 70-plus million Party members to fully realize the strategic importance of anti-corruption efforts to maintain the vanguard character of CPC members, and never loosen the control against corruption even for a second.

Hu noted that there still exist some prominent problems that are not conforming with the vanguard character of the CPC, as some Party members do not stand firmly for their political belief, some do not strictly abide by the Party's disciplines, and some grassroot Party organizations are still weak in mechanism. Full story>>

More young people joining Communist Party of China

China's Communist Party is finding the country's universities remain fertile recruiting grounds as post secondary students who have a deep patriotic bent continue to commit to the party, which in turn can help kickoff their careers and serve as an outlet to do good social deeds.

While almost 2.5 million people where allowed to join the Party last year -- about a quarter of those who applied -- the number of students joining the Party increased at more than double the overall rate to reach 734,000 in 2005.

Statistics from the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee show that China now has 70.8 million Party members. The number of younger people -- those under the age of 35 -- account for 23 percent of the membership. Full story>>

CPC education drive reaches goal: Politburo

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a meeting in Beijing Thursday, to sum up experience of the Party's largest-ever internal educational campaign, dubbed as the "educational program for maintaining the advanced nature of CPC members".

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

The campaign, which was launched by the CPC Central Committee in January 2005, has reached its targets of improving Party members' quality, strengthening grass-roots Party organizations, serving the people, and helping make progress in all fields, according to the meeting.

The campaign is of great importance for pushing forward the new, great project of Party building and the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, it held.

The Party plans to build up a long-term mechanism for maintaining the advanced nature of the Party members, and so far, four documents have been issued for the purpose, according to the meeting, which concluded that it is a long-term job for the Party to step up its building of advanced nature of CPC members. Full story>>