China is ruled by the authoritarian Communist Party. But that doesn't mean there are no other political parties in the country—at least in name. State-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday that new Chinese leader Xi Jinping has met with the new chiefs of China's eight non-Communist political Parties. Among them are groups like the China Democratic League, and the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party. But all of these state-sanctioned groups are still controlled by the United Front Work Department. It's one of the organizations under the Communist Party's Central Committee. This effectively means these other Parties have no independence. [Wu Fan, Chief Editor of China Affairs] "This multi-party cooperation is false. It's really just a dictatorship...The leaders in these so-called political parties are either secret Communist Party members, or sent there by the Communist Party. They are funded by the Communist Party, and must follow its lead." Xinhua claims the eight Parties had more than 800,000 members at the end of 2011. Xi reportedly listened to their suggestions on, quote "major issues"—like improving working styles and moving China's economic transformation. Above all, Xi Jinping says the Communist Party will improve multi-party cooperation and the Communist Party's political consultation system. [Liu Guohua, Political Commentator] "The Communist Party has always talked about this throughout its history. But it means different things at different times. During the 1989 June 4th democracy crackdown, the eight wallflower parties all came out and support the Party. They supposedly represent the public, but they're more like a puppet controlled by the Communist Party." Xi Jinping was accompanied by Ling Jihua during of his meetings with the eight political Parties. Lin is the former secretary to Hu Jintao and was appointed the new head of the United Front Work Department in September. Many had seen it as a demotion at the time. However, analysts have told NTD that those suspicions underestimated the role of the United Front. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C

• published: 27 Dec 2012
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