It might appear to be somewhat ironical on the face of it, but the striking feature of the centenary celebrations of the omnipotent Communist Party of China (July 2021) must be that it has cracked the whip on dissent, and not through the normally customary bout of ideological grandstanding in the Great Hall of the People. It thus comes about that the CPC has rather dramatically amended the rules of engagement for its 92 million members.

The cadres have now been granted the right to demand the removal of “incompetent leaders”, implicitly enforcing a remarkable degree of checks and balances. The party has made it clear that it shall not tolerate what it calls “public expression of dissent”.

The impression thus conveyed is that dissent is arguably manifest in one of the world’s most regimented entities, whose role has traditionally influenced governance and the military. It bears recall that the exceptionally strident dissent at Tiananmen Square in 1989 was spearheaded by the people, and not by the party.

The amended rules provide for new guidelines on access to information and the party’s praxis of handling “internal complaints”. Going by the CPC’s formulation, the ultimate objective is to “boost democracy within the party”. Clearly, a measure of dissent is permissible with a modified ‘yes’. The new rules are explicit on the point that the CPC will not tolerate dissent from its own ranks, most particularly by “airing the complaints in public”.

So, “when a party member criticises, exposes or requests for treatment or punishment, he/she shall use organisational channels. He/she shall not spread it freely or on the internet, exaggerate or distort facts, or falsely accuse or frame up”.

Ergo, the inherent curbs on dissent are no less critical than the right to hold a different point of view, even to curb the activities of wayward leaders. The party leadership’s control over any expression of dissent has now been almost institutionalised. More basically, dissent can perhaps be aired on the party’s terms.

Article 16 of the rule book states that “party members shall not publicly express opinions that are inconsistent with the decisions of the central committee of the CPC”. The new rules state that “work-related mistakes” will no longer be treated as violation of discipline.

According to yet another rule, party members will be entitled to propose the removal of functionaries “if they can prove that they are incompetent”. The onus is, therefore, on the complainant. Altogether, the President-for-life, Xi Jinping, has entrenched his omnipotent authority further still, and as never before since he assumed charge as China’s supreme leader.

Albeit concessional in certain respects, the expression of dissent within the CPC is a tough proposition. Over and above the dissenting voices,,the CPC leadership will control all and everything. The whiff of democracy remains an anathema in Mr Xi’s China, almost reminiscent of the era of Mao Zedong and in many respects worse, when we consider the avenues that technology has opened up.