The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CCP). The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary, who is an alternate member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

of the CCP. The incumbent First Secretary is He Junke, appointed in June 2018 . The Communist Youth League is also responsible for guiding the activities of the Young Pioneers (for children below the age of 14).

History

Founded in May 1920, it was originally named as the Socialist Youth League of China. Whilst the Party was officially established in July 1921, the Chinese Socialist Youth League was organized with the Party being set up throughout the country. In May 1922, the 1st National Congress () of the League was held under the leadership of the Party, and therefore became a unified organization in China. In the 3rd National Congress in January 1925, the Chinese Socialist Youth League was renamed as the Chinese Communist Youth League. After the Sino-Japanese War, in order to adapt to the new social and political situation, it was officially renamed as the Chinese New Democracy Youth League in April 1949. Later in May 1957, its name as the Chinese Communist Youth League was resumed, historically combining the congresses of all three leagues (the Chinese Socialist Youth League, the Chinese Communist Youth League as well as the Chinese New Democracy Youth League). During the 10 years of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, the functioning of the League was blocked and the Central Committee was disbanded as it was accused of revisionism; its functions were partly resumed in the early 1970s. From 1978 to 2008, six congresses were held. The Communist Youth League has contributed a number of top echelon leaders of the CCP-led government of the People's Republic of China. The proliferation of leaders with a Youth League background has led to the informal name "''

Tuanpai The Tuanpai (), or Youth League Faction, is a term used by political observers and analysts to describe an informal political faction in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which includes cadres and government officials who originated from the Co ...

''" (abbreviation for "Youth League faction") being used to describe certain members of the leadership at different times. The first "Youth League faction" was represented by

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Gen ...

. The second "Youth League faction" is represented by

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, and ...

. While there is no direct political lineage between the two Hus, Hu Jintao's administration has formally elevated the memory of the earlier Hu. In 2005, the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth, a new museum and a series of commemorative books and television programs were launched. The death of the son of Ling Jihua and Gu Liping, a couple associated with the Communist Youth League, may have tarnished the reputation of the organization as a path to power. Current

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

has sought to reduce the prominence of the CCP's youth wing, stating that "All they

adres Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal. Noise reduction techniques exist for audio and images. Noise reduction algorithms may distort the signal to some degree. Noise rejection is the ability of a circuit to isolate an und ...

can do is just repeat the same old bureaucratic, stereotypical talk". Political commentators have noted that the diminishing of the ''Tuanpai'' curtailed the influence of former

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...

Hu Jintao, solidifying Xi's own political faction. Xi effectively closed the Central School of China Communist Youth League, folding it into the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

. He also demoted the league's chief and imprisoned one of its top officials.

Anthem

In 1987, the first anthem of CYLC was composed.

Structure

The national leading organization is the National Congress and the Central Committee, elected by the congresses. The National Congress are held each 5 years, but can be held earlier or later under special circumstances. In between congresses, the Central Committee implements the decisions made in the National Congress and leads the League as a whole; the Central Committee usually meets in plenary session once a year. In addition to the Central Committee, there are General Affairs Committees which oversee the daily affairs of the League and lead the organization in provincial-level administrative areas of the country. By the end of 2002, there were approximately 210,000 committee members of fundamental organizations. 2021 estimates put the number of Youth League members at over 81 million. Under the leadership of CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao, who was also a leading figure in the Youth League, key government positions at both central and provincial levels are more likely to be filled by the League's members and former cadres, known as ''tuanpai''. CYLC's official newspaper is the ''

China Youth Daily The ''China Youth Daily'' () is the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951 with editorial and financial independence in the People's Republic of China. In the 1980s, it was regarded as the best newspaper in mainland China wi ...

''.

List of First Secretaries

* Yu Xiusong (): 1920–1922 * Shi Cuntong (): 1922–1925 * Zhang Tailei (): 1925–1927 * Ren Bishi (): 1927–1928 *

Guan Xiangying Guan may refer to: * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Gu ...

(): 1928–1946 *

Feng Wenbin Feng may refer to: *Feng (surname), one of several Chinese surnames in Mandarin: **Féng (surname) ( wikt:冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname ** Fèng (surname) ( wikt:鳳 fèng 4th tone "phoenix"), relatively common Chinese f ...

(): 1949–1953 *

(): 1953–1978 *Han Ying (): 1978–1982 *

Wang Zhaoguo Wang Zhaoguo (; born 14 July 1941) is a retired Chinese politician who came to prominence during the era of Deng Xiaoping. An automobile factory technician by trade, Wang had a long and varied political career, known for having acquired a minist ...

(): 1982–1984 *

(): 1984–1985 *

Song Defu Song Defu (; February 1946 – September 13, 2007) was a Chinese politician, best known for his terms as the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League, Minister of Personnel, and the Communist Party Secretary of Fujian province. Widely c ...

(): 1985–1993 *

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...

(): 1993–1998 *

Zhou Qiang Zhou Qiang (; born 25 April 1960) is a Chinese politician who is the current Chief Justice and President of the Supreme People's Court of China. Previously, he served as the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's Hunan committee, the effec ...

(): 1998–2006 *

Hu Chunhua Hu Chunhua (; born 1 April 1963) is a Chinese politician, a former member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China in Premier Li Keqiang's Cabinet. He worked in Tibet for much o ...

(): 2006–2008 * Lu Hao (): 2008–2013 * Qin Yizhi (): 2013–2017 *

He Junke He Junke (; born February 1969) is a Chinese executive and politician, currently serving as first secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and director of the National Working Committee of the Yo ...

(): 2018–present

Chronology of National Congresses

*1st National Congress (Socialist Youth League): 5–10 May 1922 *2nd National Congress (Socialist Youth League): 2–25 August 1923 *3rd National Congress (Socialist Youth League): 26–30 January 1925 *4th National Congress: 10–16 May 1927 *5th National Congress: 12–16 July 1928 *6th National Congress (1st Congress, New Democratic Youth League): 11–18 April 1949 *7th National Congress (2nd Congress, New Democratic Youth League): 23 June–2 July 1953 *8th National Congress (3rd Congress, New Democratic Youth League): 12–25 May 1957 *9th National Congress: 11–29 June 1964 *10th National Congress: 16–26 October 1978 *11th National Congress: 20–30 December 1982 *12th National Congress: 4–8 May 1988 *13th National Congress: 3–10 May 1993 *14th National Congress: 19–25 June 1998 *15th National Congress: 22–26 July 2003 *16th National Congress: 10–13 June 2008 *17th National Congress: 17–21 June 2013 *18th National Congress: 26–29 June 2018

Social media

The social media accounts of Communist Youth League of China have engaged in harassment of foreign journalists. During the

2021 Henan floods China's Henan Province experienced flooding between 17 and 31 July 2021 as a result of heavy rainfall. On July 20, Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, recorded of rainfall within an hour, the highest ever figure recorded since measurements began ...

the Communist Youth League asked its social media followers to locate and report the location of a BBC journalist on assignment covering the story. They also accused foreign reporters in general of slandering China with their reporting about the floods.

References

Attribution

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Youth League of China Chinese Communist Party Youth organizations based in China Youth wings of communist parties Youth wings of political parties in China Youth organizations established in 1920 1920 establishments in China