Three Stresses
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The "Three Stresses" campaign () was an ideological rectification campaign among
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
members in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The initiative was formally launched in 1998 by then-Communist Party General Secretary
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...
, and its name refers to the need to “stress study, stress politics, stress righteousness” (''jiang xuexi, jiang zhengzhi, jiang zhengqi''). The campaign was intended to strengthen discipline within the Communist Party and consolidate support for Jiang Zemin.Jia Hepeng
‘The Three Represents Campaign: Reform the Party of Indoctrinate the Capitalists?’
, The Cato Journal (2004).
During the campaign, which spanned from late 1998 to 2000, senior staff within the government, military, party offices, universities, and state and private enterprises were required to spend several weeks engaging in political study and self-criticism sessions with the goal of improving unity and enhancing loyalty to the Communist Party. According to a retired official cited in the New York Times, Jiang also hoped to use the campaign to "identify loyal, promising officials for future leadership positions." The initiative was only the second major party rectification campaigns launched since the death of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
(the previous campaign having begun in 1983).Joseph Fewsmith
“CCP Launches Campaign to Maintain the Advanced Nature of Party Members”
China Leadership Monitor, No. 13.


Background

China’s embrace of a market economy and the dismantling of the Marxist–Leninist system in the 1980s and 1990s precipitated a deterioration in ideological unity and purpose within the Communist Party. Moreover, the party was facing a variety of internal and external challenges, including but not limited to growing crime and corruption, income disparities, weakening central government control, and calls for political liberalization. In order to address these challenges, the Communist Party leadership under Jiang Zemin sought to adapt and redefine the official ideology to meet changing circumstances, while stressing the continued importance of loyalty to party. Andrew Nathan and Bruce Gilley write that the campaign served another purpose: if Jiang Zemin wished to have a lasting impact on the Communist Party itself, “he had to come forward with a new conception of its mandate and its basis for action.” To that end, Jiang enunciated a number of new approaches and slogans in the early and mid-1990s.Andrew Nathan and Bruce Gilley, “China's New Rulers: The Secret Files,” (New York, NY: New York Review Books, 2003), pp 190 - 192. The earliest proposals for the Three Stresses campaign emerged in 1995, when Jiang began proposed an ideological rectification campaign urging party leaders to “stress politics.” The idea initially met with opposition within the party;
Qiao Shi Qiao Shi (24 December 1924 – 14 June 2015) was a Chinese politician and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the party's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, from 1987 to 1997. ...
and Li Ruihuan, in particular, viewed the proposal as a means of self-aggrandizement. In 1998, following the forced retirement of Qiao Shi, Jiang proceeded to roll out the three stresses campaign, which leadership hoped would stave off atrophy and decay within the party.


The campaign

In October 1998, Jiang Zemin, with assistance from then-executive secretary of the Secretariat
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, an ...
and chief of staff Zeng Qinghong announced plans for the Three Stresses campaign to the Politburo. In December of the same year, Hu Jintao publicly launched the campaign with an appearance on television, in which he urged party members to write self-criticisms and participate in work meetings to discuss their methods of carrying out their work. Party members were also encouraged to go to the countryside to promote the campaign. During its initial phase, the Three Stresses campaign was carried out within the army, government agencies and Communist Party offices. Thereafter, senior staff within publishing houses, universities, research organizations, and state-owned enterprises were also enjoined to participate in political study sessions.Erik Eckholm
Repeat After Him: The Party Isn't Over
New York Times, 2 May 1999.
In addition to studying the writings of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
,
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
and Jiang Zemin, senior staff within workplaces were required to write critiques of both their own political failings, and criticisms of their superiors and workplaces. Although the campaign employed techniques of ideological study and self-criticism reminiscent of the Mao era, the sessions were described as comparatively tame. Writing for the ''Far Eastern Economic Review'', Susan Lawrence described the impact of the Three Stresses campaign on the country's corporate sector. The account told of how, in the summer of 1999, senior staff at a major bank were required to participate in dozens of group meetings "in which they have criticized their own and each other's political failings," draft self-criticism papers, in addition to conducting nearly 100 individual political sessions. The objective of the campaign was described as improving the unity of senior staff and ensuring their loyalty to the Communist Party and Jiang Zemin.Susan V. Lawrence
China: Stressful Summer
Far Eastern Economic Review, 19 August 1999.


Reception

Views on the Three Stresses campaign within the Communist Party leadership were deeply divided, and several senior officials viewed the campaign as an attempt by Jiang Zemin to enhance his own prestige. Li Ruihuan and Qiao Shi continued to oppose the campaign, with the latter describing it as an attempt to erect a personality cult around Jiang. Politburo member
Tian Jiyun Tian Jiyun (; born June 1929 in Feicheng, Shandong) is a retired politician in the People's Republic of China, known as a supporter of Deng Xiaoping's reforms. The best-known feature of his biography is the speech of 1992, delivered in the Centra ...
called the campaign a "joke", and expressed doubt that it could have the intended effect of enhancing discipline within the party. The criticisms led Jiang to 'clarify' during a March 2000 Politburo meeting that he had no intention using the Three Stresses to enhance his personal authority, and that it was intended purely to "rectify the Party's work style and purify the ranks of the Party's leading cadres." Premier
Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...
and National People's Congress Chairman Li Peng were reportedly ambivalent towards the initiative. However, a number of rising young leaders within the Communist Party embraced the initiative as a means of gaining favor with Jiang. Among them were Hu Jintao,
Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...
, Li Changchun, Bo Xilai, and
Jia Qinglin Jia Qinglin (; born 13 March 1940) is a retired senior leader of the People's Republic of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, the party's highest ruling organ, between ...
.


See also

* List of campaigns of the Communist Party of China *
Democratic life meeting A Democratic Life Meeting () is a periodic gathering of cadres of the Chinese Communist Party who engage in criticism and self-criticism. They are held in all levels of the Communist Party organization from the "grassroots" to the central leadership ...


References

{{reflist Campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party 1998 in China 1999 in China 2000 in China