The Central Leading Group for Publicity, Ideological and Cultural Work ( zh , s = 中央宣传思想领导小组 , p = Zhōngyāng Xuānchuán Sīxiǎng Lǐngdǎo Xiǎozǔ ) is a leading small group of the Central Committee of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) responsible for nationwide

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

. Its current group leader is

Cai Qi Cai Qi ( zh, c=蔡奇, p=Cài Qí; born December 5, 1955) is a Chinese politician, who is the current first-ranked secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), fifth-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee ...

; with Li Shulei and

Shen Yiqin Shen Yiqin (; born 15 December 1959) is a Chinese politician of Bai ethnic heritage who is currently a state councilor and President of the All-China Women's Federation since 2023. She previously served as the Party Secretary of Guizhou, a pro ...

as deputies.

Functions and duties

The CLGPIW controls all propaganda, publicity and information of the

as well as the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The agencies under its scrutiny include the CCP Propaganda Department and the

State Council Information Office The State Council Information Office (SCIO) is the chief information office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and an external name of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Historically, SCIO w ...

. Its basic function is to coordinate ideological, propaganda, cultural, media and publishing activities. In both composition and duties, the CLGPIW overlap another similar body, the CCP Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization. The group leader is usually the

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...

member in charge of propaganda, while the deputy leader is the head of the Propaganda Department. The rest of the group members (usually five to eight), except for the head and deputy head of the Secretarial Group, seem to be unknown to the public.

History

The Central Leading Group for Publicity and Ideological Work was established in the

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

of 1957 as the Central Theory Group (中央理论小组; ''Zhōngyāng Lǐlùn Xiǎozǔ'') led by

Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975), born Zhang Zongke (), was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, politician and calligrapher best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence appara ...

, but it was replaced on June 10, 1958, by a Central Culture and Education Group (中央文教小组; ''Zhōngyāng Wénjiào Xiǎozǔ'') led by

Lu Dingyi Lu Dingyi (; June 9, 1906 – May 9, 1996) was a leader of the Chinese Communist Party. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China and before the Cultural Revolution, he was credited as one of the top officials in socialist cultur ...

, with Kang Sheng as deputy leader and

Chen Boda Chen Boda (; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was a Chinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of Maoism (or "Mao Zedong Thought") in the first 20 years of the People's Republi ...

among its members, until a separate leading group for education was established in 1982. The current CLGPIW was established in 1988 by the CCP Central Committee Directive No. 11.''Selected Documents on Party Propaganda Work (1988–1992)'', Central Party School Press, Beijing, 1993. Its first leader was

Hu Qili Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), known as a champion of the country's economic reform program in the 1980s. He was a leading member of the CCP Secretariat from 1985 to 1989 ...

, although he was dismissed in 1989 for opposing the use of violence against the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

. Although usually the group leader is a Politburo Standing Committee member, Ding Guangen, who led the CLGPIW from 1992 to 2002, was concurrently Standing Committee member,

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

member and Propaganda Department head. In June 2023, it was reported that the agency was renamed to the Central Leading Group for Publicity, Ideological and Cultural Work.

List of group leaders

Hu Qiaomu Hu Qiaomu (4 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a Chinese sociologist, Marxist philosopher and politician. Hu Qiaomu is a controversial figure for opposing the reform and opening up era of economic reform that followed the death of Mao Zedon ...

(1982–1987) #

(1987–1989) #

Li Ruihuan Li Ruihuan (born September 17, 1934) is a Chinese retired politician. Li was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China's top decision-making body, between 1989 and 2002. Li served as Chairman of th ...

(1989–1992) # Ding Guangen (1992–2002) #

Li Changchun Li Changchun (born February 1, 1944) is a retired Chinese politician and a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the party's top leadership council, and as the top official in charge ...

(2002–2013) #

Liu Yunshan Liu Yunshan (; zh, s=刘云山, t=劉雲山, p=Liú Yúnshān; born July 1947) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the top decision-making body of the CCP, between 2 ...

(2013–2017) #

Wang Huning Wang Huning (; born 6 October 1955) is a Chinese politician who is one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is currently the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of the National C ...

(2017–2023) #

(2023–present)

References

{{Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese propaganda organisations Deliberative and coordinating bodies of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Leading groups of the Chinese Communist Party