Joining the Chinese Communist Party

This appeared in The Millennial Source

Since taking control of the country, the CCP has led China from being an isolated, economic backwater to one of the most powerful economies in history — one that many believe will soon surpass the United States.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a monolith. With 92 million members, it competes with India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the largest political party in the world. But unlike the BJP, the CCP rules with impunity.

The CCP has evolved from breaking with the Soviet Union for not being sufficiently communist to being a market-oriented party with a nationalist bent. Founded in Shanghai in 1921, the CCP fought a horrific civil war with the ruling Kuomintang — with that war being interrupted by the bloodier Second Sino-Japanese War. The communists were victorious in 1949 and took control of the country under the leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Since taking control of the country, the CCP has led China from being an isolated, economic backwater to one of the most powerful economies in history — one that many believe will soon surpass the United States.

The CCP has come under scrutiny from American policymakers in recent years. As tensions have risen between the US and China, the Trump administration has instituted a travel ban on…