In a few years' time, this could mean that in urban China at least, the party's grassroots activities will be confined mainly to governmentdepartmentsand institutions, in which party membership remains a prerequisite for advancement.
"Publicize information to prevent 'bird flu panic', " read a headline of a recent front-page commentary in the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's newspaper, that urged governmentdepartments to release information quickly about an outbreak that has killed nine and sickened 26 others.