ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the development of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meritocratic cadre system in the post-Cultural Revolution era, with a view to analyzing its political factors. When the Chinese leadership changed course in the wake of the Cultural Revolution and decided that economic development should be its primary task, one point of contention among the leaders was the cadre selection and appointment system. In other policy areas as well, discord over the balance between reform and continuity proved to be a central theme in Chinese politics while Jiang Zemin held the reins of power. The Central Organization Department had found that a major problem in the implementation of the Temporary Regulations remained to be the practice of favoritism and nepotism. Pursuing fairness through the introduction of competition was regarded as most important in developing the meritocratic cadre system at the time.
