Liu Sirong proudly displays a hammer and sickle flag on the dashboard of his luxury car. He is a businessman from Guangdong Province, and he hopes the symbol of the Communist Party will bless him for ever.
Once a manufacturer of bargain-priced underwear, Liu first became a delegate to the CPC's national congress five years ago. He was among the first group of private business people to join the CPC and attend the congress, following an amendment to the Party constitution.
The Party amended the constitution at the 16th national congress in 2002. Before that time, the CPC allowed only workers, peasants, service people, and intellectuals to become members.
More than 1,500 private entrepreneurs joined the CPC last year, accounting for 14.4 percent of the 10,773 members from new social strata, according to official statistics.
"I'm so proud to be able to introduce myself as a private entrepreneur," Liu said at the congress earlier this week.
The change in Liu's political status was accompanied by success in his business. His Chaozhou-based Gold Tide Group, which manufactures garments, saw its revenue rise to 419 million yuan ($55.8 million) last year, up from 170 million yuan in 2002.
The 50-year-old said in an interview with Xinhua: "We would have more room to flex our muscles if we were on an equal footing with companies financed by the State."
At the 16th national congress, the CPC said it would firmly encourage, support and cultivate non-public economic sectors. As a result, some areas, which were previously unavailable to the private sector, are now accessible.
In 2005, the State Council enacted the first-ever documents to support and facilitate the growth of the non-public economy and pledged to grant non-public firms equal treatment.
"Over the past five years we have done things we would have never even thought about before," Liu said.
Liu and business people like him are now a thriving force in China. At the end of last year, the country had 4.94 million private businesses, worth a combined 7.5 trillion yuan. And of the CPC's 70 million members nationwide, nearly 3 million come from the private sector.
Questions:
1. Liu is a businessman from which province?
2. The article says the CPC has how many members nationwide?
3. How many CPC members are from the private sector?
4. How many private entrepreneurs joined the Party last year?
Answers:
1. Guangdong.
2. 70 million.
3. Nearly 3 million.
4. More than 1,500.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.
