Same bed, different dreams: The bifurcation of the Chinese communist party

This study analyses the political attitudes and behaviour of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members from four aspects - their sociodemographic characteristics; the differences in political attitudes and behaviour between Party members and non-members; internal division among Party members; and the political consequences of such internal division. The findings suggest that the CCP has transformed itself from a working-class party to an elitist party and its members have demonstrated significantly higher levels of political participation and political efficacy. The Party is largely divided into two factions, namely the conservatives and pragmatists - the former being more resistant to liberal democratic reform than the latter group. The study draws data from a national survey based on a random sample of 3,989 respondents.