FUJIAN PROVINCE, China—Having party members undergo “policy training” on how the Communist Party of China works and governs China and the Chinese people were among the topics discussed by the Philippine delegation led by Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III which visited the Chinese province last month.
The CPC, the founding and ruling political party of the People’s Republic of China, is the sole governing party of China. It was organized on the basis of democratic centralism conceived by Russian Marxist theoretician Vladimir Lenin which entails democratic and open discussion on policy on the condition of unity in upholding the agreed upon policies.
The CPC is committed to communist thought and continues to participate in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties each year,
According to the party constitution, the CPC adheres to Marxism-Leninism and Mak Zedong thought, among others.
The PROC also controls the world’s largest armed force, the People’s Liberation Army.
Under the absolute control of the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA is legally obliged to follow the principle of civilian control of the military.
Pimentel Jr., and the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan where he sits as president, are in talks with senior CPC officials on the training of party members.
Chinese officials said the delegation wants to learn the design and program on how the CPC, which has sole control of the Chinese government since its establishment in 1949, works.
“For instance, they want to know how the CPC was organized, how they make decisions, how they practice in the CPC…. how they work,” said a Chinese official.
The official and his party said the Philippine delegation also wanted to know how the CPC leads the Chinese people and the party to achieve their goals and targets.
Sought for comment about the reported training and the purported agreement with the CPC, Pimentel said the talks were aimed to “enhance our relationship. We use imagination on how to do it. There were no specific activities listed.”
The Senate leader and the members of the delegates reportedly stayed for four days in China’s most secluded but highly-industrialized city for political and economic meetings with “party-building” as one of the topics.
Chinese officials said the PDP-Laban, the ruling party in the Philippines, entered into an agreement with the CPC last December for members of PDP-Laban to undergo “policy training” in the Fujian Provincial CPC Committee party school.
The school, founded on June 1950, teaches the important work of the provincial party Committee departments charged with important tasks of training of alternative Office-level leading cadres.
Pimentel was reportedly invited by the CPC leadership to make the visit following the renewed trade and economic relationship between China and the Philippines which was strained due to the territorial conflict over the West Philippine Seas.
President Rodrigo Duterte had shelved the arbitral ruling on the Philippine maritime dispute with China and renewed its bilateral ties with the communist country.
In a recent visit to Beijing, Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States, declaring it had “lost” and he had realigned with China.
Addressing a group of Chinese and Filipino businessmen after his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duterte said relations with the United States had reached “checkmate.” “America has lost now,” Mr. Duterte said.
“I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world—China, Philippines and Russia. It’s the only way,” he said.
“With that, in this venue, your honors, I announce my separation from the United States, both in military … not in social … both in military [and] economics,” he said to applause.
“I have separated from them. So I will be dependent on you for all time. But do not worry. We will also help as you help us.”
Manila and Washington are bound by the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty in force since 1951.
Last June 30, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a brief news release about Pimentel’s visit. It said Pimentel and his around 20 members of the delegation met with senior officials led by Pei Jinjiang, a member of the standing committee of the CPC Fujian provincial committee and secretary of the CPC Xiamen municipal committee.
The DFA stated in its news release that Pimentel commended Xiamen for providing a model for urban development to its Philippine counterparts. He extended an invitation to Pei and other CPC members to visit the Philippines.
It was Pei’s CPC Xiamen Municipal committee which hosted Pimentel and the other members of the Philippine delegation.
Pei briefed the Philippine delegation about Xiamen’s achievements and ongoing development projects.
The PDP was founded by Pimentel’s father, former Senate president Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel in 1982. A year after, It entered into coalition Laban, the party founded by the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. to become a major opposition party to Marcos.
It was one of the minority political parties under the Aquino administration, but became Duterte’s political party when he ran in the May 2016 presidential elections.