China eyes gig workers and influencers as delegates for Communist Party congress
For the first time, delivery couriers, ride-hailing drivers and influencers could become delegates to the Communist Party’s five-yearly national congress, as Beijing seeks to keep the group close to the official ideology. Guidelines on selecting delegates for the meeting, to be held in the second half of next year, were issued on Saturday. The 21st party congress is expected to bring together…
Beijing is considering gig workers and influencers as potential delegates for the Communist Party’s five-yearly national congress, taking place in the second half of next year. Guidelines on selecting these delegates were released on Saturday.
The 21st party congress is expected to convene around 2,360 delegates, who will vote to elect more than 300 members of the Central Committee. The selected delegates should hail from diverse sectors, including business, science, technology, national defense, politics, legal affairs, education, publicity, culture, public health, sports, social governance, and a new category known as "new employment groups".
Grass-roots units must consider a balanced representation of industries, fields, and regions when electing delegates. In regions with well-developed new economies and a significant presence of new forms of employment, outstanding party members from these "new employment groups" should be recommended as delegate candidates.
The party's decision to include gig workers as potential delegates reflects its growing concerns about the digital economy's rapid growth. Gig workers, who include food delivery couriers, ride-hailing drivers, and online marketers relying on internet platforms for their jobs, have become an institutional blind spot for the authorities. To address this, Beijing has vowed to step up party building efforts for this group, urging them to "listen to the party and follow the party".
China is home to approximately 84 million gig workers, comprising about 12 million food delivery riders and 7 million ride-hailing drivers. In October of the previous year, the State Council issued guidelines to better protect the rights and interests of workers in this group, urging stronger oversight, improved information disclosure, and a reduction in "rat-race competition".
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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