Introduction At the 4th Plenum of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in September 2004, the CCP set out on a new self-declared path to establish itself as a permanent “governing party” (zhizheng dang) instead of remaining a “revolutionary” party.¹ The 36-page resolution on the Enhancement of the Party's Governance Capability says that China's reform and development have reached a critical stage in which new situations and new problems are mushrooming.² The CPC concedes that it needs to enhance its governance capability to consolidate its ruling status and meet domestic and global challenges. A new…