Chinese Communist Party may expel members who read books that 'slander' its history

Reading books that defame the history or image of the Chinese Communist Party of China (CCP) or that are deemed to slander its leaders will result in penalties for its members that can lead to expulsion from the party. This has been decided by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which has updated its regulations to include new sanctions.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, reading such books is not the only offense that can lead CCP members to be expelled from the party, but also others such as soliciting prostitution, drug use or embezzlement of public funds.

In addition to expulsion, other sanctions that members who violate the CCP's regulatory code may face are severe warnings or disciplinary probation.

In the first instance, those who commit any type of offense will go through an evaluation process within the party so that, subsequently, they will undergo a trial and receive their sentence.

Prior to the new update, which was approved by the CCP's political bureau two weeks ago, the party punished its members when they were caught buying or disseminating books that denigrated the history of the political party or its leaders, such as the current president of the regime, Xi Jinping, or the first president of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong.