Mass line
[12] Mass line also exhibits elements of ancient Chinese beliefs, which emphasized the importance of wise rulers reading signs of popular discontent in order to avoid social calamity.[14]: 117 Through the petitioning system, citizens can register complaints about socioeconomic problems with government departments and provide a mechanism for the state to collect political inputs from, and remain in contact with, the public.[14]: 117 Throughout Mao Zedong's early revolutionary activity among the peasantry of the Hunan Province, he preached that the CCP must rely on the masses for its strength, serve their needs, "draw inspiration" from them, and orient its political ideology and organizational tactics to their responsiveness.Mao's published works reflect this: in a speech given at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942, mass line was articulated as an unofficial doctrine of communism.[citation needed] In 1945, Liu Shaoqi delivered a report to the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party,emphasizing the necessity of selfless leadership, accountable to the masses.While partially honouring the legacy of Mao in his 1981 Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People's Republic of China, Deng's leadership placed a lesser emphasis on Maoist egalitarianism and collectivism fundamental to mass line.[23] One of the distinctive features of the national leadership of Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has been the revival of the mass line in CCP theory and praxis.[24] As part of this campaign, Xi Jinping has declared that "All Party organs and members should be frugal and make determined efforts to oppose ostentation and reject hedonism",[16] although the interpretation of what this means seems to have varied from one province to the next somewhat.[24] The Economist reported two specific examples of punishments under the new mass line: the suspended death sentence for corruption given to Liu Zhijun and charging the 17-year-old-son of a high-ranking military officer for an alleged connection to a gang rape.[32] Academic Alexander Korolev argues that: "If implemented not as a propaganda tool but as a mechanism of interest articulation and aggregation, the mass line has the potential to offer China alternative routes of democratization.[5] The directive said that "One of the inborn duties of a Communist lies in the incessant effort to carry out propaganda among the people so as to educate them, to wage relentless war against all reactionary and mistaken conceptions and principles, and to promote as well as raise the political consciousness of the masses.The most significant of the mass organizations encompassed large numbers of people from major social groups, including workers through trade unions, students, youth, and women.