During the same period, more than 10,000 high school students applied for CPC membership, and 17.1 percent of the students participated in study of the CPC constitution, the authority said.

Five years ago, only about 60 high school students joined the party every year and about 2,000 submitted applications.

"I feel that the political enthusiasm of high school students has been rising over recent years, and their identification with the Party is getting stronger and stronger," said Yang Yueming, a teacher with Datong High School.

Shi Yang, a freshman at Shanghai's Fudan University, joined the party early this year when he was still a student at Datong.

"The great changes taking place around me convinced me that China is marching forward on the right road under the leadership of the Party. I have joined the party so that I can play a bigger role in China's modernization process," Shi said.

More than 90 percent of the 80-odd elite high schools in the city have set up youth communism schools and youth party schools, the education authority said.

More than 400 party constitution study groups and 300 Deng Xiaoping Theory study groups are now active in these schools, the authority said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2002)