The Communist Party of China (CPC) had organized extensive opinion surveys on political awareness, administrative performance and personal integrity in choosing candidates for the new central leadership, Xinhua has learnt.

The 17th CPC National Congress, which concluded on Sunday morning, elected 204 members and 167 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee, which will play leading roles in managing the affairs of the Party and country.

Since mid-2006, the 16th CPC Central Committee had dispatched about 60 investigation teams to central and local Party and government departments, financial institutions, key state-owned enterprises and armed forces units, and paid visits to grassroots masses to know more about the nominees to the CPC Central Committee candidacy.

The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 16th CPC Central Committee convened nine times to listen to the reports from the investigation teams and narrowed down the name-list for review at the presidium of the 17th CPC National Congress.

During the investigation, the team staff organized opinion surveys among 33,500 cadres and people who were working with those under review.

What were reviewed on the possible nominees mainly included their working style, performance and public image.

The investigations showed the resolve of the Party's central authorities to expand democracy and let the people know about, participate in, comment on and watch over electoral activities, according to some people who had been surveyed.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2007)