CPC 101: Why Party Committee Leaders Are Called Secretaries?

The title "secretary" within the Communist Party of China can traced back to its First National Congress in 1921. Initially the CPC's founding members could not decide how to address the main leaders of the Party. It was then proposed that the Russian word "секретарь" which the Soviet Union used to address its communist leaders, be adopted and translated as "secretary".

When the Chinese communists first heard this word, they were all confused. As in ancient times, the word "secretary" was used in both China and the West to refer to paper pushers. In modern contexts, it also refers to "note-takers". Everybody thought it sounded like a low-ranking position.

As a matter of fact, in 1846, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were setting up the Communist Correspondence Committee, later known as the Communist Party, Engels asked Marx how the person in charge should be addressed, and Marx said without hesitation - "secretary". As Marx hoped, those at the top shall not be privileged persons, but servants working hard for the interest of the public.