Founded in May 1920, it was originally named as the Socialist Youth League of China. Whilst the Party was officially established in July 1921, the Chinese Socialist Youth League was organized with the Party being set up throughout the country. In May 1922, the 1stNational Congress of the League was held under the leadership of the Party, and therefore became a unified organization in China. In the 3rd National Congress in January 1925, the Chinese Socialist Youth League was renamed as the Chinese Communist Youth League. After the Sino-Japanese War, in order to adapt to the new social and political situation, it was officially renamed as the Chinese New Democracy Youth League in April 1949. Later in May 1957, its name as the Chinese Communist Youth League was resumed, historically combining the congresses of all three leagues. During the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution, the functioning of the League was blocked and the Central Committee was disbanded as it was accused of revisionism; its functions were partly resumed in the early 1970s. From 1978 to 2008, six congresses were held. The Communist Youth League has contributed a number of top echelon leaders of the Communist Party-led government of the People's Republic of China. The proliferation of leaders with a Youth League background has led to the informal name "Youth League faction" being used to describe certain members of the leadership at different times. The first "Youth League faction" was represented by Hu Yaobang. The second "Youth League faction" is represented by Hu Jintao. While there is no direct political lineage between the two Hus, Hu Jintao's administration has formally elevated the memory of the earlier Hu. In 2005, the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth, a new museum and a series of commemorative books and television programs were launched. The scandalous death of the son of Ling Jihua and Gu Liping, a couple associated with the Communist Youth League, may have tarnished the reputation of the organization as a path to power. Current General Secretary Xi Jinping has sought to reduce the prominence of the Communist Party's youth wing, stating that "All they can do is just repeat the same old bureaucratic, stereotypical talk". Political commentators have noted that the diminishing of the Communist Youth League faction curtailed the influence of former paramount leader Hu Jintao, solidifying Xi's own political faction. Xi effectively closed the Central School of China Communist Youth League, folding it into the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He also demoted the league‘s chief and imprisoned one of its top officials.
Anthem
In 1987, the first anthem of CYLC was composed.
Structure
The national leading organization is the National Congress and the Central Committee, elected by the congresses. The National Congress are held each 5 years, but can be held earlier or later under special circumstances. In between congresses, the Central Committee implements the decisions made in the National Congress and leads the League as a whole; the Central Committee usually meets in plenary session once a year. In addition to the Central Committee, there are General Affairs Committees which oversee the daily affairs of the League and lead the fundamental organizations in 31 provincial level administrative areas of the country. "CPC and is considered to be the CPC's assistant and backup". By the end of 2002, there were approximately 210,000 committee members of fundamental organizations. 2007 estimates put the number of Youth League members at 73 million. Central Committee reported at the end of 2006, students accounted for 49.9% of the league. Under the leadership of Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, who was also a leading figure in the Youth League, key government positions at both central and provincial levels are more likely to be filled by the League's members and former cadres, known as tuanpai. CYLC's official newspaper is the China Youth Daily.
