League earns praise for its online reach

'Amusing' content said to be a better fit for modern times

The Communist Youth League's online presence has increased dramatically over the last five years, helping the youth organization deliver its messages to millions of young people, delegates to the organization's 18th National Congress said on Wednesday.

Zhang Yuanxu, a 22-year-old delegate from Zhejiang province who is attending Hangzhou Normal University, said she has noticed an increased CYL presence on new media platforms, including WeChat.

She said the increased online presence, along with tailored content for young people, has helped the organization reach out to the nation's young people in a more effective and user-friendly way.

"I am following its WeChat account, and I find the content amusing - which is quite different from the league's image as a moral lecturer," she said.

Zhang added that the new-media approach adopted by the CYL can be a crucial supplement to ideological courses in college, which some students find boring.

One of the CYL's WeChat posts in June included an anecdote from a user on Zhihu, a question-and-answer website, to illustrate the power of China's State Grid Corp, the country's major provider of electricity. The post got about 80,000 page views, 1,600 likes and a scores of comments showing respect to State Grid workers.

The user, "humengmeng", whose father works for State Grid, was quoted as saying that once her class burst out in applause after a snowstorm led to a power failure while they were taking evening classes. Students thought they could go home early.

The student called her mother to drive her home, but was told the electricity would be back on as soon as her father arrived to fix it. In just five minutes, the lights came on again.

Liu Yehuan, 26, a delegate from Hunan province, added that the subject matter on CYL platforms is relevant to young people, which is a significant source of its appeal.

"I've seen more from the CYL on the internet, and I think the greater online presence will help the youth league engage young people outside of youth organizations - such as those working with foreign-owned enterprises," he said.

"The content is of high quality, even from the viewpoint of a new-media professional," said Liu, who is president of Vmonkey, a new-media company he started in 2014.

The CYL has become increasingly vocal on such platforms, taking a clear-cut stand against wayward ideological tendencies, including those advocating "Taiwan independence" or hostility toward revolutionary heroes.

According to the CYL, youth leagues at all levels now own more than 210,000 accounts on WeChat and 72,000 accounts on Sina Weibo. Total followers have surpassed 10 million.

Other platforms where youth leagues are building up their influence include the video-sharing app Douyin and Bilibili, a popular video streaming site, it said.

With more than 81 million members, the CYL promotes progressive ideas under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It acts as the assistant and reserve for the CPC.

The four-day congress, which opened on Tuesday, will hear a report by the 17th CYL Central Committee, amend the group's constitution and elect the 18th Central Committee.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn