Members of the Communist party in EY China have been asked to wear the party badges to show their "political loyalty", a report by The Financial Times (FT) said. The demand was made by the party's branch committee at the company ahead of China's annual parliamentary meetings.
The highly-political meeting will commence on March 5 and is expected to confirm Xi Jinping's third term as the president. The annual meeting will also see the appointment of new party officials.
The committee sent the email to the party members at EY's Beijing headquarters on February 23, the FT report said. According to party rules, if the company has more than 50 party members, they need to set up such a branch committee.
"The badge should be placed in the middle of the left chest and cannot be worn on the collar...When worn with other badges, it should be placed above them," the mail read.
"Most of China's 97 million Communist party members are supposed to wear their party pins at work, but observance is generally higher during politically sensitive times," the report said.
According to the party's bylaws, "Wearing the party badge is the obligation of every Communist party member".
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"It helps to make visible their identities as party members, ensures they fulfil their party obligations and strengthens their party consciousness," the laws say.
However, under Jinping, the implementation has been more strict. According to FT, early in his tenure, the party asked the members to pay the due fees. This was to "weed out those seen to lack dedication".
EY China is owned by the company's partners in China, and its profits are not shared with EY's international network.
