Joining the Communist Party in China

China is an intriguing place. It is a communist country, but not everyone has a right to be a communist. In the past having educated or land owning parents may have precluded your acceptance into the exclusive group but today this may be untrue. When Deng Xiao Ping announced that China was opening up, China was coming off a relatively bad ten years vz the cultural revolution. China was still confused about what a good communist was for Mao had just taught them to seek poor spouses and the people who worked the land were wonderful. Deng suddenly said, hey you guys, you want to make some money? And chaos ensued.
A little while later the party decided that if all the rich people were not party members then they may leave the country or worse, stay and rattle the good gig the ruling communists had going. The communists thus co-opted the rich to remain in power.
Nowadays, although communist, China may have little semblance to what it was in Mao’ist times. For instance, now one must apply to be a communist and acceptance is far from easy. In China you have to be accepted into the party to even be a part of the group that does not elect the leader.
The process can take up to seven months and a person needs to or should be recommended by one who is already a communist party member. Then a test period ensues where the person wishing to be a communist is observed, and then a judgement is rendered. How bad does it suck that in China you don’t even get to vote for your president , but to add insult to injury you cannot even join the party?