¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The 66 million members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are playing vital roles in the country's modernization drive.

¡¡¡¡Statistics released by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee show that 87.4 percent of the 5,790 national model workers since 1994 and 71.8 percent of the nation's ten mostoutstanding youths between 1990 and 2000 were CPC members.

¡¡¡¡These members ranged from scientific researchers to county leaders who try their best to improve the living standards of farmers.

¡¡¡¡Records show 98 Party members died while trying to rescue others in the disastrous 1998 floods.

¡¡¡¡The CPC's achievements are generally attributed to the upgrading of its members' capabilities and moral standards.

¡¡¡¡Up to 2000, 50.2 percent of all the members were educated to high school level or above, 21.1 percent of whom had college degrees.

¡¡¡¡The CPC is also strict with its members' moral standards. It has expelled 473,000 members since 1989. However, it attracted millions of new members during the same period of time. Enditem