Communist Party of China in space

Chinese astronauts may start a branch of the Communist Party of China in space, the country's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, said yesterday.

China has a 14-strong astronaut team, including Yang, and all are Party members.

"If China has its own space station, the astronauts on mission will carry out the regular activities of a CPC branch in space in the way we do on Earth, such as learning the Party's policies and exchanging opinions on the Party's decisions," said Yang, a delegate to the Party's national congress in Beijing.

"If we establish a Party branch in space, it would also be the 'highest' of its kind in the world," said Yang, who is also deputy director of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.