BEIJING -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) will honor its members bearing five decades of party membership with memorial medals for the first time this year, according to a decision by the CPC Central Committee.

Eligible recipients will be living CPC members who have been party members for 50 full years or longer as of July 1, 2021, and have consistently performed well in their roles, said a circular issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

In the future, the memorial medal awarding will take place once a year, usually around July 1, the birthday of the CPC, the circular noted.

The CPC marks its centenary this year.