A Democratic Life Meeting (Chinese: 民主生活會; pinyin: Mínzhǔ Shēnghuó Huì) is a periodic gathering of cadres of the Communist Party of China who engage in criticism and self-criticism. They are held in all levels of the Communist Party organization from the "grassroots" to the central leadership. It is unclear when these meetings began taking place. In 1987, General Secretary Hu Yaobang was ousted from power after a multi-day Democratic Life Meeting held specifically to criticize him personally and his reform program more generally. They took place on an infrequent basis over the next few decades (some sources say, once every year).