"The Party's discipline and the pursuit of undertakings are inherently unified."
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a democratic life meeting from December 26 to 27. At the meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping expounded on the relationship between the Party's discipline and the pursuit of undertakings.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Communist Party of China has been comprehensively and strictly governing the Party with the thunderous momentum of "offending a few thousand corrupt officials rather than failing the 1.4 billion people". The intensity of eradicating ills and rectifying chaos has been unprecedented.
However, with the in-depth progress of improving Party conduct and combating corruption, there have also been some discordant voices in society.
In January 2016, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping mentioned some ambiguous understandings and wrong remarks regarding anti-corruption, such as the idea that anti-corruption has nothing to do with the interests of the masses, that anti-corruption makes cadres inactive, that anti-corruption affects economic development, that anti-corruption is a power struggle, and that anti-corruption efforts should be slackened, and so on.
In response to these remarks, Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that "our Party's anti-corruption efforts are not a 'snobbish shop' that discriminates among people, not a 'House of Cards' for power struggles, nor an 'unfinished building' that starts but never finishes."
To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has revised the "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Punishments" three times, continuously sending a strong signal that discipline enforcement will be stricter as time goes by.
At this democratic life meeting, Xi Jinping said that the Party's discipline has both the functions of education and restraint as well as the roles of guarantee and incentive.
"Discipline not only clarifies the bottom line and boundaries that cannot be touched but also provides the code of conduct for Party members and cadres to work cleanly and boldly.";
"By observing rules and discipline, one will have full freedom and broad space for starting undertakings.";
"Those who revere and abide by discipline can resist corrosion and remain untainted by all kinds of bad influences.";
...
These statements are vivid and profound.
Discipline is the "ruler" for governing the Party. For Party members and cadres, Party discipline is both a "high-voltage wire" that cannot be touched and a "protective fence" for starting undertakings and growing into capable individuals.
Since the beginning of this year, during local inspections and research, Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that Party members and cadres should "work with peace of mind, take bold actions, be enterprising and proactive on the premise of observing rules and discipline."
In recent years, combining strict management with kind care and attaching equal importance to incentives and restraints has become an important principle in cadre management.
On the one hand, the high-pressure stance of "taking down tigers" (fighting against high-ranking corrupt officials) and "swatting flies" (cracking down on grassroots-level corrupt officials) has remained unchanged, and the keynote of strictness has been adhered to throughout. On the other hand, the cadre error-tolerant and error-correction mechanism has been continuously optimized and improved. Many regions have introduced policies to strengthen the governance of false accusations, thus giving support and encouragement to cadres who dare to take on responsibilities, be brave in shouldering duties, and be good at taking actions.
In some regions, along with the in-depth progress of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, the political ecology has been accelerated in purification, and economic and social development has been stable.
In Inner Mongolia, where the retroactive investigation of coal-related corruption was carried out for 20 years, as of September 2022, a total of 789 cases involving 1,163 people were investigated and dealt with due to coal-related corruption, and 942 people were given Party discipline and government sanctions. In 2023, Inner Mongolia's GDP grew by 7.3%, ranking third in the country and achieving the best position since 2010.
In many regions, efforts have been continuously made to normalize the clarification of false accusations and standardize precise accountability, which has boosted the morale of the cadre team.
From January to November this year, the discipline inspection and supervision organs in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, have carried out clarification and reputation restoration for 327 cadres and 36 organizations. Among the cadres whose reputations were restored, 20 were promoted and given important positions.
In January last year, at the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping especially emphasized the need to highly unify strict management and supervision with encouraging cadres to take on responsibilities and be proactive.
"The purpose of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is not to stifle people, make them overcautious, timid, or turn things into a stagnant pool of lifelessness and inaction. Instead, it is to create a positive and healthy political ecology and a good environment for starting undertakings by clarifying directions, setting rules, rectifying the atmosphere, and strengthening immunity."
The December 16 issue of the Qiushi Journal published an important article by Xi Jinping titled "Deepening the Party's Self-Revolution".
The article stated that it should be noted that with the changes in the situation, tasks, external environment, and the Party member team itself, various contradictions and problems will inevitably emerge within the Party. We must have the courage to turn the blade inward, promptly eliminate all kinds of negative influences, and ensure that the Party is always full of vigorous vitality. This is the reason why the Party's self-revolution must be promoted.（Outlook New Era）
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