According to experts from around the world, the ongoing Party-wide discipline education campaign, a long-standing tradition of the Chinese Communist Party, will help the Chinese Communist Party face new goals and challenges and create a united effort to put the country on the right track. It will help build the core.
According to a circular issued in early April, from April to July, members of the Chinese Communist Party will implement the newly revised party regulations on disciplinary measures to strengthen their sense of discipline and preserve their sense of loyalty, purity, and responsibility. He says he plans to consider it.
The circular emphasizes that education should focus on embedding this awareness into daily work, and aims to help party members better understand and have a deeper respect for the lines they should not cross. In addition to using examples of violations as lessons learned, the party encourages discussion among party members. for the rules.
John Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the CPC's previous education campaigns have fostered closer ties with the public, improved the way officials work, and encouraged party members to remain loyal to the party's ideals. He pointed out that his focus was on making sure he continued. Founding mission.
The New Party Discipline Campaign builds on these efforts to strengthen the internal governance and management of the Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping's ideas on party self-reform.
Wang Feng, deputy director of the Institute of Chinese Communist Party History and Party Construction at Beijing Normal University, said the party is placing more emphasis on building discipline to improve autonomy, which is a sign that self-reform is constantly occurring. He said that.
He said discipline is a glorious tradition and one of the unique advantages of the Chinese Communist Party, which has ensured victory throughout history.
history is deeply engraved
Although the Chinese Communist Party's oath of membership has been revised several times, the word “discipline” remains the same.
The poem written by the late Chairman Mao Zedong, “If you raise the awareness of discipline, the revolution will definitely succeed'' reveals the relationship between discipline and revolutionary victory.
In 1928, when the Chinese Communist Party was still a small party, Mao Zedong issued a military doctrine called “Three Principles of Discipline and Six Precautions'' for the Red Army, which was then fighting the Kuomintang.
A distinctive feature of this doctrine was respect for people. The instructions were: “Follow orders in all your actions. Do not take away a single needle or thread from the public. Turn in whatever you catch.''
This discipline made the Red Army popular with the people, in contrast to Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang soldiers, who tended to be rude to villagers. Villagers voluntarily provided supplies and shelter to the Red Army, and even joined the Red Army, greatly aiding the Chinese Communist Party's war effort.
Mr. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has repeatedly emphasized that “the support of the people is our top political priority.'' He has repeatedly made clear calls for the party to advance its glorious tradition of building discipline.
“We must not allow our discipline to become a dusty document on a shelf,” Xi said.
Speaking at the 3rd plenary session of the 20th Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China in January, he said that the important tasks for promoting the party's self-reform are to improve the party's behavior and strengthen party discipline. , said it was to fight corruption.
He stressed the need to improve the legal system to fight corruption and called for an education campaign on discipline within the party.
maintain unity
Yang Weidong, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said that the ability to unite large political parties with more than 5 million grassroots organizations and 98 million members and unify their goals and actions depends on strict regulations. He said there was. of the rules.
“This is a unique aspect that distinguishes the Chinese Communist Party from other political parties,” he said. “Otherwise, such a large political party may become a pile of sand,” he said, adding that discipline is also needed to lead the people to achieve big goals.
Unlike the two-party systems in many Western countries, where one party loses an election and can change hands every few years, the Chinese Communist Party imposes severe constraints on party membership to ensure public support. It is necessary to win, this is a higher requirement to strengthen the party. Foundations of Governance.
Chen Vanaris, former director of the Asian Vision Institute, a think tank based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said the mission of political parties is to build a vision for everyone so that the country can come together and work together. Ta.
China is unique because the Chinese Communist Party is the largest and most complex political party in the world. He said discipline is very important because without discipline unity cannot be maintained.
Considering the complex external environment and foreign interference, it is necessary to build a unified core through disciplinary education, which will prepare China for the coming decades, Chen Vanalis said.
He said respect for democracy and the rule of law is declining around the world because of weak political institutions.
He said strong political parties can contribute to nation-building, especially in countries pursuing development.
“But unfortunately, many political parties in the world do not have strong unity and a strong vision. That is why the CPC is probably the strongest of all parties,” Chen Vanaris said. Ta.
Wang, an expert on party history, said the Chinese Communist Party is uniting and guiding the people toward the goal of fully building a modern socialist country. This increases the demands on governance capacity and leadership.
At the same time, some party members and cadres are not attentive or do not understand party rules and discipline. He said that in many cases where party members violate the law, it often begins by violating party rules and discipline.
Last December, the Party Central Committee announced a draft amendment to the disciplinary regulations. This is the third time since the 18th Communist Party Congress in 2012 that the Chinese Communist Party has amended its regulations, adding 16 new items, revising 76 items, and refining supervisory and disciplinary procedures and punishment rules.
Legal expert Yang said there are few political parties in the world that are as tightly organized as the Chinese Communist Party, with strict rules and strict enforcement.
Punishments include severe warnings and expulsion from the party, which could mean the end of an MP's political career and affect their career.
In July, Hu Jiyong, the party secretary of one of the subsidiaries of China National Petroleum Corporation, was expelled from the party and dismissed from his post for disciplinary violations.
On June 7, a video clip went viral online showing a man walking hand in hand with a young woman wearing a long pink off-shoulder dress through the streets of Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Mr. Hu was soon found to have had an inappropriate relationship with a woman during their marriage, was investigated by the company's disciplinary department, and used his vacation time to reschedule his business trip.
“Party discipline is stricter than national law,” Yang said. Members may be subject to disciplinary action if they indulge in extravagance or extravagance, resulting in negative consequences.
The purpose of this rigor is to hold party members and cadres to a higher standard than the public, he said.
fight against corruption
Sergey Suberov, an associate professor at the Russian Federation's government-affiliated finance university, said corruption is a major drag on China's economic growth, as it is in other countries. It is therefore very important that the Chinese authorities have consistently and resolutely fought this evil, he said.
“We have observed that the Chinese Communist Party is waging a relentless fight against corruption, which is deeply respected. This will improve the pace and quality of economic growth and increase trust in officials,” he said. Probably.''
James Gomez, regional director of the Asia Center think tank, said anti-corruption is important and any effort to combat corruption within and within the Chinese Communist Party would be welcomed both domestically and internationally. Stated.
Oleg Timofeev, an associate professor at Russia's RUDN University, said that over the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party has made great achievements in cracking down on corruption. The fight against corruption has become one of the core elements of China's political system.
He said the activities and achievements achieved by China's highest anti-corruption body, the State Supervisory Commission, are being studied around the world.
In March, Timofeev was invited to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend the second plenary session of the 14th National People's Congress, where Chairman Zhang Jun of the Supreme People's Court delivered a plenary report. “I witnessed the sheer enthusiasm of China's normally restrained parliamentarians, and the thunderous applause that erupted each time a Supreme Court report on the fight against corruption was released.” he said.
He is confident that the newly launched CCP discipline education campaign will redouble the government's efforts in the fight against corruption and accelerate the development of a law-based governance structure necessary for the country's social and economic prosperity. He added that he is doing so.
tough challenge
Sourav Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based China and America Institute, said corruption is a “tax” on law-abiding citizens.
In developing countries, incomes are low and corruption is a major driver of inequality.
He added that combating corruption is a difficult challenge, so disciplinary inspection and supervision, as currently practiced in China, requires high-level support.
Kai Sereivas, director of the Institute of Chinese Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said since Mr Xi took office as president, China has tackled corruption and also cut unnecessary government spending.
The government is using funds more efficiently, particularly for building highways, roads and other infrastructure, and is also partially funding projects in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.
In recent years, China has contributed to strengthening global anti-corruption governance. In October, China announced it would hold anti-corruption workshops for Belt and Road partner countries and train more than 300 graft warriors in Asia, Africa and Latin America within five years.
Chen Vanalis said geopolitical competition is also a competition between different governance models, so it is important for countries to continue fighting corruption and building strong governments.
The question of which governments remain strong and resilient will be important in the future, he added.
Chen Vanalis said China is in the next stage of fighting corruption through disciplinary measures. This will be strongly emphasized by the Chinese Communist Party, as the next four to five years is the right time to strengthen the party and good governance.
He said China would consider intensive domestic reforms with the eradication of corruption as a top priority. If reforms can be achieved, China will become a more resilient country.
“If we have a resilient country, China will be able to stand firmly on its own two feet even if there is a storm abroad,” he said.
Yifan Xu In Washington, Mei Zhou In Houston, Yang Wanli from Bangkok contributed to this article.
Please contact the author at zhangyi1@chinadaily.com.cn.
