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Xinhua Insight: CPC disciplinary rules revised amid efforts to stem graft

Xinhua, October 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

New rules on disciplinary penalties and clean governance released by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee reveal a consensus on eradicating corruption amid continued anti-graft efforts.

The two new regulations were adopted at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Oct. 12 and details were unveiled on Wednesday.

NECESSARY FOR CLEAN PARTY

The two revised regulations have been dubbed by many as more comprehensive and stricter than the rules adopted previously since the reform and opening up drive began.

A statement released after the Oct. 12 meeting said the revisions uphold the principle that Party discipline is harsher than the law and discipline should be put before law among Party organizations and members.

The revised rules on disciplinary penalties, which separate Party discipline from the law by slashing overlapping clauses, ensure harsh and consistent penalties for wrongdoers within the CPC, setting the "disciplinary bottom line" for the behavior of CPC members.

Additionally, the CPC sets higher standards of morals for its members in the new set of clean governance rules mainly stipulating moral ethics, which, for the first time, expands its coverage from only leading cadres to all CPC members.

A commentary carried by the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the CPC, on Friday said the revised rules are significant as they are consistent with the ongoing drive to comprehensively and strictly govern the Party.

Making discipline harsher than law would help eliminate corruption at an early stage, preventing Party members and officials from making bigger mistakes, it said.

OUTCOME OF ANTI-GRAFT CAMPAIGN

The CPC has brought down corrupt officials all the way from low-level "flies" to high-ranking "tigers" since the current leadership took office in late 2012 and declared a high-profile anti-graft crackdown.

The results of the campaign are alarming, said Yang Yongchun, deputy head of the China Against Corruption Law Association.

"The effort has gained support from members of the public and consensus on preventing corruption and clean governance through written rules and regulations has been reached within the Party and society," he said.

Gao Bo, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said institutionalized adjustments are required to consolidate the results made in anti-corruption drive within the CPC.

Liu Dongchao, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said compared with the situation in the last two decades of last century, the number of corrupt Party cadres in the past 15 years increased and they had more negative impact on Chinese society as well as national economic and political development.

Updated and stricter rules are also necessary to enhance the governance within the party.

The Party has been confronted with some challenges since some members are not familiar with the Party's rules and code of conduct, resulting in a tenuous relationship with the organization, which threatens the very fabric of the CPC.

Liu suggested that a regular review mechanism of CPC members' conviction to communism ideals should be established to ensure that the power of Party officials, especially the leading ones in Party committees at all levels, is caged in Party disciplinary rules and law. Endi