Xinhua Insight: Strict governance sharpens Communist Party of China for the "new long march"

Township disciplinary secretary Wu Yongping was taken by surprise when he was summoned to a harshly-worded talk by his supervisors at the county level.

Wu is a thirtysomething aspiring cadre in Yangqiao Township in southeastern Guizhou Province. The hours-long disciplinary talk was to inform him that a village-level official embezzled 4,000 yuan (588 U.S. dollars) in funds meant for sheep-raising under his supervision last year. It was determined that Wu had failed to properly supervise and prevent the wrongdoing.

The stern reminder to Wu was part of a province-wide disciplinary campaign of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that started this year. With an unprecedentedly large scale, the campaign is aimed at deterring Party disciplinary offences and nipping them in the bud. From January to September, more than 148,000 officials were subject to these disciplinary talks.

"The admonitions are aimed at keeping us focused on doing our jobs right and staying away from minor or major wrongdoings," said Wu.

During the campaign, more than 3,200 officials were punished, according to the Guizhou provincial CPC committee.

"No CPC member shall be left out of supervision. No wrongdoings shall be ignored and we shall do all we can to prevent a cadre from becoming corrupt," said Huang Wensheng, deputy secretary of the Guizhou Party disciplinary committee.

"Such talks are not only necessary, but key to ensuring day-to-day supervision," said An Zhifang, professor of public management at Guizhou University.

"Skirting around discipline has been common within the Party, and often, few people bother to confront minor wrongdoings. But we should know turning a blind eye to problems is equal to encouraging them. It is important to preempt before grave problems arise," he said.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC has launched fierce anti-graft campaigns and reinforced the governance of the Party. Chinese provinces have been under pressure to regulate behavior of CPC members and officials.

The sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which is due to close on Thursday, will further institutionalize Party governance practices. The session has been focused on deliberating a document on the norms of political life within the Party under the new situation, and a revision to an intra-Party supervision regulation.

HOLDING POWER IN CHECK

A consensus on strict governance of the Party has been reached in political, academic and public circles.

"The governance of the CPC concerns the governance of the nation and the people's well-being," said Liu Zhexin, professor with China Executive Leadership Academy based in Pudong, Shanghai.

"The ruling party is like a brain that should function well with the myriad cells of society. The public expects it to keep clean and shield itself from the erosion of graft. It needs a stringent system of rules to hold power in check. This is what the CPC is doing," said Liu.

At a gathering last week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the success of the Long March, which cemented the victory of the Chinese revolution, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed strengthening the leadership of the Party and strictly governing the Party in order to achieve the nation's goals.

He pledged unswerving efforts to promote clean governance, fight corruption, and strengthen the Party's ability to purify, improve and innovate itself.

"Today, our 'long march' is to realize the 'two centenary goals' and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation," Xi said in the speech. The two goals are building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC celebrates its centenary in 2021, and turning the nation into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious in time for the People's Republic of China to mark its centennial in 2049.

"With more than 88 million members, and as the world's largest ruling party, the CPC is putting in place rules and mechanisms that are the foundation to better management of the Party and the country," said Dai Yanjun, deputy director of the Party-building department at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC has formulated, revised and drafted more than 50 regulations on the governance of the Party.

"The CPC has recognized the full gravity of strict party governance. It is a matter of life for the Party," said Zheng Changzhong, an expert on Party building at Shanghai-based Fudan University.

The ability of the CPC to strictly govern itself and exercise power decides whether it can lead the people, who expect the CPC to forge a culture of clean and secure governance, said Zheng.

BETTER TRANSPARENCY

At the ceremony marking the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Party in July, Xi said the key to doing things well in China lies in the CPC.

"If we cannot manage the Party well and govern the Party strictly, leaving problems within the Party unsettled, our Party will sooner or later lose its qualifications to govern and will unavoidably be consigned to history," warned Xi.

"Party building shall not be empty slogans," said Wang Yukai, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, "it needs stringent rules to square the deeds for its members and officials."

In the business hub of Shanghai, a regulation has been made to restrict business operations of officials' family members, preventing them from profiteering from posts. Such pilot programs were expanded to Beijing, Guangdong, Chongqing and Xinjiang this year.

In Shanghai, spouses of the city's officials at or above the mayor level are not allowed to run companies, nor can their children or the spouses of their children do business in the city. Those whose families are already engaged in business face two choices: ask their families to quit or resign themselves.

By January, the city had checked the work backgrounds of 1,802 officials' families and found violations related to 182 officials. Ten officials were stripped of their posts, 10 were transferred and one resigned. Three officials were put under investigation for disciplinary violations.

Analysts said the restriction is likely to be copied across the country.

"Such rules are meant to draw lines between power and money and target the misuse of power," said Liu Zhexin.

Stronger intra-party supervision will boost transparency of the use of power and facilitate external supervision from outside the Party, he said.

"The sixth plenary session will further embody the spirit of the law and implement rule of law in governance. Power will be checked further," said Dai Yanjun. Endi