CPC maintaining vigor through rigorous self-governance

BEIJING -- The second plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will open on Jan 9. It will make plans for advancing full and rigorous self-governance and making progress in disciplinary inspection and supervision work for 2023.

At the 20th CPC National Congress last year, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said in the report presented by him that the CPC found a second answer to the question of how to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall, and the answer is self-reform. He called on the whole Party to unswervingly exercise full and rigorous self-governance in the new era.

"As the largest Marxist governing party in the world, we must always stay alert and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large party like ours faces, so as to maintain the people's support and consolidate our position as the long-term governing party," said Xi.

SELF-REFORM WITH NO END

On Oct 25, three days after the conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress, the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee convened its first meeting in Beijing, which Xi presided over.

One of the items on the agenda of the meeting was to deliberate a set of detailed rules for implementing the "eight-point decision on improving conduct."

First made public on Dec 4, 2012, the eight-point decision targets pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance and seeks to rein in privilege-seeking attitudes and behavior.

During the past decade, the Party leadership has made consistent efforts to improve Party conduct and implement the eight-point decision thoroughly and effectively.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress set out a series of arrangements for full and rigorous self-governance and advancing the new great project of Party-building in the new era.

It urged improving the systems for rigorous self-governance as a vital step to intensify Party-building.

The report also made arrangements for improving Party conduct, tightening Party discipline, and combating corruption, among other requirements for Party-building.

Concerning the anti-corruption campaign, the report stated that as long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, the Party must never rest to fight corruption.

HIGHER-CALIBER ENFORCEMENT

Within just over a month after the closing of the 20th CPC National Congress, more than 10 officials who were suspected of severe violations of discipline and laws turned themselves in, according to the CCDI and the National Commission of Supervision.

Statistics show some 81,000 people have voluntarily surrendered to disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies over the past five years.

Centering on major tasks of the country such as ecological protection, a raft of concrete, targeted and regular political oversight moves have been taken.

From January to September last year, 53 cases of corruption and misconduct in the eco-environmental field were investigated in Guilin, a city in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. A total of 80 people received various penalties as a result of effective political supervision.

The list of such examples can go on and on, from COVID-19 response to poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and the implementation of a series of major strategies and key tasks. Political oversight has remained powerful and effective.

TOWARD A NEW JOURNEY

As China has embarked on a new journey toward building a modern socialist country in all respects, full and rigorous Party self-governance will be further sustained.

"We will stay vigilant against pointless formalities and bureaucratism that affect the implementation of CPC Central Committee's decisions and plans, undermine the country's security and development, or raise the burden at the primary level," read a circular issued by the CCDI.

Local disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies across the country have made efforts to keep leading officials under effective oversight, improve Party conduct on a consistent and sustained basis, and uproot corruption in sectors with a high concentration of power, funds and resources. Through joint efforts at various levels, the atmosphere of the Party's full and rigorous self-governance has gained further momentum.

As a result, the people-centered philosophy is further implemented on the new journey and translated into concrete benefits for the people. Localities have seen improvements in areas such as elderly and child care, subsidy granting and government services thanks to proper supervision.