Nation faces daunting task in ending conditions that encourage corruption
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasized on Jan 6 the importance of exercising rigorous Party governance with the spirit of reform, reiterating that the battle against corruption is an unceasing endeavor.
He called for taking simultaneous, coordinated, and comprehensive steps to see that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to become corrupt, and to resolutely win the tough, protracted, and all-out battle against corruption.
Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when addressing the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which opened in Beijing on Jan 6 and ran through Jan 8.
While acknowledging the significant advances that have been made in exercising full and rigorous Party governance over the years, he warned of the continued severity and complexity of the fight against corruption. He also highlighted the daunting task of eradicating the conditions that breed corruption.
He stressed the need to maintain unwavering determination in the ongoing fight against corruption and maintain strategic resolve and high-pressure momentum to advance the anti-corruption campaign.
Corruption poses the greatest threat to the Party, and fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform, Xi said.
He underlined the necessity of resolute action to combat corruption, and warned against any wavering, slackening, or abandonment of anti-corruption efforts, as such actions could lead to grave errors.
A Party-wide campaign on Party discipline education was held from April to July, during which CPC members studied the newly revised Party regulations on disciplinary action to strengthen their discipline awareness and always remain loyal, clean, and responsible.
On the new journey in the new era, it is imperative to make greater progress in governing the Party to ensure it remains the strong leadership core in building socialism with Chinese characteristics and to guarantee the steady advancement of Chinese modernization, Xi said.
He called for advancing concrete, targeted, and regular political oversight, and urged maintaining a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee in thoughts, politics, and actions.
He stressed the importance of strengthening Party discipline as an ongoing task and guiding all Party members and officials to take Party discipline as a daily norm.
Highlighting a zero-tolerance approach in the fight against corruption, Xi urged a resolute crackdown on violations of Party discipline, as well as formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance.
Party members and officials must oppose privilege-seeking mindsets and practices and have a correct understanding of what it means to exercise power, and what it means to perform well, he said.
Xi urged intensified efforts to investigate key people in key sectors, punish both bribe-takers and givers, and take resolute measures to eliminate systemic corruption risks.
He called for enhancing the mechanisms for checks on and supervision over power to prevent and combat new, disguised forms of corruption.
While underscoring the primary responsibility and supervisory duties of Party committees in exercising full and rigorous Party governance, Xi called for the continuous extension of this governance to the grassroots level and advocated deepening reforms of the supervisory system at the grassroots level.
Noting that the disciplinary and supervisory authorities are crucial forces in advancing the Party’s self-reform, Xi underlined the necessity to deepen reforms in the disciplinary and supervisory system to restrain power in an institutional cage.
It is essential to maintain a tough stance on wrongdoing, strengthen strict management and supervision of the disciplinary inspection forces, and cultivate a loyal, clean, accountable, and capable disciplinary and supervisory team, he added.
