Dong Junlin: The Central Eight-Point Regulations are a Landmark Measure in Comprehensively and Strictly Governing the Party
Dong Junlin
The Eight-Point Regulations of the central authorities are the "first blow" [1] struck in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, as well as the "gold business card" for the Party's conduct construction in the New Era. This self-revolution, which uses conduct construction as a breakthrough point, has reshaped the internal political ecosystem. By consolidating the force of all of society through changes in Party and government conduct, it has become an important guarantee for comprehensively promoting the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
Deeply Adhering to the "Two Combinations" [2]. The Eight-Point Regulations take the people as the center, self-revolution as the driving force, and institutional building as the guarantee, constructing a system for the Party's conduct construction in the New Era. The formulation and execution of the Eight-Point Regulations embody the core principles of Marxist party-building and demonstrate the advanced nature and spirit of self-revolution inherent in a proletarian party. They are both a product of the combination of Marxist party-building theory with Chinese reality and are deeply rooted in the soil of fine traditional Chinese culture.
Marxism emphasizes that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth" and focuses on promoting social change through concrete practice. The Eight-Point Regulations are problem-oriented, directly targeting issues such as formalism and bureaucratism that detach the Party from the masses. By raising requirements such as "conducting research with fewer personnel and simpler transport" and "streamlining meetings and documents," the regulations transform the Marxist outlook on practice into specific institutions to resolve chronic malady in conduct during actual work, highlighting the realistic orientation of practical materialism. Marxism always places the fundamental interests of the masses first; clauses in the Eight-Point Regulations such as "banning official banquets" and "reducing traffic controls" [3] aim to break down the "privilege mentality" and return to the fine tradition of maintaining close ties with the masses.
The "people-as-the-foundation" (民本, mínběn) [4] thought, the concept of frugality, and the tradition of "statecraft for practical use" (经世致用, jīngshì zhìyòng) in fine traditional Chinese culture provide a deep cultural foundation for the Eight-Point Regulations. Traditional culture emphasizes that "the people are the foundation of the state"; for instance, the Confucian school advocated for "benevolent governance" and "taking the people as the base," while the Daoists advocated that "the Sage has no fixed heart, but takes the heart of the people as his own." Requirements in the Eight-Point Regulations such as "no road closures or venue shutdowns" and "standardizing news reports" directly respond to the masses' criticism of cadres being detached from reality. This reflects a people-centered governing philosophy and aligns highly with traditional minben thought. By constraining privileged behavior and reshaping the "fish-and-water relationship" [5] between the Party and the masses, the Eight-Point Regulations serve as a modern expression of minben thought.
Inheritance and Sublimation of the Party’s Conduct Construction. The Communist Party of China has always attached great importance to conduct construction. During the New Democratic Revolution period, conduct construction emphasized Party discipline, organizational integrity, and close ties with the masses. During the Yan’an Rectification Movement, the "Three Great Styles of Work" (linking theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, and practicing criticism and self-criticism) were established, providing a strong guarantee for the victory of the New Democratic Revolution. At the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee, Comrade Mao Zedong proposed the "Two Musts" [6], pointing the way for conduct construction after the Party took power nationwide. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the Party continuously carried out rectification movements to strengthen conduct. For example, the 1950 rectification movement across the Party and the military aimed to overcome bureaucratism and "commandism" [7]. In 1951, the "Three-Anti" Campaign (against corruption, waste, and bureaucratism) was launched.
Entering the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, the Party’s conduct construction continued to deepen. Comrade Deng Xiaoping emphasized that "the issue of the conduct of a governing party is a matter of life and death for the Party," driving the entire Party to restore and carry forward its fine traditions. At the turn of the century, the Party carried out the "Three Stresses" education [8] and activities to maintain the advanced nature of Communist Party members, strengthening the sense of discipline and purpose among Party members and cadres. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening and Improving the Party’s Conduct Construction, proposing the "Eight Upholds and Eight Oppositions." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee proposed vigorously promoting the styles of maintaining close ties with the masses, seeking truth from facts, arduous struggle, and criticism and self-criticism, further enriching the content of conduct construction.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core took the Eight-Point Regulations as the entry point, persistently rectifying conduct and discipline, and driving conduct construction to achieve historical achievements. The Implementation Rules for the Central Party Leadership to Carry Out the Eight-Point Regulations, deliberated and adopted in 2017, further enriched and perfected relevant regulations. Subsequently, the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations was incorporated into the system of internal Party regulations, such as the Regulations of the CPC on Disciplinary Actions and the Regulations on Practicing Thrift and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Organs. From the Party's mass line education and practice activities to the "Three Stricts and Three Honests" [9] special education, from the "Two Studies and One Action" [10] learning and education to the "staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission" theme education, and then to the study of Party history, conduct construction has permeated the entire process of Party building. The CPC Central Committee has relentlessly rectified the "Four Winds," seriously investigating and punishing violations occurring in open defiance of regulations, thus creating a high-pressure posture [11]. Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, it has issued and revised a series of internal Party regulations, constructing a relatively complete institutional system that provides a solid institutional guarantee for conduct construction.
Comprehensive Promotion of Party Building. For a period of time, the "Four Winds" problems among some Party members and cadres proliferated, seriously damaging Party-mass relations and eroding the Party’s governing foundation. The introduction of the Eight-Point Regulations was a profound response to the major practical proposition of promoting the "revolutionary forging" of the entire Party and enhancing its cohesion and combat effectiveness. The Eight-Point Regulations solve "large problems" through a "small incision." Starting from specific behaviors, they strike directly at prominent issues about which the masses have strong feelings. By using details as a lever, they make conduct construction quantifiable and assessable. Through strengthening supervision and accountability, they create a powerful deterrent. Through the logic of "Party conduct leading government conduct, and government conduct fostering folk conduct," they have become a vivid practice of modernizing the national governance system and governance capacity.
The Demonstrative Effect of Leading by Example. "One who is good at prohibiting must first prohibit oneself and then others." The vitality of the Eight-Point Regulations lies in leading cadres setting an example. Driven by the demonstration of the CPC Central Committee, leading cadres at all levels have consolidated their responsibilities level by level, forming a "leading goose effect" [12]. From improving investigations and research to streamlining meetings and activities, from standardizing overseas visits to practicing strict economy, the central leadership took the lead in implementing the Eight-Point Regulations, driving the entire Party to form a favorable situation where "each level sets an example for the next, and each level leads the work of the next."
Governance Wisdom of Targeted Measures. The practice of the Eight-Point Regulations has always remained problem-oriented, focusing on prominent issues that the masses feel strongly about. From rectifying "waste on the tip of the tongue" (dining waste) to halting "corruption on wheels" (misuse of official vehicles), from governing the "perverse winds in private clubs" to correcting "formalism at the fingertips" (bureaucratic digital apps), a high-pressure posture of "striking as soon as a problem crops up and striking repeatedly" has been formed.
Long-term Mechanisms for Addressing Both Symptoms and Root Causes. The institutional innovation of the Eight-Point Regulations is reflected in the dialectical unity of "breaking down" and "building up." Their implementation focuses not only on "treating the symptoms" but more importantly on "treating the root cause." On one hand, the deterrent of "not daring to be corrupt" is strengthened through special rectifications, inspections [13], and audit supervision. On the other hand, mechanisms for "not being able to be corrupt" and "not wanting to be corrupt" are constructed by improving institutions, standardizing processes, and strengthening education. The education for deeply implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations deployed by the CPC Central Committee is an important measure to promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct construction. Through the integrated promotion of "learning, checking, and rectifying," Party members and cadres are guided to temper their Party spirit and improve their awareness, achieving a transformation from "I am required to change" to "I want to change."
The Value Pursuit of Putting the People First. The starting point and the ultimate goal of the Eight-Point Regulations are to safeguard the fundamental interests of the masses. The work method of "from the masses, to the masses" is a vivid embodiment of the people's standpoint. By rectifying unhealthy tendencies and corruption occurring right at the masses' doorstep, the fruits of reform can benefit ordinary people more, enhancing their sense of gain, happiness, and security. The vitality of the Eight-Point Regulations lies in transparency and public participation, demonstrating the Party's determination to accept supervision by the people and stimulating the public's enthusiasm for participating in governance.
China’s Contribution to Global Governance. By strengthening internal Party supervision and promoting government transparency, the Eight-Point Regulations have provided an institutional reference for the reform of global governance systems and offered Chinese wisdom for the governance of political parties worldwide. International public opinion holds that the CPC, by strengthening its conduct construction, has demonstrated a powerful capacity for self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement, providing valuable experience for other political parties. Through its rigorous organizational system and decision-execution mechanism, the CPC permeates Party leadership into all links of national governance, providing a governance path of "strong party, high efficiency" for developing countries.
The Eight-Point Regulations are the historical crystallization of over a hundred years of CPC conduct construction, a contemporary answer to Marxist party-building theory, and a practical model for promoting the modernization of national governance. On the new journey, only by adhering to the organic unity of theoretical, historical, and practical logic can the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations radiate even stronger vitality, providing a solid guarantee for the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country.
(The author is a researcher at the Institute of Military Political Work, Academy of Military Sciences) Network Editor: Tongxin Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net - Chinese Social Sciences Today, May 8, 2025