Cui Lihua: Advancing the Construction of Work Style with the Spirit of Thorough Self-Revolution [1]
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "As a Marxist governing party, our Party must possess not only the powerful strength of truth but also a powerful strength of character; the strength of truth is centrally manifested in our Party's correct theory, while the strength of character is centrally manifested in our Party’s fine conduct." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has led the entire Party in advancing comprehensively and strictly governing the Party with unprecedented determination and intensity. Through continuous practical exploration and theoretical reflection, he began by addressing the problems of strengthening the Party’s conduct construction and formulating and implementing the Central Eight-Point Regulations. A small opening brought about great changes; a small opening facilitated a major shift. "With the single move of the Eight-Point Regulations, the entire game of conduct construction became vibrant [1]." The conduct of the Party and government has taken on a completely new look, and social and public morals have continued to improve.
Concentrated study and education is an important path for the Party to advance self-revolution. Carrying out concentrated study and education across the entire Party is an important method and experience by which our Party "targets the resolution of the unique challenges facing a large party [2]" to advance self-revolution. Throughout the history of the Communist Party of China, our Party has always attached importance to ideological Party building and strengthening the Party through theory. At every critical historical juncture, it has used concentrated study and education to unify the thoughts of the entire Party, continuously engaging in self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement to ensure the Party remains a strong core of leadership.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has successively deployed and carried out several rounds of intra-Party concentrated study and education. From June 2013 to September/October 2014, in order to strengthen the links between the Party and the masses and improve work conduct, the Party-wide "Mass Line Education and Practice Activity" was launched, centering on maintaining the advanced nature and purity of the Party and focusing on the themes of "serving the people, pragmatism, and integrity." Starting in 2015, the "Three Stricts and Three Honests [3]" thematic education was carried out among leading officials at or above the county and director level. This focused on the requirements of "being strict in self-cultivation, the exercise of power, and self-discipline; and being honest in making plans, starting businesses, and personal conduct," promoting the extension and deepening of the Mass Line Education and Practice Activity. In 2016, the Party Central Committee decided to carry out the "Two Studies and One Action" [4] study and education among all Party members. Starting at the end of May 2019, the "Stay True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission" thematic education was carried out across the Party, with a focus on leading officials at or above the county and director level. In 2021, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee decided to carry out Party history study and education across the Party, requiring all members to study history to understand principles, increase confidence, honor morality, and practice diligently, guiding all comrades to study Party history, comprehend its ideology, do practical work, and break new ground. Starting in 2023, the thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was carried out across the Party, focusing on officials at or above the county and director level. From April to July 2024, the entire Party carried out Party discipline study and education, aimed at deeply studying and implementing the revised "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions." From after the 2025 "Two Sessions" [5] until July, the entire Party will carry out concentrated study and education on the deep implementation of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations.
It can be said that every instance of concentrated study and education serves as an important classroom for theoretical arming. All comrades in the Party consciously arm their minds, guide their practice, and promote their work with developing Marxism, continuously improving the Party's Marxist theoretical level and its ability to solve practical problems. This is also a vivid practice of fully implementing comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, pushing the entire Party to resolve prominent problems in Party conduct with the spirit of self-revolution. Furthermore, it is a bugle call for rallying forces, driving the entire Party to remain highly aligned with the Party Central Committee in thought, politics, and action, ensuring everyone "thinks in one direction and exerts effort toward a single goal."
The Party’s conduct is its image, and it profoundly affects the process of the Party’s self-revolution. The issue of conduct concerns whom the people support or oppose and the Party’s governing foundation; it is a vital component of Party building. In the New Era, strengthening conduct construction is not only an important part of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party but also a powerful driving force for the Party’s profound self-revolution. General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his important speech at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, emphasized: "Entering the New Era, faced with prominent problems in the construction of Party conduct, clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle, we insisted on fighting every instance of corruption and punishing every corrupt official. We have continuously purified the ranks of officials, maintained the Party's image, consolidated the 'Red Heritage' [6], and won the historical initiative to ensure the Party does not change its nature, its conviction, or its character. We have won the historical initiative for the Party to unite and lead all the people in the joint struggle for the cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation."
For Chinese Communists, whether conduct problems can be properly resolved is a crucial yardstick for measuring one's faith in Marxism, belief in socialism and communism, and loyalty to the Party and the people. An advanced Marxist party is not born that way; it is tempered through continuous self-revolution. "Revolution" implies a qualitative change and leap in things; "self-revolution" implies self-examination and reflection. To know how to self-reflect is great wisdom; to dare to self-reflect is great courage. The greatness of the Communist Party of China lies not in never making mistakes, but in never "concealing a malady for fear of the treatment [7]," in daring to face problems head-on, in having the courage for self-revolution, and in possessing an extremely strong capacity for self-repair. Reviewing history, the reason the Communist Party of China has been able to grow from weak to strong, emerge from suffering toward glory, and move from victory to even greater victory is that our Party never for a moment relaxes in solving its own problems. It always advances self-revolution with the determination and courage to "scrape the poison off the bone [8]" and "cut off one's own hand like a brave warrior," resolutely clearing out all viruses eroding the healthy body of the Party, and continuously enhancing its own creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness to always keep pace with the requirements of the times, practice, and the people.
Conduct construction is the practice of self-revolution regarding the Party's style of work, reflecting the political consciousness of a Marxist party. Problems in work conduct are by no means trivial matters. If unhealthy tendencies are not resolutely corrected and are allowed to develop, they will become an invisible wall separating our Party from the masses, and our Party will lose its foundation, its lifeblood, and its strength. Both history and reality tell us that the string of conduct management must not be slackened; once it is slack, problems will arise, and over time, major problems may occur. Grabbing hold of conduct construction may seem like a matter of small things, but it embodies the spirit of self-revolution. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Conduct construction is always on the road and there is never a closing note; it must not be like 'a dragonfly skimming the water' [9], it must not 'start like a tiger but end like a mouse,' and it must not be 'just a passing gust of wind.' Otherwise, not only will it be impossible to fundamentally solve the problems, but it will also lead to a continuous rebound and intensification of conduct issues, eventually losing the trust of the people." Since the dawn of the New Era, our Party has used the Eight-Point Regulations as a breakthrough point to push the governance of the Party toward greater depth, opening a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old party and profoundly changing China's political ecosystem and social landscape.
We must use the spirit of self-revolution to drive the conduct construction of the New Era toward greater depth. The world's "unseen changes in a century" are accelerating, local conflicts and turbulence are frequent, global issues are intensifying, and external suppression and containment are continuously escalating. Our country's development has entered a period where strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing; various "black swan" and "gray rhino" events could occur at any time. The new great project of Party building in the New Era also faces unprecedented new situations, problems, and challenges. To maintain the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party, and to ensure the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character—always remaining the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics—we must strengthen the Party's self-construction. We must keep the "Three Requirements [10]" in mind and use the spirit of thorough self-revolution to deepen the Party's conduct construction, providing a strong guarantee of conduct for building a strong country and national rejuvenation.
Strengthening the Party's conduct construction with the spirit of self-revolution must take political construction as the overarching principle. Speaking politics with a clear-cut stand is both a distinct feature of a Marxist party and a consistent political advantage of our Party. Strengthening conduct construction must be guided by the Party's political construction, integrating political standards and requirements into the entire process and all aspects of conduct construction. We must deeply understand the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," firm up the "Four Confidences," and achieve the "Two Upholds," continuously improving our capacity for political judgment, political understanding, and political execution.
Theoretical maturity is the foundation of political maturity; political firmness stems from theoretical clarity. We must put effort into the act of "learning." Chinese Communists have relied on learning to get to where they are today, and will surely rely on learning to move toward the future. Only with theoretical clarity can there be political firmness and conscious action. Firm ideals and convictions must be built upon a deep understanding of Marxism and a profound grasp of historical laws.
Strengthening the Party's conduct construction with the spirit of self-revolution must use institutional construction as a guarantee. Institutional issues are more fundamental, global, stable, and long-term in nature. To strengthen conduct construction, we must persist in institutional Party governance and governing the Party according to regulations, integrating institutional construction throughout the process of conduct construction. We must form a scientific, complete, pragmatic, and effective system of rules for conduct construction, and establish sound long-term mechanisms to encourage Party members and officials to persist in serving the people, pragmatism, and integrity. We should truly realize the use of institutions to manage power, affairs, and people, promoting the standardization, normalization, and long-term efficacy of conduct construction.
Strengthening the Party's conduct construction with the spirit of self-revolution must focus on the "Key Minority [11]." Leading officials are the "Key Minority" in the development of the Party and the state's cause, acting as a barometer for the entire Party and society. "When the wind blows from above, the customs are transformed below [12]." To strengthen conduct construction, we must grasp the "Key Minority" of leading officials and give full play to the "head goose effect [13]." Leading officials must lead by example and set a standard, taking the lead in strictly implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations and their implementation rules, taking the lead in opposing the "Four Winds," and taking the lead in practicing the Party's fine conduct, setting an example for the vast number of Party members and officials through their own impeccable conduct.
Strengthening the Party's conduct construction with the spirit of self-revolution must use people's satisfaction as the standard. To strengthen conduct construction, we must adhere to the people-centered development philosophy and take people's satisfaction as the fundamental standard for testing the effectiveness of conduct construction. Whatever the masses oppose or hate, we must resolutely prevent and correct. All issues reported strongly by the masses must be treated seriously and earnestly, and all behaviors that harm the interests of the masses must be resolutely corrected.
(The author is the Director and Professor of the Institute of Marxist Sinicization at the Central Party School of the CPC (National Academy of Governance))
Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: China Social Science Net - China Social Sciences Today, May 8, 2025