Zhu Yi: Driving Fundamental Changes in Academic Integrity and School Culture Through Excellent Work Style
Since the in-depth implementation of the study and education program on the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations began, the social sciences sector in Gansu Province has tightly focused on the primary theme and main line of development. By accurately aligning with target requirements and maintaining a high degree of political and operational consciousness, they have advanced this study and education program toward greater depth and substance through measures such as systematic study, the identification and rectification of problems, and the practical application of findings. This has provided a strong guarantee of professional conduct for the high-quality development of philosophy and social sciences in the New Era.
Advancing Study and Education Toward Depth and Substance
The Party Leadership Group of the Gansu Provincial Federation of Social Science Associations (GPFSSA), through expanded leadership meetings and theoretical study center group sessions, organized Party members and cadres to study—word for word—the Excerpts from Xi Jinping’s Discourses on Strengthening Party Conduct and the implementation rules of the central Eight-Point Regulations. These sessions were designed to instill a profound understanding of the core essence and practical requirements of these "iron rules and hard constraints." The Gansu Academy of Social Sciences (GASS) held specialized reading classes, utilizing methods such as guided reading, warning education, and exchange seminars to systematically study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and internal Party regulations. This guided Party members and cadres toward "clearing the source and strengthening the foundation" [1] in their thinking.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the central Eight-Point Regulations as a "move to establish credibility" [2] to break through existing challenges. With the "spirit of driving a nail," [3] they have continuously advanced the improvement of Party conduct, the enforcement of discipline, and the fight against corruption. Consequently, the conduct of the Party and the government has been completely renewed, while social and public morale have continuously improved. Wang Chengyong, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the GPFSSA, stated that the Party’s conduct is the Party’s image, and that issues of conduct are, at their root, issues of Party spirit. The Party Central Committee’s decision to conduct in-depth study and education on the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations throughout the whole Party is of great significance for unswervingly and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and for advancing the Great New Project of Party building in the New Era. The social sciences sector must conduct academic research with a "solid" style and "strict" discipline, ensuring that research results can withstand the test of practice, history, and the people. Xu Jianqun, Secretary of the Party Committee at GASS, proposed that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on Party conduct construction profoundly answer fundamental questions about conduct in the new era. Party spirit is rooted in firm ideals and convictions; these are the "ballast stone" and "master switch" [4] for maintaining excellent conduct. Social science workers must keep the "top priorities of the nation" [5] in mind, clarify their path by aligning with central standards, and build consensus by leading by example. They must focus on applied and policy research, give full play to the "head goose effect," [6] and effectively translate the results of study and education into the practice of promoting the prosperity and development of philosophy and social sciences. Luo Zhe, President of GASS, stated that this study and education program is not only an inheritance and promotion of the Party’s fine traditions but is also an ideological tempering and operational exercise for the social sciences sector to pursue self-revolution and serve the overall interests of the country in the New Era. As study and education continue to deepen, the cause of philosophy and social sciences in Gansu will surely radiate new vitality.
Lanzhou University has strengthened category-based guidance. Leaders at both the university and college levels have taken the lead in joint study, guided study, and lecturing, guiding faculty and students to initiate waves of learning and implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, thereby continuously driving the education program deeper. Ma Xiaojie, Secretary of the Party Committee of Lanzhou University, stated that solving a series of key issues in the university's development requires the continuous exertion of the Party’s political advantages and fine conduct. Lanzhou University will use conduct construction as a starting point to comprehensively shape and enhance the university’s atmosphere among faculty, students, and the institution as a whole. The university aims to continuously transform the achievements of study and education into practical outcomes for improving Party building systems, innovative outcomes for solving reform and development puzzles, and governance outcomes for extending comprehensive and strict Party governance to the grassroots level. This will foster a healthy political ecosystem and aggregate a powerful force to promote the university's high-quality development.
Northwest Minzu University [7] held a "Grasping Conduct, Promoting Integrity, Valuing Practical Work, and Bravely Assuming Responsibility" month for Party conduct and clean government education. They organically integrated the construction of Party conduct, teacher ethics, and academic atmosphere with the study and education of the central Eight-Point Regulations. Zhang Junhao, Secretary of the Party Committee of Northwest Minzu University, stated that conduct construction is an eternal task. The university Party committee insists on promoting conduct construction from the political heights of resolutely upholding the "Two Establishments" and the "Two Upholds." They have organized serious study, identified deep-seated problems, and carried out solid rectifications. Focusing on key tasks of university reform, development, and stability, they began by addressing the "Four Winds," educating and guiding the broad masses of Party members and cadres to consciously abide by rules and discipline. By using excellent conduct to build consensus and initiate new ventures, they aim to inject new momentum into serving the Party's ethnic work in the New Era and building a leading country in education.
Northwest Normal University has focused its efforts on "learning, thinking, practicing, and realizing." [8] Through thematic reading classes at the university and college levels, faculty-student reading circles for "red books," "scenic ideological and political courses," [9] red study tours, and faculty-student presentations, they have ensured that study and education are implemented in detail. Jia Ning, Secretary of the Party Committee of Northwest Normal University, stated that since the launch of the program, the university has focused on a list of key tasks, incorporating study and discussion, problem identification, concentrated rectification, and "open-door education" throughout the process. They have linked the implementation of the central Eight-Point Regulations with the high-quality development of university undertakings and the cultivation of the "educator spirit," simultaneously promoting the construction of work conduct, teacher ethics, and the academic atmosphere.
Purifying the Academic Atmosphere in Social Sciences
The spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations has profoundly changed the academic atmosphere of the social sciences sector. Cai Wencheng, Dean of the School of Marxism at Lanzhou University, listed the "implementation checklist" of the Eight-Point Regulations in universities. He noted that in the past, when holding academic conferences, souvenirs were indispensable and local tours were a mandatory post-meeting segment; now, conference budgets must be approved in advance, souvenirs have been replaced by electronic proceedings, academic exchange schedules are tighter, and tours are no longer centrally organized. Previously, some teachers used research funds to buy cigarettes and alcohol, with invoices being issued for "printers or cameras"; now, every reimbursement must be accompanied by valid vouchers, and equipment purchases require price comparisons from three different vendors. Currently, faculty going abroad for exchanges cannot take "detour tours," high-level leaders entering teaching buildings no longer require "clearing the area," and various "empty-talk meetings" (務虛會) are becoming fewer. Academic activities have "squeezed out the water," research funds have been "placed in a golden hoop," [10] and administrative services have "reached the grassroots." Various matters are now more standardized, allowing teachers to devote more energy to scholarship and reducing the troubles of social pleasantries and hosting. Implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations has become a tangible Red Line protecting the "pure land" of education.
Tian Shu, chief expert of the Tian Shu Studio at the Chinese Academy of History, stated that as a sacred place for teaching and cultivating people, universities implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations must hold three bottom lines: first, the academic pure land must not be polluted; second, the trust of teachers and students must not be overdrawn; and third, the growth of youth must not be led astray. The "ruler" of the central Eight-Point Regulations measures behavior and guards the hearts of the people. We must protect this pure land of the university so that youth remains untarnished and scholarship becomes purer.
Integrity and honesty are not remains abstract slogans. Jiao Shengrong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Gansu University of Political Science and Law, believes that the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations represents the fine conduct condensed during the Party’s history of struggle and is a precious asset for Party building in the New Era. We must adhere to the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations as an important guideline for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. With deep understanding as a prerequisite, institutional construction as support, responsibility implementation as a starting point, and supervision and discipline enforcement as a guarantee, we must continue to work on "constancy and longevity, strictness and reality, depth and detail." We will further transform conduct, strengthen teaching styles, rectify learning atmospheres, and optimize the university environment, ensuring that the Central Committee's decisions take root in the education system through new achievements in conduct construction.
Promoting Long-term Conduct Construction
Conduct construction is always an ongoing task. For the social sciences sector and universities, it is necessary to persist over the long term and persevere, integrating the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations into daily life, turning it into a habit, and forming a conscious awareness. This will aggregate the positive energy of "acting and venturing" through a clean and upright atmosphere, providing a strong guarantee for the prosperity and development of philosophy and social sciences.
Ma Xiaojie stated that Lanzhou University will take this study and education program as an opportunity to establish a long-term mechanism for teacher ethics and conduct construction. By using excellent Party conduct to rectify the university's atmosphere and strengthen teaching and learning styles, the university will promote the construction of a new type of teacher-student relationship and mentor-student relationship, assisting in the comprehensive development of students. This aims to cultivate "great teachers for a great nation" for the construction of a powerful country, injecting strong momentum into the university's "Double First-Class" [11] construction through first-class conduct.
Northwest Minzu University has solidly carried out various tasks of "learning, Checking, and Rectifying," seriously identifying problems by aligning with central standards, responding timely to faculty and student concerns, and promoting concentrated rectification throughout. They are strengthening dynamic monitoring and process management to continuously optimize the educational environment and enhance governance efficiency.
Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics has integrated the work of "learning, checking, and rectifying" with the shaping of excellent teaching and learning styles. They have strengthened the supervision of research funds and project capital, enhanced the continuity and coordination of various tasks, and effectively transformed the achievements of study and education into practical results for high-quality development.
Gansu University of Political Science and Law has deeply integrated the "learning, checking, and rectifying" process with the university's central work, actively promoting the construction of a campus culture of integrity. Through learning, they recognize what to "awe"; through checking, they find gaps; and through rectifying, they see results, ensuring the high-quality development of university undertakings through excellent conduct.
Universities are using "strict" standards, "solid" requirements, and "new" measures to organically combine study and education with the implementation of the Outline for Building a Leading Country in Education and the systematic rectification of prominent problems in universities. Focused on key issues such as "shaping excellent teaching and learning styles to improve teaching quality" and "building harmonious and healthy teacher-student relationships," they are carrying out rectifications to ensure that conduct construction achieves practical results.
Currently, the social sciences sector in Gansu Province is using the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations as a mirror, continuously polishing the "Golden Business Card" [12] of conduct construction through study and education. As the long-term mechanism continues to improve, this "inward-facing" self-revolution will surely inject powerful momentum into the prosperity and development of philosophy and social sciences in Gansu.