Zhang Fan: Do Not Treat Study Reflections as Study Achievements
Strictly averting formalism is a crucial requirement of the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations. During a recent inspection tour in Henan, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Do not take the writing of tens of thousands of words in study notes as a measure of scholarly achievement," and noted that "talking in empty phrases and putting on a show is utterly useless." The formalism existing within the study and education programs for the in-depth implementation of the central Eight-Point Regulations is, in itself, diametrically opposed to the spirit of those very regulations. If Party members and cadres remain on the surface and drift toward mere formality during study and education, they are using formalism to oppose formalism—an instance of piling error upon error.
Our party has always opposed formalism. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out on many occasions that we must "seek truth from facts and not favor empty talk" and "go deep among the masses and not favor empty talk." At the beginning of Reform and Opening-up [1], Comrade Deng Xiaoping reminded the whole Party to prevent the emergence of unhealthy tendencies such as formalism under the new situation, emphasizing that "the bad habit of empty talk, big talk, and lies must be eliminated."
Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to strictly avert formalism. He has characterized formalism as "a disconnect between knowledge and action, a lack of focus on practical results, a sea of meetings and a wilderness of documents [2], flowery but useless bravado, a craving for vanity, and the practice of fraud." He emphasized that "strictly averting formalism and bureaucratism must be taken as a major task in strengthening conduct building." Empty talk wastes affairs, and superficial writing obstructs what is essential [3]. Taking the writing of ten-thousand-word notes as one's achievement may seem like a minor issue, but it encourages an unhealthy atmosphere of grandiloquence and a neglect of practical work, tainting the political ecosystem of a locality or unit. Under the influence of such an unhealthy atmosphere, some Party members and cadres may only want to be officials without doing actual work, seeking the spotlight while avoiding responsibility. They may invest a great deal of energy into "showy skeletons" [4] while having no time to attend to the demands and expectations of the masses. Ultimately, this delays the development of the cause and damages the relationship between the Party and the masses and between cadres and the masses.
The integrated promotion of "learning, inspecting, and reforming" [5] is a vital component of carrying out study and education. Learning is the foundation of identifying and rectifying problems; only through deep study can identification be more accurate and rectification more effective. Writing study notes is an important form of learning, but if form replaces content, or if quantity is emphasized over quality, the superficial results may look "bright and beautiful," but in essence, they fall into the trap of formalism, violating the original aspiration of study and education. Substance in learning lies in its entry into the brain and the heart. The depth of learning depends on whether it touches the soul and whether it can "replenish calcium and strengthen the bones" [6]. To study in a down-to-earth manner, one must deepen their understanding of the achievements and experiences of implementing the central Eight-Point Regulations since the start of the New Era. One must strengthen the determination and confidence to persist over the long term in conduct building and combine theory with reality to contrast, identify, and rectify one's own issues of conduct. This requires "blushing and sweating" [7] and soul-searching to build a permanent dam against the "Four Winds" and cultivate the integrity of clean governance.
The ultimate goal of study and education is to assist the undertaking of professional endeavors through excellent conduct. The duty of Party members and cadres lies in taking initiative and serving the masses while promoting high-quality development, strengthening grassroots governance, and completing urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks. To lead the masses in developing saline-alkali flats, the "Grassroots Secretary" Wang Baoxiang ate from the same pot as the workers and dug ditches and moved earth alongside them. He worked on the construction site for forty or fifty days at a time, eventually leaving behind 150,000 mu of shrimp ponds, 200,000 mu of salt fields, and 600,000 mu of cotton fields. Zhao Naixiang, the director of the Great Wall Garden Community Committee in Yinchuan, treated the neighborhood as her "office," coordinating neighbor disputes, visiting community canteens, and solving emergencies like pipe leaks. It was normal for her to walk 20,000 steps a day, and the people of all ethnic groups in the community live together in harmony like one family. The "articles" they wrote through actual achievements contain no high-pitched declarations or flowery "decorations"; they are simple yet full of power. Party members and cadres must overcome impetuousness, abandon selfish thoughts, perform practical work, and seek practical results. They must go deep into industrial parks, enterprises, residential buildings, and the fields to listen to public opinion, solve difficult problems, and plan for development. They should eschew "face projects" [8] that are hollow and useless, and instead do more practical work that builds foundations, benefits the long term, and improves people's livelihoods.
Averting formalism must rely on the power of systems. For example, some localities, when formulating specific measures for study and education, have included in their plans that "expert lectures and theoretical guidance shall not replace self-study and discussion, and no rigid requirements shall be made for writing reading notes or reflections." Some localities have reformed and optimized their evaluation systems by streamlining assessment indicators and integrating assessment data, striving for "perception-free, trace-free, and invisible" evaluations [9]. By continuously improving relevant evaluation and incentive systems, Party members and cadres can be liberated from the sea of meetings, the wilderness of documents, and "trace management." Free from the burden of formalism, cadres will be encouraged to spend more time on practical work, allowing actual work performance to truly become the most brilliant political achievement.