The Specialized Study Class for Secretaries of Retired Cadre Party Branches of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on In-Depth Implementation of the Spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations Officially Opens | Marxism Research Network

CSSN.cn (Reporter: Gao Ying) — On July 16, the opening ceremony of the 2025 Special Study Class for Branch Secretaries of Retired Cadres ^[1] of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Thoroughly Implementing the Spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations was held in Beijing. Zhao Zhimin, Secretary-General and Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

Site of the meeting. Photo by CSSN reporter Zhu Gaolei.

Zhao Zhimin pointed out that carrying out the study and education on thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations throughout the entire Party is a key task of this year’s Party building ^[2] work. It fully demonstrates our Party's firm will to carry through the construction of work styles ^[3] to the end. The retired cadres’ Party branches of our Academy serve as the bridge-and-link ^[4] and the fighting bastion ^[5] for retired personnel. They must profoundly recognize the extreme importance of work style construction and continuously strengthen their political consciousness regarding its improvement; they must profoundly understand the practical significance of the Central Eight-Point Regulations and continuously strengthen their firm conviction to deepen the Party’s work style construction through study and education; they must comprehensively grasp the connotative requirements of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations and continuously enhance their conscious action in strengthening work style construction; and they must unswervingly implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations to the letter, continuously enhancing the practical effectiveness of the Party’s work style construction.

Responsible comrades from the Bureau of Retired Cadres presided over the opening ceremony and delivered a report on Party building work. This study class will last for three days and includes special lectures, special reports, policy briefings, and group discussions. Party branch secretaries of retired cadres from all units affiliated with the Academy attended the study.

Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net (CSSN) Web Editor: Tongxin

Notes

↩ [1] 离退休干部 (lítuìxiū gànbu): Retired cadres. In the Chinese system, "cadres" refers to staff in the Party-state apparatus, including researchers at CASS. Retired cadres often remain organized in Party branches to maintain ideological alignment and participate in political life.

↩ [2] 党建 (dǎngjiàn): Short for "Party building" (党的建设). In Chinese Marxist theory, this refers to the ongoing process of strengthening the Party's organizational structure, ideological purity, and governing capacity to ensure it remains the "vanguard."

↩ [3] 作风建设 (zuòfēng jiànshè): Work style construction. This refers to the Party's efforts to improve the behavior and attitude of its members, specifically targeting the "Four Winds" (formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance). It is considered a crucial part of maintaining the Party's connection to the masses.

↩ [4] 桥梁纽带 (qiáoliáng niǔdài): Bridge and link. A standard CPC metaphor used to describe how lower-level organizations or mass organizations connect the Party leadership with specific social groups (in this case, retired personnel).

↩ [5] 战斗堡垒 (zhàndòu bǎolěi): Fighting bastion/fortress. A term originating in Leninist organizational theory, referring to the role of primary-level Party branches as the foundational units that exert leadership and implement policy at the "front lines" of society.