Wang Ximan and Xu Ran: Implementing the Spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations to Deepen the Party’s Self-Revolution
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulations as its starting point. With a sense of mission and responsibility captured by the sentiment of "risking the offense of thousands to avoid failing the 1.4 billion," [1] the Party has cured chronic ailments and addressed disorder, launching an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle and promoting historical achievements and transformations in the Party’s work style construction. As a "pioneering move" to promote the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, the Eight-Point Regulations profoundly demonstrate our Party's political consciousness in advancing comprehensively and strictly governing the Party with the courage to "turn the blade inward." [2] Carrying out in-depth education on the implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations throughout the Party is both a systematic summary of the experience of work style construction in the New Era and a strategic deployment to lead social revolution through the Party's self-revolution.
Fortifying the Fundamental Direction
The problem of work style is, in essence, the external manifestation of political issues. The laws governing the building of Marxist parties show that the quality of work style directly reflects the strength of Party spirit, and Party spirit is the cornerstone for Party members and cadres to establish themselves, their careers, their words, and their virtue. The Eight-Point Regulations broke ground with a "small entry point," starting from specific issues such as improving investigative research and streamlining meetings and activities. In reality, they targeted the political logic that "the key lies with the Party, the key lies in the Party managing the Party, and the key lies in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party." By using work style construction to break path for Party building in the New Era, a profound transformation was achieved from "isolated advances" to "systemic integration."
The Eight-Point Regulations directly strike at the greatest danger facing a governing party—"detachment from the masses." [3] Using the rectification of specific issues such as "unhealthy tendencies in private clubs" and "corruption on wheels" [4] as entry points, the Party has proactively responded to the expectations of the masses and continuously consolidated the "flesh-and-blood ties" between the Party and the people. By taking "people's satisfaction" as the fundamental yardstick, it is clearly shown that the value orientation of self-revolution is not merely to "restrain cadres," but rather to consolidate the Party's governing foundation by reshaping its work style. This provides a profound answer to the fundamental questions of "who am I, for whom am I working, and on whom do I rely?" The great political significance of the Eight-Point Regulations lies in constructing a transmission mechanism between work style, Party spirit, and the original aspiration, prompting self-revolution to transform from abstract political requirements into concrete norms of behavior. This provides a "visible, perceptible, and feasible" practical vehicle for Party building in the New Era. Through the rectification of specific problems, Party members and cadres can continuously strengthen their Party spirit cultivation, keep their original aspiration and founding mission firmly in mind, effectively enhance their emotional bond with the masses, always prioritize the interests of the people, think what the people think, feel the urgency of the people, and resolve the difficulties of the people.
Refining Long-term Mechanisms
The Eight-Point Regulations issued in 2012 used eight "hard benchmarks," such as "improving investigative research" and "streamlining meetings and activities," to break the vicious cycle of "institutional vacancy" (where rules exist but are not followed). By having the "Political Bureau of the Central Committee take the lead in implementation," a demonstration effect was achieved, ensuring the "institutions have teeth." Following the 19th and 20th National Congresses of the CPC, the "Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee" were revised twice. These revisions incorporated the supervision of the "key minority" [5] and the simultaneous investigation and treatment of work style issues and corruption into the institutional framework, forming a long-term mechanism where "officials do not dare, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt." At the central level, supporting institutional documents such as the Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens at the Grassroots, the Regulations on Practicing Strict Economy and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Organs, and the Regulations on the Management of Domestic Official Hospitality for Party and Government Organs were issued. At the local level, active exploration and innovation have effectively transformed institutional constraints into governance efficacy, promoting the organic connection and rooting of institutional construction from top-level design to grassroots practice.
The vitality and authority of an institution stem essentially from its rigid enforcement. Since the start of the New Era, Party and government organs at all levels have prioritized "strictness," continuously deepening the practice of institutional Party governance. By constructing a "full-cycle management" model for supervision, discipline, and enforcement, a multi-dimensional supervision system has been formed, linking daily supervision, special inspections, and disciplinary inspections (巡视巡察, xúnshì xúnchá). In the field of work style construction, the governance of the Four Winds has become more precise and intelligent. In response to "invisible and mutated" phenomena such as "gifts sent via express delivery" and "electronic red envelopes," [6] disciplinary inspection and supervision organs have fully utilized digital means such as big data analysis and intelligent early warnings to build mechanisms for dynamic monitoring and precise identification. The full release of institutional efficacy depends on the perfection and implementation of the responsibility system. Localities have deeply embedded the implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations into the system of primary responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. This has been included as a significant component of responsibility evaluations, disciplinary inspections, and cadre performance reports, creating a full-chain accountability mechanism characterized by "dual investigations of one case" and "reverse accountability." This pressure transmission mechanism has pushed the fulfillment of responsibility from "passive coping" to "proactive undertaking," encouraging Party members and cadres to achieve a transition in ideological and behavioral consciousness from "I am required to implement" to "I want to implement," thus internalizing institutional constraints into political integrity and behavioral norms.
Simultaneous Destruction and Construction
Problem-consciousness is a distinctive character of a Marxist party. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC stated: "Problems are the voice of the times; answering and guiding the solution of problems is the fundamental task of theory." From their inception, the Eight-Point Regulations have been anchored to the prominent issues most strongly reflected by the masses, forming a closed-loop mechanism for discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. On one hand, they rectify the winds of hedonism and extravagance, stopping unhealthy tendencies such as banqueting with public funds. On the other hand, they have shifted toward rectifying hidden issues such as formalism and bureaucratism. From rectifying "trace management" (过度留痕) to cleaning up "formalism at the fingertips," [7] this reflects dialectical thinking by transforming the method of contradiction analysis into a governance strategy, continuing the tradition of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient." The methodological inspiration of the Eight-Point Regulations lies in transforming the "principled requirements" of self-revolution into "operational paths," accumulating experience and identifying laws through the resolution of concrete problems, and providing a practical solution for the building of a Marxist party in the New Era.
The exemplary role of leading cadres is the "lead goose effect" [8] that drives the implementation of the system. General Secretary Xi Jinping has led by example, personally practicing what he preaches. His footsteps have covered the length and breadth of the country; he travels with a light escort, reduces the number of accompanying personnel, simplifies receptions, and sits with the masses for "bench-sitting symposiums." Under the demonstration and leadership of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, a vivid situation has been formed where "one level acts for the next level to see, and one level leads the next level to work." This political consciousness is not only reflected at the level of action but also solidifies the exemplary responsibility of the "key minority" into rigid constraints. The combination of "strict management" and "kind concern" is the governance wisdom that stimulates cadres' sense of responsibility. On one hand, serious accountability is pursued for behaviors such as "non-action" and "slow action"; on the other hand, a mechanism for allowing and correcting errors has been established, clarifying the "Three Distinctions," [9] avoiding the "dish-washing effect," [10] and encouraging cadres to take proactive action in reform and innovation. This unification of "turning the blade inward" through self-revolution and "gentle nurturing" (春风化雨, chūn fēng huà yǔ) through organizational care has achieved an ideological sublimation from "I am required to change" to "I want to change."
Cultural nourishment is the source of an institution's vitality. The practice of implementing the Eight-Point Regulations proves that work style construction must rely on both "rigid constraints" and "soft immersion." The construction of a culture of integrity in the New Era tempers the character of selflessness through revolutionary culture, fosters the soil of honesty and integrity through advanced socialist culture, and nurtures the realm of devotion to the public through fine traditional Chinese culture. From the issuance of the Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of a Culture of Integrity in the New Era to the continuous enrichment of the supply of integrity-themed cultural products, the infectious power of culture and the binding force of institutions promote each other, driving the transformation of integrity from an external requirement into an internal consciousness. The formation of cultural identity is a gradual process. Over the past decade, the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations has gradually integrated into various fields of social life. This shift from "rectifying unhealthy tendencies" to "transforming styles into customs" is, in essence, a reshaping of cultural values.
Grasping the Pulse of the Times
Implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations is a tough and protracted battle. The resolute implementation of these regulations proves that the CPC can leap beyond the "historical cycle" of "rising and falling rapidly" [11] and consistently maintain the "consciousness of facing problems squarely and the courage to turn the blade inward." This self-revolution is not imposed by external forces but is based on the original aspiration and founding mission to "seek happiness for the Chinese people." It is a concentrated expression of an endogenous revolutionary quality.
The Regulations construct the "power system" for Party building in the New Era. The practice of the Eight-Point Regulations shows that the Party’s self-revolution requires the unification of "pressure transmission" and "endogenous motivation." Through external institutional constraints, a deterrent is formed so that "officials do not dare to be corrupt"; through ideological building, a consciousness is stimulated so that "officials do not want to be corrupt"; and through the transformation of work style, the trust of the masses is strengthened and the momentum for progress is gained. Ultimately, this forms a virtuous cycle of self-purification, self-perfection, self-renewal, and self-improvement, answering the question of our times: what kind of long-term governing Marxist party should be built? On the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, continuing to deepen the implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations is, in essence, answering the fundamental proposition of "how to ensure the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character." [12] This requires that we must regard work style construction as an eternal task, and with the tenacity of "leaving iron marks in the grip and stone imprints in the stride," [13] promote the Party's self-revolution toward greater depth, providing a strong guarantee for the realization of the Second Centenary Goal.
Only by taking the implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations as an eternal task, persisting over the long term, and achieving lasting results, can we stimulate the endogenous power of self-revolution through new achievements in work style construction. This ensures the Party remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics through its revolutionary tempering.