Deng Yifei, Zhang Licheng, and Zhang Xiaobing: Promoting the Continual Achievement of New Results in the Party's Discipline Building
Strictly implementing and maintaining Party discipline is the shared responsibility of the entire Party. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection [1], Chairman Xi delivered an important speech. From the strategic height of the overall development of the Party and state cause, he profoundly expounded upon the goals, tasks, and practical requirements for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in the current and coming periods, making strategic deployments for the further advancement of this governance. On the "new journey to face new tests" [2], we must place the strengthening of Party discipline in a prominent position within the framework of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. We must persist unswervingly in grasping this work tightly, strictly, regularly, and thoroughly, ensuring that the strengthening of Party discipline continuously achieves new success.
I
To govern the country, one must first govern the Party; only when the Party flourishes can the nation be strong. Currently, our country is in a critical period of comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong nation and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Utilizing the achievements of disciplinary construction to manage and govern the Party effectively is of immense significance for responding to complex situations and severe challenges, and for shouldering the heavy responsibilities of the era.
An inevitable choice for resolving the unique challenges facing a large party. As the world’s largest Marxist governing party, our Party possesses the immense advantage of being able to accomplish great feats and build grand undertakings, but it also objectively faces unique challenges inherent to a large party. How to consistently avoid forgetting our original aspiration and founding mission; how to consistently unify thinking, will, and action; how to consistently possess strong governing capacity and leadership levels; how to consistently maintain a spirit of entrepreneurship and initiative; how to consistently detect and resolve our own problems in a timely manner; and how to consistently maintain a clean and upright political ecosystem—all of these are unique challenges that our large Party must resolve. Party discipline is the lifeline of the Party; disciplinary construction is a crucial link in Party building and a key measure for resolving these challenges. Only by integrating strict discipline throughout all aspects and the entire process of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party can we ensure that our century-old Party maintains its vigorous vitality and strong combat effectiveness, and remains the firm leadership core for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
An inevitable choice for maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity. The advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party do not naturally persist as time passes. Under the conditions of long-term governance, factors that weaken the Party's advanced nature or damage its purity exist at all times; dangers that contravene the original aspiration and founding mission or shake the Party's foundations are everywhere. Within the Party, prominent problems such as impurity in ideology, politics, organization, and work style [3] still persist. Party discipline was formed through the Party’s long-term practice in adaptation to the development of the Party’s cause; it embodies the Party's original aspiration and founding mission, its fundamental purpose, and its fine work style, serving as a powerful guarantee for maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity. Only by relying on "iron discipline" to continuously eliminate all harmful factors that damage the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and all pathogens that erode the Party’s healthy organism, can we preserve the true character of a Marxist party and ensure the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character.
An inevitable choice for leading social revolution through the Party's self-revolution. The Party’s self-revolution is the powerful driving force for advancing social revolution, while the new tasks and challenges of social revolution propose new goals and requirements for the Party’s self-revolution; the two promote each other and complement one another. Advancing Chinese-path modernization is an unprecedented pioneering undertaking and a new, great social revolution led by the Party. Currently, there remain areas in our Party's self-construction that are mismatched or unadapted, requiring continuous self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement [4] to forge the Party into an even stronger and more powerful force. Only by carrying forward the spirit of thorough self-revolution, unswervingly and comprehensively governing the Party with strictness, and resolutely upholding, establishing, and tightening discipline and rules—thereby allowing the Party to continuously remove impurities, strengthen its immunity, and bolster its "bones and muscles"—can the Party be united like "a single piece of solid steel," becoming the firm leadership core of Chinese-path modernization and ensuring that the great social revolution led by the Party is invincible.
II
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [5], Chairman Xi has profoundly summarized the successful experience of Party disciplinary construction and scientifically grasped the characteristics and patterns of disciplinary construction in the New Era. He has proposed a series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments on comprehensively strengthening Party discipline, pointing the way and providing the fundamental following for the in-depth development of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
Persisting in strengthening disciplinary construction as the fundamental cure for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. For the Party to manage and govern itself with strictness, it must rely on strict discipline and rules. Party discipline consists of the rules of conduct that Party organizations at all levels and all Party members must obey; it is the code of law upon which comprehensively and strictly governing the Party must be based. Strengthening disciplinary construction is an inherent requirement of the principle that "to govern the country one must first govern the Party, and governing the Party must be strict." It conforms to the internal requirements of deeply advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, ensuring there are rules to follow and discipline to rely upon. We must persist in incorporating the strengthening of disciplinary construction into the overall layout of Party building in the New Era and the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. We must insist that discipline is stricter than the law and that discipline comes before the law, constructing an operational mechanism where matters are handled strictly according to discipline and rules, ensuring all requirements for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party are implemented.
Persisting in placing the strict observance of political discipline and political rules in the primary position. Among the Party’s disciplines and rules, political discipline and political rules are the most fundamental and important. We must profoundly comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, enhance the "Four Consciousnesses" [6], firm up the "Four Confidences" [7], achieve the Two Upholds, and implement the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. We must unswervingly uphold the Party’s overall leadership, implement the Party’s line, principles, and policies without hesitation, resolutely safeguard the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and consciously maintain a high degree of unity in ideology, politics, and action with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. We must always maintain a sharp focus on "speaking politics with a clear-cut stand" and never allow the voicing of views contrary to the Party Central Committee on major political principles or issues of right and wrong. We must resolutely prevent and investigate the "Seven Subversions" [8], show no mercy to those who engage in "small cliques" or "small circles," and resolutely eliminate "two-faced people" and those of "pseudo-loyalty."
Persisting in highlighting a "strict" keynote to advance the Party’s disciplinary construction. The vitality of discipline lies in its execution; discipline must become a "live high-voltage wire." We must persist in tackling Party spirit, work style, and Party discipline together, giving full play to disciplinary construction as a sharp tool for addressing both symptoms and root causes. We must consolidate and develop the normalized results of "strict execution of discipline" and "investigation of every violation," further strengthening the "strict" keynote, "strict" measures, and "strict" atmosphere. We must let iron discipline "grow teeth" and exert its power, ensuring that Party members and cadres pay attention, remain alert, and know when to stop. Regarding acts that break regulations, violate discipline, or destroy legal systems by stepping on "red lines," crossing "bottom lines," or entering "minefields," every instance discovered must be resolutely investigated and punished. We shall not allow "the law to fail because of the multitude of violators," nor allow for "extenuating circumstances," nor permit "just this once." We will not leave "back doors" or open "skylights," and will resolutely prevent the "broken window effect," effectively safeguarding the seriousness and authority of discipline.
Persisting in combining strict management with compassionate care, and emphasizing both incentives and constraints. Party discipline not only defines the bottom lines and boundaries that must not be touched but also provides a yardstick of action for Party members and cadres to work cleanly and boldly. We must profoundly recognize that Party discipline and entrepreneurial initiative are internally unified. We should comprehensively leverage the educational, restrictive, protective, and incentive roles of discipline, organically combining the strengthening of discipline with the exertion of subjective initiative. We must highly unify strict management and supervision with the encouragement of taking responsibility. By clarifying directions, establishing rules, rectifying the atmosphere, and strengthening immunity, we enable the broad masses of Party members and cadres to boldly innovate and engage in entrepreneurship while following rules and discipline. We must establish a normalized and long-term mechanism for disciplinary education, ensuring such education spans the entire growth cycle of cadres and is integrated into the entire process of organizational management. We must accurately apply the "Four Forms" [9] of supervision and discipline, properly implement the "Three Distinctions" [10], and stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of Party members and cadres to foster a vivid situation of forging ahead with determination and striving for excellence.
III
Strengthening Party disciplinary construction is a long-term and arduous task. On the new journey, we must maintain the firm persistence that "comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is always on the road" and "the Party's self-revolution is always on the road." We must implement all tasks and measures of disciplinary construction, further improving its relevance and effectiveness.
Strengthen disciplinary education and ensure persistent effort. Disciplinary education is the foundational link of disciplinary construction and the ideological guarantee for strict Party discipline. Party organizations at all levels must focus on resolving problems where some Party members and cadres are indifferent to, unfamiliar with, or lack mastery of the Party Constitution, regulations, and discipline. We must educate and guide members—especially leading cadres—to earnestly study these documents, enhancing their internal consciousness of studying, knowing, clarifying, and observing discipline. They must engrave rule-following on their hearts, constantly strengthening their disciplinary awareness and "disciplinary fortitude." We must combine disciplinary education with education on Party spirit, combining thematic education with random education, and positive guidance with negative warnings. This ensures Party members and cadres know the boundaries and bottom lines, strengthen self-reflection, and achieve "fears in the heart, restraint in speech, and cessation in action."
Strengthen disciplinary execution and form rigid constraints. Discipline is the "measuring ruler" [11] for managing and governing the Party. Only when discipline is strict and execution is powerful can education be persuasive, systems be restrictive, and supervision be balanced. Party organizations at all levels must implement the principle that "discipline must be strict and violations must be investigated." They must dare to manage and govern strictly, not breaking rules for the powerful, not tolerating "minor" problems, and not permitting violations just because many are involved. We must establish hard constraints that strictly rely on regulations, discipline, and law. We must increase the intensity of investigations into violations of Party discipline, seriously handling all types of disciplinary and legal violations to comprehensively play the roles of punishment-as-deterrent, discipline-as-remedy, and education-as-warning.
Tighten the responsibility chain and form a collective force. Strengthening disciplinary construction is a systemic project. Party organizations at all levels must shoulder their principal responsibility; the secretary of the Party organization must fulfill the duty of the "person with primary responsibility," and other members of the leadership team must fulfill their "dual responsibilities for one post" [12]. They must earnestly shoulder the political responsibility for disciplinary construction, persisting in one level leading the next and one level overseeing the next, forming a situation where everyone fulfills their duties, takes active responsibility, and advances the cause together. As the "key minority," leading cadres at all levels must take the lead in executing and maintaining Party discipline. They should lead by example in all times and places, being strict with themselves, strictly assuming responsibility, and strictly managing their jurisdictions. They must set higher standards and implement stricter requirements in observing rules and discipline, serving as the organizers, exemplars, and promoters of strengthening Party disciplinary construction.
(Unit: Joint Operations College, National Defense University)
Source: Liberation Army Daily
January 27, 2025