Song Ge and Zhou Wenzhang: Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens on Primary-level Authorities
Formalism [1] is a major enemy to the development of the Party and the country's cause; breaking through formalism is of great significance for improving the conduct [2] of cadres and consolidating the relationship between the Party and the masses. The grassroots [3] is the "last kilometer" for implementing the decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee, as well as the frontline for the Party to connect with and serve the masses. Reducing burdens on the grassroots is a necessity for development and the aspiration of the people. Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the work of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens on the grassroots, noting that we must "lighten the burden on the grassroots to allow them to spend more time on grasping the implementation of work" and "continuously deepen and expand the work of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens on the grassroots." The Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development emphasized the need to "intensively carry out the work of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens on the grassroots." This series of important expositions and deployments has pointed the way forward for this work. In the New Era and on the new journey, we must work across multiple dimensions—ideological education, institutional mechanisms, work methods, and the environmental atmosphere—to eradicate the chronic malady of formalism and make the work of reducing grassroots burdens substantive.
Strengthen ideological education for rectifying formalism and reducing grassroots burdens. Ideology is the precursor to action. Precise and effective ideological education can guide Party members and cadres to internalize the requirements of opposing formalism and reducing grassroots burdens into a conscious ideological state, pushing them to establish correct concepts of duty, consciously resist formalism, and actively practice grassroots burden reduction. First, we must strengthen theoretical arming and carry out targeted theoretical education. Incorporating the study of the Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens on the Grassroots into the core curriculum of cadre training will guide them to deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening the Party's conduct construction. This will educate them to accurately grasp the essence of formalism and thoroughly recognize its erosion of grassroots work and its damage to cadre-mass and Party-mass relations, thereby enhancing their sense of responsibility. Second, we must strengthen emotional identification and focus on immersive experiential education. Such education allows cadres to intuitively perceive the harm of formalism and the weight of grassroots burdens, triggering strong emotional resonance. Organizing cadres to descend to the frontline to listen to the actual demands of the grassroots will stimulate emotional empathy for the work. Third, we must strengthen self-reflection and achieve routine education. Requirements for opposing formalism should be integrated into daily ideological education through special seminars and "Theme Party Days" [4], guiding cadres to regularly conduct ideological self-checks and examine their own work styles against typical manifestations of formalism. Fourth, we must ensure the effectiveness of education and resist formalism within education itself. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "expert lectures and theoretical guidance should not replace self-study and discussion; Red education [5] should be carried out nearby, and no rigid requirements should be made for writing book notes or reflections." Ideological education must prevent emphasizing "form" over "effect," resolutely overcoming formalism to ensure work is thorough and solid.
Strengthen institutional protections for rectifying formalism and reducing grassroots burdens. The rigid constraints of institutions can eliminate the breeding ground for formalism from the levels of power operation and systemic mechanisms. First, optimize the assessment and evaluation system. Streamline assessment indicators, reduce the weight of formalized indicators such as the frequency of meetings and the volume of documents, cancel unnecessary inspection and rating projects, and merge overlapping assessment items to end the practice of "adding pressure at every level" (層層加碼) and "unlimited expansion" of formalized requirements. Cadres who resolutely resist formalism should be commended. Meanwhile, establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for assessment indicators to promptly remove ineffective indicators based on policy shifts and grassroots feedback. Second, improve the system for allocating powers and responsibilities. We must establish a "list of powers and responsibilities" to clarify boundaries and define the statutory duties of the grassroots while stripping away affairs that do not belong to them. Third, improve the supervision and accountability system. Build an intelligent monitoring mechanism for formalist issues and establish a routine feedback platform to collect new trends in formalism, providing precise identification of problems like "leaving excessive traces" (過度留痕) [6], excessive meetings, and rampant inspections. Integrate the supervisory forces of the discipline inspection and supervision organs and the organization and personnel departments. Clarify standards and processes for accountability to achieve "zero tolerance" and avoid the generalization of accountability. Furthermore, the content of regulations must be further specified, and periodic evaluation mechanisms for institutions should be established to ensure they harmonize with other systems to form a synergy.
Improve the effectiveness of rectifying formalism and reducing grassroots burdens. Optimizing work processes and methods is a key path. On one hand, ensure effectiveness by optimizing processes. Formulate "positive lists" and "negative lists" for grassroots affairs to clarify statutory tasks versus forbidden formalized tasks. Any new grassroots task must undergo a necessity and feasibility study to prevent arbitrary assignment. Control the length of documents and the frequency of meetings to eliminate hollow, long-winded output. Optimize the collaborative processing of affairs to reduce the burden of repetitive reporting. On the other hand, ensure effectiveness by optimizing work methods. Consolidate similar tasks and use digital means to integrate various software systems and work groups into a unified national grassroots government data-sharing platform. Regulate the use of digital tools to end formalized requirements like "mandatory check-ins" and "excessive trace-leaving." Develop intelligent auxiliary tools for data verification and automatic report generation to reduce the grassroots workload.
Foster a positive atmosphere for rectifying formalism and reducing grassroots burdens. First, emphasize cultural immersion. Cultural influence can subtly affect cadres and is the key to solving the problem of "a passing gust of wind" (一陣風) [7] in burden reduction. We should create cultural carriers like online columns and exhibition halls that make the concept of pragmatic burden reduction tangible, embedding it into the daily communication and policy execution of the Party. Second, emphasize value leadership. Strengthen the role of both positive and negative incentives by publicizing good experiences in rectifying formalism and bureaucracy [8] while exposing typical negative cases to create an atmosphere where "everyone resists formalism." Abandon the formalized standard of "judging merit by traces and results by materials," and instead use the actual reduction of burdens and the improvement of efficiency as the core yardsticks. Finally, emphasize collaborative governance. First, lead by example from the top. Leading bodies and cadres at all levels must establish a correct view of performance (政績觀), using the "head-goose effect" [9] to drive the overall atmosphere toward improvement. Second, link upper and lower levels. Superior departments should take the lead in self-inspection and clean up formalized issues within their own systems. Third, horizontal coordination is needed to break down departmental barriers and share information in real-time, reducing coordination costs at the grassroots. Fourth, encourage social participation. Broaden channels for the masses to participate and provide feedback, guiding social organizations to participate in governance and creating a social atmosphere of joint supervision.