Xu Xing: The Establishment and Initial Operation of New China's Administrative Supervision System (1949–1954)
With the birth of the People’s Republic of China, our country’s new administrative supervision system was formally established under the leadership of the Party in accordance with the Organic Law of the Central People’s Government. From 1949 to 1954, the People’s Supervision Committee of the Government Administration Council of the Central People’s Government (hereafter referred to as the Government Administration Council) played an important role in exercising state administrative supervisory powers and coordinating the development of the "Three-Antis" campaign [1]. Currently, academic research on our country's supervision system contains more achievements exploring intra-Party supervision than administrative supervision. Regarding the administrative supervision system specifically, the main thread of research is also mostly related to intra-Party supervision. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, centering on the reform of the national supervision system, many scholars have focused on exploring the changes brought about by the elevation from administrative supervision to national supervision. In terms of existing specialized research on administrative supervision, some scholars have examined the supervisory organs established by the Chinese Communist Party during the New Democratic Revolution; others have studied the tortuous developmental process of the supervision system’s evolution over the century since the Party's founding. Published monographs on administrative supervision focus on theoretical aspects and analyses of current issues, using the history of the supervision system since the founding of the People's Republic only as a simple backdrop. In short, although past research has yielded many results, there is insufficient analysis regarding the construction, preliminary operation and adjustment, effectiveness, and influence of the administrative supervision system in the early days of the People’s Republic. The author believes that from 1949 to 1954, enormous changes occurred in the political, economic, and social environment and in all aspects of construction in the New Era of China. Deeply examining the establishment and adjustment of the administrative supervision system during this period, and studying the historical role and far-reaching influence it exerted, can deepen our understanding of the background of today’s national supervision system reform, thereby yielding beneficial insights.
The Historical Background of the Formation of the Administrative Supervision System
Within the supervision systems of various countries, administrative supervisory bodies generally possess the power to exercise administrative supervision independently. In the early days of the People’s Republic, the establishment of the administrative supervision system had a unique historical background. Although the setup of our country's administrative organs at that time drew on some experience from the Soviet Union, more importantly, the revolutionary regimes established by the Chinese Communist Party during the war years provided a practical foundation for the various institutional settings of the nascent people's political power. It can be said that the administrative supervision system at the beginning of the New Era originated from the supervisory organs of the "Red Power" created by the Chinese Communist Party in the revolutionary base areas. During the three important periods of the Land Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation, supervisory organs within the revolutionary base areas created by the Chinese Communist Party were preliminarily established under the Party’s leadership based on various political and military factors. Although the institutional setup was not yet complete at that time, various regulations and systems were not yet sound, and much work had not had the chance to be carried out in depth, this was nonetheless the embryonic form of a new type of supervision system representing the interests of the broad masses of the people, and it was of great significance for consolidating and developing the Red Power.
The Chinese Communist Party attempted to establish a national political power and administrative supervision system as early as the revolutionary war years. In November 1931, the earliest supervisory organ—the Worker-Peasant Inspection Department—was established within the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin, Jiangxi, with He Shuheng as the director. Within the areas under the jurisdiction of the Red Power in the Soviet Areas [2], corresponding administrative supervisory organs were established from the central level down to the provincial, county, and district levels. In February 1934, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic further established the Worker-Peasant Inspection People’s Committee, which was the highest-level supervisory organ of the Soviet Republic, with Xiang Ying as its chairman. Simultaneously, an Audit Committee was established, with Ruan Xiaoxian as its chairman. According to the relevant institutional regulations of the time, supervisory organs implemented a dual leadership system, being simultaneously subject to the leadership of the executive committees of the Soviet government at various levels and superior inspection organs. The establishment of the Worker-Peasant Inspection People's Committee and the Audit Committee marked the beginning of the establishment of a supervision system by the Red Power under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and it was also the first instance of the masses exercising democratic supervisory rights. It was a brand-new supervision system that provided the earliest practical exploration for the establishment of the supervision system in the New Era of China.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese Communist Party established "Three-Thirds System" [3] regimes in the anti-Japanese base areas, while also establishing Consultative Councils. In the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government and other anti-Japanese base area regimes, the Consultative Council was the highest organ of power; the Border Region Administrative Committee (i.e., the Border Region Government) it elected exercised both legislative and supervisory powers. From January 17 to February 4, 1939, the first session of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Consultative Council was held in Yan'an, and the Border Region Consultative Council was declared established. From November 6 to 20, 1941, the second session of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Consultative Council was held, and the second Council continued its work until the end of the War of Resistance. This type of supervision system established by the Chinese Communist Party in the anti-Japanese base areas played an important role in consolidating and developing the anti-Japanese political power, uniting people from all walks of life to resist Japan, and supervising and ensuring the construction of clean government in the border regions. It served as an exploration and experiment for achieving final victory in the War of Resistance and for establishing a new administrative supervision system after the Communist Party assumed full governance.
In the late stages of the War of Liberation, following the victorious advance of the People’s War of Liberation, the North China People’s Government was established under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party in September 1948. After its establishment, the North China People’s Supervisory Academy was established in accordance with the relevant articles of the Outline of the Organization of the North China People’s Government, with Yang Xiufeng as the president. According to the regulations, this organ could exercise the power of inspection and reporting, the power to accept administrative litigation, certain administrative legal disciplinary powers, and the power of investigation. After its establishment, the North China People’s Supervisory Academy actively carried out administrative supervision work; it not only handled a number of cases of dereliction of duty and corruption but also established a system of correspondence inspectors, combining the supervision of administrative supervisory organs with the supervision of the masses. The creation and work of the North China People’s Supervisory Academy marked a new step for the supervision system of the revolutionary base areas under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. it played an important role in safeguarding the rights and interests of the broad masses, ensuring the purity of the revolutionary government, consolidating the revolutionary base areas, and assisting the victory of the People's War of Liberation. It also became the special historical background and practical source for the creation and improvement of the supervision system of the PRC, accumulating practical experience for the creation of an administrative supervision system by the national political power under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Establishment and Institutional Setting of the Administrative Supervision System
According to the provisions of Article 18 of the Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, adopted by the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 27, 1949, the Central People's Government established the People's Supervision Committee as an organ subordinate to the Government Administration Council, responsible for supervising whether government organs and public servants performed their duties. Regarding the origin and purpose of the setting up of the People’s Supervision Committee, Zhou Enlai pointed out in a report titled "Several Issues Concerning the People's PCC" to the PCC delegates on September 7, 1949, before the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: "Under the Government Administration Council, there are thirty units," but "it is impossible for the Government Administration Council to constantly lead these thirty units, so four committees are established below to assist in handling affairs. These four committees are: the Committee of Political and Legal Affairs, the Committee of Financial and Economic Affairs, the Committee of Cultural and Educational Affairs, and the People’s Supervision Committee." "The purpose of establishing the People's Supervision Committee is to establish a supervision system to supervise administrative departments, such as whether public servants have implemented the government's resolutions and policies, and whether there are instances of corruption and decadence."
At that time, there were two different opinions regarding which organ the People’s Supervision Committee should be subordinate to: one opinion advocated that it should be subordinate to the Central People’s Government Committee, as its "status would be higher and its powers greater"; the other opinion advocated that it be subordinate to the Government Administration Council, "because being close to the administrative organs and familiar with the actual situation, it would be more convenient to perform its duties, and the magnitude of the role played by the People’s Supervision Committee actually depends on whether those in charge are responsible and whether this organ is valued." On September 22, 1949, Dong Biwu, Chairman of the North China People’s Government, clarified in his report "The Drafting Process and Basic Content of the Organic Law of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China" at the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: "We agree with the latter advocacy, so in the drafting, we placed the Supervision Committee under the Government Administration Council." Regarding the functions of the committee, Dong Biwu emphasized: "The People's Supervision Committee is for supervising whether administrative personnel perform their duties, which is different from the Procuratorate."
On October 19, 1949, the third meeting of the Central People's Government Committee appointed the Vice Premiers of the Government Administration Council, members of the Council, the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretaries-General, and the heads of the various committees, ministries, boards, academies, administrations, and banks under the Government Administration Council. On October 21, Zhou Enlai presided over the first enlarged administrative meeting of the Government Administration Council and announced the establishment of the Council. From then on, the administrative supervision organ of the New Era of China was also formally established. The famous democratic personage and member of the Government Administration Council, Tan Pingshan, served as the director of the People’s Supervision Committee of the Government Administration Council (hereafter referred to as the People’s Supervision Committee), with Liu Jingfan and Pan Zhenya serving as deputy directors; Liu Jingfan also concurrently served as the Secretary of the Party Leadership Group. In November 1952, Qian Ying was added as a deputy director, and in June 1954, Wang Han was also added as a deputy director.
On October 24, 1950, the Provisional Organizational Regulations of the People's Supervision Committee of the Government Administration Council were promulgated, providing detailed regulations on the committee's main tasks and institutional setting. According to the regulations, the People’s Supervision Committee was responsible for supervising whether government organs and public servants performed their duties, with three main tasks: first, to supervise whether all levels of state organs and various public servants nationwide violated national policies, laws, or decrees, or harmed the interests of the people and the state, and to report and impeach those organs and personnel who violated the law or were derelict in their duties; second, to guide the supervision work of supervision organs at all levels nationwide, issue resolutions and orders, and examine their execution; third, to accept and handle accusations from the people and people's organizations against illegal and derelict acts by state organs and public servants at all levels. The regulations also explicitly stipulated that the People's Supervision Committee "shall have one director, two to three deputy directors, and fifteen to twenty-one committee members; the director shall preside over the committee's affairs, and the deputy directors shall assist."
The People’s Supervision Committee had four subordinate departments: the First Office, the Second Office, the Third Office, and the General Office. The First Office "managed matters concerning supervision, impeachment, and the handling of accusations against organs and their enterprise sectors related to finance, banking, customs, cooperatives, trade, agriculture, forestry, and water conservancy"; the Second Office "managed matters concerning supervision, impeachment, and the handling of accusations against organs and their enterprise sectors related to various industries, railways, posts and telecommunications, transportation, and labor"; the Third Office "managed matters concerning supervision, impeachment, and the handling of accusations against organs and their enterprise sectors related to internal affairs, public security, justice, legal systems, ethnic affairs, overseas Chinese affairs, culture, education, health, science, publishing, news, and all other organs not belonging to the First or Second Offices"; the General Office "managed work inspections, meeting organization, and other usual administrative matters of the First, Second, and Third Offices." "When necessary, the People's Supervision Committee may appoint consultants and counselors." "The People's Supervision Committee may appoint a number of supervision correspondents in various organs directly under the central government, various state-owned enterprise sectors, people's organizations, and news organs, who are respectively led by the First, Second, and Third Offices." This setup of the People’s Supervision Committee not only ensured that professional supervision departments and staff carried out internal institutional self-supervision of various industries and organs, but also brought into play the mass supervision role of the broad ranks of supervision correspondents, consultants, and counselors, preliminarily forming a relatively scientific and effective supervision system.
The Preliminary Operation and Continuous Improvement of the Administrative Supervision System
After the Committee of People's Supervision was established, it actively carried out administrative supervision work while continuously improving its own mechanisms. From its inception until January 1950, its primary tasks were taking over the North China People’s Supervisory Academy (华北人民监察院), processing cases transferred from that academy, establishing organizational structures, appointing cadres, conducting professional studies, and drafting organizational regulations for people's supervision committees at all levels. From January to August 1950, the Committee of People's Supervision received a total of 142 cases involving accusations against various public officials. Of these, 56 cases were directly investigated and handled by the Committee, while 86 cases were transferred to the Greater Administrative Areas [4], provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, the Central Military Commission (中央军委), or judicial organs. "In total, 70 percent of cases have been closed, with the remainder currently under investigation and processing." The Committee of People's Supervision also provided guidance on the establishment of supervision committees at various levels. The supervision committees for the Northeast, Northwest, East China, and Central-South Greater Administrative Areas were established in succession. Furthermore, the tasks of the Committee for the second half of 1950 were defined as: "Collaborate with the training and consolidation of cadres; organize, promote, and guide central departments, Greater Administrative Areas, and provinces and municipalities directly under the central government to concentrate forces in the struggle against bureaucratism, commandism [5], as well as embezzlement, waste, the sabotage of production, and all other phenomena of illegal acts or dereliction of duty. The center of work shall focus on finance and economic departments while also attending to administrative organs. Strive to conduct thorough inspections of ten to fifteen key locations among state-owned enterprises such as major factories, mines, warehouses, shops, banks, grain, taxation, transport and communications, agriculture and forestry, and water conservancy during the second half of the year. Simultaneously, among cases involving complaints against government organs and public officials, select several of importance for direct inspection to gain experience for promotion elsewhere"; and "Established supervision committees in Greater Administrative Areas, provinces, and municipalities (including the Central Supervision Committee) should rapidly appoint cadres and complete their staffing. Provinces, municipalities, and counties that have not yet established people's supervision committees should also do so successively as far as possible"; and so on. By April 1951, when the first National Supervision Work Conference was convened, people's supervision organs at all levels had been preliminarily established. Across the country, "five Greater Administrative Areas, one autonomous region under central jurisdiction, twenty-eight provinces, twelve municipalities under central or Greater Administrative Area jurisdiction, eight administrative areas equivalent to provinces, and 345 counties (cities or banners [6]) had established people's supervision committees. Over the past year, people's supervision committees at all levels processed a total of 7,309 accident cases and conducted over 30 routine inspections. The majority of problems discovered in all accidents and routine inspections have been dealt with. Over the past year, people's supervision organs have conducted inspections and reporting of unhealthy tendencies among state organs and public officials, improved work, and educated cadres, thereby safeguarding national policies, decrees, and systems."
While the administrative supervision system of the New China was being created and put into operation, the Committee of People's Supervision continuously improved its own mechanisms. In accordance with the functions and working nature of supervision organs, it stipulated and clarified its own work authority, principles, and methods.
First, the institutional setup and work authority of the Committee of People's Supervision were stipulated. According to Article 19 of the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [7]: "People's supervision organs shall be set up in the People's Governments of county and municipal level and above to supervise the fulfillment of duties by state organs of various levels and by public officials, and to impeach organs and officials who violate the law or are derelict in their duties." It also stipulated: "The people and people's organizations have the right to file charges with people's supervision organs or people's judicial organs against any state organ or any public official for illegal acts or dereliction of duty." According to the Provisional Organic Regulations of the Committee of People's Supervision, "Meetings of the Committee of People's Supervision of the Government Administration Council of the Central People’s Government [8] shall deliberate and decide upon policies, guidelines, major cases, and other important matters regarding supervision, and summarize experience." The working bodies of the Committee of People's Supervision could, when necessary, petition the Government Administration Council for increases, decreases, or mergers.
Second, the basic working principles of the Committee of People's Supervision were determined. To abolish the supervision and judicial systems of the reactionary Kuomintang government and establish a new type of supervision system for the New China, the Committee of People's Supervision established several basic working principles. For instance, it insisted on the principle of combining top-down inspection with bottom-up supervision. On one hand, supervision organs at all levels were required to supervise and inspect the implementation of national policies and regulations by various units and public officials from the top down, correcting and handling violations of law and discipline. On the other hand, the broad masses were mobilized to supervise, report, and criticize state personnel from the bottom up, making representations to the supervision organs and requesting investigations and processing. This working principle maintained the combination of supervision organs and supervision by the masses; it was a manifestation of the Party's mass line, which protected the rights of the people and improved the efficiency of oversight. Furthermore, it insisted on the principle of combining supervision and impeachment with the improvement of work. While investigating and handling illegalities, dereliction of duty, and other administrative cases, supervision organs would promptly offer opinions and suggestions to relevant departments for the formulation, revision, and improvement of relevant rules and systems to prevent the recurrence of similar problems. Additionally, it insisted on the principles of combining disciplinary sanctions with the strengthening of education, and combining routine inspections with accident investigations. This was conducive to eradicating bureaucratic styles and illegal acts such as corruption and embezzlement.
Finally, the primary work methods to be adopted by the Committee of People's Supervision were clarified. In accordance with the Provisional Organic Regulations of the Committee of People's Supervision of the Government Administration Council, in handling matters, the Committee "may utilize specific methods such as reporting, correction, punishment, suggestion, or commendation." "Supervision cases involving various central organs, state-owned enterprise departments, or their high-level personnel shall be submitted to the Central People’s Government Council or the Government Administration Council for verification and handling." When exercising the power of supervision, "if a suspicion of crime is believed to exist, the Committee shall transfer the case to judicial procuratorial organs for processing." While implementing the above regulations to handle cases, the supervision organs also had to propose suggestions for the improvement of work and require the inspected departments to take responsibility for concrete organizational implementation, which further enhanced the efficiency and social influence of administrative supervision. In April 1951, the first National Supervision Work Conference was held. The conference summarized the work of people's supervision in 1950 and determined the tasks for 1951. After detailed discussion, the conference determined the basic methods for supervision work. Peng Zhen, Vice Chairman of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Government Administration Council, delivered a speech at the meeting, stating: "The People’s Government must not only have policies, decrees, and work plans, but more importantly, it must ensure their implementation. The people's supervision organs are the specialized organs responsible for this task, thus their work is of great importance." He emphasized: "People's supervision work must be carried out with great fanfare [9], focusing the struggle on the primary unhealthy tendencies existing in current work. Supervision work must follow the mass line, coming from the masses and going to the masses."
Following the spirit of the first National Supervision Work Conference and combining the specific conditions of their respective regions and departments, supervision organs at all levels achieved remarkable results in carrying out administrative supervision. For example, before the "Three-Anti" Campaign [10], the Northwest Supervision Committee inspected the work of the Northwest Trunk Railway Engineering Bureau and discovered over 50 cases of embezzlement, which alerted other organs and enterprises and led to the exposure of many more embezzlement cases. The Northeast Supervision Committee pushed for and organized relevant departments to inspect the use of timber, which resolved difficulties in timber allocation and supply, stabilized the timber market, and reduced timber waste. After the Lüda [11] Supervision Committee inspected harbor work, accidents decreased by 80%.
In February 1953, the second National Supervision Work Conference was held in Beijing. The conference summarized previous work, discussed and clarified future tasks, and conducted detailed research on two documents: the Provisional Regulations on Rewards and Punishments for State Organs and Their Personnel (Draft) and the General Rules for the Appointment of People's Supervision Correspondents by People's Supervision Organs of People's Governments at All Levels (Draft). Zhu De, Vice Chairman of the Central People's Government and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC (hereinafter referred to as the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection), attended the meeting and spoke: "Currently, large-scale national construction is beginning, and the tasks of people's supervision work are even more significant. It must strictly supervise and inspect the implementation of national construction plans. At present, the primary task is to continue the resolute struggle against all phenomena of bureaucratism, commandism, and violations of law and discipline, while simultaneously doing a good job in supervising production and finance." Liu Jingfan delivered the "Report on the Summary of Supervision Work from 1951 to 1952 and Future Tasks" at the meeting. The report proposed that the tasks for people's supervision organs in 1953 were: "To focus on supervising the correct implementation of national policies, decrees, and construction plans—especially the implementation of economic construction plans—and to continue the struggle against bureaucratism, commandism, and violations of law and discipline, to enforce national law and discipline, and to increase the sense of responsibility among personnel, so as to ensure the victorious completion of the country's current three major tasks, particularly the economic construction plan. To this end, we must struggle against bureaucratism among leading organs and leading cadres, supervising their earnest implementation of the mass line—'combining general calls with specific guidance; combining leadership with the masses'—and the practical establishment of a work style of seeking truth from facts. We must struggle against forced commands and violations of law and discipline among primary-level organizations and primary-level cadres, supervising their strict observance of national law and discipline and the promotion of a democratic style. We must struggle against phenomena of anarchy and indiscipline in economic, cultural, and educational departments at all levels, particularly in economic departments, that violate national construction plans, economic accounting systems, safety systems, financial systems, policies, and decrees; we must supervise national financial and economic personnel to strengthen discipline and ensure the implementation of national construction plans. We must struggle against all phenomena of embezzlement and waste, especially waste in state-owned enterprises; we must strictly practice integrity and public service, and earnestly implement policies for increasing production and practicing economy. We must struggle against the phenomenon of leaking state secrets and earnestly implement the national secrecy system."
An important outcome of this National Supervision Work Conference was the determination of the central tasks for supervision organs at all levels for the coming period. It indicated that under the background of the imminent upsurge in large-scale national construction and the start of the First Five-Year Plan for the development of the national economy, the tasks of supervision work had increased. The focus of supervision shifted toward the economic field, financial departments, and financial and economic personnel. This conference played an important role in ensuring the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan and maintaining a good style of the Party and government.
The Primary Achievements of the Preliminary Operation of the Administrative Supervision System
The period from 1949 to 1954 was the era of the creation and preliminary operation of China's administrative supervision system. During this period, the system was established, operated, and improved simultaneously. Supervision organs from the central to the local levels were preliminarily set up, leadership and management systems for these organs were gradually established and refined, and basic guidelines, principles, and specific policies for supervision work were formulated. Furthermore, supervision work was actively carried out around the central tasks of the Party and the state. Cadres of supervision organs at all levels across the country conscientiously fulfilled their duties, investigating and handling a large number of cases of illegal acts and dereliction of duty. They played a vital role in safeguarding the implementation of Party policies and national laws and regulations, and in urging state public officials to abide by discipline, law, and maintain integrity and self-discipline. During the five years of the creation and preliminary operation of the New China's administrative supervision system, its primary achievements were manifested in the following three aspects:
(1) Closely coordinating with the democratic building of political power and the recovery of production, with a focus on supervising financial and economic management work.
After the establishment of the administrative supervisory organs at all levels in New China, they conducted supervision and inspection of the work of state organs and their public servants in accordance with the law, working in close coordination with the tasks of building democratic political power and restoring production. Priority was given to supervising and inspecting violations of the law, dereliction of duty, corruption, waste, and acts destructive to production within fiscal and economic departments, as well as the work styles of bureaucratism and commandism [12]. For example, in July 1950, at the 41st Government Affairs Meeting of the Government Administration Council, Zhou Enlai mentioned the problem of 298 million jin [13] of grain molding and spoiling in the East China region. He proposed that a self-examination and a summary of lessons be conducted, and that the People's Supervision Committee charge the East China Supervision Committee with investigating the matter and reporting the results to the Government Administration Council. Dong Biwu was put in charge of handling this matter, notifying all localities based on the report. The meeting unanimously agreed to Zhou Enlai's proposal.
In another instance, from the end of 1951 to August 1952, supervisory organs at all levels, in coordination with relevant agencies, carried out 408 inspection tours and examinations regarding movements such as Land Reform and the Suppression of Counter-revolutionaries, as well as work in strengthening fiscal and economic systems, management of industrial and mining enterprises, capital construction, safety and hygiene, drought and flood prevention, and building democratic political power. They discovered many existing problems in the work and assisted leading organs in making corrections, achieving favorable results. They inspected and processed 28,426 cases of accidents (excluding cases from the Three-Anti Movement), disciplined 17,856 personnel for illegal acts or neglect of duty based on the principle of combining education with punishment, investigated the causes of the accidents, and offered opinions for improving work. Supervisory organs at all levels also prioritized supervision of cash management, assisting relevant departments in gradually establishing a new financial management order. The initial operation of the national administrative supervisory system was closely coordinated with the Three-Anti Movement carried out at the time, playing an important role in eliminating the wind of bureaucratism among cadres and upholding national laws.
To protect the lives and property of the people and recover national economic losses, the People's Supervision Committee increased the intensity of supervision over the management of industrial and mining enterprises after its establishment, handling a batch of hidden dangers and accident cases. For example, on January 23, 1950, a train collision occurred at Huaqiying Station on the Jinpu Line of the Jinan Railway Bureau, resulting in 16 deaths and 46 injuries (including 10 serious injuries). The direct cause of the accident was that Wang Jinfa, a switchman at the station, disobeyed orders and turned the turnout the wrong way. The People's Supervision Committee sent specialized personnel to investigate the accident and reported to the Government Administration Council based on the results, imposing severe punishment on the responsible personnel.
Similarly, on February 27, an underground methane explosion occurred at the Yiluo Coal Mine of the Henan Xinyu Coal Mine Company, resulting in the deaths of 174 workers, 2 disabled, and 24 lightly injured, with enormous economic losses. The direct cause of the disaster was that the coal seams contained a large amount of methane, and workers smoking underground sparked the explosion. After an investigation, the People's Supervision Committee concluded that the accident was primarily due to the severe bureaucratic style of the coal company manager, who pursued production blindly and disregarded safety. It was determined that the manager should bear primary responsibility for the disaster in terms of leadership and practical work; he was to be dismissed from his post and handed over to judicial organs for punishment according to law, while other negligent personnel were given their due punishments. On June 2, Zhou Enlai presided over the 35th Government Affairs Meeting of the Government Administration Council. While discussing the circular from the People's Supervision Committee regarding the methane explosion disaster at the Yiluo Coal Mine in Henan, he stated: "We are discussing this event at the Government Affairs Meeting because such events could occur in all types of mining areas across the country. Handling disasters requires not only punishment but also the active proposal of improvement measures." Zhou Enlai enumerated the total number of workers killed in mine disasters in the Northeast, North China, and Shandong since 1949, pointing out solemnly: "Henceforth, regarding disaster issues in mining areas, we must not only passively punish negligent personnel, but also actively devise improvement methods to enhance administrative work." He added, "The work of the courts is primarily to sanction the wicked, while the Supervision Committee should struggle against bureaucratism and all bad work styles, and strengthen propaganda and education work."
(2) Closely coordinating with the Three-Anti Movement to carry out supervision of Party and government cadres
In the early period of New China, in order to strengthen the building of the Party and the ranks of national cadres, on November 30, 1951, Zhou Enlai submitted the "Decision on Implementing the Policy of Streamlined Administration, Increasing Production and Practicing Economy, and Opposing Corruption, Waste, and Bureaucratism"—the drafting of which he had guided—to Mao Zedong for review. Mao Zedong made three revisions. The portions he added or largely rewrote included: Regarding serious criminal acts of using official power to commit corruption and waste, "call for confessions and reporting, with major responsible comrades personally supervising and inspecting." Furthermore, "All acts of corruption must be exposed and handled with varying degrees of severity according to the circumstances, ranging from warnings, transfers, dismissals, expulsion from the Party, and various prison sentences, up to execution by firing squad."
On December 8, the "Instruction of the CPC Central Committee on Issues Concerning the 'Three-Anti' Struggle" was issued, requiring that all localities "should regard the struggle against corruption, waste, and bureaucratism as being of the same importance as the struggle to suppress counter-revolutionaries" and "mobilize the masses to carry out the struggle with great fanfare." From then on, the Three-Anti Movement unfolded extensively across the country. On January 8, 1952, the People's Supervision Committee issued the "Instruction on the Struggle Against Corruption, Waste, and Bureaucratism," noting that the struggle was the central political task of the moment. It required that People's Supervision Committees at all levels must participate with full force and coordinate with various departments to lead this struggle. All supervisory personnel were to participate in the actual work of supervision and inspection, and supervisory organs at all levels were to set up "People’s Reporting and Reception Rooms" to receive members of the public who wished to report offenses. Simultaneously, through supervisory correspondents and "People's Suggestion Boxes," the broad masses of the people were to be mobilized to report corrupt elements and expose phenomena of waste and bureaucratism.
From the end of 1951 through 1952, the People's Supervision Committees at all levels participated fully in the Three-Anti Movement, and in the later stages of the movement, they participated in the handling of cases, disciplining a batch of cadres who had violated the law or were derelict in their duties. "In terms of rank, among the 9,736 disciplined cadres, there were 21 at the provincial level or above, 210 at the prefectural level, 1,097 at the county level, 2,253 at the district level, and 6,155 general cadres." The work of the People's Supervision Committee actively coordinated with the Three-Anti Movement, maintained the dignity of Party discipline and national law, and preserved the Party's advanced nature and purity, playing an important role in winning the victory of the Three-Anti Movement.
Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other revolutionaries of the older generation placed special emphasis on the public handling of typical cases to achieve a deterrent and cautionary effect. For example, the major corruption cases of Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan caused serious losses to state property and people's interests, resulting in an extremely negative social impact. In late November 1951, Zhou Enlai approved the arrest and prosecution of the major corrupt elements Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan. On November 30, Mao Zedong pointed out sternly regarding this case: "This matter serves as a warning to the Central Committee, the Central Bureaus, the Sub-bureaus, and the Provincial, Municipal, and District Party Committees. Serious attention must be paid to the fact that cadres are being corrupted by the bourgeoisie and committing serious acts of corruption. We must pay attention to discovery, exposure, and punishment, and must handle this as a major struggle." Zhou Enlai believed that the Three-Anti Movement "must be conducted with great fanfare. We need to study and formulate a regulation for punishing corruption during the movement. Corrupt elements can be divided into three categories—large, medium, and small—and should be treated differently."
On January 22, 1952, Zhou Enlai attended the 35th meeting of the Standing Committee of the First National Committee of the CPPCC [14] to discuss the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Punishing Corruption (Draft Amendment)." On the 26th, he "drafted a telegram for the CPC Central Committee to all localities, sending the 'Regulations on Punishing Corruption (Draft Amendment)' to solicit opinions." On February 4, Zhou Enlai cabled Yang Xiufeng, Chairman of the Hebei Provincial People's Government: "Your request for instructions dated February 3 regarding the handling of the two criminals Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan has been received; it is approved that the two criminals be sentenced to death, executed immediately, and have all their property confiscated." On the 10th, following the order of the Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government, the Hebei Provincial People's Court organized a temporary tribunal for a public trial. The Hebei Provincial People's Radio Station broadcast the proceedings live to the entire province. Over 21,800 people attended the assembly. "After the indictments, Song Zhiyi, President of the Hebei Provincial People's Court and Presiding Judge of the temporary tribunal, announced the verdict: Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan were sentenced to death, to be executed immediately, with all property of the two criminals confiscated; other accomplices in the case would be tried separately." This case drew great attention from all sectors of society and sounded an alarm for the staff of Party and state organs. On the 12th, Zhou Enlai drafted the CPC Central Committee's "Opinions on Handling Several Issues in the Three-Anti Movement," emphasizing that for cases involving corruption of more than 10 million yuan [15], several different types—those deserving death, imprisonment, probation, or exemption from punishment—could be selected from among state personnel for public trial rallies to promote the "tiger hunting" struggle [16]. In short, with the development of the Three-Anti Movement, administrative supervision work in the early period of New China achieved remarkable results. By punishing a batch of corrupt and degenerate elements, it educated the broad ranks of Party members and cadres, leading to a significant improvement in the Party's work style, government conduct, and social atmosphere.
(3) Establishing administrative supervisory organs at all levels and gradually improving New China's administrative supervisory system
From 1949 to 1954, Zhou Enlai led the establishment and gradual perfection of administrative supervisory organs at all levels of New China, forming a five-tier supervisory system across the central government, Greater Administrative Areas [17], provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government), prefectures (prefectural-level cities), and counties. By September 1954, nearly 4,000 supervisory organs at various levels had been established nationwide, staffed by nearly 20,000 supervisory cadres. Supervisory work from the central to the local levels was carried out in an orderly manner. During these five years, a large number of part-time "People's Supervisory Correspondents" were also selected, strengthening the supervisory force at the grassroots level. Additionally, supervisory organs were gradually established within the direct departments of people's governments at or above the provincial (municipal) level, as well as in large-scale state-owned enterprises and institutions.
On April 27, 1954, the CPC Central Committee held an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau. To enhance Party unity and strengthen centralized and unified leadership for socialist transformation and economic construction, the meeting decided to abolish the administrative organs at the Greater Administrative Area level. On June 19, the 32nd meeting of the Central People's Government passed the "Decision on Abolishing Administrative Organs at the Greater Administrative Area Level and Merging the Organizational Structures of Certain Provinces and Cities." As the six major administrative areas were abolished, the supervisory organs at the Greater Administrative Area level were cancelled simultaneously, and the system was changed to a four-tier supervisory structure: central, provincial, prefectural, and county.
In the process of establishing and perfecting the supervisory system, the CPC also explored the leadership mechanism of administrative supervisory organs. At the beginning of the founding of New China, administrative supervisory organs at all levels implemented a dual leadership system, meaning they accepted leadership from both the superior supervisory department and the Party and government departments at the same level, with the latter as the primary authority. In September 1954, the first session of the First National People's Congress passed the "Organic Law of the State Council of the People's Republic of China." The Ministry of Supervision was established under the State Council, with Qian Ying appointed as Minister, replacing the original People's Supervision Committee of the Government Administration Council. On November 2, 1955, the State Council approved the "Brief Organic Regulations of the Ministry of Supervision of the People's Republic of China," clarifying the Ministry's duties: to maintain state discipline, implement government decrees, and protect state property by supervising various departments of the State Council, local administrative organs at all levels, state-owned enterprises, joint state-private enterprises, and cooperatives. Supervisory organs in provinces, cities, and autonomous regions were under the dual leadership of the local government and the Ministry of Supervision.
The Historical Role and Practical Significance of the Initial Exploration of the Administrative Supervisory System
Zhou Enlai led the creation of New China's administrative supervisory organs and did extensive work in setting up institutions, staffing, establishing work principles, and building supervisory laws and systems, making major contributions to the establishment and initial operation of our country's administrative supervisory system. In the practice of leading New China's administrative supervision, Zhou Enlai formed outstanding administrative supervisory thoughts. He elucidated the purposes and tasks of administrative supervision in New China, insisted on carrying out supervisory work according to law, and adhered to the principles of strict law enforcement and clear rewards and punishments. He attached importance to strengthening the ranks of supervisory cadres and worked to improve their quality. He advocated relying on the masses and the system of the People's Congress to advance the in-depth development of supervisory work. Zhou Enlai's administrative supervisory thoughts and initial practices promoted the development of the Sinicization of Marxist supervisory theory. From 1949 to 1954, under Zhou Enlai’s leadership, the creation and initial practical exploration of our country's administrative supervisory system not only played an important historical role but also remains of significant practical significance for our continued success in supervisory work today.
(1) Resolutely striking against crimes of dereliction of duty and undesirable work styles is conducive to strengthening the building of a clean government
In the early period of the founding of New China, in order to establish and consolidate the nascent people's political power and ensure the integrity of government public servants, Zhou Enlai advocated that the primary objective of administrative supervision departments must be to resolutely combat corruption, dereliction of duty, and malfeasance, and to firmly oppose unhealthy styles such as waste and bureaucratism. He once pointed out: "To make the system of the people's democratic dictatorship function better, we must struggle against bureaucratism and oppose it constantly." He clearly recognized that the struggle against bureaucratism was a long-term, continuous task that could not be achieved overnight [18]. His thought on administrative supervision pointed out the direction and goals for New China’s supervision work. Under Zhou Enlai’s leadership, China’s administrative supervision organs were established, perfected, and operated simultaneously, with supervisory work unfolding rapidly around the central tasks of the Party and the state. "In 1953 alone, administrative supervision organs at all levels nationwide accepted and investigated 409,532 cases of various types. That year, 300,000 cases were concluded, and 74,671 cadres were disciplined. These included 10 vice-ministers of the Central People’s Government and personnel of equivalent rank, 113 prefectural commissioners (zhuānyuán) and equivalent personnel, 2453 county heads and equivalent personnel, 8,358 district heads and equivalent personnel, 44,284 general cadres, 5,427 cultural, educational, and technical personnel, and 14,026 village and township cadres. The types of discipline included warnings, recording of demerits (and major demerits), demotion, dismissal, and expulsion." This demonstrates that the scope of supervision at that time was quite extensive and the results were highly significant. The efficient operation of administrative supervision organs at all levels standardized the behavior of leading cadres, corrected unhealthy winds in various industries, and upheld Party discipline, administrative discipline, and state laws. This strengthened the awareness of integrity and self-discipline among state organ personnel, contributing to the construction of a clean government. Today, under the new circumstances, we must still focus heavily on the construction of clean government among leading cadres, formulate stricter regulations for the staffing, working procedures, and rewards and punishments of administrative supervision organs, and resolutely oppose the "Four Winds" phenomena that still exist among some cadres. This will effectively ensure that supervision departments at all levels perform their duties with integrity and efficiency, elevating the construction of clean government to a new level.
(2) Fully leveraging the supervisory role of the broad masses to help expand and advance people's democracy
In the process of leading the construction of the administrative supervision system, Zhou Enlai always attached great importance to the role of the masses. He advocated a method that combined the cooperation of administrative supervision organs with mass supervision, and top-down inspections with bottom-up supervision, to intensify the fight against corruption and bureaucratism and to guarantee the people's right to supervise. He required supervision organs to select, through democratic recommendation, a group of people from the masses who were willing to take the initiative in supervisory work—individuals who were upright, fair, responsible, and possessed excellent qualities—to serve as "People’s Supervision Correspondents." These correspondents used bottom-up methods to monitor various illegal acts and dereliction of duty within state organs, enterprises, public institutions, and among public servants. This not only enhanced the effectiveness of administrative supervision but also helped promote the development of people’s democracy and fostered effective interaction between supervisory organs and mass supervision. The People's Petition Reception Rooms, established under Zhou Enlai’s instructions, provided a supervisory channel for ordinary people to report and accuse others of corruption. This allowed the masses to fully exercise their role in democratic supervision while also strengthening the close ties between supervision organs at all levels and the masses, forming a positive interaction between oversight from within the system and oversight from outside the system. Today, as we promote the development of whole-process people's democracy, we must still adhere to the Party's mass line. To ensure the masses' right to know and right to supervise, "we must use institutional arrangements to integrate the disclosure of government affairs throughout the entire process of government operation," letting power operate in the sunshine. We must continue to broaden the channels for the masses to participate in supervision, utilizing modern online supervision platforms to allow the people to participate in various supervisory tasks in an orderly manner, thereby "locking power into the cage of institutions."
(3) Strictly managing supervisory cadres at all levels to provide a useful reference for the continued strengthening of the cadre corps
In the process of building the supervisory cadre corps, Zhou Enlai adhered to the selection standard of "possessing both political integrity and professional competence, with integrity as the priority." In addition to requiring robust political quality, he also examined practical working abilities and professional skills. To strengthen the daily management of the supervisory cadre corps, he personally formulated various rules and regulations to standardize the administrative activities of organ cadres. To improve the quality of administrative supervision cadres, he instructed the holding of training classes, led the formulation of cadre training plans, and adopted various methods such as advanced studies and internships to train cadres at all levels according to their different educational levels and work needs. Regarding various problems arising among supervisory cadres, he advocated taking different measures for problems of different natures to purify the ranks of supervision organs. Under Zhou Enlai's leadership, China's administrative supervision organs gradually formed a corps of supervisory cadres with strong comprehensive quality and a certain level of education and professional skill. Zhou Enlai's successful exploration of cadre cultivation provides a useful reference and inspiration for the continued strengthening of the cadre corps today. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has successively formulated and implemented national cadre education and training plans, twice revised the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China, and issued the Supervisors Law of the People's Republic of China, which clearly stipulates the methods for the assessment and rewarding of supervisors. The implementation of these laws and regulations has further improved management mechanisms that encourage the advanced, constrain the laggard, distinguish between rewards and punishments, and emphasize practical results. This has further institutionalized and standardized cadre training, playing an important role in strengthening the construction of the supervisory cadre corps in the New Era.
(4) Adhering to the Party’s leadership to provide valuable experience for exploring the path of China’s supervision system reform
The administrative supervision system bears the heavy responsibility of combating corruption, upholding integrity, and building a clean government. For supervisory functions to fully play their role, one must adhere to the Party's leadership and the rule of law; only by rationalizing the relationship between Party and government supervision can the system function as it should. At the beginning of the founding of New China, the first generation of the CPC central collective leadership explored ways to combine Party and government supervision, leaving us with valuable experience. In November 1949, less than a month after Zhou Enlai led the establishment of the People's Supervision Committee of the Government Administration Council, the CPC Central Committee issued the "Decision on the Establishment of Central and Local Party Discipline Inspection Committees." Although these were two independent institutions at the time, Zhou Enlai closely coordinated administrative supervision with Party supervision, jointly carrying out the "Three-Antis" Campaign [19] and the training and education of Party and government cadres. Starting in 1953, some provincial-level Party and government supervision organs began experimenting with "joint office" (héshǔ bàngōng) [20] arrangements, with the Anhui Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and Provincial Supervision Committee and some of their subordinate units taking the lead in pilot projects. In March 1955, the National Conference of the Communist Party of China passed the "Resolution on the Establishment of Central and Local Supervision Committees of the Party," electing Dong Biwu as the Secretary of the Central Supervision Committee. This was a Party supervisory body that exercised the powers of the original Central Discipline Inspection Commission, aimed at more forcefully struggling against acts that violated the Party Constitution, Party discipline, and state laws and decrees. In April 1959, the first session of the Second National People's Congress decided to abolish the Ministry of Supervision, and the oversight of state administrative personnel was taken over by the respective state organs.
The exploration of moving from separate Party and government supervisory bodies to their integration in the 1950s provided valuable experience for today's supervision system reform. In July 1987, the 18th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress decided to restore and establish the national administrative supervision system and set up the Ministry of Supervision. In October 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out the way forward for further improving a supervision system with Chinese characteristics. In his report to the Congress on behalf of the 18th Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly stated the need to "build a centralized, unified, authoritative, and efficient supervisory system with full coverage under the Party's leadership, and integrate intra-Party supervision with supervision by state organs, democratic supervision, judicial supervision, public supervision, and supervision through public opinion, so as to increase the synergy of oversight." In March 2018, the CPC Central Committee issued the "Plan for Deepening Reform of Party and State Institutions," stating: "In order to strengthen the Party's centralized and unified leadership over anti-corruption work, achieve the organic unity of intra-Party supervision and state organ supervision, as well as the organic unity of Party discipline inspection and state supervision, and achieve full coverage of supervision over all public officials exercising public power, the duties of the Ministry of Supervision and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, along with the relevant anti-corruption duties of the Supreme People's Procuratorate in investigating embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty, and preventing duty-related crimes, shall be integrated to form the National Supervisory Commission. It will share offices with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, performing the dual roles of discipline inspection and supervision as one functional body with two names." In the same month, "the first session of the 13th National People's Congress deliberated and passed the Constitutional Amendment and the Supervision Law, and produced the National Supervisory Commission of the People's Republic of China and its leadership, marking the formation of the national supervision system with Chinese characteristics." The Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates adherence to the CPC’s leadership over national supervision work: "Supervisory commissions at all levels are the specialized organs for performing the state's supervisory functions. In accordance with this Law, they shall conduct supervision over all public officials (hereinafter referred to as public officials) who exercise public power, investigate duty-related violations and crimes, carry out the construction of clean government and anti-corruption work, and uphold the dignity of the Constitution and the law." On September 20, 2021, with the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the National Supervisory Commission promulgated the Regulations for the Implementation of the Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, specifying its immediate effect. This is an important measure to deepen the reform of the national supervision system and provides a powerful guarantee for promoting the standardization, legalization, and regularization of supervisory work.
In the context of the New Era, the establishment of China's new integrated Party-government supervision system allows supervisory functions to play a greater role, strengthens the restraint and oversight of power in Party and government departments at all levels, and further promotes the construction, reform, and development of China's supervision system.
(About the Author: Xu Xing, PhD in History, Professor, Department of Politics, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University)