Han Zhenfeng: Deeply Understanding the Core Essentials of the Correct Outlook on Performance accomplishments
The concept of "performance views" [1] is the concrete manifestation of worldviews, outlooks on life, and value systems in leading cadres; it serves as the yardstick for measuring how they perform their duties and undertake their initiatives. The type of performance view established not only affects the healthy growth of leading cadres themselves but also concerns the future and destiny of the cause of the Party and the state. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "we must establish a correct performance view and resolve the questions of for whom achievements are made, what kind of achievements should be made, and how achievements are made." General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct performance view reveal its scientific internal substance and core essentials, pointing out the forward direction and providing a fundamental follow-through for Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres.
1. Resolving the question of "for whom achievements are made"
"For whom achievements are made" is a major question that every political party must face and answer, centrally reflecting its value pursuits and political stance. To establish a correct performance view, one must first resolve this issue. For the leading cadres of our Party, achievements must be made for the people.
The people-centered nature [2] is the essential attribute and distinctive character of a Marxist party, and the people’s position is the fundamental political position of the Communist Party of China (CPC). This essential attribute and fundamental position dictate that the CPC must always persist in building the Party for the public and exercising power for the people. The core substance and fundamental requirement of establishing a correct performance view is "seeking welfare for the people." General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "The CPC's governance in China is for the purpose of seeking welfare for the people; only by achieving this can our Party’s foundation of governance be as solid as a rock." He further stated: "The CPC regards doing things for the people and seeking welfare for the people as the most important political achievement, and regards how many good and practical things have been done for the common people as the important criterion for testing performance." Only by firmly grasping this core requirement and using it to guide actions can a correct performance view be solidly established and practiced.
Persisting in making achievements for the people and regarding the welfare of the people as the greatest achievement is a correct performance view rooted in the basic principles of the Marxist historical materialism, the nature and purpose of a proletarian party, the original aspiration and founding mission of Chinese Communists, and the people-centered attribute of our country’s socialist system. As a proletarian party guided by Marxism, the CPC has been a party that serves the people wholeheartedly since the day of its founding. Aside from the interests of the state, the nation, and the people, it does not have any special interests of its own, nor does it represent the interests of any interest group or privileged stratum. The CPC was born for the people and has flourished because of the people; the Party’s fundamental purpose is to serve the people wholeheartedly. The Party’s nature and purpose dictate that it must always represent the fundamental interests of the broadest possible masses and must strive wholeheartedly for the interests and happiness of the people.
To persist in a correct performance view of seeking welfare for the people, we must always regard the people as the supreme adjudicator and final judge of the Party's work. Making the people satisfied is the fundamental standard and value measure for our Party to do all its work well. Is our work done well? Are there achievements? These questions can only be finally judged by the people. Persisting in doing good and practical deeds that reach the hearts of the masses, and truly being responsible to history and the people, is the attitude that every Party member and cadre, especially leading cadres, should always uphold.
2. Resolving the question of "what kind of achievements should be made"
The type of performance view used as guidance determines the resulting developmental effects. Whether a performance view is upright and correct largely determines the success or failure of our cause. What kind of achievements should Party members and cadres in the New Era create? Put simply, they must create "actual results that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history." Specifically, to ensure achievements withstand these tests, efforts must be made in the following areas:
First, create achievements that reflect the requirements of high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "High-quality development is the primary task in comprehensively building a modern socialist country; adhering to high-quality development must become an important content of the performance view of leading cadres." Promoting high-quality development is the theme of China's economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [3]. The "theme" is the "key link" (纲); only when the key link is grasped can the "mesh" (目) be opened [4]. Only by integrating high-quality development into all aspects and the whole process of economic and social development can we truly create results that reflect high-quality development. Whether leading cadres can truly promote high-quality development in the process of their endeavors should become an important component and evaluation criterion of their performance view. At the start of the "15th Five-Year Plan," to ensure the realization of high-quality development, we must establish and practice a correct performance view, firmly grasp the theme of promoting high-quality development, remain faithful to the people's trust, and fulfill our mission in this era with unwavering determination and proactive effort.
Second, create achievements that satisfy the people’s needs for a better life. Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has undergone a historical change, and the people's demand for a better life has become characterized by diversification and multi-level requirements. People not only have higher requirements for material life but also richer demands for spiritual and cultural life. Under such circumstances, the people's need for a better life has attained a richer and more profound contemporary meaning. Merely satisfying material life as in the past is far from enough; we must adapt to the development requirements of the New Era, taking the satisfaction of the people’s diverse needs for a better life as the developmental goal and direction. This must be an important content and evaluation standard of the performance view, ensuring it guides leading cadres to create achievements that reflect the new demands of the people.
Third, create achievements that follow the laws of social development. Laws are the inherent, essential, inevitable, and stable connections in the movement of things, which do not change according to human subjective will. Marxist dialectical materialism emphasizes the objectivity of laws while requiring people to actively exert their subjective initiative [5] on the premise of recognizing these laws. Creating achievements must be based on following objective laws. We should educate and guide leading cadres at all levels to persist in creating achievements for the people and through practical work, consciously acting according to laws, and resolutely putting an end to "new officials ignoring old debts" [6], "image projects," and "vanity projects" [7]. Violating objective laws, completely departing from reality, blindly launching projects, and engaging in so-called "face projects" (面子工程) will only result in wasting manpower and money, causing endless harm. Practice is the most impartial judge; any behavior that departs from reality, violates laws, seeks quick success and instant benefits, or resorts to fraud will only be proven false by practice, rejected by the people, and punished by history.
Finally, create achievements that are integrated into the overall situation of the cause of the Party and the state. "Those who do not plan for the whole cannot plan for a single part." When Party members and cadres seek achievements, they must keep the "greatest concerns of the nation" (国之大者) [8] in mind and plan their work with a global vision and strategic perspective. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must enhance the sense of the overall situation, firmly establish the idea of the 'whole country as a single chessboard' [9], persist in calculating the 'big account' and the 'long-term account,' and avoid 'small abacuses' or 'petty cleverness.' We must integrate the work of regions and departments into the overall situation of the Party and state's cause, and consciously prevent and oppose individualism, decentralism, liberalism, and departmentalism." Keeping the "greatest concerns of the nation" in mind requires leading cadres to think about problems and handle affairs from a strategic height. This also requires correctly handling the relationships between "manifest merit" and "latent merit" [10], the present and the long term, and development and security.
3. Resolving the question of "how achievements are made"
To establish and practice a correct performance view, we must also resolve the question of "how achievements are made"—that is, the practical norms, attitudes, and methods. This is like having the task of "crossing the river"; one must then solve the problem of the "bridge" or the "boat." If the attitude is not upright and the method is incorrect, "crossing the river" is mere empty talk. How, then, can we truly create achievements that withstand the test of practice, the people, and history?
First, rely on the guidance of scientific theory. The process of Party members and cadres creating achievements cannot be separated from the guidance of scientific theory. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as the latest theoretical achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, plays a vital role in our understanding and transformation of the world.
Second, rely on having a "hard" Party spirit. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In establishing and practicing a correct performance view, it is the Party spirit (党性) [11] that plays the decisive role. Only by having a strong Party spirit and discarding selfish motives can we ensure the performance view does not deviate." If Party spirit is lacking, one will act based on personal or small-group interests, becoming impetuous and seeking quick success through fraud or blind action, which inevitably leaves behind burdens and hidden dangers.
Third, rely on genuine work and solid action. "Though the road is far, one will reach the destination by walking; though the task is difficult, it will be accomplished by doing." Socialism is achieved through action. Only by working solidly can we do practical things beneficial to the Party and the people and establish achievements that withstand the test of history. As long as we promote a style of seeking truth and being pragmatic, and persist over the long term, we will turn the grand blueprint into a beautiful reality.
Fourth, rely on taking responsibility and fulfilling duties. On the New Journey [12], the road will not be entirely smooth. We will face many major challenges, risks, resistances, and contradictions. Leading cadres must have a strong spirit of responsibility. "To avoid affairs while holding office is a lifelong shame." Leading cadres must "benefit the locality during their tenure." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Cadres must have a sense of responsibility; the scale of the cause depends on the scale of the responsibility taken."
Fifth, rely on tackling tough challenges. Currently, China's reform and development have entered a "deep-water zone," with many "hard bones" [13] to chew. Should we move forward despite difficulties or take a detour? This tests the tenacious will and fighting spirit of cadres. We must maintain the heroic spirit of "the greater the danger, the more we move forward," working hard to win the hearts of the people.
Sixth, rely on strict assessment. Strict assessment is an important guarantee for ensuring that Party members "create achievements for the people and through solid work." We must improve the differentiated assessment and evaluation system to prevent the vicious cycle of "statistics making officials, and officials making statistics" [14]. Advancing on the New Journey, leading cadres at all levels must firmly establish a correct performance view and strive to create actual results that withstand the test of practice, the people, and history, continuously opening up new prospects for Chinese-path modernization.