Huan Lei: The "People First" Value Stance of a Correct Outlook on Political Achievements
An official’s outlook on performance achievements directly reflects their value position on the issue of political achievements. It is the primary issue that leading officials must resolve as they pursue their careers and create achievements. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "In establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance achievements, party spirit [1] plays a decisive role." This important discourse reveals the essential attributes of the outlook on performance achievements from the perspective of value positions, providing a fundamental ideological method for leading officials to establish and practice a correct outlook on performance.
Embodying the Essence of the People-Centered Nature
A position is the fundamental attitude, viewpoint, and method for viewing an issue. The "people's position" is the fundamental footing and starting point for Marxism to observe, analyze, and resolve problems; it is also where the advanced nature of a Marxist party resides. The foundation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is in the people, its lifeblood is in the people, and its strength is in the people. The CPC consistently represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible majority of the people; it shares weal and woe [2] and a common fate with the people. It has no special interests of its own and has never represented the interests of any interest group, power group, or privileged stratum. This determines that the various undertakings of revolution, construction, and reform led by the CPC must respect the status of the masses as the subjects of history, unwaveringly uphold the value position of putting the people above all else, always keep the people in the highest position in their hearts, and struggle tirelessly to enhance the people's well-being.
Creating good performance achievements is based on the effective exercise and standardized operation of public power. The outlook on performance achievements and the outlook on power are inherently unified and closely linked. Only by accurately understanding the source of public power and clarifying its scope and boundaries can one form a correct outlook on power and shape a correct outlook on performance achievements. When summarizing the experience of the Paris Commune, Marx profoundly noted that "the merely repressive organs of the old governmental power were to be amputated, its legitimate functions were to be wrested from an authority usurping pre-eminence over society itself, and restored to the responsible agents of society." The Constitution of the Communist Party of China explicitly stipulates: "At all times, the Party puts the interests of the masses first, shares weal and woe with them, maintains the closest possible ties with them, and persists in [the principle of] 'power being used for the people, emotions being tied to the people, and benefits being sought for the people' [3]; it does not allow any Party member to become detached from the masses or to place themselves above them." The power held by Party members and officials is bestowed by the Party and the people and is used to work for the Party and the people. This determines that Party members and officials have only the responsibility and obligation to serve the people, and cannot use their power to seek personal gain.
Practicing the People-Centered Development Philosophy
The philosophy of development guides the outlook on performance achievements, and the outlook on performance achievements reflects the philosophy of development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping, based on the historical shift in the principal contradiction in Chinese society [4] and in response to the people’s aspiration for a better life, has profoundly grasped the trends and requirements of high-quality development and clearly proposed the people-centered development philosophy. Standing at the high point of Marxist theory, we can see that the people-centered development philosophy not only embodies the status of the people as the subjects of practice, cognition, values, and history, but also highlights the integrity, comprehensiveness, and sustainability of social development. Furthermore, it specifically emphasizes promoting social fairness and justice and advancing common prosperity for all people. These are inherently manifestations of a development philosophy aimed at human liberation; in reality, they are reflected as the primary principles of China's economic and social development and serve as the fundamental follow-through for Party members and officials to establish and practice a correct outlook on performance achievements.
We must give full play to the practical guiding role of the new development philosophy. Whether from a theoretical or practical perspective, the new development philosophy is an organically unified whole, and the main thread running through it is the people-centered development philosophy. As a systematic theoretical framework, the new development philosophy answers a series of theoretical and practical questions regarding the purpose, driving force, mode, and path of development, and clarifies major political issues such as our Party’s political stance, value orientation, development model, and development path. Proceeding from practice, all Party members and officials must profoundly understand the scientific connotation and practical requirements of the new development philosophy. On the basis of grasping the worldview and methodology of putting the people above all else, they must implement the new development philosophy into work practices completely, accurately, and comprehensively. This should be made concrete in every instance of "immediate response to complaints" [5], service window affairs, and public demands, ensuring that development is for the people, development relies on the people, and the fruits of development are shared by the people—thereby unifying the implementation of the new development philosophy with a correct outlook on performance achievements.
We must fully recognize the epochal requirements of the shift in the principal social contradiction. Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has undergone a major historical and global transformation. The social needs of the masses have shifted from "whether there is enough" [6] to "how good it is." This requires the broad ranks of Party members and officials not only to resolve the "urgent, difficult, anxious, and hopeful" [7] problems and real interest concerns of the masses, but also to continuously enhance the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security. They must focus on solving universal and long-term issues affecting people's interests and well-being, while also continuously satisfying the differentiated and diverse social needs of the masses. The foundational work for establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance achievements is to view various problems in practical work through the lens of development. By analyzing and judging the various changing trends in the masses' social lives and development, officials can grasp the laws of serving the people, exercise initiative in serving the public, and with a creative and pioneering spirit, solidly perform every small task in service of the masses, thereby safeguarding and developing the fundamental interests of the people.
Creating Real Achievements that Withstand the Test of Practice
The masses are the creators of history and the judges of historical practice. The fundamental requirement for establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance achievements is to adhere to the principle that practice is the sole criterion for measuring all performance and to fully respect the subjective status of the masses in evaluating such achievements. Wherever there is a need from the people, good and practical deeds can be done and achievements can be made. Whether performance is good or not depends on understanding the reality of the masses and letting the masses judge; the key to measuring an official’s performance is whether their reputation among the people [8] is good. Therefore, whether the broad ranks of Party members and officials can produce the genuine achievements needed by the Party and the people depends neither on self-evaluation nor on short-term assessment, but on the test of the people after the sedimentation of history.
We must correctly handle a series of major relationships affecting the outlook on performance achievements. Establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance requires leading officials to enhance their strategic thinking, possess a global perspective, and be skilled in systemic planning. A correct outlook on performance achievements is oriented toward the long-term development of economy and society. This outlook is reflected not only in grasping development but also in benefiting people's livelihoods and ensuring stability; it is reflected not only in "manifest achievements" [9] that yield immediate results but also in "latent achievements" [10] that lay foundations, increase future potential, and benefit the long term; it is reflected not only in resolving current contradictions but also in solving problems left over from history. Establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance requires a complete transformation of concepts: evaluating the work of a locality should not merely be based on the growth rate of Gross Domestic Product, but on the overall work and the effectiveness of resolving prominent contradictions and problems in its own development. Furthermore, it requires discarding selfish motives and distractions, avoiding blind competition detached from reality, refusing to build "image projects" or "vanity projects" [11] that waste money and labor, and resolutely opposing the Four Winds. The establishment and practice of a correct outlook on performance achievements cannot be separated from the ability and competence to undertake tasks, nor from strong principles of party spirit and superb political capabilities.
We must improve systems and mechanisms to play a long-term role. Creating real achievements that withstand the test of practice, the people, and history requires all Party members and officials to give play to their subjective initiative to benefit the people. The key to all of this lies in establishing and improving systems and mechanisms conducive to a correct outlook on performance achievements. The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress pointed out: "We will improve the system for assessing and evaluating officials, guide officials to establish and practice a correct outlook on performance achievements, and promote the ability of officials to be promoted or demoted, and to enter or exit [the workforce], forming a good situation where the capable are promoted, the excellent are rewarded, the mediocre are demoted, and the inferior are eliminated." On the one hand, we must focus on positive incentives, establish a personnel orientation that emphasizes practical work and real achievements, and adhere to the "Three Distinctions" [12], encouraging creative implementation so that officials who want to and can do things are able to work and succeed. On the other hand, we must strengthen supervision, accountability, and disciplinary constraints, maintain the "high-voltage line" of Party discipline and national law, focus on correcting deviations in the outlook on performance achievements, and give full play to the protective role of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in establishing a correct outlook on performance. This will push officials to work boldly under the premise of observing rules and discipline and remaining clean and honest, providing the conditions for officials to create real achievements that withstand the test of practice, the people, and history.
In short, establishing a correct outlook on performance achievements means doing things for the people, working for the people with undivided attention, keeping the masses in one's heart, considering more from the perspective of the Party's fundamental purpose, focusing on the central work of the Party and the state, doing more work that "provides charcoal in the snow" [13], and solving the difficult problems of the masses, so that the fruits of development benefit all people more extensively and fairly.