Xu Mei: Deeply Grasping the Fact that Problems of Style are Essentially Problems of Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Style issues are, in essence, issues of Party spirit." For us Communists, whether we can effectively resolve issues of style serves as a vital yardstick for measuring our faith in Marxism, our conviction in socialism and communism, and our loyalty to the Party and the people. To consolidate and deepen the results of study and education on implementing the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations, the broad masses of Party members and cadres must closely integrate the cultivation of Party spirit with the construction of work style. They must continuously temper [1] their Party spirit, strengthen their political resolve, and heighten their political awareness to promote a sustained improvement in work style.
I. Profoundly grasp the rich connotations of the principle that style issues are essentially issues of Party spirit
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important expositions on strengthening the construction of the Party's work style. He has emphasized that improving style requires drawing inferences from one instance to others [2], looking through the surface of style to see the essence of Party spirit, and resolving issues of Party spirit on the basis of resolving style issues. These important expositions profoundly reveal the origin, root, and substance of style issues, pointing out the direction and providing the framework for further promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style construction.
Work style reflects image and quality; it embodies Party spirit, and it is Party spirit that plays the decisive role. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "What decides a person is their character; what decides a Party member is their Party spirit." The Party spirit of Chinese Communists is the concrete manifestation of the Party's nature, tenets, ideals, convictions, and original aspiration and founding mission; it is the cornerstone upon which Party members and cadres establish themselves, their careers, their words, and their virtue. Party spirit is internalized in the heart, while work style is externalized in action. The kind of Party spirit one possesses determines the kind of work style one displays. When the inner heart is purified and the aspirations are lofty, one will naturally and consciously maintain an excellent work style. Conversely, if faith is shaken, the Party's tenets are betrayed, and Party spirit is lost, problems in work style will inevitably arise. Only if Party members and cadres regularly cultivate the "learning of the heart" [3] of Communists, take the tempering of Party spirit and the raising of ideological awareness as a lifelong task, and persist in integrating study, thought, and application, and unifying knowledge, belief, and action, can they continuously strengthen their Party spirit, raise their awareness, and elevate their mental state. By making the process of improving work style a process of serving the public good, upholding great righteousness, and pursuing the "Greater Self" [4], they can forge an excellent work style through strong Party spirit. They can then use new achievements in work style construction to promote the maintenance of the Party's advanced nature and purity, thereby ensuring the Party forever wins the trust and support of the masses.
The fundamental yardstick for measuring the strength of Party spirit is the distinction between "public" and "private." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "On the issue of work style, it is Party spirit that plays the decisive role, and the fundamental yardstick for measuring the strength of Party spirit is the two words 'public' (gōng) and 'private' (sī)." These two words test one's work style. One's choice between the public and the private illuminates a Communist's faith. Comrade Mao Zedong set three principles for himself: love one's relatives, but do not practice favoritism for them; cherish old friendships, but do not seek profit for them; help one's kin, but do not use public resources to do so. As a Communist, only by being clean and just and discarding selfishness can one truly use power well to seek well-being for the people and a future for the country. Many style issues arise because the relationship between the public and the private is not correctly positioned. The Four Winds—formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance—are, in the final analysis, linked to the fact that ideals and convictions are neither firm nor solid. A few meals, a few bottles of wine, or a few gift cards may seem like small matters of detail, but they all involve the great principle of public versus private and contain the profound logic of Party spirit. As a Party cadre, one must serve the people heart and soul, strive sincerely for the cause of the Party and the people, and emphasize selflessness, the clear distinction between the public and private, putting the public before the private, and forgetting the self for the public. This is the "Master Switch" [5] issue of one's worldview, outlook on life, and values. If the "Master Switch" issue is not well resolved, various instances of "derailing" or "leaking" [6] are inevitable; if it is well resolved, one can possess a firm Party spirit, keep the masses in one's heart, work cleanly, and conduct oneself with integrity. "The great sage holds up a high mirror; the public candle sheds no light for private use." [7] Only by constantly using "public" and "private" as the benchmarks—without being moved by private desires, enticed by private interests, or trapped by private emotions—and by constantly cultivating political virtue, reflecting on the harms of greed, and maintaining a heart of self-discipline, can one consciously ensure that duties are performed for the public and power is exercised for the people. Only then can work style be continuously improved and the purity of Party spirit be eternally preserved.
Resolve the issue of Party spirit on the basis of resolving style issues. those who are good at eliminating harm examine the root; those who are good at treating illness cut off the source. The ideological roots of style issues lie in the shaking of ideals and convictions, the thinning of the sense of tenets, the distortion of values, and the loosening of the sense of discipline. The root of formalism is a misplaced outlook on political achievements and a lack of responsibility; the root of bureaucratism is a deep-seated "official-standard" [8] mentality and a distorted view of power; the root of hedonism is an incorrect worldview, outlook on life, and values that lead one to avoid hardship while craving comfort and sensory pleasure; the root of extravagance is ideological degeneration and the swelling of material desires for a life of "red lanterns and green wine" and dissipative luxury. Fundamentally, these all violate the nature and tenets of the Party and represent a forgetting of the Party's original aspiration and founding mission. Therefore, improving work style cannot be a simple matter of discussing each case in isolation. Rather, one must draw broader lessons, look through the style to the Party spirit, and resolve Party spirit issues while addressing style issues. Only by consistently adhering to a problem-oriented approach, starting with prominent problems such as the Four Winds, and focusing on work style construction to persistently promote comprehensively and strictly governing the Party—while grasping the principal contradiction and the principal aspect of the contradiction [9] in Party governance—can we truly clear the source [10] and strengthen the foundation ideologically.
II. Consistently grasping Party spirit as the fundamental issue is a precious experience in the Party's work style construction
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Party's work style concerns the Party's image, concerns the support or opposition of the people, and concerns the very life or death of the Party." Since the day of its founding, our Party has attached great importance to work style construction, always grasping Party spirit as the fundamental issue in style construction. It has guided Party members and cadres to strengthen their tempering of Party spirit, firm up their ideals and convictions, and build a solid foundation for work style construction, forming and accumulating precious historical experience.
After the founding of the Communist Party of China, it was stipulated that applicants for Party membership must be "those who recognize the Party's program and policies and are willing to become loyal members," maintaining the nature of the Party as the vanguard of the proletariat through ideological and political education. The "Resolution on the Statutes of the Communist Party's Organization" adopted by the Second National Congress of the CPC required that "at all times and in all places, the speech of every member must be the speech of the Party, and the activities of every member must be the activities of the Party." The Gutian Conference held in December 1929 established the principle of ideological Party building, emphasizing the conduct of ideological education to improve the Party spirit of members and cadres and correct various non-proletarian ideologies and bad work styles. In July 1939, Comrade Liu Shaoqi gave a speech titled "How to be a Good Communist" (literally: On the Cultivation of Communist Party Members), which integrated the cultivation of an excellent work style with the enhancement of Party spirit. He emphasized that Communists "must have the cultivation to persist in Intra-Party unity, conduct criticism and self-criticism, and observe discipline; must have the cultivation of a work style of arduous struggle; and must have the cultivation of being good at maintaining ties with the masses." In July 1941, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee approved the first document since the Party's founding with the theme of enhancing Party spirit, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on Enhancing Party Spirit." It criticized the erroneous tendencies of a few members and cadres that violated Party spirit and proposed cultivating a work style of selflessness, loyalty and simplicity, hard work, looking downward [11], seeking truth from facts, and strictly avoiding pride and superficiality. During the Yan'an Rectification Movement, this decision became one of the required readings, exerting a profound influence on the Party's work style construction.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, our Party carried out rectification movements to promote the deep development of work style construction. The Party rectification movement launched in 1951 centered on work style construction around "enhancing Party spirit." It required that "Party rectification work must be combined with the 'Three-Anti' Campaign, and on the basis of the 'Three-Anti' Campaign, education on the eight standards for members should be conducted" so as to "let all members understand the standard for being a Communist." In April 1957, the Party Central Committee issued the "Directive on the Rectification Movement," with the main content being opposition to bureaucratism, sectarianism, and subjectivism. The goal was to strengthen the Party spirit cultivation of members and cadres so they could develop an excellent work style. Regarding the unhealthy tendencies of fraud and deceiving superiors while suppressing subordinates, Comrade Liu Shaoqi pointed out: "This extremely wicked style is not only incompatible with our Party's style of seeking truth from facts, and is not merely a manifestation of impure Party spirit, but is also a loss of the loyal and honest attitude a Communist should have; it is a manifestation of the loss of Party spirit." During this period, we conducted education across the whole Party in ideology, politics, work style, and discipline, which consolidated the Party's organization, tempered Party spirit, purified work style, and propelled socialist construction.
After the start of Reform and Opening-up, our Party used comprehensive Party rectification and a series of intensive education activities to courageously resolve prominent problems within the Party, such as impurity in ideology, politics, organization, and work style. The "Certain Criteria for Political Life Within the Party" adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee put forward requirements in twelve aspects for normalizing intra-Party political life. Among these, the regulation on "upholding Party spirit and eradicating factionalism" played an important role in strengthening work style construction. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on Party Rectification" adopted by the Second Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee proposed carrying out a rectification movement with the tasks of "unifying thinking, rectifying work style, strengthening discipline, and purifying the organization" to improve members' ideological and political awareness. In the 1990s, the Party Central Committee promoted intra-Party education activities focused on "stressing study, stressing politics, and stressing healthy trends" (the "Three Stresses"), using the improvement of theoretical study and the conscious enhancement of Party spirit tempering as a breakthrough point to drive a transformation in the work style of the entire Party. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on Strengthening and Improving the Construction of the Party's Work Style" adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee proposed the "Eight Upholds and Eight Oppositions," making comprehensive arrangements for strengthening work style construction and clarifying that enhancing Party spirit is the fundamental requirement for strengthening work style.
Party building in the New Era is a systematic project involving different fields and aspects, and work style construction is a vital breakthrough and focal point. The reason the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has highlighted the strengthening of the Party's work style construction is, fundamentally, determined by our Party's nature, tenets, and original aspiration and founding mission. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that to grasp work style construction, one must return to simplicity and authenticity [12] and strengthen the foundation, with a focus on highlighting firm ideals and convictions, practicing the fundamental tenets, and strengthening moral cultivation. Serious and earnest intra-Party political life is an important magic weapon for our Party to persist in its nature and tenets and maintain its advanced nature and purity. General Secretary Xi Jinping has compared serious intra-Party political life to a "golden key" for resolving internal contradictions and problems, a "great furnace" for tempering the Party spirit of the broad masses of members and cadres, and a "purifier" for cleansing the Party's style. He emphasized that "the kind of intra-Party political life you have determines the kind of work style your members and cadres will have," and that strengthening the tempering of Party spirit must be grasped as a foundational task. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era contains not only important thoughts on the Party's governance of the country but also the political character, value pursuits, mental state, and work style standards of Chinese Communists. The broad masses of members and cadres must consciously use this important thought to transform their subjective world, profoundly understand its series of requirements regarding firming up ideals and convictions, elevating the mental state, and strengthening the tempering of Party spirit, and always maintain the political character of Communists.
III. Profoundly grasp the practical requirements of the principle that style issues are essentially issues of Party spirit
Work style construction is always a work in progress. On the new journey, we must profoundly study and understand General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening work style construction, unswervingly implement the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations, and tirelessly strengthen the Party's work style construction. We must use an excellent work style to build consensus and pool strength for the cause of entrepreneurship, providing a strong guarantee of work style for the comprehensive promotion of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
Maintain and develop the Party's excellent work style through firm ideals and convictions. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "ideals and convictions are the foundation for the establishment and flourishing of the Party, and the basis upon which Party members and cadres establish themselves and their lives." To maintain and develop the Party's excellent work style, firming up ideals and convictions is fundamental. Party members and cadres should consciously be believers in and practitioners of the Party's innovative theories, persistently using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to solidify the soul. They must continuously build the foundation of faith, replenish the "mental calcium," [13] and hold steady the "rudder of thought." They should take the lead in firming up ideals and convictions, gaining from them a guiding light to examine broad trends, respond to changes, and observe the future; a source of power for ceaseless struggle and diligent progress; political "wisdom eyes" to distinguish right from wrong and clear the mist; and powerful "antibodies" to resist erosion and prevent degeneration. They should regularly conduct ideological "political check-ups," "aligning" themselves with the requirements of the Party Central Committee, "scanning" themselves with the Party Constitution and regulations, "X-raying" themselves with the new expectations of the masses, and "comparing" themselves with revolutionary forebears, martyrs, and advanced models. They must constantly question and protect their original aspiration, and constantly uphold and shoulder their mission, ensuring that the original aspiration is as solid as a rock and the mission is always on their shoulders. They must strengthen self-cultivation, self-restraint, and continuous self-transformation; they must frequently "dust off their thoughts," reflect on the "harms of greed," and constantly "defeat the thief within the heart." [14]
Purify the Party's style of work through serious and earnest intra-Party political life. To advance the improvement of work style, we must place the gravity of intra-Party political life in a position of primary importance. We must strictly implement the Certain Norms Regarding Intra-Party Political Life Under New Circumstances and guide Party organizations at all levels, as well as the broad masses of Party members and cadres, to strictly abide by political discipline and political rules. They must maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee in terms of political stance, direction, principles, and path. We must enhance the political, contemporary, principled, and militant nature of intra-Party political life, cultivating a healthy atmosphere [15], dispelling evil influences, and consolidating our foundations through serious and earnest intra-Party political activity. Following the formula of "unity—criticism—unity," [16] we must hold high-quality democratic meetings [17] and organizational life meetings. All Party members—regardless of their length of Party membership, seniority of position, or scale of contribution—are equal before the Party Constitution, regulations, and discipline. We must resolutely strip off "cloaks of invisibility" and pierce through "window paper," [18] making good use of the weapon of criticism and self-criticism. We must engage ourselves, our responsibilities, and our work in this process, conducting an analysis of Party spirit based on the problems identified, ensuring that we address specific people, events, and thoughts. We must strive to solve problems from their ideological roots and continuously purify the intra-Party political ecosystem. We must implement systems such as the "three meetings and one lesson" [19] and "thematic Party days" without reservation. Through institutionalized and normalized study, discussion, and democratic deliberation, we should constantly recite the "tightening-hoop spell" [20] of observing discipline and acting with integrity.
Improve work styles and temper Party spirit through the spirit of self-revolution. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Comrades of the whole Party must inherit and carry forward the glorious traditions and fine styles left by the older generation of revolutionaries and Communists, have the courage to advance the Party’s self-revolution, unswervingly advance the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity at all times, and ensure that the Party always remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Problems of work style are stubborn and recurrent; we must persist in strengthening style and discipline with a "strict" keynote. On one hand, we must "clutch the green mountain and never let go," [21] focusing on rectifying the formalism and bureaucratism that obstruct the implementation of the Central Committee's decisions and deployments, using precise profiling and targeted treatment. We must keep a close eye on the hedonism and extravagance that the masses find abhorrent, striking whenever they surface and striking repeatedly. On the other hand, we must "break the clay pot to ask what’s at the bottom," [22] being adept at seeing through the surface of work style issues to recognize their political harm, and digging deep to find the root causes in ideology and interest. We must be brave enough to overcome chronic maladies at the level of systems and mechanisms, sealing the loopholes that breed unhealthy tendencies. Simultaneously, we must strictly enforce Party discipline and accurately apply the "four forms" [23] of oversight and discipline. We must seek truth from facts, neither wrongly accusing nor letting the guilty go free, catching problems early and while they are small, and nipping them in the bud. We must unify strict management and supervision with the encouragement of proactive responsibility, enabling Party members and cadres to pursue reform, innovation, and entrepreneurship while observing rules and discipline. We must persist in grasping Party spirit, work style, and discipline together, strengthening the foundation and nourishing the essence ideologically. We must heighten awareness of Party spirit, enhance the ability to resist corruption and prevent degeneration, and cultivate a "noble spirit" [24] that "cannot be corrupted by wealth, shaken by poverty, or cowed by force." We must take the Eight-Point Regulations as an iron rule and a hard benchmark, unswervingly implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and its implementation rules. We must maintain zero tolerance for those who cross the "red line" or enter "minefields" by violating institutional regulations, resolutely investigating and handling every case discovered so that discipline truly becomes a "live high-voltage wire." We should consolidate and expand the results of Party discipline study and education, establish a normalized and long-term mechanism for discipline education, and guide Party members and cadres to study, know, clarify, and observe discipline, consciously transforming "heteronomy" (external restraint) into "autonomy" (self-discipline) and internalizing these codes of conduct into daily life.