Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 345
Promote Party conduct building with the spirit of self-revolution.
“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive quality of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” For Party members and cadres, fostering a fine academic style and strengthening theoretical education are both fundamental requirements for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.
Tongfang Law Firm provides all its lawyers with learning opportunities in the form of micro-party classes, thereby enhancing their ideological and political awareness as well as their spirit of learning and inquiry. By establishing a long-term educational mechanism, the firm has created a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.
The “Notice on Conducting in-depth Study and Education on the Spirit of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation throughout the Party” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”) points out that, with the approval of the Party Central Committee, from after the Two Sessions of 2025 until the end of July, a campaign for in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation will be carried out across the Party. We must persistently implement the spirit of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation and promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of style-of-work building. To ensure that the study and education on the spirit of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation is carried out thoroughly and effectively, and to fully leverage the role of centralized study and education in addressing prominent problems in Party conduct with a spirit of self-revolution, we must comprehensively and deeply understand the significant importance of thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation throughout the Party, thereby unifying thinking, building consensus, and forging synergy for the smooth implementation of this study and education campaign.
Provide strong guarantees for advancing Chinese-style modernization through new achievements in style of work building.
The key to doing well in China’s affairs lies in the Party. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee—with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core—has taken style-building as its starting point and breakthrough, embarking on a new journey of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in the new era. Since the end of 2012, when the “Eight-Point Regulations of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Improving Work Style and Closely Connecting with the Masses” (commonly known as the “Central Eight-Point Regulations”) were formulated and implemented, the spirit of these regulations and their detailed implementation rules have become an important decision guiding the entire Party—from top to bottom—in strengthening and improving work style. During the period of implementing the Central Eight-Point Regulations, our Party has closely focused on addressing the issues of formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance—issues that have drawn strong public complaints—achieving remarkable results in promoting style-building in the new era. We have put an end to some unhealthy tendencies that had long remained unchecked and resolved many longstanding, deeply entrenched problems. Although the achievements in style-building are evident to all, we must soberly recognize that problems related to work style are recurrent and stubborn; some deep-seated issues remain unresolved at their root, and the “Four Winds” problem remains serious and complex today. The Party’s work style is closely linked to the Party’s image, to the hearts and minds of the people, to the Party’s very survival and death, and to the success or failure of the Party and the country’s cause. We must persist in using study and education throughout the Party as a vehicle to continuously and thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations, using a sound Party style to lead social and public ethos toward goodness and virtue, thereby providing a favorable political ecology and social environment. With new achievements in style-building, we will ensure a smooth path for Chinese-style modernization.
Consolidate and deepen the achievements of Party discipline study and education, and continue to promote the integrated approach of strengthening Party spirit, Party style, and Party discipline.
Attaching great importance to education for Party members and cadres, strengthening the Party’s ideological and theoretical armament, and enhancing Party spirit and moral cultivation have long been our Party’s fine traditions and political advantages. This study and education initiative not only marks the third round of concentrated Party-wide study and education conducted since the 20th National Congress of the CPC, but also represents an extension and deepening of thematic education and Party discipline education. Moreover, it is a crucial step in continuously promoting the integrated approach of strengthening Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline form an organic whole; Party spirit is the foundation, Party conduct is its manifestation, and Party discipline provides the guarantee.” At its core, issues of work style are fundamentally issues of Party spirit. Numerous cases have shown that superficial misconduct is merely the “surface,” while the underlying problems—such as a weakening of Party consciousness, organizational disunity, and lax discipline—are the “root.” The root cause lies in wavering ideals and beliefs and the loss of the Party’s original purpose. Party spirit serves as the cornerstone for Party members and cadres in establishing themselves, building their careers, articulating their views, and cultivating moral integrity; it must be continuously strengthened through rigorous Party life and training. Belief is the essence, while style is its outward expression; when the essence is sound, the outward appearance will cohere; when the essence is flawed, the outward appearance will inevitably fall apart. Under the system of Party regulations and rules, the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation and its detailed implementation rules rank fourth among Party regulations—following central Party regulations and Party self-construction regulations—and constitute an important component of the Party’s governance-by-rules system. The spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation transforms the institutionalized provisions of Party discipline into requirements for outstanding Party conduct, making it a vital measure for governing the entire Party and strengthening Party conduct across the board. Upholding strict Party discipline and promoting excellent Party conduct have been both our Party’s fine traditions and political advantages over the past century and more, and they also represent key pathways for enhancing the Party spirit and moral cultivation of Party members and cadres. Thematic education focuses on “studying ideas, strengthening Party spirit, emphasizing practice, and achieving new accomplishments,” aiming to reinforce ideological armament through studying the Party’s innovative theories, thereby improving the theoretical and Party-spirit cultivation of Party members and cadres. Party discipline education focuses on “studying discipline, knowing discipline, understanding discipline, and abiding by discipline,” with the goal of reinforcing Party members’ and cadres’ awareness of “observing discipline and upholding rules,” engraving compliance with discipline deeply in their hearts, internalizing it as a guiding principle for words and deeds, and comprehensively enhancing their disciplinary cultivation. Education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation focuses on addressing the “Four Winds” problem, seeking to guide Party members and cadres through concentrated study and education to refine their Party spirit, raise their ideological awareness, and strengthen Party-mass and cadre-mass relations, thus driving new achievements in Party conduct and further safeguarding the Party’s advanced nature and purity. Implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation has become an important vehicle for adhering to an integrated approach to strengthening Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline in the new era and on the new journey, helping to enhance Party spirit cultivation, foster an atmosphere of integrity and righteousness, enforce strict work styles and discipline, and promote the regular and sustained advancement of Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline development.
Improve the mechanism for jointly investigating and addressing both formal misconduct and corruption, and promote the integrated deepening of efforts to rectify conduct and combat corruption.
The interconnectedness of unhealthy tendencies and corruption—where unhealthy tendencies can easily lead to corruption, and both must be jointly investigated and addressed—is a pattern of insight distilled from the practice of Party conduct and integrity building and anti-corruption efforts since the advent of the new era. The corruption and moral degeneration of a Party member or leading cadre typically unfold through a progression—from minor lapses to serious misconduct, from quantitative changes to qualitative transformations, and from deviations in work style to full-blown corruption. Such deterioration often begins with seemingly trivial issues related to daily life, food and drink, or violations of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations. Given that the intertwining of unhealthy tendencies and corruption represents a prominent issue that requires urgent attention in the current stage of Party conduct and integrity building and anti-corruption efforts, we must adhere to systems thinking, address both symptoms and root causes, and promote coordinated and collaborative efforts. We need to establish and improve mechanisms for jointly investigating and addressing unhealthy tendencies and corruption, thereby driving the integrated deepening of efforts to rectify conduct and combat corruption. To thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations, we must integrate efforts to rectify conduct, enforce discipline, and fight corruption into a unified approach. We must consistently uphold a strict tone, adopt rigorous measures, and foster a climate of strictness. Guided by outstanding work styles, underpinned by stringent discipline, and empowered by resolute anti-corruption actions, we must take multiple measures simultaneously to comprehensively eliminate the soil and conditions conducive to corruption. Establishing and perfecting mechanisms for jointly investigating and addressing unhealthy tendencies and corruption hinges critically on strengthening Party conduct and integrity education. Conducting in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations throughout the Party embodies the systemic perspective and the concept of collaborative governance. By shifting the focus upstream, addressing issues early and at their smallest scale, and preventing minor problems from escalating, we can firmly guard against Party members and cadres crossing the line into violations—and even further into the abyss of illegality and crime. Through organizing study sessions on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on strengthening Party conduct and the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations and their detailed implementation rules, we can deeply study and thoroughly comprehend the rich connotations and essential spirit of these guidelines. This enables us to clearly define what needs to be addressed and how it should be addressed in the context of Party conduct building under the new circumstances, thereby enhancing Party members’ and cadres’ enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity in conducting such education. By carrying out in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations, we can firmly anchor Party members and cadres in their ideals and convictions, thus holding fast to the first line of defense against the slide from unhealthy tendencies toward corruption—a defense based on the principle that quantitative changes eventually lead to qualitative transformation. In this way, we can ensure that Party members and cadres not only dare not succumb to unhealthy trends and evil practices but also are unable and unwilling to do so, thereby establishing sound institutional mechanisms for rectifying conduct and combating corruption.
Persist in integrating it into daily routines and making it a regular practice, thereby promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of style-of-work building.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping, in leading the entire Party to advance Party building and comprehensively enforce strict governance over the Party, has creatively put forward a series of original, landmark new concepts, ideas, and strategies for governing and strengthening the Party. He has successively formulated General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on the Party’s self-revolution, providing scientific guidance and fundamental principles for Party building and organizational work in the new era and new journey, as well as for comprehensively enforcing strict governance over the Party, promoting clean governance and fighting corruption. Among the “Thirteen Adherences” that constitute the core content of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building, the ninth is “adhering to persistent efforts to rectify conduct and enforce discipline,” emphasizing that “the building of work style is an ongoing journey that must be pursued relentlessly and without slackening.” In the practical requirements of advancing the Party’s self-revolution under the “Nine ‘With’” approach, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out that “rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption should serve as key leverage,” calling for the integration of these three aspects—rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption. Both of these important ideological frameworks in the field of Party building underscore the significance of building a sound work style within the Party, stressing the need to simultaneously address Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline and to promote the integrated advancement of rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption. The nationwide campaign to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation aims to further enhance the entire Party’s awareness of consistently focusing on building a sound work style through learning and education, continuously reinforcing the commitment to unswervingly implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation, and using centralized Party-wide study and education as a vehicle to promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work-style building. Practice since the advent of the new era in enforcing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation has shown that the “Four Winds” problems are recurrent and stubborn, intertwined with corruption issues, thus exhibiting chain reactions and complexity. To establish a normalized and long-term mechanism for building a sound work style, we must start from multiple dimensions—including education, supervision, punishment, and self-discipline—to create a comprehensive system that combines external regulatory mechanisms with internal self-regulatory mechanisms. Strengthening disciplinary and work-style education for Party members and cadres is a crucial link in this process, closely linked to and mutually reinforcing supervision, punishment, and self-discipline. The “Notice” emphasizes the integrated promotion of study, investigation, and rectification, embedding these efforts into daily routines and making them a regular practice. First, we must persist in deep study and careful comprehension, organizing study sessions on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building and his important thoughts on the Party’s self-revolution, especially those related to the building of a sound work style within the Party, and deeply grasping the specific requirements set forth in the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation and its detailed implementation rules regarding strict Party discipline and serious work-style enforcement. Second, we must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, identifying problems by benchmarking against established standards, fully utilizing various supervisory methods, conducting inspections and checks, carrying out investigations and research, and responding to complaints and appeals, to thoroughly, deeply, and meticulously identify problems and explore their root causes. Third, we must adopt targeted measures, concentrating on addressing the problems identified, ensuring that issues are promptly investigated and rectified, and that improvements are made immediately upon discovery, thereby earning public trust through solid and effective rectification efforts and consolidating the Party’s long-term popular and social foundations.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 346: The Building of Work Style Has No End.
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Episode 344: “Blood-Stained Green Hills Forge the Spirit of the Police—Remembering Shi Lihai, a Police Officer from the Xixiang County Public Security Bureau in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province”
