Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 341
Improving work style is an ongoing journey.
“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 ethos and strengthening theoretical training 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 Party’s work style is its very image; it affects the hearts and minds of the people and determines the Party’s life or death. From the Three Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention to the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation and its Implementation Rules, and from the “Two Musts” to the “Three Musts,” since its founding, our Party has always attached great importance to strengthening its work style. Through long-term practice, we have cultivated and consistently upheld fine working styles such as linking theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, engaging in criticism and self-criticism, and pursuing hard work and seeking truth from facts. As a result, our Party has maintained its advanced nature and purity, won the support and endorsement of the people, and continuously achieved new victories in the cause of revolution, construction, and reform.
“Defeat the Xi’an style with the Yan’an style.”
Our Party is a Marxist political party. From the moment it stepped onto the stage of Chinese history, it displayed a demeanor and appearance that no other political party or political group had ever shown before. A salient feature of our Party is that it is deeply rooted in the people and consciously maintains close ties with the masses. At its First National Congress, the Party adopted its first program, emphasizing that “we must overthrow the rule of the capitalist class together with the proletariat and must support the working class.” At its Second National Congress, the Party further pointed out: “Since we are a party fighting for the proletarian masses, we must ‘go among the masses’ and form a large ‘mass party.’” It stressed that “all the Party’s activities must penetrate deeply into the broad masses,” and that “the Party must never be separated from the masses.” These principles played an important role in strengthening the entire Party’s awareness of the masses, actively organizing and mobilizing the workers’ and peasants’ movements, and igniting the spark of revolution.
During the revolutionary war, our Party led the People’s Army to break with the old tradition of military units focusing solely on combat. Instead, it mandated that troops must carry out three key tasks: fighting and annihilating the enemy, confiscating wealth from local tyrants to raise funds, and conducting mass work among the people. Drawing on the troops’ experience in mass work, the Party summarized and formulated the “Three Major Disciplines and Six Points of Attention.” Later, two additional items were added to the Six Points of Attention, evolving into the “Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention.” Simple and clear directives such as “Do not take even a single needle or thread from the masses” and “Speak in a gentle and courteous manner” vividly embodied the People’s Army’s principled stance, fine style, and strict discipline. In the construction of base areas, our Party also required Party members and cadres to “care deeply about the hardships and needs of the masses,” “genuinely and sincerely strive for the welfare of the masses, and address their practical problems related to production and daily life.” A folk song captures this spirit beautifully: “The cadres of the Soviet areas had an excellent work ethic—bringing their own dry rations to work, wearing straw sandals while carrying out the revolution, and lighting lanterns at night to visit poor peasants.” This folk song vividly reflects the working style of the cadres in the Soviet areas and genuinely expresses the heartfelt support the masses had for the Party and the Red Army. Precisely because of this, the Party enjoyed a deep and inseparable bond with the masses, building an unbreakable “true copper wall and iron fortress.”
Our Party has also profoundly summarized both the positive and negative experiences of the Chinese revolution, put forward the proposition of Sinicizing Marxism, and emphasized that “we must study the ‘original texts’ of Marxism, but we must do so in combination with China’s actual conditions.” To thoroughly eradicate subjectivism and dogmatism at their ideological roots, our Party launched a rectification campaign throughout the Party, centered on Yan'an. The main focus of this campaign was to combat subjectivism in order to improve our academic style, to oppose sectarianism in order to purify our Party’s conduct, and to fight against “Party formalism” in order to refine our writing style. Among these efforts, the most crucial was to adopt a scientific attitude toward Marxism, uphold the principle of linking theory with practice, proceed from reality in all matters, and seek truth from facts. The rectification campaign followed the guiding principle of “drawing lessons from past mistakes to prevent recurrence and curing the sick to save the people,” employing the method of “unity—criticism—unity.” Through earnest study of the rectification documents, participants examined their own thoughts, work, personal histories, and the work of their respective regions and departments, engaging in both criticism and self-criticism. In this way, they gradually achieved ideological consensus, attaining the dual goals of clarifying their thinking and strengthening solidarity among comrades. The Yan'an Rectification Campaign set a successful example of using the rectification approach to strengthen the Party’s style of work, making active engagement in criticism and self-criticism an outstanding tradition of our Party.
At the Seventh National Congress of the Party, Mao Zedong summarized our Party’s fine traditions into three major styles: the style of combining theory with practice, the style of maintaining close ties with the masses, and the style of self-criticism. These three major styles, together with the virtues of hard work and integrity and self-discipline, gave rise to the “Ten Nothings” in the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, creating a stark contrast with the corrupt and decadent Kuomintang. As a result, the Communist Party won the hearts and minds of the people, ultimately “defeating the Xi’an style with the Yan’an style” and achieving victory in the New Democratic Revolution.
“Don’t adopt a bureaucratic style.”
“It is not easy to seize power, but it is even harder to hold on to it.” The difficulty lies in the fact that after gaining power, one faces even more temptations and challenges, increasing the risk of losing touch with the masses. Therefore, at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party, held on the eve of the founding of New China, Mao Zedong put forward the idea of “the two musts,” emphasizing that “we must ensure that comrades continue to maintain a style of humility, prudence, modesty, and composure; we must ensure that comrades continue to uphold the spirit of hard work and struggle.” Based on his proposal, the plenum adopted six regulations, including prohibiting birthday celebrations for Party leaders and forbidding the use of Party leaders’ names for place names, street names, or corporate names. Mao Zedong also repeatedly cautioned the entire Party to maintain a clear awareness of “going to Beijing to take an exam” and to “never become like Li Zicheng.”
After the founding of New China, under the Party’s education and guidance, the vast majority of Party members, even after their status had changed, managed to maintain their hard-working spirit and close ties with the masses. However, quite a few Party members failed to resist temptation and succumbed to the “sugar-coated bullets” of corruption. To prevent the emergence and spread of unhealthy practices—especially bureaucratic tendencies—we have continuously carried out campaigns to rectify both Party conduct and Party organization. In the second half of 1950, a campaign to rectify Party conduct was launched across the entire Party and military, focusing on improving the work style of cadres and eradicating arrogance and complacency stemming from self-perceived merit, as well as bureaucratic and authoritarian practices. From the second half of 1951 to spring 1954, grassroots Party organizations throughout the Party underwent comprehensive rectification, and all Party members were educated on the eight essential qualities that Communist Party members must possess. After the full-scale launch of the “Three Anti” Campaign, it was mandated that this campaign be closely integrated with Party rectification efforts. In January 1953, the Central Committee called upon Party committees at all levels, in conjunction with Party building and other tasks, to launch a serious campaign against bureaucracy, commandism, and violations of law and discipline, starting with the careful handling of letters and petitions from the people. This fully demonstrated our Party’s profound understanding of bureaucracy and its harmful effects, as well as our high level of vigilance against it. As Mao Zedong put it: “This old, backward practice of bureaucracy, left over from the old society, will sprout up again like weeds if it is not swept away once a year.” He also issued a warning in the form of an inscription: “Don’t let yourself be infected by bureaucratic practices.”
At the Eighth National Congress of the Party, with a focus on the issue of building a ruling party, there was a prominent call to oppose subjectivism, sectarianism, and bureaucratic practices within the Party. The Congress criticized ideological styles that were divorced from reality and from the masses, emphasizing that the Party’s leadership could remain correct only if it adopted the approach of “coming from the masses and going back to the masses.” In response to the spirit of the Eighth National Congress and to new situations and issues emerging both inside and outside the Party, in April 1957, the Party Central Committee issued the “Instructions on the Rectification Campaign,” deciding to launch a comprehensive and in-depth rectification campaign throughout the Party aimed at combating bureaucracy, sectarianism, and subjectivism. This rectification campaign took as its theme the proper handling of contradictions among the people, employing methods such as individual heart-to-heart talks, small-scale symposiums, and group meetings to carry out criticism and self-criticism, thereby overcoming unhealthy tendencies within the Party, strengthening the relationship between the Party and the masses, and promoting the improvement of the Party’s work style.
Due to the Party’s lack of experience at the time in leading large-scale socialist construction—especially its deviation from the principle of seeking truth from facts and its reliance on subjective wishes and will—the “Great Leap Forward” and the People’s Commune movement both ended in serious mistakes. Faced with severe economic difficulties, Mao Zedong, at the Ninth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party, called upon the entire Party to restore the style of seeking truth from facts and conducting thorough investigation and research. He emphasized: “Our Party has a tradition of seeking truth from facts—that is, combining the universal truths of Marxism-Leninism with China’s actual conditions.” Yet, he added, “In recent years, we have not been keeping a close grasp on the actual situation.” He called for 1961 to be designated as the “Year of Seeking Truth from Facts and Conducting Investigation and Research,” and personally led, along with other central leaders, efforts to delve deeply into the grassroots level to conduct investigations and studies. This initiative helped to correct errors across various fields and adjust policies, thereby restoring the Party’s fine working style and enabling the Party once again to take the initiative in its work.
“Truly improve our Party’s conduct.”
After the reform and opening-up, in response to the severe damage inflicted by the Cultural Revolution on the Party’s fine traditions and work style, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party made a series of important decisions aimed at strengthening Party rules and regulations, strictly enforcing Party discipline, and rectifying the Party’s work style. As a result, the once prevalent phenomena of lax discipline and the rampant spread of individualism and anarchistic ideas were effectively addressed. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping called for “genuinely improving our Party’s conduct.” In November 1979, the Party Central Committee and the State Council issued the “Several Provisions on the Living Standards and Treatment of Senior Cadres,” emphasizing that senior cadres must take the lead in upholding the Party’s fine traditions. In February 1980, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee adopted the “Several Guidelines on Political Life within the Party,” setting forth 12 specific requirements, including “adhering to the Party’s political line and ideological line” and “accepting supervision from both the Party and the masses, and absolutely prohibiting the practice of privilege.” These measures played a crucial role in strengthening Party discipline and enhancing the Party’s work style.
The 12th National Congress of the Party set forth the goal of "building the Party into a strong and solid core that leads the cause of socialist modernization." In response to the prominent problems within the Party, it solemnly pointed out that the issue of Party conduct is a matter of life and death for the ruling Party, and decided to launch a comprehensive rectification campaign aimed at both the Party’s style of work and its organizational structure. From October 1983 to May 1987, in accordance with the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Rectifying the Party adopted at the Second Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee, the entire Party carried out, in phases and batches, a comprehensive Party rectification campaign whose basic tasks were to unify thinking, rectify work styles, strengthen discipline, and purify the Party organization. This rectification campaign primarily employed methods such as centralized study sessions for Party members and the practice of criticism and self-criticism, focusing on raising Party members’ awareness and addressing the most serious issues of ideological impurity, poor work styles, organizational corruption, and lax discipline within the Party.
Under the new conditions of reform and opening up and the development of the socialist market economy, we are closely integrating and jointly managing efforts to strengthen work style with integrity building and the fight against corruption. In August 1993, the Second Plenary Session of the 14th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection emphasized that anti-corruption efforts should focus on three key areas: leading Party and government officials at all levels taking the lead in practicing integrity and self-discipline; concentrating resources on investigating and prosecuting a number of major and high-profile cases; and putting an end to the malpractices that most deeply dissatisfy the masses. From this, a three-pronged approach to anti-corruption work gradually took shape. To further advance integrity and work-style building within the Party, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee adopted the "Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening and Improving the Party's Work Style," which laid out a comprehensive plan for strengthening work style and put forward the "Eight Upholds and Eight Opposes" requirements—such as "adhering to the principle of linking theory with practice and opposing blind copying and dogmatism"; "adhering to close ties with the masses and opposing formalism and bureaucratic practices"; and "adhering to hard work and opposing hedonism"—with a particular focus on addressing problems in ideological style, study style, work style, leadership style, and lifestyle.
In the new century and new stage, in response to such phenomena as some leading cadres becoming detached from the masses and from reality, as well as serious formalism and bureaucratic practices, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee called for promoting the Party’s fine traditions and maintaining the close bond between the Party and the people—“We must vigorously foster a style of closely connecting with the masses, a style of seeking truth and being pragmatic, a style of working hard and enduring hardship, and a style of conducting criticism and self-criticism.” The Plenary Session also emphasized particularly that strengthening Party spirit cultivation should serve as an important foundation and driving force for developing these fine traditions, and that all Party members should be educated and guided to intensify their study, enhance their practical experience, and strengthen their engagement in intra-Party life. This has played a vital role in carrying forward the Party’s fine traditions and propelling the cause of the Party and the people forward.
“Once the Eight-Point Regulation is fully implemented, the entire effort to improve work style comes alive.”
On November 15, 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at a press conference attended by Chinese and foreign journalists: “To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Our responsibility is to work together with all Party members to uphold the principle of Party self-governance and strict Party governance, effectively address the prominent problems within our own ranks, earnestly improve our work style, and closely connect with the masses, so that our Party will always remain the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” On December 4, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, deciding to start with improving work style as a key step to further strengthen Party building. The meeting reviewed and adopted the “Eight Provisions of the 18th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on Improving Work Style and Closely Connecting with the Masses,” which sets forth clear requirements for the members of the Political Bureau to improve their work style in eight specific areas: enhancing investigation and research, streamlining meetings and activities, reducing the volume of documents and briefings, standardizing overseas visits, improving security arrangements, optimizing news coverage, strictly controlling the publication of written materials, and rigorously practicing thrift and frugality.
The Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation is the first major intra-party regulation formulated after the 18th National Congress of the Party, and it serves as a crucial entry point for improving work styles. The Party Central Committee has tackled this issue by formulating and implementing the Eight-Point Regulation, insisting on starting from the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and focusing on leading cadres, adopting a relentless approach characterized by leaving clear footprints and leaving indelible marks in the process of strengthening work style. Following the 19th National Congress, the first meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee reviewed the “Detailed Implementation Rules for the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau’s Implementation of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation.” Based on new situations and challenges encountered during the past several years of implementing the Eight-Point Regulation, the rules were further refined, detailed, and improved to better align with actual work conditions and enhance their guiding and operational effectiveness. After the 20th National Congress, the first meeting of the Political Bureau once again placed strengthening work style at the top of its agenda, reviewing the “Detailed Implementation Rules for the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau’s Implementation of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation.” The meeting emphasized that strengthening work style is an ongoing process with no final endpoint; the Eight-Point Regulation must always be treated as a long-term, ironclad rule and an unshakable benchmark. The Party Central Committee has set an exemplary example by strictly enforcing the Eight-Point Regulation itself. All regions and departments have subsequently formulated corresponding regulations and detailed rules, rigorously implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation and driving continuous and deeper progress in strengthening work style. This effort has effectively curbed some malpractices previously considered impossible to eradicate, rectified longstanding and deeply entrenched problems, and reversed the situation where “dozens of documents could not control a single mouth.” With the implementation of the Eight-Point Regulation, the entire process of work style improvement has been revitalized, greatly enhancing the Party’s image and authority in the eyes of the people. Today, the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation has become synonymous with the Party’s efforts to strengthen work style and has emerged as a “golden calling card” for Communists in the new era.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, our Party has successively carried out a series of concentrated Party-wide educational initiatives, including the Practice Campaign on the Mass Line of the Party, the Special Education Campaign on "Being Strict in Self-Cultivation, Being Strict in Exercising Power, Being Strict in Self-Discipline, Seeking Truth in Planning, Being Pragmatic in Entrepreneurship, and Being Honest in Conduct," the Study and Education Campaign on "Studying the Party Constitution and Party Regulations, Studying the Series of Important Speeches, and Becoming a Qualified Party Member," the Thematic Education Campaign on "Never Forgetting Our Original Aspiration and Keeping Our Mission Firmly in Mind," the Party History Study and Education Campaign, the Thematic Education Campaign on Studying and Implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the Party Discipline Study and Education Campaign. Although each of these campaigns has focused on different aspects depending on the prevailing situation and tasks, they have all consistently emphasized the need to strengthen the Party’s work style. For example, from June 2013 to September 2014, the entire Party conducted, in two phases from top to bottom, the Practice Campaign on the Mass Line of the Party, with the main focus on serving the people, being pragmatic, and maintaining integrity. This campaign effectively tackled formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, and effectively addressed prominent issues that had drawn strong public complaints and harmed the interests of the masses. The institutional framework centered on transforming and improving work styles was further refined, leading to a fresh atmosphere in Party conduct, government conduct, and social mores. Another example is the Thematic Education Campaign on Studying and Implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which began in April 2023 and focuses primarily on leading cadres at or above the county and department levels throughout the Party. This campaign emphasizes adhering to Party principles in both words and deeds, enhancing awareness of discipline and rules, practicing the “Three Stricts and Three Honests,” strictly implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation and its detailed implementation rules, continuously addressing the “Four Winds,” giving greater prominence to tackling formalism and bureaucratism, firmly opposing privileged thinking and practices, and focusing on resolving acute problems related to a lack of commitment to the Party’s purpose and indifference toward the masses—problems such as detachment from the masses and reality, infrequent and superficial investigation and research. As a result, tangible achievements have been made in using study to rectify work styles.
History and reality have amply demonstrated that when the Party’s work style is upright and the people’s morale is high, the Party and the people can share both joy and hardship together, and the cause of the Party and the country will flourish vigorously. We must take the in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation as an opportunity to thoroughly study General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important remarks on strengthening the Party’s work style. We should systematically summarize the achievements and experiences gained since the 18th National Congress of the Party in earnestly implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation, firmly uphold and make good use of the valuable experience accumulated in carrying out concentrated Party-wide education in the new era, and, through new achievements in work-style building, continuously enhance the Party’s advanced nature and purity, thereby continually winning the trust and support of the people and providing strong guarantees for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-style modernization.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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