Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 303
Strengthening disciplinary development is the fundamental solution for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
“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 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.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Strengthening disciplinary development is the fundamental solution for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.” Only by persisting in discipline education and learning, and by maintaining a steady and relentless effort, can we build our Party into a leading force for Chinese-style modernization—characterized by firm convictions and ironclad discipline. We must earnestly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions: “We must integrate discipline education into daily life, make it a regular practice, and continuously transform the outcomes of discipline education into a powerful driving force for promoting high-quality development.”
Deeply recognize the important significance of strictly enforcing Party discipline for Party building.
Our Party is a Marxist political party organized on the basis of revolutionary ideals and iron discipline. According to Marxism, when the proletariat is fragmented and disunited, it possesses no real strength whatsoever. Only by organizing itself can it acquire power and achieve victory in the struggle for its own interests. By uniting scattered individuals through revolutionary ideals and strict discipline, forming a tightly-knit organizational structure, and mobilizing and rallying the masses, a Marxist political party can multiply its strength—a strength that lies precisely in its ability to organize. Strict discipline is an essential guarantee for strengthening Party spirit and promoting the Party’s fine traditions and work styles. Party spirit, Party style, and Party discipline constitute an organic whole: Party spirit is the foundation, Party style is its manifestation, and Party discipline provides the necessary safeguards. For Party spirit and Party style, Party discipline serves as a “guardian” that addresses both the symptoms and root causes of problems. At the same time, Party discipline encompasses political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, mass discipline, work discipline, and lifestyle discipline. These six types of discipline form a system in which political discipline takes the lead, all are interconnected, and each complements and reinforces Party spirit and Party style.
Party discipline is the set of behavioral rules that all Party organizations at various levels and all Party members must abide by. It serves as a guarantee for maintaining the Party’s unity and solidarity and for fulfilling the Party’s missions. More importantly, the purpose of strengthening disciplinary development is to uphold the Party’s unity and solidarity through discipline, thereby providing robust disciplinary safeguards for fully advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation in the Chinese way of modernization.
Strict discipline is a glorious tradition and unique advantage of the Party. The first Party Constitution adopted at the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized that Party organizations at all levels must maintain high ideological, political, and practical alignment with the Party Central Committee. This tradition of emphasizing Party discipline has been preserved to this day. Moreover, the report to the 19th National Congress of the Party was the first time to place “discipline building” alongside “political building,” “ideological building,” and “organizational building” as part of the overarching requirements for Party building in the new era. At its core, strict Party discipline is an essential requirement for the Party’s self-revolution. For a ruling party to break free from the historical cycle of governance, turmoil, and decline, it must rely not only on public oversight but also on internal Party supervision—persisting in turning the blade inward and boldly engaging in self-revolution. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has said, “The spirit of self-revolution is the powerful support that enables the Party to remain forever youthful and vigorous.” “An advanced Marxist party is not born that way; rather, it is forged through continuous self-revolution.”
Strict discipline is a necessary measure for strengthening the daily education, supervision, and management of Party members and cadres, fostering a healthy and scientific lifestyle, and guarding against certain recreational activities from degenerating into unhealthy trends such as clique culture and unspoken rules. Party members and cadres should read more and study diligently to enhance their cultural literacy and cultivate a healthy, scientific way of life. Party organizations at all levels must adhere to a combination of strict management and caring support, reinforce awareness of rules and regulations, and strengthen the daily education, supervision, and management of Party members and cadres. At the same time, efforts should be made in areas such as news publicity, public opinion guidance, trend-setting, and the cultivation of positive social norms to create a favorable atmosphere.
To strictly enforce Party discipline, we must first strictly enforce political discipline.
The key to strengthening Party building is to strengthen the building of the Party's political discipline.
First, we must recognize that political discipline has always been the Party’s top priority. Article 40 of the Party Constitution, as revised and adopted at the 20th National Congress of the Party, clearly states: “The Party’s discipline primarily includes political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, mass discipline, work discipline, and lifestyle discipline.” Of these six disciplines mentioned here, “political discipline” is the very first.
Second, strictly enforcing the Party’s political discipline also means strictly upholding its political norms. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC called for “strengthening the Party’s political development, strictly enforcing political discipline and political norms, implementing the principal responsibility of Party committees (Party groups) at all levels, and enhancing the political discernment, political comprehension, and political execution capabilities of Party organizations and Party members at all levels.” General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Discipline is codified norm; some norms not explicitly listed in the discipline are unwritten disciplines. Discipline is rigid norm; some norms not explicitly listed in the discipline are self-imposed disciplines.” This statement profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship between discipline and norms. We must understand that strictly enforcing the Party’s political discipline entails meeting the requirements of both strict enforcement of political discipline and strict adherence to political norms.
Once again, the Party’s strict political discipline and political norms encompass an extremely rich array of content and impose exceedingly stringent requirements. The “Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China” lists a total of 28 types of behaviors that violate political discipline. Moreover, both the Party Constitution and other internal Party regulations contain a series of provisions regarding the Party’s political discipline and political norms. We must all study and put these into practice diligently.
Finally, strictly enforcing the Party’s political discipline and political norms ultimately comes down to upholding the “Two Establishments” and ensuring the “Two Safeguards.” Otherwise, under the influence of erroneous ideologies such as individualism, fragmentation, liberalism, and parochialism, some individuals who disregard political discipline and ignore the authority of both the Party and the people will act independently and pursue their own agendas. As a result, the authority of the Party Central Committee will be undermined, and the Party’s leadership will become nothing but empty rhetoric.
Learning the discipline, understanding the discipline, and being clear about the discipline—all ultimately boil down to consciously upholding the discipline, strictly enforcing it, and bravely taking responsibility.
In terms of the relationship among these elements, the first step is to learn the Party’s discipline, understand it, and clearly recognize it—this is the prerequisite for observing and enforcing discipline. The CPC Central Committee has decided to launch Party-discipline study and education throughout the Party; this is both important and necessary. However, such study and education should become a regular practice, integrating the study and understanding of discipline with self-cultivation and moral development, thereby fostering a sense of reverence that is indispensable in how we conduct ourselves and carry out our duties. This is a crucial measure for strengthening Party building in the new era, upholding comprehensive and strict governance over the Party, and advancing the Party’s self-revolution. The significance of learning, understanding, and clearly recognizing discipline lies in defining the bottom lines—clarifying exactly what one can and cannot do. Whether it comes to the Party’s original aspirations or its discipline, we must consciously uphold them and remain steadfast in doing so.
Second, adherence to discipline must be voluntary, and enforcement of discipline must be strict. To gauge whether the Party’s disciplinary education and learning efforts are effective, it’s not enough to just talk about it—what really matters is action. The key lies in whether Party members can consciously abide by discipline and whether discipline can be enforced rigorously. Therefore, on the one hand, we must strengthen the political awareness of Party organizations and members, so that they consciously uphold discipline. On the other hand, we must reinforce the primary responsibility of Party organizations at all levels to enforce discipline strictly and ensure that any violation of discipline is promptly investigated and dealt with. At the same time, we must integrate the two aspects—“strict management and supervision” and “encouraging accountability and initiative”—to motivate cadres to take action and get things done. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee once again emphasized the “three distinctions,” precisely to further inspire广大 cadres to forge ahead, take initiative, and get things done as we continue to deepen reform comprehensively and advance Chinese-style modernization.
First, we must study the Party’s discipline conscientiously, ensuring that we understand and internalize the discipline as soon as we join the Party. Second, we must consciously abide by the discipline, exercising self-restraint and maintaining consistency between our words and actions. Third, we must strictly enforce the discipline, ensuring that supervision is ongoing and that any violation of discipline is rigorously investigated and addressed. Fourth, we must take responsibility and act decisively, protecting those who get things done and supporting entrepreneurs. We emphasize the need to courageously carry out the Party’s self-revolution, whose fundamental purpose is to lead the social revolution, further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner, and advance Chinese-style modernization.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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