Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 275
Strict discipline is the Party’s glorious tradition and unique advantage.
“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.
Recently, the Exhibition Hall of the History of the Communist Party of China has specially organized and curated exhibits related to disciplinary development. This effort helps fully harness the educational functions and nurturing role of our red resources, thereby further deepening and solidifying Party discipline study and education. Over the past century and more, throughout its magnificent journey of struggle, the Communist Party of China has consistently attached great importance to disciplinary development, providing a strong guarantee for firmly implementing the Party’s guidelines, policies, and principles and for continuously guiding the Party’s cause from one victory to another. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that our Party is a Marxist political party organized on the basis of revolutionary ideals and iron discipline; strict discipline is both the Party’s glorious tradition and its unique advantage.
Looking back at the Party’s history, the First National Congress Party Program already stipulated disciplinary requirements; the Second National Congress Party Constitution devoted an entire chapter to discipline. On the eve of the founding of New China, the “Two Musts” and the “Six Provisions” were put forward. In the early years of New China’s establishment, a number of corrupt officials—including Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan—were severely punished. In 1997, the “Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China (Trial)” were promulgated. In 2010, the CPC Central Committee issued the “Several Guidelines for Clean Governance by Leading Party Members and Cadres.” Throughout this process, the Party’s understanding of disciplinary construction has continued to deepen, its disciplinary system has become increasingly comprehensive, and disciplinary sanctions have been further standardized. Upholding strict Party discipline has become a vital treasure that enables the Party to defeat powerful enemies, overcome numerous difficulties and obstacles, and march from victory to victory.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to disciplinary development. The report to the 19th National Congress incorporated disciplinary development into the overall framework for Party building. The report to the 20th National Congress made arrangements for “upholding a strict tone in strengthening Party conduct and discipline,” emphasizing the need to “comprehensively strengthen Party disciplinary development.” The Party Central Committee has introduced a series of internal Party regulations, continuously enhancing the political relevance, timeliness, and targeted nature of disciplinary development, thereby making the approaches and measures for comprehensively enforcing strict Party governance more scientific, more rigorous, and more effective. This has provided strong guarantees for the historic achievements and transformative changes that have taken place in the cause of the Party and the country.
As a Marxist political party, our Party is a new type of political party that differs from any old political party. It possesses a high degree of consciousness and organizational discipline, thereby forming the Party’s unique advantages.
From the perspective of the Party’s nature, strict discipline is a hallmark distinctive feature of a proletarian political party. From the very beginning of our Party’s founding, we have demonstrated a clear political stance on Party discipline, emphasizing that we must draw sharp ideological, political, and organizational distinctions from all other schools of thought. General Secretary Xi Jinping has explicitly pointed out that Party discipline is multifaceted, yet political discipline is the most important, fundamental, and critical among them. Upholding the Party’s political discipline is the essential foundation for observing all aspects of Party discipline. Maintaining the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is a major principle underlying the establishment of a mature Marxist ruling party; the “Two Upholds” represent the Party’s highest political principle and fundamental political norm. The history of the Party and the history of New China both teach us: To govern well our large Party and our great country, it is absolutely crucial to ensure the Party’s unity and centralized, unified leadership—and it is vitally important to safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee. Party members and cadres must strictly abide by the Party’s political discipline and political norms, deeply grasp the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments,” and resolutely uphold the “Two Upholds.”
From the perspective of the Party’s organizational structure, strict discipline is essential to forge a “truly steel-like organization.” Our Party is a unified whole organized in accordance with the Marxist principles of party building, guided by the Party’s program and statutes, and governed by the principle of democratic centralism. Through stringent disciplinary requirements, we ensure unity of will and consistency of action across the entire Party. The strength of the Party stems from its organizational structure; only with strict Party discipline can we better leverage the Party’s political, ideological, organizational, and close-connection-with-the-masses advantages, continuously enhancing our creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness, thus advancing the building of the Party’s governance capacity and its advanced nature, and ensuring that the Party always remains the strong and decisive leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
From the perspective of disciplinary characteristics, the strictness of Party discipline is founded on a high degree of self-awareness. Party discipline is both mandatory and rooted in self-conscious compliance. Party members are the vanguard of society, possessing higher political aspirations and special political responsibilities. The self-awareness to abide by Party discipline stems from the firm Party spirit of Communist Party members, from their profound political consciousness and unwavering loyalty and conviction toward the Party’s cause, and from their lofty commitment to placing the interests of the Party and the people above all else. Of course, this kind of awareness and self-consciousness among Party members does not arise spontaneously nor is it permanent; rather, it must be continuously strengthened through one’s own proactive learning and constant education provided by Party organizations. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to disciplinary education. On the basis of maintaining regular disciplinary education, it has consistently regarded disciplinary education as a key focus of concentrated education efforts and, this year, launched a special study and education campaign on Party discipline, thereby promoting throughout the Party a heightened sense of self-conscious compliance with rules and regulations.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 276: Strive to Strengthen the Party’s Leadership over Propaganda, Ideological, and Cultural Work
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 274: Harnessing the Party Constitution as the General Charter for Governing and Managing the Party
