Remarks at press conference

Wang Jianxin, director of the Publicity Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and the National Supervisory Commission

Oct. 24, 2022

I will mainly share my understanding about the strategic deployments of the report to the 20th CPC National Congress on unswervingly exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, improving Party conduct, enforcing Party discipline, and combating corruption.

The report says right at the start of its fifteenth part that our Party has a pivotal role in building China into a modem socialist country in all respects and in advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts, and we must always stay alert and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large party like ours faces. Our Party, as the world's largest political party and largest Marxist governing party with a history of 100 years, must always maintain solidarity and unity, preserve our Party membership's advanced nature and integrity, and stay as united as one piece of adamantine iron. The report demands that all of us in the Party bear in mind that full and rigorous Party self-governance is an unceasing endeavor and that self-reform is a journey to which there is no end. The Party must remain strict in exercising full and rigorous self-governance and keep sounding the bugle against corruption.

First, we will enhance political oversight with a focus to uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee. The leadership of the CPC is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and upholding the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is the highest political principle. The report stresses that the Party's leadership is comprehensive, systematic, and integrated, and therefore must be exercised in a comprehensive, systematic, and integrated way. Hence, it is imperative to uphold and strengthen the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee as an important task in strengthening the Party politically and conduct concrete, targeted, and regular political oversight. We must ensure that the whole Party will acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, firmly uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership, closely follow the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in political stance, orientation, principles, and path. We must also ensure that all Party members gain a good command of the missions and tasks of the Party for the new journey of the new era and that the major thinking, viewpoints, strategies, and measures set forth at the 20th CPC National Congress achieve intended results.

Second, we will improve the systems and regulations for the Party's self-reform. The report reflects our commitment to the strategic thinking of the Party's self-reform and stresses institutional support for it. The report requires us to continue to run the Party with systems and regulations, improve the framework of Party regulations, increase their authority, and fully enforce them. We will put in place mechanisms for upholding truth, correcting errors, uncovering problems, and remedying failings. The report highlights that we should improve the total-coverage, authoritative, and highly effective oversight system under the Party's unified leadership and refine the mechanisms for overseeing power and keeping it in check. We will generate synergy between various forms of oversight with intra-Party oversight serving as the mainstay, and we will ensure that power is exercised in broad daylight.

Third, we will continue to take strict steps to improve Party conduct and enforce Party discipline. In the new era of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, we kicked off our efforts by formulating and implementing the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving conduct. In the past 10 years, we investigated and handled 761,000 cases for violating the eight-point decision and 683,000 people were given Party and administrative discipline punishments. The report once again warns the whole Party: Good conduct is critical to the survival of a governing party. We must maintain a close bond with the people. Party officials should conduct in-depth research and studies and immerse themselves in hard work, take concrete measures, and deliver solid outcomes. We should steadfastly implement the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving conduct. We will go to great lengths to tackle recurrent problems of "the four malfeasances," i.e., pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, and deal with the new features of pointless formalities and bureaucratism. We must make all-around efforts to tighten Party discipline. We will urge leading officials to be strict with themselves, earnestly fulfill their responsibilities, and conduct rigorous management within their jurisdictions. All violations of Party discipline, once identified, must be resolutely investigated and punished without hesitation or tolerance.

Fourth, we are determined to win the tough and protracted battle against corruption. Corruption is a cancer to the Party, and fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has led the Party to wage a battle against corruption on a scale unprecedented in our history. We have realized the reshaping of the anti-corruption leadership system, organization, workforce, as well as the mechanisms to ensure accountability and the enforcement of disciplines and laws. We have achieved an overwhelming victory and fully consolidated the gains in our fight against corruption. The report profoundly points out that as long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, we must never rest, not even for a minute, in our fight against corruption. We will continue to take a strong stance and exert greater efforts to take simultaneous, coordinated, and comprehensive steps to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to become corrupt; we will put greater emphasis on resolutely preventing leading officials from acting for any interest group or power group; we will take firm action to swat "flies," or corrupt low-ranking officials, whose misconduct directly affects people's lives; and we will work hard to strengthen constraints on and oversight over the exercise of power, and improve systems for preventing corruption from being fostered and spreading. We will secure more institutional achievements and greater efficiency in fighting corruption.

Thank you!