On 1 october 2018, the newly amended ccp disciplinary regulations (hereinafter referred to as the regulations) entered into force. This regulation is an upgrade of the “fourth generation” and is a further revision of the regulations as amended in 2015. The party centre attaches great importance to the newly amended regulations, requiring that the departments of the regions follow them in depth and comply with them. So today, in accordance with the central request, i present to you the context and main points of view of the revision of the 2018 regulations, the main elements of the revision and the issues that we will need to take into account in our further learning。
I. Context of the revision of disciplinary action by the communist party of china
The communist party of china is a marxist party organized with revolutionary ideals and iron discipline. It is well-organized and disciplined, and it is the party's best tradition and political strength. Our party has always attached great importance to discipline-building。
As early as february 1997, the central government issued the regulations for the application of disciplinary measures (preliminary) of the communist party of china. The regulations were formally promulgated on 31 december 2003. After the 18th anniversary of the party, the 2003 regulations were no longer adapted to the requirements of the new situation as a result of the progressive development of a comprehensive and disciplined party. One of the most striking manifestations is the lack of discipline, and many of the provisions of the 2003 regulations overlap with laws and regulations such as the penal code, the public security administration punishment act and others. In october 2015, a newly revised regulation was issued by the central government. The revised regulations have undergone significant changes: first, from the original 3nd, 15th, 178th, 24000th to 3rd, 11th, 133rd, 17,000th; second, the consolidation of the categories of infractions from the original 9 main categories into six main categories, namely, political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, mass discipline, work discipline and life discipline; third, strict discipline before the law, removal of elements that overlap with national laws and achieving a separation from disciplinary law; and fourth, political discipline being refined and concretized, transforming some of the demands of the party from the 18th congress to discipline. For example, the 2015 regulations reflect the requirement to correct the “four winds”. For example, the inclusion in chapter viii of the “eight prohibitions” of “52 disapprovals”, as stipulated in several guidelines for the integrity of the leadership of the communist party of china, has drawn red lines of conduct for party cadres. In october 2015, the code of integrity and self-regulation of the communist party of china (cpc) was issued in conjunction with the regulations, based on several guidelines for the integrity and integrity of the leadership of the communist party of china. It can be said that the code of integrity is a high and visible standard, while the ordinance is a red line and a bottom line that members and party organizations cannot touch. As a result, the regulations in 2015 were revised in a relatively large way, the first since the eighteenth anniversary。
In august 2018, a newly amended regulation was issued by the central government and it was decided that it would become operational on 1 october. This was the second revision since the revision of the regulations in 2015 and the eighteenth since then. Then why a second revision of the regulations in less than three years? I believe that there are several contexts。
First, it fully reflects the overall construction requirements of the new age party. The 19th congress of the party set out the overall construction requirements of the new age party and stated that “the political, intellectual, organizational, discipline building of the party should be fully advanced and institutional building should be integrated”. Here, first of all, there is the reference to political construction, which has not been said in the past, this time specifically to introduce political construction and to emphasize “the primacy of party political construction”. The second refers to strengthening discipline-building and its integration into the overall construction landscape of the new age party. In the past, we have said five major things: building ideas, organizing, building culture, building institutions, fighting corruption and promoting integrity. Now, the 19th congress of the party no longer refers to anti-corruption and integrity-building, but instead emphasizes six. Note that the absence of reference to anti-corruption and integrity-building does not mean that it is not important, but rather that it is included in the discipline-building as a policy to tackle the root causes of the party in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, in order to fully reflect the general construction requirements of the new age party as set out by the 19th congress of the party, we need to amend the regulations。
Second, the theory, practice and institutional innovations of party discipline-building have been formalized in the form of party discipline. Theoretically, general secretary xi has put forward a series of new demands for strengthening the new age party, with particular emphasis on the political construction of the party first, political life within the serious party, the purification of the political ecology within the party, the prevention of the formation of interest groups within the party, and the consolidation of the expansion of the implementation of the eight central provisions. These requirements are an important element of the socialist ideology of china in the new era of xi jinping and need to be reflected in the regulations and translated into disciplinary requirements. Moreover, in practice and institutional innovation, our party has been deepening its understanding of the rules governing it since its eighteenth anniversary, creating a wealth of experience and practice. For example, by insisting on the right to accountability, responsibility and accountability, party organizations at all levels are urged to exercise full responsibility for the rule of party subjects and oversight; by maintaining discipline ahead of discipline and effectively applying the “four forms” of oversight; by maintaining a high level of repression against corruption and continuing to create a strong deterrent; by constantly correcting the “four winds” and strengthening the climate of fear and ignorance; by addressing corruption and the culture of corruption around the population and providing strong safeguards against poverty, etc. These theories, practices and institutional innovations need to be consolidated in the form of party discipline and therefore the regulations need to be amended。
Third, succession and integration with party charters and other party statutes. Some of the elements of both the codes on political life in the new world and the regulations on internal oversight of the communist party of china, adopted by the 18th plenum of the party, are also reflected in the regulations and are linked to each other. For example, the certain guidelines on political life within the party in the new era, which set forth the “nine incriminating” of party members in the party's political discipline, are reflected in the regulations in the form of party statutes. That is to say, if you violate the “nine denials”, we will deal with you accordingly in accordance with the regulations. For example, article 7 of the ccp internal oversight ordinance redefines the “four forms” so that it is reflected in the ordinance. This is to connect with and respond to other party regulations. In addition, the constitution (amendment) of the communist party of china, adopted by the 19th congress of the party, introduced new requirements for strengthening the party, which are also reflected in the regulations. In other words, by summing up the theoretical, practical and institutional aspects, the regulations are both consistent and up-to-date. In summary, we need to amend the regulations。
Fourthly, in the new situation, there is a need for a comprehensive strengthening of party discipline. The 2015 regulations have played an important role in upholding party charters and other party codes, discipline of the serious party and adherence to party rule. However, we must be sober to see that, under the new historical conditions, on the one hand, there is still a lack of understanding, fragmentation and discipline among members of the minority, parties organized by the party, and, on the other hand, new situations and problems have arisen in our governing party, as well as new forms of discipline. For example, the weakening of party leadership, the absence of party-building, and a comprehensive approach to dealing with the problem of party weakness are manifested in the current situation of anti-corruption struggle, where political and economic issues are intertwined, regional and sectoral corruption are intertwined, and human and power-based corruption are intertwined. Today, a very small number of cadres are still caught in the middle by the “four winds” and are still struggling with corruption. In addition, a number of new forms of discipline have begun to highlight. For example, there are new manifestations of bureaucracy and formalism: political incoherence and centrality, the publication or creation of political rumours, the endangering of party unity, etc. We therefore need to amend the regulations to address these old and new issues. In other words, the ordinance insists on being issue-oriented, on tightening the institutional framework to address the salient issues of party rule, and on bringing the system in line with the times, so that the overall approach to party rule becomes more scientific, rigorous and effective。
In january 2018, at the second plenary session of the nineteenth session of the central disciplinary commission, general secretary xi stressed the need to strengthen discipline in a comprehensive manner and to govern the whole party with discipline. Disciplinary regulations need to be improved and the system kept up to date. The party centre attaches great importance to the building of discipline and will include the revision of the regulations in the work of the standing committee of the central political bureau in 2018. On 25 may, the standing committee of the central disciplinary committee considered the adoption of the revised regulations for review. On 31 july, the central political bureau held a meeting, one of which was to review the ccp disciplinary regulations. In august, the central government issued the revised regulations and decided that they would become fully operational on 1 october。
This revision of the regulations represents a new historical starting point for the party centre, adapted to the general construction requirements of the new age party, and re-deployed and remobilized the party in general to strengthen discipline. Its significance is twofold: first, to promote a comprehensive movement from party discipline to party discipline, and to focus on the political, temporal and targeted nature of discipline-building, so that the overall approach to party discipline becomes more scientific, focused and effective; and, second, to address the salient issues of party rule, to consolidate the 18 years of party discipline-building theory, practice and institutional innovation into party discipline, to tighten the institutional cage and to bring the system up to date。
The 2018 regulations, with 142 articles, added 11 new articles compared to the 2015 regulations, amended 65 articles and consolidated 2 articles, are an upgrade of the 2015 regulations and are also a 4. 0 version of the regulations. In other words, while retaining much of the original regulations, the 2018 regulations provide a comprehensive summary of the achievements of recent innovations in party governance, practices and systems, which have resulted in an organic harmonization of succession and innovation. Moreover, the 2018 regulations are more political, more scientific, more logical, more guiding and operational。
Professor at the communist party central school of state administration
The excerpt from this paper is taken from the monolithic version of the web of speakers
