New Party rules hailed

Systematic regulation will tackle problems, senior officials say

Wu Yuliang, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, is surrounded by reporters after a news conference in Beijing on Friday. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY

Two sets of rules adopted at a key Party meeting — one on the norms of political life within the Party and the other on tightening internal supervision — will help tackle pressing problems in the Party and improve Party governance, senior officials said on Friday.

A communique released after the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee also called for the 88 million Party members to "closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core".

Qi Yu, vice-minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the new rule on norms is necessary since bureaucracy, extravagant lifestyle and election bribery are all problems currently faced by the Party.

Qi said a small number of senior officials have had big political ambitions, formed cliques and maneuvered for power and higher positions, which "has greatly damaged the unity and centralization of the Party, greatly harmed the political environment in the Party and tarnished its image".

He said the new norms are a systematic regulation of intra-Party political life.

Wu Hui, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that the norms and the new intra-Party supervision regulation reflect the Party's determination to fight corruption.

Wu Yuliang, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party's top discipline watchdog, dismissed speculation that the crackdown on corruption is selective and politically driven.

"Some people used to accuse us of not opposing corruption, and now that we have enhanced the efforts in the sector, they are saying we're selective. I'm afraid those (critics) may have other purposes or motives," he said at the news conference.

"When uprooting rotten trees, one has to start with the most rotten ones. If that is called selective, I have to say this is just the way we do our work," he added.

At the news conference, Huang Kunming, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, also said that identifying President Xi as the core of the Party is a consensus of the Party and in response to people's call.

"In the process of collecting opinions on the two documents approved at the sixth plenary session, central and local departments as well as the military all expressed their support for specifying Xi as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the entire CPC at the session," he said.

Recognizing the core status of Xi also received universal support from delegates attending the sixth plenary session, he said, adding that the move will help ensure the authority and unity of the Party.

Pierre Defraigne, executive director of the Madariaga-College of Europe Foundation in Brussels, said, "Xi's fruitful credentials make him deserve ‘the core' of China's leadership, which has ensured that China grows at a rapid pace in context of a world economy still under the down pressure in the most advanced economies."

Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, described the communique as a "very good document".

"I believe the sixth plenary session will have its status in Communist Party of China history," he said.

Fu Jing in Brussels and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn