Historical Experiences on Strengthening The Party Discipline

Remolding the subjective world while transforming the objective world is an important feature of Marxist political parties， compared to other parties. Whenever the Communist Party of China （CPC） prepares to launch a major historic transformation or fulfill a new historic mission， it first emphasizes self-examination and internal rebuilding and remolding. The sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， which concluded in late October， vividly demonstrated this point. Attendees of the meeting approved two documents on discipline of the CPC， including one defining the norms of political life within the Party in the current situation as well as regulations of internal supervision， which serve as the guide and guarantee that the CPC will fulfill its new historic mission and ensure strong intra-Party unity as well as political stability.

The CPC’s history of development has shown that strengthening Party discipline and strictly regulating internal Party political life provide an effective safeguard that ensures the Party will make great achievements and promote major social changes.

The Yan’an Rectification Movement， which lasted from 1941 to 1945， was the first mass movement on self-assessment launched by the CPC. This movement brought the Party unprecedented ideological and organizational unity and tremendously reinforced its combat capacity. Reform Our Study， a report delivered by Chairman Mao Zedong during the campaign， guaranteed the Party’s power to promote major revolution of social relations in China in those days.

In 1957， after China basically completed its socialist transformation， the country’s social relations underwent fundamental changes. Shift- ing to socialist construction from revolution， China entered a new phase. Amidst drastic social change， public mindsets also underwent transformation， and the CPC’s mission entered a new historical period. To better lead social reform， the CPC Central Committee proposed in April 1957 that the Party and the working class improve their leadership in the transformation of all of society and the construction of a new society， better mobilize positive forces， and unite and transform negative strength into positive power， striving towards the goal of building a great socialist country while rebuilding the Party and the working class themselves. This campaign set a solid political foundation for China’s socialist construction that followed.

In 1978， China began to implement reform and opening-up policies. In 1980， the fifth plenary session of 11th CPC Central Committee approved a document covering the norms of political life in the Party. Essentially， they institutionalized political life within the Party. This important move， which evolved from the Party’s historical experiences， especially lessons from the “cultural revolution” （1966-1976）， was a major act of institutionalizing and standardizing intra-Party political life. This document， along with Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of the Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China， which was adopted by the sixth plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1981， played a decisive role in the ideological unification of all Party members and all people in China and guaranteed China would move in the right direction while maintaining stability during the country’s long reform and opening-up process.

After implementation of reform and open- ing-up policies for nearly four decades， both Chinese society and the CPC itself have undergone profound changes. To lead the historical mission of comprehensively deepening reform and to achieve the goals of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by the CPC’s centennial anniversary in 2021， building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous， strong， democratic， culturally advanced， and harmonious by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 100th birthday in 2049 and realizing the great Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation， the Party must motivate Chinese society towards new interest adjustment at deeper levels and is bound to take on more challenges with new historical characteristics. The Party itself must once again undergo self-improvement， which should align with the challenges of the new era. By doing so， the Party will be able to conquer the “four challenges” of governing the country， furthering reform and opening up， developing the market economy and dealing with the external environment， and better confront the growing “four dangers” of lack of discipline and spirit， incompetence， alienation from the people and corruption.

The sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee evidenced the Party’s determination on the subject of internal transformation in accordance with new historical missions. At this crucial moment in history， the CPC again established norms， only inferior to the Party Constitution， on the political life within the Party. These norms， along with other Party regulations， will not only strengthen the Party itself， but also promote the further development of Chinese society under the CPC’s leadership.