The Communist Party of China pledged to crack down on the “unwritten rules” that enable corruption during the conclusion of the 20th Central Committee’s Fifth Plenum on 29 October.
The conclave adopted the “Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Persevering with Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance.” Tang Fangyu said the decision represented the plenum’s most important outcome and that its drafting was led by President Xi Jinping.
The drafting work involved soliciting opinions from government departments and localities, commissioning research on key topics, and collecting more than 1,000 suggested revisions during the plenum discussions, Fangyu said. Xi Jinping stated that when formal rules are not firmly upheld, unwritten rules inevitably flourish, and when unwritten rules prevail, formal rules become mere decorations.
The President warned that this environment allowed “political brokers and fraudsters” to rely on personal connections to get ahead in the party. Huang Jianfa said the plenum’s decision focused on improving the quality of cadres through rigorous education, selection and supervision.
Jianfa further claimed the party must “resolutely remove those who are disloyal to the party, who say one thing and do another, and who abuse power for personal gain.” Zhang Fuhai said the resolution would strengthen supervision by making party committees’ supervision more effective, enhancing supervision at the local level and bringing together various oversight bodies to work as a unified force.
The conclave endorsed disciplinary penalties against 18 senior civilian and 16 military figures. Only 162 of the 205 full Central Committee members attended the session, representing a turnout of just 79 per cent. The session saw 117 alternate members of the Central Committee in attendance, a decrease from the 147 present last year.
