Cadres told to fortify ideals, stay on course

Provincial and ministerial officials attending a four-day workshop have been told to strictly practice self-discipline and safeguard the authority of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

During the workshop, which ended on Thursday, attendees sharpened understanding of various remarks by President Xi Jinping and of the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.

"Leading officials should strengthen their political capability, fortify their political ideals, uphold political direction, be steadfast in their stance and strictly observe political rules," Xi said at the opening session of the workshop on Monday.

Such workshops date back to late in the last century and are now part of the CPC routine. In 1999, a financial seminar at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee was attended by provincial and ministerial officials.

Since then, workshops on major strategic plans have been held almost every year, with topics covering deepening reform, promoting the rule of law and implementing decisions of plenary sessions of the CPC Central Committee.

This week's workshop aimed to help senior officials understand two documents adopted at last year's sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, one on the norms of political life within the Party in the new era, and a regulation on intra-Party supervision.

The workshop stressed the self-discipline required of "key minorities," a term first raised at a workshop in February 2015 that refers to the small group of officials at provincial and ministerial level who have both extensive power and big responsibilities.

The term has since been regularly brought up. Last month, senior CPC leader Liu Yunshan asked organization departments to practice strict intra-Party political life and strengthen intra-Party supervision, focus on "key minorities" and promote comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.

Xin Ming, a Party School professor of CPC studies, said this group of officials is crucial to governing the country, as many are members or alternate members of the CPC Central Committee - the top decision-making body.

An editorial published on Friday in People's Daily, the CPC's official newspaper, also required senior officials to stay vigilant and not allow themselves to be swayed by interests groups. If officials ignore self-discipline, they could easily be knocked down by sugarcoated bullets, it said.

At the workshop's closing ceremony on Thursday, Liu also urged officials to safeguard the authority of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core.

He called for deepening ideological education, tightening political discipline, and strengthening management and supervision of Party members.

Guo Xiangong, director of the Party-building division of the Party School of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee, said provincial and ministerial officials act as connectors, carrying out the policies of higher authorities and making decisions for lower ones.

These officials follow the policies and guidelines of central authorities and serve as the decision-makers for city, county and township-level ones, he said.

Their understanding of central authorities' policies and guidelines directly affects the implementation and effect of policies, he said.