PLA Daily January 25 Editorial: Resolutely Win the Tough, Protracted, and All-out Battle in the Military’s Fight Against Corruption
The Party Central Committee has decided to open a case for disciplinary review and investigation into suspected serious violations of discipline and law by Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. This once again demonstrates the Party Central Committee’s and the Central Military Commission’s clear stance of leaving no forbidden zones, achieving full coverage, and showing zero tolerance in punishing corruption: investigate as many as are involved and dig as deep as the ties run; it fully highlights our Party’s rock-solid resolve to carry the anti-corruption struggle through to the end; and it solemnly declares a firm position that no matter who it is, and no matter how high the position, anyone who engages in corruption will never be treated leniently. Resolutely investigating and dealing with Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli is a major achievement in the Party’s and the military’s anti-corruption struggle, and an important demonstration that the Party and the military have both determination and strength. It is of great significance for winning the tough, protracted, and all-out battle against corruption in the military. All officers and soldiers of the entire armed forces must resolutely support the Party Central Committee’s decision, consciously maintain a high degree of unity with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in thinking, politics, and action, resolutely obey the command of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi, and ensure that the troops remain highly centralized and unified, and remain pure and consolidated.
As senior leading cadres of the Party and the military, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli have gravely betrayed the trust and heavy responsibility entrusted to them by the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. They have gravely trampled on and damaged the chairman responsibility system of the Central Military Commission; gravely fueled and exacerbated political and corrupt problems that undermine the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and endanger the Party’s governing foundations; gravely damaged the image and authority of the Central Military Commission leadership; and gravely shaken the political and ideological foundation for solidarity and striving forward among all officers and soldiers. They have caused enormous damage to the military’s political building, its political ecosystem, and the building of combat effectiveness, and have brought extremely pernicious influence on the Party, the country, and the armed forces. Handling Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli in accordance with discipline and law will surely further rectify sources of disorder politically, eradicate toxic influences and remove abuses ideologically, and remove corruption and regenerate organizational vitality. It will consolidate and deepen the results of political rectification, and promote the People’s Army’s renewal and revitalization, injecting powerful momentum into the development of the cause of strengthening the military.
Corruption is a roadblock and stumbling stone in the development of the Party’s and the country’s undertakings, and fighting corruption is a major struggle that we cannot afford to lose, and must never lose. Since the 18th Party Congress, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi, the entire armed forces have persisted in exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party and full and rigorous governance over the military; have vigorously advanced political rectification, the improvement of conduct, the enforcement of discipline, and anti-corruption efforts; have insisted on digging deep and investigating thoroughly, eliminating evil to the end; have resolutely investigated and dealt with corrupt elements at the military’s top levels; and have focused on eliminating political hidden dangers. In the tempering and forging of the Party-led People’s Army, and in breaking abuses and advancing renewal, it has firmly safeguarded its root and its soul. Practice has fully proven that the more the People’s Army fights corruption, the stronger it becomes, the purer it becomes, and the more combat-capable it becomes; and the more thorough the anti-corruption effort, the more confidence and resolve we will have to realize the centenary goal of building the military.
Three feet of ice does not form in a single day, nor can three feet of ice be removed in a single day. The current concentration of investigations into corruption problems is not “the more we fight corruption, the more corruption there is,” but rather “the deeper we dig, the more we uncover.” The mighty tide of history is surging forward, and the process of building a strong country and a strong military cannot be stopped. No test of wind and waves can shake the People’s Army’s rock-solid faith in following the Party with an unwavering heart, and no hardships or obstacles can block the People’s Army’s firm stride toward becoming stronger. We firmly believe that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the People’s Army will surely sweep away all negative and corrupt phenomena and will always remain a heroic force that the Party and the people can trust completely.
This year is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and a crucial year for realizing the centenary goal of building the military. The tasks of political rectification, strengthening conduct and enforcing discipline, and fighting corruption in the military remain arduous and heavy. The entire armed forces must advance full and rigorous governance over the Party and full and rigorous governance over the military with higher standards and more concrete measures, persist without pause in political building of the military, and continue to deepen political rectification, integrating efforts to rectify thinking, rectify the selection and appointment of personnel, rectify organization, rectify work style, and rectify discipline. We must vigorously restore and carry forward our Party’s and our military’s glorious traditions and fine work styles, and continuously purify thinking, purify the ranks, and purify the ecosystem. We must unswervingly strengthen conduct, enforce discipline, and fight corruption, consolidate and expand the achievements of study and education on thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Decision, advance the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work-style building, and advance in an integrated manner the mechanisms to ensure officials do not dare to be corrupt, cannot be corrupt, and do not want to be corrupt. We must effectively address all kinds of corruption problems, further put power into an institutional cage, and work to eradicate the soil and conditions in which corruption breeds. Military Party members and cadres, especially senior cadres, must take the corrupt elements who have been investigated and dealt with as negative examples, adhere to taking the Party’s original aspiration as their own aspiration and the Party’s mission as their own life, take the lead in strengthening ideological transformation, political tempering, and the shaping of work style, consciously hold fast to and safeguard the ideological defense line, the bottom line in using power, the red line of law and discipline, and the boundary of family conduct, and forever maintain the political character of integrity and clean governance. We must establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, and with concrete actions marked by firm conviction, pragmatism, responsibility, and self-discipline, grasp work, carry out undertakings, and lead the ranks, and resolutely implement the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi.
The new journey of building a strong country and a strong military is inspiring and calls us forward. Let us unite even more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide, thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the military, thoroughly implement the military strategic guideline for the new era, deeply grasp the decisive significance of the “Two Establishes,” strengthen the “Four Consciousnesses,” firm up the “Four Confidences,” and achieve the “Two Upholds,” implement the chairman responsibility system of the Central Military Commission, keep firmly in mind the instructions entrusted to us, take responsibility and act, tackle tough tasks with all our strength, faithfully fulfill the mission and tasks entrusted by the Party and the people, accelerate the building of the People’s Army into a world-class military, and provide strong strategic support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization.
