Passion and composure lead anti-graft fight

Some analysts view Xi Jinping, the top leader of the Communist Party of China, as an idealist. While some say that Xi always remains sober-minded. As a matter of fact, idealistic passion is common among those engaged in politics, but a good statesman sets himself apart from others by combining passion with composure. Xi’s recent remarks attest to this.

Anyone who keeps an eye on China will know that in 2014, despite the mounting downward pressure on China’s economy, the Chinese government and its ruling party still managed to please the Chinese people by pursuing an anti-corruption campaign in a real sense. The campaign has caught both “tigers”, high-ranking military officers and government officials in powerful positions, and “flies”, petty officials, in the anti-corruption net and brought them to justice.

The campaign has been widely appreciated by the public. But despite its indisputable success and popularity, Xi’s analysis and judgment on the issue of corruption have remained level-headed.

He said that China’s anti-corruption campaign still faces “grave and complicated challenges”, and “corruption is indeed kept at bay, but it is not yet wiped out, and although the anti-corruption mechanism has been established, it is not a fullfledged one”.

To put it in a nutshell, he believes that the campaign has fallen short of “an overwhelming victory”. So will there be an overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption in 2015?

As a matter of fact, winning that battle is not Xi’s goal. He sees the anti-corruption campaign as an “arduous and protracted war”, but one that must be won. For him, the most desirable blueprint is “reducing the inventory of corruption, curbing its increase and rebuilding the political ecosystem”. To turn this blueprint into reality, Xi said that it is imperative to keep applying high pressure, to adopt zero tolerance and retain the determination and courage to take strong measures, suffer great pains and enforce stringent discipline. He said it is crucial to get to the bottom of each and every case, give teeth to the anticorruption efforts and form a powerful deterrent.

He used the well-known story of a general in ancient China to make his point and illustrate his determination to fight corruption. When wounded in the arm by a poisoned arrow, Guan Yu, without the aid of any anaesthetic, had someone cut open his arm and scrape away the poison from his bone, which saved his life.

A few days after he made these remarks, a list of military tigers was released, which included the names of 16 high-ranking military officers – a general, three lieutenant generals, 11 major generals and a senior colonel. Due to his earlier experience in the army, Xi feels a strong affinity with the military. But maybe because of his own military experience, after assuming chair- manship of the CPC Central Military Commission, he was deeply disappointed and frustrated with the incompetence and corruption of some commanders, and with the lack of coordination, inadequate training and loose discipline in the military. To rectify these issues, he has taken two effective measures, namely, scaling up various military exercises, and intensifying the fight against corruption in the People’s Liberation Army. He told his generals, “We don’t do this because we want to pick a fight with someone, but because corruption in the army is synonymous with a failure on the battleground.”

Some doubt whether the anticorruption campaign can be maintained. But Xi knows full well that if he gives up, he will let the people down and lose their trust, and that it will significantly compromise the political foundation of the ruling party. In this context, the destiny of China, and that of China’s ruling party, hinges on whether this anticorruption campaign will bring about a clean, efficient and serviceoriented government. Xi has adopted this mission as one of his ideals. And this is the source of his passion and composure. The author is a research scholar with the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies. Courtesy: Chinausfocus.com