Discipline Brings Success

By+Ma+Xiaowen

North Chinas Shanxi Province is one of the hardest-hit regions in the nationwide anti-corruption campaign implemented by the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee since the end of 2012. Seven provincial-level offi cials in Shanxi were sentenced. A lot of lower-ranking offi cials were also placed under investigation for alleged graft. The fall of these offi cials was likened to an “earthquake” in Shanxis offi cialdom.

The “earthquake” also dealt a heavy blow to the local economy. The coal mining industry， which used to be the main driving force for Shanxis economic growth， was affected because many of the industrys senior executives were probed on suspicion of bribery.

However， the blow was temporary. Led by a disciplined Party committee， Shanxi has seen improvements in both its political ecology and economic development. The current CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee shared its experiences in governance at a seminar held by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee on June 30.

With Building a Well-Disciplined Party in All Aspects： The Practice of Shanxi as the theme， the seminar attracted party leaders， ambassadors and representatives from various countries and institutions， and a number of China studies researchers.

Daniel A. Bell， author of The China

Model： Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy， and Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Shandong University， had thought the anti-corruption campaign would curb corruption but officials would be reluctant to make bold changes. “But my trip to Shanxi amazed me with so many capable offi cials，” he told Beijing Review on the sidelines of the seminar.

Selection of officials

In response to the stringent anti-corruption campaign， Shanxi has adopted rigorous rules and transparent systems to regulate local governance and Party organizations.

At the seminar， the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee introduced its procedure for selecting and appointing government offi cials.

Sun Dajun， Executive Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee， said there are 10 steps—including checking qualifi cations， inspection， public polls and deliberation—when deciding on promotions.

Candidates competing for higher posts should reveal their true financial status， including their assets， equities and other property. Their official status comes under keen public oversight， especially from areas where they have served.

“What we need are committed， clean and responsible officials，” Sun said， adding that to qualify for promotion， government officials should have sufficient experience working in different positions. “The essential value of our democratic system is generally the same as the rest of the worlds， even though we take different paths. I dont think all countries must have the democracy that comes only in the form of direct elections.”

He said the organization department needs to heed public views to select the most qualifi ed offi cial. This costs substantially less than direct elections.

Hu Yuting， Secretary of the CPC Jinzhong City Committee， said the selection is transparent， as the qualifi cations of candidates—including their education background， work experience， accreditations and health condition—are all made public.

Hu said Jinzhong has adopted a missionoriented principle. All selected offi cials must be open to supervision. In 2016， the CPC Jinzhong City Committee selected six county mayors out of 118 candidates.

Luo Huining， Secretary of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee， said Shanxis practice is proof that the CPC Central Committees decision to build a well-disciplined Party in all aspects is correct. Through self-purification and self-improvement， a political party can maintain its vigor and vitality.

Alejandra Reynoso Sánchez， Secretary of the Board of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico， said fi ghting corruption and winning peoples hearts is the mission of all parties and governments. “A comprehensive anticorruption [campaign] is needed because a regime or a party can attain legitimacy only from discipline， honesty and keeping in close touch with the masses，” said Sánchez.

After Bell fi nished his tour to Shanxi， he also proposed that offi cials with more knowledge about Shanxis local culture and history should be promoted， in order to better preserve its distinctive cultural legacy.

More women officials and better treatment of civil servants would help in strengthening Party discipline， he added.

Boosting local economy

Besides building a healthy political ecology， Shanxi has also deepened its supply-side structural reform to maintain economic growth， Luo said.

“We have conducted nine specialized programs to speed up facilitation of investment and promote contract execution； for contracted projects outside the governmentapproved investment projects catalogue， we try out an enterprise responsibility system to reduce approval procedures，” Luo said. “With these initiatives， we are building a good environment for investors and business people.”

In the latter half of 2016， the campaign Ten Thousand Party Cadres on Assistance to Enterprises was launched in Shanxi. Over 14，000 cadres went to 4，580 enterprises to provide needed services and help address diffi culties.

Liu Yanzhong， Deputy Secretary of the Jinzhong City Government， was sent to Mingsheng Foundry Co.， a private manufacturer in Taiming County， Jinzhong. However， there was a lack of understanding and communication at the beginning. Step by step， Liu came to understand the shortcomings of the family-run company： institutional irregularities and narrow vision.

Finally， Liu and the other offi cials sent to the company managed to help it set standards and build its own brand.

Kabir Hashim， General Secretary of the United National Party of Sri Lanka， who had just fi nished an on-the-spot investigation of Shanxi， said the campaign was extremely important and rich in human touch.

“In many countries， people are suffering from poverty and inequality and many of them hold feelings of resentment against political parties，” Hashim said. “After my trip to Shanxi， I found that the CPC， with Xi Jinping at its core， has solved such problems through reform.”

Hashim highlighted the local CPC committees measures to relocate over 10，000 workers laid off during the transformation of Taiyuan Steel Corp.

These efforts by the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee have helped boost local economic growth. According to Luo， in the first quarter of 2017， Shanxis GDP rose by 6.1 percent， a 3.1-percentage-point rise from last year. Public budget revenue increased by 12.6 percent and added value in strategic emerging industries grew 14.9 percent compared with the same period last year.

Shanxi is transforming from being a fossil energy-centered economy to a new economic model increasingly driven by innovation and conservation， with the growth of non-coal sectors reaching 9.8 percent in the fi rst fi ve months of 2017.

The provinces net outfl ow of skilled personnel has also been effectively contained. By June this year， Shanxi had attracted 101 overseas high-level talents. Luo also noted that investors in search of good returns are increasingly coming to Shanxi.

“The development of society relies on the good operation of the ruling party. The CPCs actions in building a well-disciplined Party are beneficial to Chinas further development. Its a practice we， the Mexican Government， should learn from，” Enrique Escorza， Minister at the Mexican Embassy in Beijing， told Beijing Review.