China BriefingWhy it’s time for Chinese leaders to declare their assets
New rules to strengthen governance of Communist Party and its members’ conduct are welcome – but there are doubts over how they can be enforced
After a one-week delay, the Communist Party leadership on Wednesday night released the full text of the two documents approved at the sixth plenum of the party’s central committee – documents that aim to strengthen the party’s governance and the conduct of its members, particularly senior officials.
Publication of the two documents may have been overshadowed by the plenum decision to formally endorse President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) as “core” of the party leadership – an issue that has since been a source of intense speculation over Xi’s political ambitions – but the significance of the two documents should not be underestimated.
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The documents, though innocuously entitled “The norms of political life in the party under current conditions” and “Regulations on intra-party supervision” , appear to contain tough measures to supervise party members and boost their loyalty.
They also confirm reports that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s main anti-graft watchdog, will be given more power and authority to enforce these new rules.
The first document on “The norms of political life” is a very stern code of conduct which clearly defines what the leadership calls “red lines” for party members regarding a wide range of issues.