President presses his ideology
President Hu Jintao has made another push to bolster his political agenda, by stressing the urgent need to shore up the country's ethical foundations.
Mr Hu said 'moral cultivation' was of vital importance for the survival of the party and the country.
He was speaking yesterday - only weeks ahead of the Communist Party's 17th National Congress - at a high-profile event in Beijing's Great Hall of the People at which awards were presented to 'moral examples', including workers, party members, teachers and scientists.
The stress on rebuilding the party's moral strength, amid widespread official corruption fuelled by decades of headlong economic growth, is a cornerstone of Mr Hu's ideology. Analysts say it marks a conscious shift from the gung ho 'growth-at-any-cost' development path advocated by his predecessor Jiang Zemin .
Ever since Mr Hu succeeded Mr Jiang as party chief in 2002, his administration has placed considerable emphasis on combatting corruption and promoting the party's moral standards.
This recognises that the public's growing discontent over corruption among party officials is a threat to the Communist Party's legitimacy in the long term and, ultimately, to the survival of one-party rule.