Rules called for to fight officials' decadence

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has called for the drafting of specific rules to enforce the fight against official decadence and ensure undesirable behaviors are spotted and corrected.

Liu Yunshan, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks on Wednesday at a symposium on the "mass line" campaign.

The ongoing campaign aims to boost ties between CPC officials and the public, while cleaning up undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.

"Honesty is the difficult and precious part of the rectification process. Officials must maintain a serious attitude and aim for concrete results... targeting obvious problems in their behaviors," said Liu, also head of the campaign's guidance group.

According to Liu, officials must set down specific task lists and timelines to correct questionable behaviors.

He urged officials to offer convenience for citizens who turn to them for help, eye actual achievements instead of superficial performances, avoid using public money for private use and resolutely refrain from power abuse and other actions that harm people's interests.

There must be harsh punishments for violators so as to achieve the effect of "intimidating a wide range with a single case," he added.

Noting that undesirable styles usually die hard and have a tendency to repeat themselves, Liu called for a comprehensive system to restrict officials' behaviors and regulate their powers.

"The correction of officials' style is in itself a deep reform that involves the operation of powers and adjustment of interests, and innovations in various systems and mechanisms must be pushed forward with the spirit of reform," he said, listing aspects such as administrative approval, finance, business receptions and information transparency.

The Standing Committee member cited a regulation approved on Tuesday by the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau as one major systematic effort to stem violations related to spending of public money with strengthened supervision and harsh punishments.

The Regulation on Strictly Enforcing Thrift and Fighting Waste in Party and Government Departments offers comprehensive stipulations that cover public fund management, domestic and overseas trips, the use of non-private vehicles and offices, among other aspects.