China, Singapore ministers discuss leadership development

A delegation of government ministers and senior officials from China and their counterparts from Singapore shared their views and experiences at a high-level forum on leadership development in Singapore on Tuesday.

The 24-member Chinese delegation was led by Zhao Leji, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, an important organ within the Party often known for announcing the appointment of senior officials.

He co-chaired the China-Singapore Forum on Leadership with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also coordinating minister for national security, minister for home affairs and minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

Zhao said that it is important to foster the integrity of officials, which has been highlighted in a key document adopted at the recent Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC to chart the reform efforts of China under the new leadership.

He said that it is important for the members of the Party to have self-discipline but it is equally important to impose disciplines on them, and that the key to running the Party strictly is to "managing officials strictly".

"It's important to put in place strict discipline. One of the important principles is that 'we mean it,'" he said.

"We always take oversight as the key ... We steadfastly use the law as the strategy for correcting the problems at the root. We attach importance to enclosing power in an institutional cage," Zhao told officials, scholars and reporters at the forum.

"We steadfastly take punishment as an effective means for dealing with officials who do not maintain discipline, have bad moral character or cause various kinds of problems. We punish them severely, and publicize the judgement so that it serves as a warning," he added.

Teo said that the concept of integrity goes beyond the integrity of individual officers, to the integrity of the institutions and processes, and integrity among citizens or integrity as a social norm.

"To maintain the integrity of the government, we have strict financial controls and procedures, with checks and balances, which are regularly reviewed to address weaknesses or adapt to new circumstances," he said.

The Singapore-China Forum is a strategic platform for political leaders and senior officials of Singapore and China to meet for dialogue and engagement on common challenges related to leadership development. It was held since 2009 in China or Singapore.

Zhao also called on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday. He said that it is important to share experience in governance with each other and boost the cooperation in training and human resources development.

Lee said that Singapore sticks steadfast to the pursuit of friendly ties with China and looks forward to further expansion of the practical cooperation between the two countries.