Xi says 'mass-line' campaign just the start  

习近平在群众路线教育实践活动总结大会上的讲话

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech during a nationwide teleconference marking the end of a sweeping mass-line campaign, in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 8, 2014. "Mass line" refers to aguideline under which officials and members of the Communist Partyof China (CPC) are required to prioritize the interests of the people and persist in exercising power for them. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the "mass line" campaign had played an important role in the Communist Party of China's (CPC's) drive to tighten Party discipline.

The significance of the campaign would manifest itself in time, said Xi at nationwide teleconference marking the end of the campaign.

Members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the event, which was presided over by Liu, head of the campaign.

"Mass line" refers to a guideline under which CPC officials and members are required to prioritize the interests of the people and exercise power on their behalf. Based on arrangements made at the 18th National Congress of the CPC in November 2012, the campaign began in June 2013 with an aim of cultivating closer ties with the people.

As promised, there was a thorough cleanup of undesirable work styles, with officials required to reflect on their own work and correct any bad practice.

Xi said the campaign had shown that the Party must be run strictly, in a concrete and serious way, not abstractly and perfunctorily. The campaign enhanced the Party's prestige and image among the populace; Party members and the people become more cohesive. The campaign had realized its desired goals and concluded with great achievements.

Through the campaign, official meetings were reduced by 586,000, almost 25 percent fewer than in the period before the campaign began. Over 160,000 phantom staff were removed from the government payroll and almost 115,000 vehicles taken out of illicit private use and returned to exclusive regular government affairs. Construction of 2,580 unnecessary official buildings was stopped.

Systems to solidify those results are in place to ensure the effects of the campaign last. In the past year, spending on officials' travel, use of government vehicles, and construction of official buildings have been strictly regulated.

"The close of the campaign is not the end of good work styles," Xi told the meeting. The campaign, the President said, provided the Party with new experiences and a better understanding of how to organize educational activities, but the achievements were only the beginning and not set in stone. He called for the "mass line" to be a continuing aspect the Party's ties with the people .

Xi wants the responsibilities of different parts of the Party machine clarified, and ideological education combined with system building. He called for the Party to administer cadres strictly. Supervision, he said, is key to party building.