China advances discipline inspection reforms with new documents

A new set of procedures for choosing heads for the Communist Party of China's (CPC's) discipline inspection branches have been outlined in three documents.

The documents, approved at Friday's 9th meeting of the central leading group for deepening overall reform, stipulate procedures for nomination and assessment of heads and deputy heads of discipline inspection commissions at provincial-level, leaders and deputy leaders of stationed inspection teams sent by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, as well as leaders and deputy leaders of inspection commissions at state-owned enterprises under the central government's administration, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

The meeting was presided over by Chinese President and General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping and attended by senior leaders Li Keqiang, Liu Yunshan and Zhang Gaoli.

The documents are expected to reinforce independence and authority of discipline inspection commissions while furthering leadership by the Party in the anti-corruption drive, the statement said.

Reforms in the CPC's discipline inspection system must be deepened and the supervision by superior inspection authorities must also be strengthened, the statement said.

Leaders of discipline inspectors are backbones for the process and choosing such officials must be done with high standards and strict requirements, it added.

The statement said these officials should be committed and courageous to practice supervision and other responsibilities. < It called on Party organizations, discipline inspection authorities and personnel departments at all levels to carefully implement the new documents.

"Those who enforce the law must first observe the rules and those who discipline others must first be self-disciplined," it said, calling on the inspectors to strictly adhere to political disciplines, perform their duties and be loyal to the Party.

ENSURING REFORM MEASURES STRIKE ROOTS

During the meeting, Xi mandated intensified efforts to improve the quality and implementation of reform measures.

Friday's meeting also approved an implementation plan for deepening judicial and social system reform.

The plan clarifies policy choices, division of responsibilities, timetable, and the requirements of various reform tasks, while emphasizing the coordination of different tasks so they complement and support each other, according to a statement released Friday after the meeting.

"In depth supervision and inspection is imperative," said Xi, who leads the leading group which was established in December 2013 to direct the ongoing reform drive.

"Efforts should be made to ensure the reform measures work and actually solve the problems," said Xi.

It was decided that the number of problems solved and public satisfaction should be used to appraise the effects of judicial and social system reform.

Reform at the central and local level should be coordinated, the statement said.

"For reform tasks which need the central authority to set the tone or draw the line, unified deployment should be made and a line should be drawn in a timely manner; For those which need the local agencies to explore ways and gain firsthand experience, the central authority should empower them to do so," it said.

The leadership called for efforts to improve quality of reform plans, target problems and institutional woes, and be courageous to break barriers derived from interests of different departments.