Twenty-five members of China's top leadership criticized themselves and each other at a two-day meeting which ended on Tuesday.
But unlike the attacks, defamation and even insult commonly seen in western political rivalries, the "democratic life meeting" saw the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee reach a consensus and add collective momentum to the anti-graft campaign.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, urged his fellows at the political bureau to avoid a sense of superiority regarding their power or status and keep an eye on their relatives and close aides.
Xie Chuntao, a professor from Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said as a time-honored tradition, the "democratic life meeting" is an effective way for the CPC, with 88 million members now, to reflect on its problems and find methods to improve itself, especially when China now runs into slowing economic growth and environmental degradation.
A TIME-HONORED TRADITION
Xi has attended similar sessions in the past two years as part of the effort to galvanize the "mass line" campaign, which aims to clean up undesirable work styles and build a closer connection between the Party and the masses.
"Party members and cadres should be taught to look in the mirror, straighten their attire, take a bath and seek remedies," Xi once said, referring to the importance of the meeting.
But it was the first and only such meeting for the political bureau this year, whose 25 members are in charge of all major facets of Chinese politics, including heads of China's central government and national parliament, two vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission and those who hold important regional positions, for instance the party chiefs of Beijing, Shanghai and Xinjiang.
"In the past, the democratic life meeting was many times viewed only as a formality, sometimes it was an occasion for attendees to lavish praise rather than criticism," said Xie.
Restoration of the practice needs the leading role of Party leadership, he said.
Kong Bo, a local party leader of Jieyang city in Guangdong Province, said the democratic life meeting of the political bureau has set an example for grass-roots level party organizations.
"Western-style political parties only know to attack each other while ignoring their own problems, nor dare they publicly talk about their problems, while the CPC can face up to its problems and talk about its shortcomings," said Xie.
