Promote Socialist Rule of Law*

October 23, 2014

Uphold Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Features

To advance the rule of law in China, it is imperative that we take the right path. A false path will lead us to the very opposite of what we are trying to accomplish, and if that happens, no requirement or measure we introduce will work. There is a theme that runs through the "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Certain Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Law-Based Governance of China" we have adopted at this plenary session, which is the necessity of keeping to and expanding the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese features. This path constitutes an overall guideline. That is to say, China has achieved dozens of successes in its efforts to establish the rule of law, some large and some small. But ultimately these achievements boil down to one thing, and that is the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese features.

Frederick Engels once said, "[A] new program is after all a banner planted in public, and the outside world judges the party by it."¹ In any initiative we introduce, the public will stand behind the CPC as long as it has a clear-cut stand and the whole Party is in full action. The worst mistake a ruling party can commit is to show indecisiveness on matters of extreme importance, encouraging arguments to rage and division to grow. Consequently, those with ulterior motives will fan the flames of discontent, lead the public astray, and stir up trouble. In the end there are bound to be problems. So there is no room for ambiguity in the question of our path. We must send a clear and correct signal to the public.

The decision to advance the rule of law reflects the CPC's will to enhance its governance capacity. It did so not because of pressure. On the fundamental issue of keeping to and extending the path of socialist rule of law, we need to demonstrate both confidence and resolve. This is a major proposition, with many aspects that we need to explore and study in depth. But the fundamental elements of the path must be permanent.

First, we must uphold the leadership of the CPC.

Upholding the Party's leadership is the essential feature of China's socialism and a fundamental guarantee for socialist rule of law in the country. In keeping to the path of socialist rule of law, the most important thing is that we uphold the leadership of the Party. It was the Party that proposed the rule of law in China and then made it a fundamental principle by which the Party leads the people in governing the country. In addition, the Party leads the people in advancing the rule of law in practice. Therefore, our comprehensive efforts to advance the rule of law must be conducive to strengthening and improving the Party's leadership, bolstering its position as the governing party, and accomplishing its mission in governing the country. In absolutely no way does this amount to weakening the leadership of the CPC.

Upholding the Party's leadership is fundamental to socialist rule of law, and is integral to our comprehensive efforts to advance the rule of law in China. We need to uphold the Party's leadership throughout the whole process and in every aspect of the law-based governance of the country, ensuring that the Party's leadership, the people's position as masters of the country and the rule of law form an inseparable whole. Only when the rule of law is enforced strictly under the leadership of the CPC will the people fully realize their role as masters of the country, and only then will the introduction of the rule of law into national and social affairs take place smoothly.

Upholding the Party's leadership is not an empty slogan, but something that must be manifested in practice through the Party's endeavors to lead legislation, ensure law enforcement, support the administration of justice, and take the lead in abiding by the law. On the one hand, we need to give play to the CPC's core role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating efforts from all quarters, bring all aspects of law-based governance under the CPC's overall planning, and ensure that the CPC's propositions are carried out throughout the whole process and in every aspect of the rule of law. On the other hand, we need to improve CPC leadership in law-based governance, and continue to raise its capacity to lead in this regard. The Party must exercise law-based governance and political power, confining its activities to the boundaries stipulated by the Constitution and the law; at the same time it must also fully employ Party organizations, members, and officials as a leading political core and pioneer for enforcing the rule of law.

Second, we must uphold the principal position of the people.

China's socialist system ensures that the people assume the principal position as masters of the country. It also ensures that the people are the primary actors in advancing the rule of law. This is a strength of our system, and the fundamental distinction between socialist rule of law with Chinese features and capitalist rule of law.

To uphold the principal position of the people, we must develop the rule of law for the people and rely on them, and it must benefit and protect them. We must ensure that the people, under the leadership of the CPC, are able to administer state affairs and manage economic, cultural, and social affairs through various channels and in various ways as provided by law. Moreover, we must integrate representing the people's interests, reflecting their wishes, protecting their rights, and improving their wellbeing into the whole process of our law-based governance, ensuring that the will of the people is embodied not just in laws themselves but also in their enforcement.

Just as the rights and interests of the people are protected by the law, the authority of the law must be maintained by the people. We need to motivate the public to actively involve themselves in the practice of the rule of law; enable the people as a whole to become devoted advocates, conscientious observers, and resolute defenders of socialist rule of law; and ensure that all share a common aspiration to respect the law, trust the law, observe the law, apply the law, and defend the law.

Third, we must uphold the principle that all are equal before the law.

Equality is a basic attribute of socialist law and a fundamental requirement of socialist rule of law. The principle that all are equal before the law must be reflected in all aspects of legislation, law enforcement, judicial practice, and law observance. All organizations and individuals must respect the authority of the Constitution and law; confine their activities to the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution and law; and exercise powers, enjoy rights, perform duties, and fulfill obligations in accordance with the Constitution and law. No organization or individual will be permitted to enjoy special privileges that place them above the Constitution and law. Whoever violates the Constitution or law must face punishment. Under no circumstances can any individual, under any pretext or in any way, be allowed to arbitrarily override the law, place their power above the authority of the law, or bend the law for their personal gain.

Officials at all levels shoulder an important responsibility in advancing the rule of law. Some Party members and officials still think that the country is under rule by man. They consider that they are the ones in charge, and believe that conducting affairs in accordance with the law is overly complicated and unnecessarily restricting. Convinced that they should have the final say in everything, they are totally oblivious to the existence of the law, and are bent on overriding it with their authority at every turn. Not until this practice ends will we stand a chance of genuinely realizing the rule of law.

It is therefore very important to make sure that officials, though small in number, play a key role in implementing the rule of law. First of all, we need to make sure that they have the right mindset. We must guide officials at all levels to understand that maintaining the authority of the Constitution and law means maintaining the authority of the common will of the CPC and the people; that safeguarding the inviolability of the Constitution and law means safeguarding the inviolability of the common will of the CPC and the people; and that guaranteeing the enforcement of the Constitution and law means guaranteeing the realization of the common will of the CPC and the people.

It is essential that we are earnest in our efforts to promote and enforce the rule of law. Officials at all levels must have a reverence for the law, lead the way in handling affairs in accordance with the law, and set a good example in observing the law. They must strive to become more adept at using law-based thinking and approaches to carry out reform, promote development, resolve conflicts, and maintain stability. In a short term, it may not appear harmful to simply shout out slogans, put on appearances, and feign support instead of taking real action. But the moment problems grow beyond our ability to resolve, the consequences of our inaction will be catastrophic. Therefore, no matter who they are or who is involved, officials who break the law must be held legally accountable for their actions. Under no circumstances can we tolerate the existence of a "neutral gear" in our law enforcement and judicial practice. We need to identify progress in law-based governance as an important criterion for evaluating the performance of leadership and officials at all levels. At the same time, we need to include observing the law and acting in accordance with the law as an important part of the performance assessment of individual officials.

Fourth, we must integrate the rule of law with the rule of virtue.

Laws are ethics that have been written down, while ethics are laws that we follow in our hearts. Both function to regulate social behavior and maintain social order. Therefore, in running our country and society, we need to lay emphasis on both the rule of law and the rule of virtue, ensuring both the role of the law in regulating behavior and the role of ethics in shaping the mind, so that law and virtue promote and enhance each other and rule of law and rule of virtue complement each other.

To ensure the role of the law in regulating behavior, we must ensure that the rule of law gives expression to virtues and that the law better promotes the development of civic morality. Ethics constitute the foundation of the law. This means that only laws that conform to ethics and have deep moral foundations will be conscientiously observed by the majority of the people. The law, on the other hand, serves to safeguard ethics. This means that good civic ethics can be fostered through compulsory regulation of people's behavior and punishment of those who break the law. We need to work harder to turn basic ethics and conventions into laws and regulations, ensuring that our laws and regulations are more representative of virtues and humanistic spirit. At the same time, we need to draw upon the mandatory force of the law to reinforce morals and ensure the basic moral standards, so as to enhance the overall moral fabric of our society.

To ensure the role of ethics in shaping the mind, we must nurture the rule of law with ethics and strengthen the role ethics play in fostering a culture of rule of law. No matter how many laws we make, or how good those laws are, people will only genuinely abide by them once they have become ingrained in their subconscious. As the saying goes, "A person without shame knows no limits."² Without the nutrition that virtue provides, the culture of rule of law will have nothing to sustain itself, and we will lack a solid social foundation on which to enforce our laws. As we advance the rule of law in China, we must promote the core socialist values, carry forward traditional Chinese virtues, and cultivate social morality, professional ethics, family values, and the moral integrity of individuals. By raising the moral integrity of our people as a whole, we will create a favorable humanistic environment to underpin the rule of law in China.

Fifth, we must base our work on the prevailing conditions in China.

A country's basic conditions determine the path it will take to promote the rule of law and the system it will establish for the rule of law. In the Book of Lord Shang (Shang Jun Shu) it is written: "In governing a country, a wise ruler establishes laws through observing popular customs, thus bringing order. He understands the fundamentals of the land he rules, thus implementing appropriate policies. Where the customs of the times are ignored and the fundamentals of the land neglected, the people will fall into disorder even when laws are made. And the ruler may be kept busy but will achieve little." Therefore, in our efforts to advance the rule of law, we must base our work on the realities of China and in line with our push to modernize the country's governance system and governance capacity. In this effort, we can neither afford to disregard the conditions that currently prevail in our country and race ahead of ourselves, nor can we afford to simply stick to old ways and guard old conventions.

To base our work in reality, we need to lay emphasis on what is practical, what is contemporary, and what is quintessentially Chinese. We need to summarize and apply the successful experience that the CPC has gained in leading the people to promote the rule of law.

With a view to addressing major theoretical and practical issues in the development of socialist rule of law, we must work constantly to develop and enrich a theory that conforms to China's conditions, displays Chinese features, and reflects the objective law of social development. Long ago, our ancestors began to think about the question of how the excesses of human behavior could best be reined in. China's first systematically compiled code of written laws appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221 BC). In the years from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), China succeeded in establishing what was essentially a fully developed set of written laws. The legal system of ancient China embodied a huge wealth of knowledge and wisdom, allowing it to occupy a unique place among the major legal systems of the world. We need to take note of the successes and failures of China's ancient legal traditions; identify, extract, and promote the very finest elements of China's traditional legal culture; and selectively integrate these elements into our present initiatives.

Basing our work on reality does not mean that we can develop the rule of law in isolation from the rest of the world. The rule of law is one of the most important accomplishments of human civilization. Its quintessence and gist have universal significance for the national and social governance of all countries. Therefore, we must learn from the achievements of other countries. However, learning from others does not equate to simply copying them. Putting our own needs first, we must carefully discern between the good and the bad and adopt the practices of others within reason. Under no circumstances can we engage in "all-out Westernization", or a "complete transplant" of the systems of others, or copy from other countries indiscriminately.

Do Solid Work to Carry Out All Tasks Put Forward by the Plenary Session

At this plenary session, we have made comprehensive plans to advance the rule of law in China. In total we have introduced more than 180 important measures, covering all aspects of the rule of law. Now, with a strong sense of urgency and a sound work ethic, the entire Party must do solid work to implement each of the tasks defined at the session.

First, in keeping with our overall objective, we need to press ahead with efforts to establish a system of socialist rule of law. Our overall objective is to establish a system of socialist rule of law with distinctive Chinese features and establish China as a socialist country under the rule of law. This objective is a constant theme that runs throughout the resolution we have adopted at this plenary session. It not only defines the nature and direction of our efforts to advance law-based governance, but also highlights the focus and the approach in this effort. This objective can therefore be regarded as an overall guideline directing China's efforts to advance the rule of law.

All work to this end must be planned and carried out in the interest of furthering our overall objective. The system of rule of law that we are building constitutes a core part of our national governance system. To implement the measures adopted at this plenary session, we must establish a complete system of laws, a highly effective enforcement system, a stringent scrutiny system and effective supporting measures, and a sound system of Party regulations.

The Song Dynasty statesman Wang Anshi once wrote, "When the law of the land under heaven is good, there will be order in the land under heaven; when the laws of the state are good, there will be order in the state."³ Following this spirit, we need to ensure that legislation precedes reform. We must place equal emphasis on making new laws, revising existing ones, abolishing those that are outdated, and interpreting laws that need clarification. We must work harder to improve laws, administrative regulations, and local regulations; and further refine a framework of social norms including codes of conduct for citizens, industry rules and regulations, and charters of organizations. This will enable us to lay down the basic foundations for advancing the rule of law. We must build institutions to implement the Constitution and ensure judicial practice and the enforcement and observance of the law, and we must uphold lawbased government administration and judicial impartiality, and ensure that the Constitution and law are enforced fully and effectively. At the same time, we need to enhance various forms of scrutiny, including internal Party scrutiny, scrutiny by people's congresses, scrutiny by other political parties, administrative scrutiny, judicial scrutiny, scrutiny through auditing, public scrutiny, and scrutiny by the media. We must strive to establish a sound and effective system for checking and overseeing the exercise of power, and increase its synergy and effectiveness.

We also need to improve institutions for formulating Party regulations, coordinate Party regulations with state laws, establish a framework of Party regulations and supporting provisions that is based on the Constitution of the CPC, and ensure effective enforcement of these regulations. The Constitution of the CPC and other Party regulations ask more of Party members than ordinary laws do. Party members are not only required to strictly abide by state laws and regulations, but are also required to strictly observe the Constitution and regulations of the Party.

Second, in keeping with our overall objective, we need to make coordinated efforts to exercise law-based governance, political power and administration; and adopt a holistic approach to establishing a law-based country, government, and society.

The comprehensive advancement of law-based governance in China represents a great systematic endeavor. Therefore, we must take many factors into consideration, identify priorities, and formulate integrated plans. We must focus on pushing forward initiatives in a balanced way, and devote our efforts to achieving the integrated development of a law-based country, government, and society.

"The greatest challenge for a country lies not in making laws, but in putting those laws into effect."⁴ The rule of law is enshrined in China's Constitution as the fundamental principle of the country's national governance. However, the crucial factors determining whether or not the rule of law can be realized in practice are whether the CPC can keep its commitment to law-based governance, and whether governments at all levels can administer in accordance with the law. It is therefore necessary that we become more aware of governing in accordance with the law; work in line with law-based ideas, systems, and procedures; improve the way the CPC leads and exercises power; and advance law-based governance on the basis of clearly defined systems, standards, and procedures. The enforcement of the law represents the primary means by which administrative agencies carry out governmental functions and administer economic and social affairs. Governments at all levels are required to carry out their functions in full and in accordance with the law, performing those functions that have been prescribed by law while refraining from acting where the law has not authorized them to act. They must improve mechanisms for law-based decision-making; improve law enforcement procedures; strictly define responsibilities in law enforcement; and strive to ensure that law enforcement is carried out in a strict, standardized, impartial, and civil manner.

The law-based country, government, and society each have their own areas of focus, which allows them to exert a mutually reinforcing effect on one another. The comprehensive advancement of the rule of law requires the involvement of all sectors of society. It requires that we foster a stronger public awareness of the rule of law, spread the spirit of socialist rule of law throughout our society, and build a culture of socialist rule of law. By establishing the authority of the law throughout our society, we will enable the people to understand that the law is both a powerful tool that they can use to protect their rights and a code of conduct that they must follow. We need to foster a sound social environment in which members of society conduct their business in accordance with the law, turn to the law when they need assistance, and rely on the law to solve their problems. In this way, people will consciously choose not to break the law, and consciously uphold the authority of the rule of law.

Third, as our priorities we must ensure that law-making is conducted through well-conceived procedures, that the law is enforced strictly, that justice is administered impartially, and that the law is observed by all.

It is essential that we build on our existing efforts, highlight priority tasks, and advance our initiatives in a steady and orderly fashion.

To ensure that law-making is conducted through well-conceived procedures, we must improve the legislative system, and work hard to ensure well-considered and democratic law-making, with our focus on improving the quality of legislation. We need to improve the allocation of legislative functions and powers; give full play to the central role of the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee in legislation; improve mechanisms for drafting, evaluating, coordinating, and deliberating legislation; improve procedures for voting on bills; make our legislation more responsive, systematic, targeted, and effective; and make laws and regulations more operable and enforceable. We need to clearly define the boundaries of legislative power and employ systems, mechanisms, and procedures to prevent the enactment of laws that protect departmental interests or encourage local protectionism. At the same time, we need to step up legislation in priority areas; promptly reflect in our law-making activities the needs that must be met to further the undertakings of the Party and the country and the concerns and expectations of the public; and waste no time in formulating and amending laws pertaining to advancing reform, promoting economic development, improving social governance, ensuring public wellbeing, and safeguarding national security.

To ensure that the law is enforced strictly, we need to focus our efforts on resolving serious problems, such as failure to enforce the law in a standardized, transparent, and civil manner, as well as nonfeasance and malfeasance in law enforcement. With the goal of building law-based government, we need to establish a mechanism reviewing the legality of major decisions made by government departments and agencies; introduce a system of government legal counsels; codify governmental institutions, functions, powers, procedures, and responsibilities into law; and promote the procedure- and law-based exercise of power by governments at all levels. We need to comprehensively promote transparent government; strengthen checks on and scrutiny over the exercise of administrative powers; and put in place a system of law-based administration that balances powers with responsibilities and that is both authoritative and effective. At the same time, we need to impose strict requirements on credentials in law enforcement, make improvements to law enforcement procedures, and establish a set of benchmark standards for administrative discretion, thereby ensuring the impartial and effective enforcement of the law.

To ensure that justice is administered impartially, we need to focus on optimizing the allocation of judicial functions and powers and making better institutional arrangements for the exercise of judicial power in which the division of powers is both complementary and mutually restrictive. Party organizations and officials at all levels are required to show unequivocal support for the lawful and independent functioning of judicial authorities, and are under no circumstances permitted to intervene in the administration of justice. Confucius once said, "People will obey you if you promote righteous men and suppress evil men. And they will disobey you if you do the contrary."⁵ Judicial officers must be upright and brave enough to assume responsibility. They must have the courage to lawfully reject interference from both inside and outside the judicial system, and stand their ground in defense of judicial impartiality. To achieve this, we must promote judicial impartiality and credibility through greater openness; establish a judiciary system that is open, dynamic, transparent, and accessible to the public; put an end to backroom dealings; and resolutely fight judicial corruption.

To ensure that the law is observed by all, we must raise awareness of the rule of law among the general public. We must view the efforts to spread basic legal knowledge among the people and to encourage them to abide by the law as long-term, fundamental tasks of the lawbased governance of the country, and take highly effective measures to strengthen publicity and educational initiatives concerning our legal system. We must start education on the rule of law with the child; incorporate such education into our national education system and our initiatives for cultural and ethical progress; and constantly enhance the awareness of rules among young people, starting out with simple requirements before moving on progressively to more difficult ones. At the same time, we need to keep adequate records regarding compliance with the law on the part of citizens and organizations; improve the mechanism to reward people for good faith when they abide by the law and punish them for bad faith when they break it; and create a social atmosphere in which people feel that it is honorable to abide by the law and disgraceful to break it, so that all people show respect for the law and act consciously to observe it.

Fourth, we need to strive to build a strong contingent of professionals devoted to the rule of law. It is of critical importance that they have strong moral integrity and high professional competence. In China, specialists in the enforcement of the rule of law are made up mainly of individuals from people's congresses and the government who are involved in legislative work, those from administrative branches who are involved in law enforcement, and those from judicial branches who are involved in the administration of justice. As we advance the rule of law, we should first build a contingent of such people.

Legislative, law enforcement, and judicial personnel have both similarities and differences. Each has an extremely important role to play. Legislation is a sacred task that aims to lay down the rules of our country and society. Those involved in legislative work must have a high level of political integrity. They must possess the ability to respect objective laws, promote democracy, coordinate more effectively with others, and build consensus. Law enforcement is a crucial process of bringing laws off the page and into the real world. Law enforcement personnel must be loyal to the law and must safeguard the law. With the courage to take responsibility, they must strive to enforce the law strictly. The judiciary is the last line of defense against violations of social norms and justice. Those working in the judiciary must believe in the law and uphold the rule of law. They must keep the scales in balance, hold the gavel firmly in their own hands, and exercise the law justly and impartially. In line with the requirement that our legislative, law enforcement, and judicial personnel are politically upright, professionally competent, highly accountable, and strongly disciplined in their conduct, we must educate and guide these people to firmly embrace socialist rule of law and strictly observe professional ethics, ensuring that they are loyal to the Party, the country, the people, and the law.

Lawyers constitute an important force in our endeavor to develop the rule of law. We must work hard to enhance lawyers' political integrity, and upholding the Party's leadership and upholding socialist rule of law must be essential requirements for people to become legal practitioners.

Fifth, we must resolutely advance reform in the domain of law-based governance, tearing down institutional obstacles. The fundamental solution to problems in this domain is reform. There is no way we will be able to solve major problems if we insist on operating exclusively within the framework of old systems and mechanisms, if we greet new circumstances and issues with old practices, or if we simply make piecemeal changes here and there. When the resolution of this plenary session was being drafted, I said that it would be better to have no resolution at all than have one that was weak. The resolution would have to confront problems and focus on them. It would have to address issues of major concern to officials and the public in the area of law-based governance, and respond to the various concerns of society.

At this plenary session we have studied and laid out plans for comprehensively advancing the rule of law in China. While its scope may not be as far ranging as that of the third plenary session last year, this session will nevertheless have a wide-ranging impact on our reform, development, and stability; on our domestic affairs, foreign affairs, and national defense; and on our governance of the Party, the state, and the armed forces. In this sense, its implications and scope are by no means limited. At this plenary session we have introduced more than 180 major reform measures. Many of these measures will be hard nuts to crack, as they involve changes to the distribution of interests and powers. But every reform measure that has been written into the resolution represents something that we have set our sights on, and that must be carried out. We must therefore have the courage to bring change to ourselves, solving one problem at a time and putting reforms into effect one after another.

Reform in the realm of law-based governance involves primarily organs of state power and powerful departments, such as public security, prosecution, court and judicial departments. The public attention our reforms have attracted and the high level of difficulty in carrying them out mean that we need to show even greater broad-mindedness in bringing change to ourselves. If we limit ourselves to our own little world, dwelling on the powers and interests of departments and haggling over minor issues, the result will surely be limited progress achieving little or nothing of real import. After all, what reform does not challenge existing roles, powers, and interests? We must have the courage to challenge what needs to be challenged, and all involved must bear the broader picture in mind. It is imperative that departments and interested parties foster a stronger awareness of the overall situation, consciously think and act in line with the overall situation, free themselves from a closed departmental mentality, and support each other in their initiatives. The criteria for gauging the effectiveness of reform should be the number of actual problems we solve and the degree of public satisfaction we engender by solving those problems. Whatever obstruction or interference we come up against, we must resolutely press ahead with any reform measure that is conducive to raising the Party's governance capacity, to bolstering its position as the governing party, to maintaining the authority of the Constitution and law, to safeguarding the rights and interests of the people, to upholding equity and justice, and to preserving national security and stability. We cannot under any circumstances neglect the important while we dwell on the trivial, shirk our responsibilities, or drag our feet.

A feature of reform in the domain of law-based governance is the fact that many issues involve legal provisions. It is true that reform must have a legal basis. But we must not lack the courage to step beyond the limits just because such action is not provided for in our existing laws. If that were the case, reform would be unable to continue. Hence the old saying, "If it is good for the people, there is no need to follow the practices of antiquity; if it serves the matter at hand, there is no need to observe the conventions of old."⁶ Therefore, where reform is required in the future, we can make necessary amendments to our existing laws before advancing the reform. The Leading Group for Further Reform under the CPC Central Committee will be required to carefully study and oversee matters pertaining to reform.

The comprehensive advancement of the rule of law is a systematic undertaking and a profound and far-reaching revolution in the governance of our country. It is imperative that we strengthen the Party's organizational leadership over initiatives pertaining to the rule of law. On the one hand, the Party committees at all levels must improve the systems and work mechanisms by which the CPC exercises guidance over law-based governance, and assume leadership responsibilities in the implementation of the rule of law in your respective regions and departments. Once you have identified the priorities, you must quickly formulate detailed guidelines and plans for putting into effect the guiding principles of this plenary session. On the other hand, we must place the focus for our work at the community level. We need to make full use of the role of community-level Party committees in advancing the rule of law; enhance the competence of community-level organizations and personnel in carrying out the rule of law; educate and guide community-level Party members and officials to strengthen their awareness of the rule of law and raise their ability to act by law; and work hard to carry out at the community level the various tasks and measures put forward by the plenary session.

* Part of the speech at the second full assembly of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

Notes 

¹  Frederick Engels: "Engels to August Bebel", Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Collected Works, Vol. 45, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1991, p. 65. 

²  Ouyang Xiu: A Collection of Ancient Works (Ji Gu Lu Ba Wei). Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) was a statesman and writer of the Northern Song Dynasty. 

³  Wang Anshi: "The Duke of Zhou" (Zhou Gong). Wang Anshi (1021-1086) was a thinker, writer and statesman of the Northern Song Dynasty. 

⁴ Zhang Juzheng: "Memorial to the Emperor on the Performance Evaluation of Officials" (Qing Ji Cha Zhang Zou Sui Shi Kao Cheng Yi Xiu Shi Zheng Shu). Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582) was a statesman of the Ming Dynasty. 

⁵ The Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu). 

⁶ Huai Nan Zi.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)