BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The central authorities of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have issued a circular on the next phase of the "mass line" campaign to strengthen ties between the people and the Party.
Launched in June 2013, the initiative was aimed at making government more accessible to the general population, while cleaning up four undesirable work styles -- formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.
The campaign has started its second phase scheduled from January to September 2014, targeting low-level departments and leaderships, such as those of city and county-level as well as grassroot units, while the first phase of the campaign included provincial-level departments, according to the circular issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.
Experts estimated the second phase will cover more than 69 million Party members in 140,000 cities, counties and townships.
The second phase will focus on improving work styles in the grassroots, including preventing image projects or those showing off achievements of certain government officials, according to the circular.
Officials are urged to solve all problems that undermine the people's interests concerning education, employment, social insurance, medical care and housing, and to safeguard their legitimate rights about food and drug safety, public security, judicial justice and petitioning.
The circular pledged severe punishment for corrupt officials and those found weak, lazy, undisciplined and abusing power in serving the people.
Nearly 7,700 officials were given punishment for violating CPC rules during the first batch of the campaign and experts believe the second phase will be more strict in rectifying officials' undesirable work style.
Each member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee will choose a county as a point of contact to guide the "mass line" campaign.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said on Monday during a mobilization meeting that the "mass line" campaign is like a CPC "hereditary treasure" that can keep its vitality, while he called for a focus on both education and practice in its tenets so as to establish the mass viewpoint of Marxism deeply into Party members' minds and their actions.
He warned against any restoration of undesirable work styles, saying that although the campaign will run for a limited time, implementing the mass line is an everlasting mission.
Related:
Xi urges further "mass line" efforts
BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for further efforts to implement the "mass line" campaign designed to strengthen ties between the people and the Communist Party of China (CPC).
In a videophone conference on plans for the second phase of the campaign, Xi urged the Party to capitalize on its learnings from the first phase, solving problems concerning people's immediate interests and improving work styles in the grassroots so as to benefit the people. Full story
Discipline organ urges further "mass line" efforts
BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The discipline organ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday called for further carrying out of the "mass line" campaign to enhance ties with the people.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) held a meeting on Tuesday to convey the spirit of another meeting the day before about the campaign. Wang Qishan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and secretary of the CCDI, presided. Full story
China's military furthers "mass line" campaign
BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese military officials on Thursday called on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to carry out the "mass line" campaign to build a strong military.
During a PLA conference on the second phase of the campaign, Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), urged efforts to ensure the campaign reaches every corner of the military and thorough implementation of requirements to root out bad workstyles. Full story
