Top leadership studies anticorruption ahead of CPC anniversary

BEIJING-- As the Communist Party of China (CPC) prepares to celebrate the 94th anniversary of its founding next Wednesday, top leaders gathered on Friday to discuss how the Party can rid itself of corruption.

At the study session, President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that weeding out undesirable work styles and corruption fundamentally relies on law and regulations, which must be at the heart of the drive.

We must make sure officials dare not be corrupt, cannot be corrupt and do not want to be corrupt, he said.

Xi stressed the importance of the Party's fight against corruption in carrying out the "Four Comprehensives," a strategic layout for national renewal.

He said that though previous efforts had succeeded in refreshing the Party and government, and renewing the faith of Party members and the public, problems remain and the CPC still faces an uphill battle against corruption.

"There can be no rest or turning back in our anticorruption drive," Xi said.

To improve the anticorruption system, current rules and regulations must be revised and new ones drafted, said Xi.

On the same day, the CPC issued a new regulation on the performance of officials, promising that ineptitude could result in demotion or dismissal. It also revised a regulation on discipline inspection, the first change since the rule came into force in 2009.

"We must discipline violators seriously, making no exceptions for the powerful, not indulging minor offenses and not letting violators go, even if they are legion," said Xi, adding that the CPC should guard against "broken windows theory," referring to the idea that petty crime need to be stopped to prevent more serious crime.

He also pledged to optimize the accountability mechanism for officials in line with current law.

Group study is a system China's top leadership uses to discuss major issues. This was the 24th group study of the 18th Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.