Historic step for rule of law

The Fourth Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which ended on Thursday, has made it clear that governance according to law will have institutional guarantee.

Institutional guarantee is the supremacy of the Constitution, which for the first time has been emphasized as the core of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics in an important Party document.

The communiqué issued by the Fourth Plenum says that abiding by the Constitution is a prerequisite for establishing the rule of law in the country. An institution should be established for the implementation of the Constitution and so should a system to ensure that citizens' rights stipulated in the Constitution are protected.

What is especially noteworthy in the communiqué is the emphasis that the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, and its Standing Committee will get more power to supervise the implementation of the Constitution. Also, a procedural mechanism will be established for the interpretation of the Constitution.

It goes without saying that there is room for improvement when it comes to the implementation of the Constitution under the country's political system with the CPC as the governing party. Establishing the supremacy of the Constitution and allowing citizens to enjoy the rights stipulated in the Constitution is not in conflict with what the CPC pursues despite the abuse of power by some Party members and government officials tarnishing the Party's image and thereby creating an impression that the implementation of the Constitution may not be conducive to the Party's plans.

The anti-corruption campaign in recent years has validated the leadership's resolve to build the Party into a political force dedicated to the rejuvenation of the nation. The decisions reached at the plenum to base the country's major policy making on law, give full play to the judiciary and pull up officials intervening in the judicial system point to the building of a mechanism that cages power.

What the new leadership has done indicates that building a clean Party with strong governing capability conforms to the promotion of the rule of law, which has found pride of place in the call for the implementation of the Constitution in the plenum's communiqué. They are complementary.

Citizens with a strong sense of rule of law will act as deterrent to corruption in the Party and the government. And a clean and strong Party will better protect the rights of citizens and help take the country toward greater prosperity.