That Xi Jinping, the newly elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, connected the fight against corruption with the fate of the party and the country indicates he and his colleagues know the severity of the task ahead. Xi, speaking at the first study session of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC on Saturday, said that the increasingly rampant corruption, if unchecked, would eventually result in the collapse of the party and thereafter the country. He said the corruption cases involving government officials in recent years had seriously tarnished the image of the party. He stressed that party committees at all levels must fight against corruption ... and the fight must be carried out in a more effective and institutionalised way.

…[T]here are not enough institutional mechanisms to prevent power from being gripped by leaders at various levels, who can then wield power according to their own will. Both the central government and party leaders have mentioned on many occasions the need for the optimisation of institutions to prevent government and party officials from abusing their power. And the party constitution … states that the supervision of leading officials must be intensified.

Xi said … that although the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is unique and effective, institution-building and consolidation must be placed at the top of the party’s agenda. …Therefore, some new institutional mechanisms can be expected … to intensify supervision over leaders at all levels. Xi obviously means what he said, and clearly the battle against corruption will be one of the major tasks of this central committee. —(Nov 20)