Xi Jinping: Leading cadres at all levels, especially senior cadres, must start from themselves, use power cleanly, and at the same time adhere to principles, dare to grasp and manage, establish "clear rules" and break "hidden rules", and promote through institutional reforms and institutional innovations The political ecology continues to improve.

　　This passage comes from a speech by Xi Jinping at the Sixth Plenary Meeting of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on January 12, 2016.

　　No rules no standards.

"Clear rules" mainly refer to the party constitution and discipline, constitutional laws, working procedures and fine traditions.

"Unspoken rules" mainly refer to unwritten rules that are secretly prevailing. Most of them involve violations of discipline and law, such as benefit transmission, power rent-seeking, and black box operations. They are highly utilitarian, concealed and contagious.

　　Individual leading cadres turned a deaf ear to the "clear rules" and knew the "hidden rules" well.

The party constitution and discipline are verbally hung, but in fact, "the wine glass is at one end, and the principles are relaxed"; he talks about the law to the masses, but he acts for his own purposes;

Behaviors of this kind have grown and spread, resulting in "clear rules" in vain, which not only undermines the party's ruling foundation, erode the government's credibility, but also corrupts the social atmosphere.

　　"Unspoken rules" prevail. From an ideological point of view, it is caused by the weak ideals and beliefs of some leading cadres, the distortion of power and values, and the failure to adhere to principles.

From an institutional point of view, there are loopholes in some laws and regulations, and "the bullpen cannot keep the cats".

　　"Unspoken rules" and "clear rules" are not at odds with each other. The establishment of "clear rules" is the leading aspect of resolving contradictions.

If you want "clear rules" to take root, one depends on education and the other depends on implementation.

It is necessary to fully implement the various thematic education proposed by the central government, supplement the "spiritual calcium", and lay a good "ideological vaccination," and it is also necessary to tighten the system cage in an all-round way so that the iron rules of the system can come into force.

　　Not breaking or standing, declaring war on the "unspoken rules" requires all party members and cadres to act, "do not want to submerge, not to be submerged", to strengthen the righteousness, eliminate evil, and clear up the turbidity.

Senior leading cadres must play a leading role, keep the ruler in mind, use power cleanly, adhere to principles, purify their "circle of friends", build their own "firewall", prevent unhealthy trends and evil spirits from being close, and continuously release positive energy to form Head goose effect.

Purifying the political ecology is the same as restoring the natural ecology. It is by no means an overnight effort. It needs to be promoted in concert through institutional reforms and institutional innovations, and will continue to work for a long time.

　　(Special expert in this issue: Yang Cailin, associate professor of School of Marxism, Beijing Institute of Technology)