Communique of the 4th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of CPC

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Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session

of the 18th Central Committee of

the Communist Party of China

October 23, 2014

Translated by

Compilation and Translation Bureau

of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, 2014.

The session was attended by 199 members and 164 alternate members of the Central Committee. Members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and other leaders concerned were present at the session in a non-voting capacity, as were some community-level colleagues who had acted as delegates to the 18th National Party Congress, as well as experts and scholars.

The session was presided over by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee, spokeat the session.

Participants at the session listened to and deliberated over the report on the work of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee presented by Xi Jinping on the bureau's behalf. They also examined and approved the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Law-Based Governance of China after Xi Jinping had presented an explanation on the draft of this resolution at the session.

Participants at the session fully affirmed the work that the Political Bureau of the Central Committee has carried out since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee. They agreed unanimously that since that third plenary session, faced with a complicated international situation and the onerous tasks of domestic reform and development, the Political Bureau has been fully implementing the guiding principles of the 18th National Party Congress and the first, second, and third plenary sessions of the 18th Central Committee; holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; taking Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development as its guide; and thoroughly implementing the guiding principles from major speeches by General Secretary Xi Jinping.

It has unitedand led the entire Party, the whole military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, undertaken coordinated planning on both the international and domestic scenes, and firmly adhered to the general work guideline of making progress while ensuring stability. It has maintained strategic composure, and has been comprehensively deepening reform to give impetus to all its work. From the perspective of both the way of thinking and institutions, it has worked hard in its planning on strategic and long-term issues as well as issues that affect the whole picture concerning reform, development, and stability; domestic and foreign affairs and national defense; and the governance of the Party, the country, and the military.

To adjust to the new normal in China's economic development, the Political Bureau has created new ways of thinking and methods for regulating at the macro level, worked to solve problems hindering economic and social development, and strived to provide safeguards for and improve the people's standard of living. It has also basically completed the campaign to heighten awareness of and implement the Party's mass line, remained committed to fighting corruption, and responded effectively to all kinds of risks and challenges. It has thus made fresh progress in all its work and ushered in a new stage of development for the cause of the Party and country.

Those at the session gave a positive appraisal of the historic achievements China has made in developing socialist rule of law over the years, especially since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee. Participants at the session examined certain major issues concerning comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of China. They maintained that it is essential to comprehensively advance the law-based governance of the country in order to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, realize the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, comprehensively deepen reform, improve and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and improve the Party's capacity for and adeptness at governance.

It was noted at the session that, facing the new situation and new tasks, it is imperative to have the rule of law play a greater role in leading and standardizing our practices in order to help our Party to do better in conducting coordinated planning on both the international and domestic scenes; safeguarding and utilizing this important period of strategic opportunities for China's development; and pooling together all energies of society, balancing interests in society, coordinating social relations, and standardizing social behavior, so that as Chinese society is undergoing profound changes it is both full of life and vibrancy and in good order, and so that China enjoys economic development, political integrity, cultural prosperity, social justice, and a healthy ecology, and attains its strategic goal of peaceful development.

It was stressed at the session that in comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country, we must implement the guiding principles of the 18th National Party Congress and the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee; hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; take Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development as our guide; and thoroughly implement the guiding principles from major speeches by General Secretary Xi Jinping.

We must remain committed to the integration of the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country; keep firmly to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics; resolutely uphold the authority of the Constitution and laws; use the law to safeguard the rights and interests of the people, protect social equity and justice, and defend national security and stability; and thus, through the rule of law, provide a powerful guarantee for achieving the Two Centenary Goals and realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

It was made clear at the session that our overall objective in comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country is the establishment of a socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics and the building of a socialist rule of law country. This means that under the CPC's leadership, we need to uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics; put into practice the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics; form a complete system of laws and regulations, a highly effective system to ensure the rule of law is put into effect, a stringent system to oversee the implementation of the rule of law, and a robust system to guarantee the rule of law; put in place a well-defined system of Party rules and regulations; make coordinated efforts to promote law-based governance, law-based exercise of state power, and law-based administration of government; adopt a holistic approach to the development of a rule of law country, government, and society; ensure that a scientific approach is taken to legislation, that law is enforced strictly, that justice is administered impartially, and that the law is observed by everyone; and modernize our country's governance system and capacity for governance.

To reach this overall objective, we must adhere to the leadership of the CPC, uphold the people's principal position in the country, ensure that everyone is equal before the law, combine the rule of law with the rule of virtue, and base all we do on the actual situation in China.

It was stressed at the session that the Party's leadership is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the most fundamental guarantee for socialist rule of law in China. The need to exercise the Party's leadership throughout the whole process and in every aspect of the law-based governance of the country is a basic lesson we have learned in developing socialist rule of law in China.

The position of leadership of the CPC is written into China's Constitution. Upholding the Party's leadership is fundamental to socialist rule of law; it is the foundation and lifeblood of both the Party and the country, affects the interests and wellbeing of people of all China's ethnic groups, and is an integral part of our efforts to comprehensively advance the law-based governance of the country. The Party's leadership is consistent with socialist rule of law: socialist rule of law must uphold the Party's leadership, while the Party's leadership must rely upon socialist rule of law.

Only through the law-based governance of China and insisting on the rule of law, both under the leadership of the Party, can we ensure that the people fully act as masters of the country, and can we steadily increase the level of rule of law in the country and in society. To exercise state power based on law, the Party not only has to govern the country in accordance with the Constitution and laws, but also has to ensure that its self-governance is in line with its own rules and regulations.

It was made clear at the session that the major tasks of comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country are as follows:

· to improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, at the heart of which is the Constitution, and strengthen the implementation of the Constitution;

· to thoroughly advance the administration of government on the basis of the law and accelerate our efforts to build a rule of law government;

· to ensure judicial impartiality and improve judicial credibility;

· to strengthen the notion of the rule of law among all Chinese people and drive forward the development of a rule of law society;

· to raise the level of competence of rule of law professionals; and

· to strengthen and improve the Party's leadership over efforts to comprehensively advance the law-based governance of the country.

It was stated at the session that the law is an instrument of great value in the governance of a country and good laws are a prerequisite for good governance. To build a socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics, we must begin with legislation, allowing legislation to play the role of guiding and driving forward the development of rule of law, and focus on the key task of improving the quality of legislation.

We must stick scrupulously to the idea of putting the people first in legislation and making legislation for them, put into effect the core socialist values, and make sure every piece of legislation is in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, reflects the will of the people, and is supported by them.

We need to follow the principles of justice, impartiality, and openness throughout the whole legislative process, improve our legislative systems and mechanisms, and place equal emphasis on making new laws, revising existing laws, abolishing those that are unnecessary, and interpreting laws that need clarification in order to make our legislation more up-to-date, systemic, targeted, and effective.

To uphold the law-based governance of the country, first we must adhere to the governance of the country based on the Constitution; to adhere to exercising state power on the basis of the law, first we must adhere to exercising state power on the basis of the Constitution.

We need to improve the systems for implementing the Constitution and for overseeing its implementation, refine the system by which the National People's Congress and its standing committee exercise oversight over the implementation of the Constitution, and improve the procedures and mechanisms for interpreting the Constitution.

We need to improve the legislative system, strengthen the Party's leadership over legislative work, improve the procedures by which the Party makes decisions on major legislative issues, improve the systems and mechanisms through which those people's congresses with legislative power lead legislative work, and on the basis of the law, accord local legislative powers to cities which are divided into districts.

We need to work hard to legislate more effectively and democratically by improving the systems for encouraging the general public to propose items to be legislated on, and for debating legislative items; by improving channels and ways by which legislative bodies lead legislation and other sectors of society participate in an orderly manner; and by expanding the channels through which citizens participate in the legislative process.

We need to strengthen legislation in key areas, and quickly improve legal systems that ensure equal rights and interests, equal opportunities, and fair rules for all; ensure that citizens' personal rights, property rights, basic political rights and other forms of rights are inviolable; and ensure that citizens' economic, cultural, and social rights are respected.

We must coordinate our legislative work with our decisions on reform to make sure that all of our major reforms have a legal basis, and that legislative work is carried out proactively to meet the needs of reform, as well as economic and social development.

It was pointed out at the session that the very life and authority of the law lie in its implementation. Governmentsat all levels must carry out their work under the Party's leadership and in line with the rule of law, and move more quickly to become rule of law governments which have well-defined functions and legal powers and responsibilities, ensure that the law is strictly administered, are open and impartial, operate efficiently and free from corruption, and are more credible and law-abiding. The government must exercise all its functions in accordance with the law; work to codify its structure, functions, powers, procedures, and responsibilities into law; and exercise powers that are clearly defined.

We must improve law-based decision-making mechanisms; include public participation, expert evaluation, risk assessment, legality review, and collective discussion and decision making into the legal procedures for making major administrative decisions; and establish a mechanism for administrative agencies to review the legality of their major decisions, a lifelong accountability system for major decisions, and a mechanism to hold people accountable retrospectively for their decisions.

We must deepen structural reform in law enforcement by administrative agencies and improve the mechanism for coordinating administrative enforcement of law with the administration of criminal justice.

We must ensure that law is administered in a strict, standardized, impartial, and civil manner; punish all types of illegal behavior in accordance with the law; intensify law enforcement in key areas involving people's immediate interests; establish a sound system of administrative discretion standards; and fully implement the accountability system for law enforcement by administrative agencies.

We must strengthen limits on administrative powers and increase oversight of the exercise of these powers, and improve remedial and accountability mechanisms. We must build transparency into government work across the board, uphold the principle of always remaining transparent other than in exceptional cases, and ensure that decisionmaking, implementation, management, services, and outcomes are all open to the public.

It was stated at the session that justice is the lifeblood of the rule of law. Judicial justice greatly encourages social justice, while judicial injustice cripples it. We must improve the system for managing the judiciary and the mechanisms for the exercise of judicial powers, standardize judicial behavior, tighten oversight of judicial activities, and make every effort to ensure that the people feel justice is served in every case that comes before the court.

We must improve the system for ensuring independent and impartial exercise of judicial and procuratorial powers in accordance with the law; develop a system of record keeping, reporting, and accountability to deal with intervention in judicial activities by officials, especially in the handling of cases; and establish a sound mechanism for protecting judicial officers in performing their legally mandated duties.

We must improve the allocation of judicial functions and powers, carry out pilot reforms in separating judicial from executive power, establish circuit courts under the Supreme People's Court, explore the establishment of people's courts and people's procuratorates whose jurisdiction extends beyond administrative divisions, and search for ways to build a system of procuratorates handling public interest litigation.

We must press ahead with the strict administration of justice; remain committed to carrying out judgment on the basis of facts and law; implement reform of the litigation process focusing on courtroom hearings; and adopt a lifelong accountability system to guarantee the quality handling of cases and a system to retrospectively hold judges accountable for erroneous rulings.

We must guarantee the people's participation in the administration of justice, particularly in judicial mediation, judicial hearings, and complaints about litigation-related issues filed through letters and visits; improve the system of people's assessors; and create a mechanism that keeps the judiciary "in the sunshine," making it open, dynamic, transparent, and convenient for the public to access.

We must provide stronger judicial protection of human rights. We must tighten oversight of judicial activities; improve the legislation regarding the exercise of supervisory power by procuratorates; increase legal oversight of criminal, civil, and administrative litigation; improve the system of people's supervisors; and make it absolutely impermissible to show leniency beyond the law, or handle any case which is in any way influenced by guanxi, personal favors, or money.

It was also stated at the session that the authority of the law comes from the people's heartfelt support for and faith in it. People's rights and interests need to be safeguarded by the law, and the authority of the law needs to be upheld by the people. We must promote the socialist rule of law, develop a socialist rule of law culture, encourage all members of society to show greater enthusiasm for and initiative in promoting the rule of law, and create an atmosphere in which people feel it is honorable to abide by the law while disgraceful to break the law, so that all our people will faithfully advocate, consciously observe, and firmly safeguard the socialist rule of law.

We need to help all of society to develop awareness about the rule of law, intensify publicity and education in this regard, and incorporate such education into the national education system and our initiatives on cultural and ethical progress.

We need to advance law-based governance at multiple levels and in different sectors; remain committed to practicing systemic governance, law-based governance, comprehensive governance, and governance that addresses the root causes of problems; intensify law-based governance in community-level organizations, as well as government departments and industries; support all kinds of entities in exercising self-restraint and self-management; and make use of the positive role that codes of conduct for citizens, industry rules and regulations, charters of organizations, and other social norms can play in social governance.

We need to establish a complete system of legal services, develop the public legal service system for both urban and rural populations, and improve the systems of legal aid and judicial assistance. We need to improve the mechanisms for people to defend their rights and resolve their disputes in accordance with the law; establish sound mechanisms for giving early warning about social conflicts, for allowing people to express their interests, for carrying out negotiation and communication, and for providing legal remedies and assistance; and open up legal channels for coordinating interests among the people and for protecting their rights and interests. We need to improve the multi-dimensional system for crime prevention and control, and protect the life and property of the people.

It was put forward at the session that to comprehensively advance the law-based governance of the country, we must channel great energy into raising the levels of political integrity and professional competence and ethics of the rule of law professionals, and strive to develop a contingent of professionals devoted to the socialist rule of law and loyal to the Party, the country, the people, and the law.

To build a contingent of highly competent rule of law professionals, we need to give top priority to strengthening their political integrity; improve the competence of those who work for the legislation, administrative enforcement of law, and the judiciary; open channels for the legislature, the law enforcement authorities, and the judiciary to transfer their officials and personnel among themselves, and to give a place to eligible officials and personnel from other sectors; increase the levels of standardization, specialization, and professionalism among rule of law professionals; improve the system for certifying legal professionals; establish a system for recruiting eligible lawyers and legal experts into the ranks of legislators, judges, and public procurators; build a more standardized and convenient mechanism for recruiting university graduates majoring in law; and improve the system of job security for rule of law professionals.

We need to raise the level of competence of legal service providers, prompt lawyers to become more self-motivated and resolute in following the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and build a well-mixed contingent of private, government, and corporate lawyers who complement each other's strengths.

We need to make innovations in the mechanisms for training rule of law professionals; form complete theoretical and disciplinary systems, as well as curriculums for socialist legal studies with Chinese characteristics; and incorporate the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics into our textbooks, bringing it into our classrooms, and drumming it into our students, thereby cultivating cohorts of talented professionals for today and for the future, who are proficient in and adhere to the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.

It was highlighted at the session that the leadership of the Party provides the most fundamental guarantee for comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of China and accelerating the development of a socialist rule of law country. We must strengthen and improve the leadership of the Party over work pertaining to the rule of law, and put the Party's leadership into effect throughout the whole process of comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country. In adhering to the law-based exercise of state power, officials at all levels should set an example in observing the law and working in accordance with the law, and must not behave in a way that is contrary to the law in exercising power. It is even more imperative that they do not override the law by fiat, place their power above the authority of the law, or bend the law for personal gain.

We need to strengthen institutions and work mechanisms for the law-based governance of China under the leadership of the Party; improve work mechanisms and procedures to ensure that the Party formulates principles, policies, and plans for the law-based governance of the country; strengthen unified leadership, unified planning, and overall coordination for comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country; and improve the mechanism by which Party committees make decisions in accordance with the law. Party organizations within the people's congresses, governments, committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, judicial bodies, and procuratorial bodies at all levels need to exercise leadership and oversight of their respective organizations to ensure that they play an exemplary role in obeying the Constitution and laws, and to resolutely investigate and punish those who break the law while they should be enforcing it and those who use their power in a way contrary to the law.

We need to strengthen Party rules and regulations, improve the systems and mechanisms for their formulation, and create a complete system of Party rules and regulations. We need to use these rules and regulations to fully implement the principle of the Party supervising its own conduct and practicing strict self-governance, and encourage Party members and officials to take the lead in abiding by state laws and regulations.

We need to make Party members and officials better able to think in terms of the rule of law and to carry out their work in accordance with the law, incorporate progress made in building rule of law into the appraisal system as an important measure of the performance of leading bodies and leading officials at all levels, and make legal compliance and acting in accordance with the law an important component of the assessment of officials.

We need to increase the level of rule of law in community-level governance, make use of the principal role of Party organizations at the community level in comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country, and establish law-based work mechanisms with the focus of the work and main efforts shifted closer to the community.

We need to intensify our efforts to practice law-based, strict governance of the armed forces, build a sound law-based military system with Chinese characteristics, and increase the level of rule of law in the development of national defense and the armed forces in order to achieve the Party's goal of strengthening the military under the new conditions.

We must, in accordance with the law, safeguard the practice of "one country, two systems," promote the reunification of our country, ensure that Hong Kong and Macao enjoy lasting prosperity and stability, push forward with the peaceful reunification of our country, and protect the rights and interests of our fellow countrymen and countrywomen in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

We need to improve our work concerning foreign-related laws, use legal means to safeguard our country's sovereignty, security, and development interests, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal persons overseas and foreign citizens and legal persons in China.

The current situation and tasks were analyzed at the session and it was stressed that all Party members should think and act in line with the major decisions and plans of the Central Committee concerning comprehensively deepening reform and advancing the law-based governance of China, read the situation as it develops, maintain a state of vigilance, have the strategic resolve to seize and make the most of this important period of strategic opportunities to promote reform and development, and show incisiveness in observing changes taking place at home and abroad. With a spirit of perseverance, all Party members should continue to spur on the sustained, healthy development of the economy, improve and provide safeguards for the standard of living of our people with an emphasis on aiding people in need, rectify problems in conduct, exercise strict governance of the Party, and maintain social harmony and stability in a bid to lay down a solid foundation for a good start next year.

It was decided at the session, in line with the Party Constitution, to appoint Ma Jiantang, Wang Zuo'an, and Mao Wanchun, alternate members of the CPC Central Committee, to become full members of the Central Committee.

Participants at the session deliberated over and approved a report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on the serious breaches of discipline by Li Dongsheng, Jiang Jiemin, Wang Yongchun, Li Chuncheng, and Wan Qingliang, and a report of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC Central Military Commission on the serious breaches of discipline by Yang Jinshan. They endorsed the decision, made by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, to expel Li Dongsheng, Jiang Jiemin, Yang Jinshan, Wang Yongchun, Li Chuncheng, and Wan Qingliang from the Party.

All CPC members and the people of all China's ethnic groups were called upon at the session to closely unite around the Party Central Committee, with Xi Jinping as General Secretary, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, devote themselves to the great endeavor of comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of China, press ahead with a pioneering spirit, work in a pragmatic fashion, and strive to build China into a rule of law country.

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