The Communist Party of China (CPC) has published an internal regulation that holds Party officials accountable for poor leadership.
The regulation consolidates the foundation for the CPC to run the Party strictly and sends a strong signal that officials should be accountable for their work.
The new regulation has introduced an internal Party accountability mechanism to be applied across all levels and divisions.
It targets leaders of Party committees and discipline inspection committees at various levels, and holds them responsible for serious consequences caused by negligence or poor performance.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, officials have been held responsible in a series of corruption cases all over the country. Even though in many cases the officials were not directly involved, they were still held accountable for their subordinates' action.
The accountability mechanism has become a powerful tool in Party governance since the 18th CPC National Congress. More than 45,000 Party members and officials have already been held accountable.
However, the mechanism is not perfect. There are 119 documents involving accountability measures among over 500 Party regulations, which mostly focus on accidents and incidents, with few concentrating on poor management.
The new regulation sums up the existing rules and clarifies the subjects, situations and punishments in the accountability mechanism.
For instance, officials and organizations are accountable for failing to implement Party guidelines and policies and discipline subordinates. If corruption is discovered in an official's department, the official will be held responsible, regardless of his or her personal involvement or knowledge.
The accountability rules crystalize the CPC constitution and continue to tighten the cage of regulations to run the Party strictly. With the new rules, Party management will become more effective.
