Xinhua Commentary: Prevent those "officials" who just go through the motions, slack off, and seek positions from gaining power and benefits

Xinhua News Agency released a commentary titled “Use the ‘Commanding Rod’ to Harness New Momentum” on March 27. The full text is as follows:

As a “commanding rod” that guides the conduct of officials, performance evaluation directly determines whether the right view of political achievements can take root, turning into achievements that stand up to practical scrutiny, the test of the people, and the scrutiny of history.

To make good use of the “commanding rod” of performance evaluation, the primary task is to calibrate the right view of political achievements—this “measuring star.” What plays a decisive role in establishing and practicing the correct view of political achievements is the Party spirit.

Some Party members and officials are eager for quick success and immediate benefits, use power arbitrarily, and do not respect rules and blindly push ahead; some respond quickly and with a high volume when it comes to implementing major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, but in reality they pay lip service, disobey orders, and do as they please. In all such cases, the root cause should be traced to their awareness of Party spirit; by strengthening education on the correct view of political achievements, correcting the incorrect orientation of political achievements at the ideological level, we must ensure that Party members and officials always work and start businesses in the direction guided by the Party Central Committee.

To make good use of the “commanding rod” of performance evaluation, the key lies in improving the evaluation system and building a scientific set of “weights and measures.”

At present, in some places performance evaluations have become a mere formality and a box-ticking exercise: they do not look on-site, they do not see concrete matters, they conceal real problems, and they fuel formalism. In some places, evaluation priorities are not prominent and their focus is not strong; they use a “one-size-fits-all” and “one pot of stew for everyone” approach, where one evaluation method covers everything, creating a drive for political achievements and suppressing reform and innovation. A scientific evaluation system must not only highlight key points and measure against the specific requirements of high-quality development, but also treat cases differently—tailoring the evaluation content to differences among regions with varying resource endowments, different stages of development, and different job responsibilities for different cadres. Only when the “commanding rod” is correct and well-applied can it motivate officials to seek truth from facts, to work with integrity and diligence, and to keep creating new achievements.

To make good use of the “commanding rod” of performance evaluation, we must also strengthen the application of results and unleash the “driving force” for doing things and starting ventures.

The biggest incentive for cadres is the correct orientation in employing people: using one good person can inspire many others. For cadres who dare to take responsibility, are willing to shoulder burdens, are good at acting, and have outstanding performance and achievements, they should be promptly and boldly put to work. For cadres who do nothing, we must decisively move them out—so that those “slick official types” who only put on a show, muddle through, and try to grab positions do not gain power and benefits. Making good use of the “commanding rod” of performance evaluation also requires efforts to improve systems further, set rules firmly, and establish sound and effective work mechanisms to prevent and correct deviations in the view of political achievements. It is small wisdom that governs affairs; it is great wisdom that governs systems. Systems have overall and long-term stability; they govern the fundamentals and govern the long run.

To carry out the learning and education on establishing and practicing the correct view of political achievements, we must insist on combining “fixing things now” with “building for the long term.” We should work hard on building and improving rules and regulations; we should conduct in-depth checks to find, within existing institutional mechanisms, provisions that do not meet the requirements of the correct view of political achievements—those that should be abolished should be abolished, and those that should be revised should be revised. We must earnestly make up for institutional shortcomings and set rules properly, so that it is crystal clear what can be done, what cannot be done, who it is done for, and how it should be done.

To promote the regular, long-term establishment and practice of the correct view of political achievements, and to provide strong guarantees for high-quality economic and social development. In the year of a new start, there should be momentum for a new start. By making the performance-evaluation “commanding rod” an important lever for establishing and practicing the correct view of political achievements, we will surely be able to better arouse the morale and drive of the vast number of Party members and officials in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, and contribute an inexhaustible force to the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.

Reporter: Li Yan