Accountability Archives - understand-culture

Leaders’ Written Instructions

In Chinese government, a leader’s short written comment on a report or document is called a pishi (批示), a written instruction. It turns the document into a task for the people below.

In 2016, Xi Jinping wrote such an instruction on the study of Mao Zedong’s essay on the working methods of Party committees. The Central Organization Department then issued a notice to carry it out. According to the Party’s news site, the instruction set clear requirements for every member of every Party leadership team, and especially for its principal leaders.

Ask First, Report After

In February 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued Regulations on Requesting Instructions and Reporting on Major Matters. Their rule is short: what must be requested must be requested, and what must be reported must be reported (该请示的必须请示，该报告的必须报告).

A request to a higher Party organization on a major matter must be made in advance, so that the higher level has enough time to study it and decide. Only when an emergency leaves no time to ask may an official act first. Even then, the official must report to the higher level promptly afterwards.

The Four Obediences

The individual Party member obeys the Party organization. The minority obeys the majority. The lower organization obeys the higher organization. All organizations and members of the Party obey the National Congress and the Central Committee.

These are the “four obediences” (四个服从) of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao Zedong first set them out in full in October 1938. Since the Seventh Party Congress in 1945, every Party constitution has included them as a basic principle of democratic centralism and the Party’s most important political discipline.

Premier Responsibility System

Article 86 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China says: “The State Council operates under the premier responsibility system. The ministries and commissions operate under the responsibility system of ministers and directors.”

Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones

摸着石头过河, “to cross the river by feeling for the stones,” comes from a folk saying. Chen Yun, then vice premier, first proposed it as a working method at a government meeting in April 1950. In 1961 he told the Ministry of Chemical Industry that the work must start from reality and “cross the river by feeling the stones.”

The saying is widely linked to Deng Xiaoping and the reforms after 1978. According to scholars cited by Chinese Wikipedia, Deng himself never used it.

Leading Small Groups

In February 1951, the Politburo set up a leading small group of six, among them Zhou Enlai and Chen Yun, to organize and direct the drafting of the First Five-Year Plan. Such groups, today often called commissions, decide and coordinate the most important policy areas under the Central Committee.

The top leader often heads them himself. In December 1992, General Secretary Jiang Zemin became head of the restored Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs. Today its successor, the Central Financial and Economic Commission, is chaired by the General Secretary.

Orders a General Need Not Accept

君命有所不受. “There are commands of the ruler that are not to be accepted.” The line comes from the chapter on variations in tactics in Sunzi’s Art of War. Sunzi held that only the general who leads the troops knows the situation on the battlefield.

The saying is often quoted in a later form: 将在外，君命有所不受, “a general in the field need not accept every command of the ruler.”

It names an exception, and the exception depends on distance from the court.

Let Those Who Hear the Gunfire Call In the Artillery

On January 16, 2009, Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, spoke at an awards ceremony for the company’s sales organization. He said Huawei should “let those who can hear the gunfire call in the artillery” (让听得见炮声的人来呼唤炮火). The idea was to give decision-making power to the staff on the front line.

The phrase was widely praised in Chinese business.

Assigned Jobs

Under the planned economy, graduates of Chinese universities and technical schools did not look for jobs. The state assigned them, a system known as 包分配, guaranteed assignment. Graduates were expected to “obey the state’s assignment” (服从国家分配).

Reform began in the 1990s. The aim was to basically complete the reform of the graduate employment system by 2000. For graduates of technical secondary schools, state assignment ended around 1997.

Morning Requests, Evening Reports

During the Cultural Revolution, people began the day in front of a portrait of Mao Zedong. In the morning, they “requested instructions” from the portrait for the day’s work and life. In the evening, they “reported” how they had carried them out and what they had been thinking. The ritual was called 早请示，晚汇报.

It was widespread from 1966 to 1971, although no official Party document ever prescribed it. People labeled “ox demons and snake spirits” were not allowed to take part. They had to “request punishment” morning and evening instead.