In September 2013, an editorial in the Global Times welcomed senior officials’ public criticism and self-criticism, piping yu ziwo piping. It also noted a habit of the opposite kind. “For some time, ‘praise and self-praise’ has been popular among some Chinese officials and even in mainstream society. Its negative effects go without saying.”
In 2015, an article from the Economic Observer on the “whole art” of officials’ self-criticism described the routine: “At the meeting, criticism and self-criticism, praise and mutual comfort are all fine. In short, congratulations on passing this time. After the meeting, don’t ask whether anything was carried out. You know.”