Personnel Political Work

Strong Military Forum | Cultivate the Habit of Working and Living in an Environment of Supervision and Constraint

强军论坛丨习惯在受监督和约束的环境中工作生活

PLA Daily (解放军报) 6 June 2026

Summary

The CMC issued new measures on education, management, and supervision of senior military cadres, and this PLA Daily opinion piece by Zhou Junhua argues that leading cadres must internalize supervision as a norm rather than resist it. The article documents a persistent institutional problem the CMC is actively trying to address: a subset of senior officers who treat oversight as inapplicable to their rank, run 'one-voice chambers,' and exploit positional authority to evade accountability. The piece fits a pattern of top-down political work campaigns using named historical exemplars and Xi's own formulations to reframe compliance with anti-corruption oversight as ideological virtue rather than external imposition—a framing that records the difficulty of making supervision stick at senior levels, not confidence that it already has.

Translation

Cultivate the Habit of Working and Living in an Environment of Supervision and Constraint

■ Zhou Junhua

Recently, the Central Military Commission issued "Several Measures on Strengthening the Education, Management, and Supervision of Senior Cadres in the Military," which carries important significance for strengthening the revolutionary tempering (革命性锻造) of the senior cadre corps and for building the People's Army strong from a political standpoint. To implement these measures effectively, leading cadres should regard supervision as a form of care, cultivate the habit of working and living in an environment of supervision and constraint, and truly allow power to operate in the open.

Chairman Xi has pointed out: "As long as public power exists, there must be checks and supervision." Trust cannot replace supervision; supervision is, in essence, external discipline (他律). Trust without supervision amounts to permissiveness, and power without supervision will inevitably lead to corruption—this is an iron law. Leading cadres bear heavy responsibilities, occupy important posts, and hold a degree of power; they should therefore consciously accept supervision and regularly pass through the "security checkpoint," so as to ensure that public power is exercised correctly and that they can better fulfill their duties and carry out their work. If one operates without supervision or constraint, dismisses others' "tugging at the collar and pulling at the sleeve" (提领扯袖), or even flares up the moment such reminders are offered, the inevitable result is self-indulgence—not only ruining one's own political future but also corrupting the atmosphere of an entire locality. It is precisely for this reason that our Party and our military do not permit the existence of special Party members who are exempt from supervision, nor do they permit the existence of extralegal zones (法外之地) beyond the reach of supervision.

Observing discipline, abiding by the rules, and having the courage to accept supervision are intrinsic requirements for leading cadres. Throughout the history of our Party and our military, many outstanding leading cadres—such as Jiao Yulu, who devoted himself selflessly to his duties; Yang Shanzhou, who remained clean and uncorrupted; and Yang Yegong, who dared to take responsibility—were able to remain diligent, honest, and capable throughout their lives. Beyond holding firm ideals and convictions and strictly observing discipline and rules, this was also because they made accepting supervision a habit and a matter of conscious choice, continuously strengthening their capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-advancement.

Today, it has become the norm that education, management, and supervision grow stricter the further along one goes and stricter the higher one rises. More and more leading cadres consciously exercise power under the "searchlight" and strive to conduct themselves cleanly in the "glass house." Nevertheless, a small number of leading cadres remain weak in Party principle and are unaccustomed to working and living in an environment of supervision and constraint: some harbor a serious sense of privilege, believing that being supervised is a matter for subordinates and ordinary Party member cadres, with little relevance to leading cadres; some engage in manipulation both openly and covertly, practicing deception and enriching themselves at public expense; some are consumed by an inflated desire for power, viewing supervision as others being "out to get them," refusing to hear dissenting opinions and voices, and running a "one-voice chamber" (一言堂)… Such erroneous conduct renders supervision hollow and absent, leads to going off the rails and crossing boundaries, and results in behavioral misconduct—bringing disciplinary and legal punishment upon individuals while also tarnishing the image of the Party and the military.

No one is a saint; it is impossible to be without shortcomings or to never make mistakes. For leading cadres to discover mistakes, correct mistakes, reduce mistakes, and achieve success in their work, they cannot do without proactively and consciously accepting supervision. When leading cadres respond to supervision and reminders from the organization and from comrades by welcoming criticism and correcting faults upon hearing them, they can prevent minor errors from developing into major ones and quantitative changes from becoming qualitative changes. Conversely, if leading cadres treat advance warnings and mid-course corrections as words in the wind, they will inevitably move from error to deviation, and even onto the road of no return that is violation of law and discipline. Leading cadres must draw lessons from negative cases, proactively accept supervision, demonstrate absolute loyalty and honesty to the Party, have the courage to uphold truth and correct errors, and set a good example of loyalty, integrity, and responsibility.

Aversion to constraint harbors the seeds of disaster; good supervision yields great benefit. For leading cadres, more supervision and stricter supervision represent the greatest political care and love the organization can offer. On the new journey, leading cadres must not only dare to take responsibility and be good at getting things done, but must also clearly recognize that supervision is the fundamental guarantee for the correct exercise of power. They should consciously strengthen the consciousness and thoroughness of ideological reform, actively enhance the principled and combative nature (原则性战斗性) of intra-Party political life, continuously forge a strong work style through supervision, and forever preserve the political character (政治本色) of Communists.

Original Chinese

习惯在受监督和约束的环境中工作生活 ■周军华日前，中央军委印发《关于加强军队高级干部教育管理监督的若干措施》，对于加强高级干部队伍革命性锻造、从政治上建强人民军队具有重要意义。要想落实好这些措施，领导干部应把监督当作一种爱护，习惯在受监督和约束的环境中工作生活，真正让权力在阳光下运行。习主席指出：“只要公权力存在，就必须有制约和监督。”信任不能代替监督，监督本质上是他律。没有监督的信任就等于放任，没有监督的权力必然导致腐败，这是一条铁律。领导干部责任重大、岗位重要，手中握有一定权力，更应自觉接受监督，经常过一过“安检门”，才能确保公权力正确行使，从而更好地履职尽责、干事创业。如果不受监督、不要约束，对别人的“提领扯袖”不以为然，甚至一提就跳、一扯就闹，那必然会导致自我放纵，不仅毁掉自己的政治前途，还会带坏一方风气。正因为如此，我党我军不允许有不受监督的特殊党员存在，也不允许有不受监督的法外之地存在。守纪律、讲规矩，勇于接受监督，是对领导干部的内在要求。我党我军历史上，很多优秀的领导干部，譬如鞠躬尽瘁的焦裕禄、两袖清风的杨善洲、敢于担当的杨业功，他们之所以一辈子勤政廉政能政，除了理想信念坚定、恪守纪律规矩之外，还在于把接受监督当成一种习惯、一种自觉，不断增强自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高能力。如今，教育管理监督越往后越严、越往上越严已经成为常态，越来越多的领导干部自觉在“探照灯”下用权行事，勇于在“玻璃房”中干净干事。然而，仍有少数领导干部党性原则淡薄，不习惯在受监督和约束的环境中工作生活：有的特权思想严重，认为受监督是下属、普通党员干部的事，与领导干部关系不大；有的明里暗里做文章，弄虚作假、损公肥私；有的权力欲望膨胀，把监督看成是跟自己“过不去”，听不进反对意见和声音，搞“一言堂”……诸如此类的错误行为，让监督落了空、缺了位，导致脱轨越界、行为失范，既让个人受到纪法惩处，也给党和军队形象抹了黑。任何人都不是圣人，不可能没有缺点，也不可能不犯错误。领导干部发现错误、改正错误、减少错误，收获事业上的成功，离不开主动自觉地接受监督。对来自组织、同志的监督提醒，领导干部闻过则喜、闻过则改，就能防止小错发展成大错、量变演变到质变。反之，如果领导干部把事前、事中的敲打督促当作耳旁风，就难免由错误走向歧路，乃至走上违法违纪的不归路。领导干部要从反面案例中汲取教训，主动接受监督，做到对党忠诚老实，勇于坚持真理、修正错误，立起忠诚干净担当的好样子。厌约束，蕴祸患；监督好，大有益。对领导干部来说，监督多一点、严一点，是组织在政治上最大的关心和爱。新征程上，领导干部不仅要敢担当、善作为，还应清醒认识到，监督是权力正确运行的根本保证，自觉加强思想改造的自觉性和彻底性，积极增强党内政治生活原则性战斗性，不断在监督中练就过硬作风，永葆共产党人的政治本色。