To Get a Project Contract Through the Signing Review, the Project Lead Must "Pass Three Gates"

The Project Lead "Passes Three Gates"

— An Account of Rigorous Project Review at a Certain Center of the Information Support Force

■ Gao Daqiang, Zhong Xia

In midsummer, a key project at a certain center of the Information Support Force entered the contract signing-and-review stage. As project lead, Senior Engineer Wei led the project team in compiling a clean-governance risk assessment document, which was submitted together with the contract signing materials to the relevant functional department.

Senior Engineer Wei understood clearly that with the center's "business-integrated integrity review (业务审廉)" system now fully rolled out, getting this project contract through the signing review would require passing strict scrutiny.

First Gate: The Ideological Gate

"The clean-governance risk assessment conclusion in this self-inspection report is unclear. Please revise and resubmit." After the materials were returned, a red annotation like this had been added to the review comments section.

"Isn't this clear enough?" Senior Engineer Wei stared at the report, somewhat puzzled: his professional conduct was clean and above board—what was there to review?

That afternoon, he carried a thick stack of materials into the Clean Governance Supervision Office. The discipline inspection committee member was already waiting there, with a "Project Clean-Governance Risk Self-Inspection Form" laid out on the table. The form was comprehensive, listing the integrity risk points at every stage with complete clarity—from project initiation and justification to budget planning, from selection of external contractors to contract signing, from expenditure to acceptance and delivery. When Senior Engineer Wei had filled out the form previously, he had not taken it seriously enough, and had glossed over some items without careful cross-referencing.

The discipline inspection committee member flipped through the contract materials while checking them against the original records item by item. When he reached the page with the assessment conclusion, he stopped: "You wrote 'no obvious clean-governance risks identified'—how did you arrive at that conclusion?"

Senior Engineer Wei paused: "You've seen all the materials—the procedures are compliant and the records are complete." The discipline inspection committee member replied: "The materials may be complete, but the self-inspection report contains only a conclusion, with no record of the verification process. What was checked, what was cross-referenced, and on what basis—none of this is mentioned."

Senior Engineer Wei suddenly realized: he had always assumed that an "integrity review (审廉)" was just a matter of going through the motions and submitting materials—as long as the materials were complete and the formalities were in order, that was enough. But genuine integrity is not something you declare with words; it must withstand rigorous review and scrutiny.

"I am the project lead. I must take the initiative and do my work well, placing myself within the scope of supervision." With his thinking now straightened out, he immediately returned to his office and went through the self-inspection report from scratch, item by item. What had been checked during project initiation and justification, what had been examined during budget review, how external contractors had been compared and selected, how many price-comparison records existed—he wrote out clearly and completely every piece of work he had done, every document he had cross-referenced, and every conclusion he had reached.

Second Gate: The Procedural Gate

Soon, the funding review stage arrived, and the functional department called: "Several external contractor contracts need to be signed right away—deadlines don't wait, and further delays could affect the overall schedule."

Senior Engineer Wei put down the phone, his gaze falling on the "Clean-Governance Risk List for Key Nodes of Power Exercise (权力运行关键环节廉洁风险清单)" sitting in the corner of his desk. The list had been uniformly distributed by the center; each node was marked with red, yellow, or green risk levels and identified specific responsible parties. Under the old approach, he would have glanced at the amounts, the price-comparison records, and the contractor qualifications, and signed off if nothing seemed wrong. This time, however, he was not careless. He pulled out the list and checked it against the contract contents item by item.

When he reached the line for "re-verification of external contractor qualifications," he opened the price-comparison records and found that one contractor had only a business license—the page for industry-specific qualifications was blank.

Senior Engineer Wei frowned slightly: this contractor had collaborated with them several times before, so the qualifications should be fine—the handling officer had probably just forgotten to fill it in.

"One missing document isn't a big deal—just submit it first and fill it in later." The moment that thought arose, he glanced over and saw clearly written on the risk list: "all three items are indispensable," with a yellow-level risk prominently marked beside it.

"We absolutely must not assume there is no problem and substitute trust for supervision." Recalling a previous integrity review experience, he recognized that following procedural requirements is not a formality—each item on the checklist is a "safety lock" on the work; every box that needs to be checked is a "seatbelt" being fastened for oneself. Only by strengthening full-chain control and performance evaluation over the use of funds can one ensure that every yuan is spent where it counts.

He immediately picked up the phone and demanded that the external contractor submit the missing industry qualification certificate: "All three items are indispensable—if they're not all in order, I cannot sign off."

Only after the missing qualification document was transmitted and he had verified it was correct did he check the corresponding box on the list, attach a document index, and sign to confirm.

That afternoon, colleagues from the functional department came to collect the contracts. Upon learning that he had waited half a day for one document, they offered repeated praise: "That's exactly the right way to be strict about it!" Senior Engineer Wei picked up the list and placed it on the table, pointing to the yellow-level risk section and telling his comrades: "Whoever signs is responsible—that is the rule. Everyone must hold firm at the 'procedural gate'!"

Third Gate: The Personal-Relationships Gate

The evening before the project was nearly concluded, Senior Engineer Wei finished organizing his materials and walked out of the office building when his phone suddenly rang.

He recognized the number immediately—it was the head of an external contractor with whom they had a long-standing working relationship.

"Senior Engineer Wei, you've worked hard." A warm voice came through the phone. "The project is almost wrapped up—let's find a place to sit down and talk about future cooperation."

"I appreciate the kind thought, but our center has disciplinary regulations. For matters related to the project, let's communicate through proper channels on a working day." Senior Engineer Wei's reply was quiet but firm. He recalled that during a thematic education session on deepening political consolidation training (深化政治整训), a typical case had been reported: a cadre at a certain unit accepted one meal from a partner organization, then received a box of tea, and later made errors because of personal-relationship obligations.

One line from that report he remembered with particular clarity: "The first time it's 'I'd feel awkward refusing,' the second time it's 'it doesn't matter,' and the third time you're already in too deep."

This reporter learned that, in conjunction with deepening political consolidation training, the center introduced a "three abnormalities (三异常)" early-warning mechanism—abnormal associations, abnormal consumption, and abnormal behavior—requiring every Party member cadre to monitor dynamically and record truthfully.

After putting down the phone, Senior Engineer Wei opened his self-inspection form and carefully recorded on the "abnormal associations registration" page: the time, the name and unit of the other party, the content of the conversation, and how it was handled.

Xiao Xu, a colleague in the same section, heard about the matter and came over to ask: "Recording it so bluntly like that—won't it make the other party feel disrespected and affect future cooperation?"

Senior Engineer Wei looked at him and said earnestly: "The rules and regulations are established up front, so I no longer need to be burdened by personal relationships. Accept a meal today, receive a box of tea tomorrow, and the day after you'll be led around by the nose. The pitfalls of violations and misconduct all start being dug from small matters and minor details."

Seeing Xiao Xu nod thoughtfully, he continued: "Regulations can restrain your hands and feet, but they cannot control that moment of hesitation in your heart. We must keep in mind the lesson that an anthill can breach a dike, and resolutely say no the very first time. Passing the 'personal-relationships gate' depends on strong Party character and holding firm to the line of principle."

During the collective integrity review, while maintaining strict scrutiny, they also optimized the review process and improved office efficiency, ensuring that the project timeline was not delayed.

The contract materials ultimately passed review. At the project summary meeting, Senior Engineer Wei shared many reflections with everyone, but one remark he delivered with particular feeling: "To let power operate in the sunlight, one must not fear being exposed to it—only by being exposed more often can one achieve the exercise of power in a standardized, clean, and upright manner."

Words from a Firsthand Participant

Make Good Use of the "Navigation System" and Fasten the "Seatbelt"

■ Party Committee Secretary of a Certain Center of the Information Support Force

Chairman Xi has pointed out that at the very outset of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, strict regulatory rules must be established, with close attention to key links such as the flow of funds, the exercise of power, and quality control; oversight of major projects must be strengthened; military-civilian integrated supervision must be reinforced; and construction must proceed under the precondition of supervision. In the course of deepening political consolidation training, we have adhered to the principle of "moving the checkpoint forward one inch to build the defensive line one foot stronger," running through and consolidating the Party committee's primary responsibility, the discipline inspection committee's supervisory responsibility, and the functional department's principal responsibility for clean governance. We have embedded clean-governance supervision into the full process of project management, achieving comprehensive coverage of "business-integrated integrity review," routine operation of the early-warning mechanism, and one risk list per person.

How can the integrity review system truly enter minds and hearts and become a conscious habit of action?

First, thinking must change, with recognition that regulations are not there to make things difficult for people but to protect them. Some comrades once questioned: is it necessary to sign off at every checkpoint? Is it not overly cumbersome? Tempered through the furnace of consolidation training, everyone has come to understand that these seemingly cumbersome integrity review procedures are never a useless waste of time—they are the "navigation system" guiding us to exercise power in a standardized manner and the "seatbelt" guarding against risk. Only by genuinely accepting from within that "supervision is protection," and transforming "I am required to review" into "I want to review," can one truly draw the warning line at the level of thought.

Second, implementation must be strict: treat the risk list as an operating manual, cross-referencing before signing, maintaining fidelity throughout the process, and having a basis at the time of review. Regulations are the crystallization of lessons learned from experience. If regulations are treated as window dressing and supervision as a burden, it becomes easy to go astray in ideological understanding, to skip steps in procedural execution, and to lose ground in risk prevention and control—ultimately opening the door to corruption. To implement the requirement of "prevent throughout the entire process, address everything together," the center has established a multi-department coordinated "integrity review look-back (审廉回头看)" mechanism, conducting a full retrospective review after each project concludes and making timely corrections when problems are identified.

The results of deepening political consolidation training must ultimately be reflected in the concrete implementation of every piece of work. Every Party member cadre must make good use of the "navigation system" and fasten the "seatbelt," truly transforming iron discipline into daily habit and conscious observance, and through concrete actions of loyalty, integrity, and responsibility, hold firm at every checkpoint, ensure that every yuan is spent where it counts, and provide strong guarantees for high-quality advancement of national defense and military modernization.