Party Building | "As Long As It Benefits Combat Effectiveness, I Will Keep Speaking Up"

Prefatory Note: Chairman Xi has emphasized the need to strengthen the capacity of grassroots Party organizations to independently manage their own development, and to build Party organizations at all levels into stronger and more capable entities. Conscript Party members are an important component of the military's Party membership. They stand on the front line of combat readiness and training, and have direct experience of the pressing difficulties and concerns at the grassroots level—they have the standing to speak. Yet in practice, some conscript Party members have grown accustomed to staying "silent": some, because of their young age, short Party membership, and low rank, are unwilling to voice opinions; others, fearing they will offend people or "overstep," dare not raise ideas. Encouraging them to speak boldly, speak truthfully, and speak frankly can inject a living source of fresh water into grassroots Party organizations, and more fully demonstrate the role of the fighting fortress and forward command post. In this issue, we present the experiences of two conscript Party members from a unit of the Southern Theater Command Navy, and examine how they have grown and progressed through the vivid practice of exercising their rights and fulfilling their roles.

During a Party Day activity, a unit of the Southern Theater Command Navy organized Party members to gather before a sculpture of martyrs and heroes, to study and reflect on the deeds of martyrs, and to further strengthen their sense of Party spirit and sense of mission and responsibility. Photo by Wang Wei.

"As Long As It Benefits Combat Effectiveness, I Will Keep Speaking Up"

Not long ago, the Party branch of Second Company of a unit of the Southern Theater Command Navy convened a meeting to study and resolve certain training bottleneck problems during the new recruits' "second adjustment period." Xiao Zou, a conscript Party member and senior private attending the meeting as a non-voting participant, took the initiative to speak, indicating that he could join the new recruit physical fitness reinforcement group and assist in improving training.

His attitude prompted remarks from a few comrades: "There are backbone personnel to worry about these things," and "Performing well yourself is one thing; being able to teach others is another."

Faced with this skepticism, Xiao Zou pulled from a document folder a "distribution chart of new recruit physical fitness shortcomings" he had compiled himself, along with a training plan covering grouping criteria, training cycles, key points of movement, and multiple other aspects—detailed in data and clear in organization.

"I wasn't acting on impulse or trying to show off. This is the result of observation and reflection over this period of time," Xiao Zou said. He spends every day with the new recruits and knows clearly who cannot pull themselves up on the horizontal bar, who struggles with the 3,000-meter run, and who has weak core strength. On the chart, he listed in detail the specific situations of certain new recruits in the company.

"A Party member's right to make suggestions is not a decoration. As long as it is reasoned, evidence-based, and grounded in reality, it should be taken seriously," said Zhang Junwen, deputy secretary of the company Party branch, who was the first to express his position. Pointing to the chart and plan Xiao Zou had produced, he emphasized: "Xiao Zou has been in the military for less than a year, yet his physical fitness scores have risen from near the bottom to among the best of his cohort, and he performed excellently in the brigade's assessment competitions. This proves he understands training and knows how to study it carefully. He also took the lead in forming a 'conscript mutual assistance group' and has experience mentoring comrades..."

"Xiao Zou is close in age to the new recruits, so there's no sense of distance in communication, and his training methods are practical and down-to-earth. He might genuinely be able to produce results." After deliberation, the Party branch adopted Xiao Zou's suggestion and arranged for experienced Staff Sergeant Second Class An Jianbin to provide specific guidance.

Once the resolution was implemented, Xiao Zou immediately took up the task and translated his thinking into action. He proactively took on the role of leader of the horizontal bar improvement group, arriving at the training ground half an hour early each day to adjust the equipment, and carefully correcting his comrades' movements one by one during training. New recruit Xiao Zhang had seen no improvement in his horizontal bar performance for a long time and had lost heart. Xiao Zou tailored a graduated training plan for him, and in less than a month his scores broke through.

With the support of the company Party branch, Xiao Zou also established and refined a training check-in mechanism, recording training data daily and analyzing the degree of progress weekly. To address the problem of injuries that frequently occur during certain training activities, he proposed adding warm-up and cool-down segments; taking into account the psychological state of the new recruits, he suggested establishing a "Star of Progress" selection, so that everyone could see their own growth. At the most recent physical fitness assessment, the excellent and good rate across all subjects for the company's new recruits improved markedly.

The skepticism that had once existed gradually turned into recognition. Xiao Zou said: "As long as it benefits combat effectiveness, I will keep speaking up."

"A Party member's right to make suggestions is not something to be said casually—it is rooted in thorough investigation and the application of practice," Zhang Junwen reflected on that branch committee meeting with deep feeling. "The 'golden ideas' of conscript Party members have great potential in the vivid practice of training troops and preparing for war."

"My Insistence Is Not Fault-Finding—It Is Only to Do the Work Well"

"This vehicle cannot be put into storage." Recently, at a seasonal maintenance site for equipment in Fifth Company of a unit of the Southern Theater Command Navy, Senior Private Xiao Li stood in front of an armored vehicle and blocked a comrade who was preparing to seal and store the equipment.

The scene left some of the comrades present stunned. Xiao Li is a Party member and a technical backbone of the company, but he is after all only a conscript—why would he dare to stop a veteran soldier's vehicle?

"The deflector plate cannot be opened, the track retraction is not smooth, and there is a risk of rupture in the hydraulic oil line." Xiao Li pointed to several problems on the vehicle and explained them one by one. "These fault hazards could have been predicted and prevented in advance, but now they have all been brought to the maintenance site."

The veteran soldier's expression was not pleasant. He explained in a low voice: "Following the standard operating procedures involves many steps and takes a long time. Simplifying the process slightly is not a big deal." Xiao Li did not let it go, and on the spot identified the key steps that had been omitted from the operation and put forward specific remedial suggestions.

At that moment, a nearby comrade walked over and advised Xiao Li that there was no need to be so insistent. "You're almost at the end of your service period and facing the selection for retention and promotion—don't go making enemies easily."

After Company Party Branch Secretary Yan Qichao, who was supervising on site, learned of the situation, he immediately organized several backbone personnel to verify the problems Xiao Li had identified, and found them all to be accurate. Upon deeper investigation, they discovered even more hazards: certain backbone personnel had an insufficiently thorough grasp of equipment principles, fault diagnosis relied on experience rather than data, and maintenance tools were used in non-standard ways.

That evening, the company Party branch convened a meeting. After deliberation, the group decided to further strengthen supervision and inspection, emphasize operational standards, clarify the supervisory and management responsibilities of each combat position, and conduct criticism and education of relevant personnel whose work standards were not sufficiently high. At the meeting, everyone gave Xiao Li's work high praise: "Xiao Li upheld principles and dared to be firm and unyielding (较真碰硬). This is what a qualified Party member should look like."

Once this work was completed, everyone's attitude toward Xiao Li also changed. The veteran soldier frankly admitted that although he had felt embarrassed at the time, when he calmed down and thought it through carefully, his comrade had actually been acting responsibly toward him—the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced.

Having earned everyone's recognition, Xiao Li became more proactive in fulfilling his duties. Whenever he had time, he actively communicated and discussed with comrades: Could the mess hall food be given more variety? Could cultural and sports activities be made richer? Could the methods backbone personnel use to lead soldiers be further improved?

He organized these opinions and suggestions item by item and submitted them to the company Party branch. From optimizing supplemental meal dishes to improving the new recruit mentoring mechanism, every item was practical and grounded. The Party branch studied each item in turn: those that could be changed were changed immediately; those requiring long-term advancement had deadlines and responsible parties clearly designated. Once the relevant measures were implemented, they earned widespread praise.

"Party member oversight does not distinguish by length of Party membership or by rank," Yan Qichao said at an organizational life meeting (组织生活会) not long ago, leading all Party members in once again studying the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Rights of Members of the Communist Party of China. He encouraged every Party member to actively offer suggestions and to serve as the masters of troop training, combat readiness, and company development.

"My insistence is not fault-finding—it is only to do the work well," Xiao Li said frankly. Turning a blind eye to problems out of fear of offending people is the greatest irresponsibility toward the company and one's comrades.

(Article reported and written by Zhong Huan, Chang Yifan, and PLA Daily reporter Chen Dianhong.)