Ideological Front | Strengthening the Military Begins with Strengthening It Politically
Strengthening the Military Begins with Strengthening It Politically
■ Jia Jianyong, Zhang Licheng, Deng Yifei
Editor's Note: If the military is not strong enough, it collapses the moment it fights; if it is not strong enough politically, it collapses without ever fighting. Our military is an armed group that executes the Party's political tasks, and placing politics first is always the foremost requirement. Without political indestructibility, there can be no military invincibility; if one cannot resist the enemy's sugar-coated bullets (糖衣炮弹), one cannot face the mountains of blades and seas of fire on the future battlefield. At present, the world situation, national conditions, Party conditions, and military conditions are all undergoing complex and profound changes; the political tests our military faces are intricate and complicated. We must advance the political approach to military building (政治建军) without pause for a single moment, use political strength—the most fundamental form of strength—to lead the battle to win the hard fight, and continuously transform political advantages into advantages for winning.
Chairman Xi has profoundly pointed out that strengthening the military begins with strengthening it politically, and that political strength is the most fundamental form of strength. This important statement profoundly elucidates the foundational, overarching, and decisive status of the political approach to military building in the cause of strengthening the military, and precisely calibrates the political direction for the construction and development of the People's Army. On the new journey, all officers and soldiers must deeply comprehend the great significance, core connotations, and practical requirements of "strengthening the military begins with strengthening it politically," and with a high sense of political responsibility and historical mission, advance the political approach to military building to continuously achieve new breakthroughs and produce new results—providing a fundamental political guarantee for fighting well the hard battle to achieve the centenary goal of army building (建军一百年奋斗目标) and striving to open up a new landscape for the cause of strengthening the military.
I
The political nature of the military is its essential attribute, and grasping military construction must begin with grasping it politically. This is both a profound revelation of history and a product of the current era's circumstances, and even more so a fundamental guarantee for creating the future—it concentrates and manifests the essential laws governing the construction and development of the People's Army.
An inevitable requirement for forging the soul of a strong military and permanently preserving its political character. The Party's absolute leadership over the military is the founding principle and the soul of our military's strength. From the Sanwan Reorganization establishing "the Party branch at the company level (支部建在连上)," to the Gutian Conference laying the foundation for the basic principles of ideological Party building and the political approach to military building, to the political rectification (政治整训) of the new era that restored original principles and reformed abuses—the history of the People's Army's development is a history of persisting in the political approach to military building and forging an indestructible loyal military soul. The military soul never changes; the military flag always faces the Party. We must unwaveringly uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the military, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments" (两个确立), strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses" (四个意识), firm up the "Four Confidences" (四个自信), achieve the "Two Upholds" (两个维护), implement the system of Chairman of the Central Military Commission responsibility, and resolutely obey Chairman Xi's command, be responsible to Chairman Xi, and give Chairman Xi peace of mind. Only with absolute political loyalty, absolute purity, and absolute reliability can one guard the red roots of the People's Army, permanently preserve its nature, purpose, and character, and ensure that the gun barrel is always held in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the Party.
The core support for responding to risks and challenges and fulfilling mission tasks. At present, the great changes unseen in a century are accelerating, the national security situation is intricate and complex, the struggle in the ideological domain is sharp and intense, and the risks and challenges facing the strengthening and revitalization of the military are unprecedented. Our military shoulders the sacred mission of defending national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Facing major tests of high winds and waves, or even violent storms, the political test must be passed first. We must educate and guide officers and soldiers to always maintain a clear political mind and stand firm in their political stance, to be clear and unequivocal in the face of major issues of right and wrong, to be fearless in the face of trials of wind and waves, and to resolutely resist the erosion and influence of all manner of erroneous ideological trends. Only by consolidating the political foundation and strengthening political guidance can we effectively prevent and defuse all kinds of political risks, rally the powerful force to overcome difficulties and dare to fight and win, and successfully complete the mission tasks of the new era entrusted by the Party and the people.
The fundamental guarantee for the hard fight to reach the military centenary and advance toward a first-class military. Achieving the centenary goal of army building and comprehensively building a world-class military is the strategic blueprint of the cause of strengthening the military in the new era, and it cannot be separated from strong political guarantees and solid political capabilities. Strengthening the military is absolutely not merely the modernization of military capabilities and equipment technology; at a deeper and more core level, it is the comprehensive strengthening of political beliefs, political stance, and political ecology. The political approach to military building determines the direction and nature of military construction. Only by achieving political strength can we ensure that the cause of strengthening the military always advances along the correct political direction, continuously transforming the Party's political advantages and organizational advantages into advantages for strengthening the military and winning; only then can we unify the thinking, will, and action of the entire military, forming a powerful combined force of bold progress and united struggle; only then can we forge a solid force that is loyal, clean, and responsible, using comprehensive political strength to drive and promote the coordinated development and overall elevation of work in the military, scientific and technological, talent, and management domains, providing an indestructible political guarantee for the hard fight to reach the military centenary and advance toward a first-class military.
II
Political strength is the fundamental political requirement Chairman Xi has put forward for the People's Army in the new era, and it is the fundamental prerequisite for forging a heroic military that the Party and the people can trust, rely on, and feel at ease with. All officers and soldiers must accurately grasp the core connotations and standards of political strength, and lay a solid political foundation for the cause of strengthening the military in the new era.
The political character of absolute loyalty. Loyalty to the Party must be the only, thorough, unconditional loyalty—one that contains no impurities and no dilution whatsoever. Political strength means forging the political character of absolute loyalty, taking obeying the Party's command as the fundamental principle and code of action, consciously maintaining a high degree of alignment in thought, politics, and action with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core, never changing one's heart, shifting one's will, or breaking one's integrity under any circumstances or at any time, and manifesting the political genes inherent in the People's Army through a pure and unalloyed foundation of loyalty.
A clear and firm political stance. Ideals and convictions are the spiritual pillar and political soul of our Party and our military. Political strength means always holding fast to Marxist beliefs, the lofty ideal of communism, and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, truly allowing ideals and convictions to become the lighthouse in one's heart, being devout and persistent, supremely faithful and deeply rooted—so that amid the complex and ever-changing ideological struggle and severe tests of risk, one always clearly discerns the political direction, stands firm in the political stance, and upholds political principles.
Comprehensively solid political capability. Political capability is the foremost capability for officers and soldiers to perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities. Political strength means tempering comprehensively solid political capability, focusing on enhancing political judgment (政治判断力), political comprehension (政治领悟力), and political execution (政治执行力), being adept at observing, analyzing, and handling problems from a political height, accurately understanding and resolutely implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi, consciously integrating political requirements throughout the entire process of preparing for and fighting wars and governing and leading troops, using political solidity to support the mission and responsibility of performing one's duties, and forging political qualities commensurate with the cause of strengthening the military in the new era.
Pure and upright political integrity. The military wields the gun barrel; there must absolutely be no one in the military who harbors divided loyalties toward the Party, and there must absolutely be no place for corrupt elements to hide. Political strength means strictly observing political discipline and political rules, consciously upholding the political bottom line of being an official, being a person, and serving in the military, resolutely resisting unhealthy tendencies and evil practices and purging toxic influences and accumulated abuses, maintaining the political ecology of a clean and upright military through the solid integrity of understanding laws and discipline, knowing rules and regulations, and having a sense of reverence, and allowing a new and upright atmosphere to be even more abundant in the troops.
III
On the new journey of the new era, the mission of the cause of strengthening the military is as weighty as a mountain, and the responsibility on our shoulders is heavy. All officers and soldiers must engrave "political strength" into their bones and fuse it into their bloodstream to an even higher standard and with even stricter requirements, integrate knowledge and action in their posts, work diligently and practically, and with a new political bearing shoulder the era's heavy responsibility of strengthening the military and winning wars.
Deepen theoretical arming and enhance political capability. Political firmness stems from theoretical clarity. We must study with the drive to "squeeze" out time—treating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and especially Xi Jinping's Thought on Strengthening the Military, as "spiritual nourishment" and a "compass for thought," putting every spare moment to use and stringing together fragmented time, enhancing theoretical grounding through daily accumulation; we must comprehend truth with the attitude of "drilling" deep—studying with conviction, comprehending with a sense of mission, and thinking with problems in mind, truly mastering the Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods contained therein, and transforming the power of theory into a "political immunity" for distinguishing right from wrong and resisting erosion; we must promote transformation with a "practical" orientation—resolutely eliminating the disconnect between study and application, calibrating the ideological heading and correcting deviations in action through learning, reflection, practice, and comprehension, so as not to lose one's direction in the face of wind and waves, not to waver in the face of temptation, and not to be ambiguous in the face of tests.
Strictly conduct rectification of work style and training, and temper political character. Political strength requires all officers and soldiers to always maintain the courage to turn the blade inward, and to undergo revolutionary tempering in ideological rectification (思想整风) and political rectification training (政治整训). We must conduct political check-ups (政治体检) on a routine basis, using Party constitutions and Party regulations and heroic model figures as the yardstick to examine every thought and every word and deed, and clear away the "dust and grime" deep in one's thinking; we must make good use of the weapon of criticism and self-criticism, not fearing the exposure of shortcomings and faults, not fearing embarrassment and discomfort, and resolutely correcting habitual thinking, a slack mentality, and a detached psychology (佛系心理); we must resolutely guard the ideological front, daring to draw our sword and speak out in the face of erroneous ideological trends and discordant noise, not being a "bystander" or a "muddled person," building a "firewall" in thought, and permanently preserving the revolutionary soldier's character of loyalty, cleanliness, and responsibility.
Strictly observe discipline and rules, and adhere to the political bottom line. Chairman Xi has emphasized: "The foremost discipline the military must observe is political discipline, and the foremost rules it must observe are political rules, and the standards must be higher and the requirements stricter." We must educate and guide officers and soldiers to consciously be politically clear-headed people, always putting political discipline and political rules at the forefront, implementing them in specific work, and reflecting them in everyday words and deeds, always maintaining an especially clear mind, an especially clear-cut attitude, and especially resolute action, absolutely never trading on Party principles, absolutely never allowing anyone to sing a different tune from the Party Central Committee on major issues of political principle and major issues of right and wrong, resolutely preventing and investigating the "seven types of problems" (七个有之), showing absolutely no leniency toward those who form "small cliques" and "small circles" (小团伙、小圈子), and resolutely purging "two-faced people" (两面人) and "false loyalists" (伪忠诚).
Focus on preparing for war and strengthen political responsibility. Fighting and preparing to fight is the soldier's duty, and political strength is ultimately reflected in training troops and preparing for war, and in refining military skills and strengthening capabilities. We must educate and guide officers and soldiers to resolutely break away from the chronic ailments of peacetime, discard complacent thinking and a slack attitude, always maintain a combat posture of an arrow on the bowstring ready to be released, and focus all thoughts and energy on preparing for war; we must temper solid capabilities to the standard of actual combat, concentrating on intensive training to address weaknesses and shortcomings, training with the weapons in hand to the utmost and honing professional skills to the peak, and developing the hard skills to defeat the enemy with a single move and seal the throat with a single sword; we must be tempered into steel through urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks, proactively advancing toward danger and charging toward difficulty, and answering the questions of winning wars, of value, and of capability through courageous responsibility and solid combat achievements.
(Authors' unit: Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, National Defense University)