Special Issue on Building the Military Through Politics · Forging Through Fire | Preserve Purity and Honor, Uphold True Colors

Preserve Purity and Honor, Uphold True Colors

■ Sun Liu

"To a century-old force, purity and honor remain as they were from the start; a century of struggle has brought us here, charging forward toward glory and victory…"

The song "Charging Toward Glory" (《光荣奔赴》) has a cadence that is forceful and stirring, giving voice to the steadfast conviction of the people's armed forces in writing a new chapter of purity and honor, and expressing the proud sentiments of officers and soldiers everywhere as they carry forward the glory of their mission.

Chairman Xi has emphasized that the people's armed forces will not tolerate corruption, and that an army of might and civilization will not tolerate defilement. Corruption is the greatest malignant tumor threatening the Party's vitality and combat effectiveness, and is also the "fatal killer" of the people's armed forces. Only by continuously deepening political rectification training (政治整训), advancing the correction of conduct and anti-corruption work in depth, reshaping and renewing through revolutionary tempering (革命性锻造), and eliminating disease and restoring order through the anti-corruption struggle, can we ensure that our military perpetually carries forward the bloodline of loyalty and forever preserves its purity and honor.

I

When rot and decay are removed, the beams and pillars stand firm; where the winds of integrity rise, sea and sky are clear.

A political party that is invincible in attack and undefeated in battle must be an advanced and pure party; an armed force capable of winning battles and daring to fight to certain victory must be a loyal and pure military.

In 1926, the Chinese Communist Party convened the Third Enlarged Session of the Fourth Central Executive Committee, demanding strict punishment of corruption within the Party.

Shortly after the meeting concluded, the CCP Central Committee issued the "Circular of the Enlarged Central Committee — Resolutely Purge Elements of Graft and Corruption."

This document, the first anti-corruption document in our Party's history, profoundly analyzed the grave harm that graft and corruption brought to the Party's cause, expounded the Party's position and guiding principles in its struggle against graft and corruption, and expressed the Party Central Committee's resolute determination to combat corruption through a series of stern formulations — "resolutely," "swiftly," "without leniency," "wash out of the Party," "execute immediately," and "this is of the utmost importance" — reflecting the true colors and original aspirations of Chinese Communists in combating corruption and upholding integrity. From the standpoint of upholding the proletarian character of the Party and maintaining the relationship between the Party and the masses, the Party waged a resolute struggle against graft and corruption, thereby preserving the purity of the Party's ranks, raising the Party's prestige among the masses, and advancing the victorious development of the Great Revolution.

One hundred years later, in 2026, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection convened, emphasizing the need to maintain an unyielding high-pressure posture, to investigate every instance of corruption, to root out every act of graft, and to eliminate evil without exception, leaving corrupt elements with nowhere to hide.

Shortly after the plenary session concluded, the Ministry of National Defense spokesperson released a statement on recent military-related matters: following deliberation by the Party Central Committee, it was decided to place Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli under case investigation (立案审查调查). This once again demonstrated our Party's clear-cut attitude in resolutely defending the political character of the people's armed forces, expressed our Party's ironclad will to carry the anti-corruption struggle through to the end, and will certainly consolidate and deepen the results of political rectification training, driving the people's armed forces to eradicate the roots of corrupting influence and achieve a complete renewal.

History often becomes clearer after the passage of time. Our Party, as a century-old party, must advance Party conduct and clean governance and the anti-corruption struggle without pause for a single moment in order to forever preserve its advanced character and purity, and forever maintain its vitality. For the people's armed forces, now approaching the centenary of their founding, the more thoroughly corruption is combated, the more solid the foundation for overcoming difficulties, and the more assured the path to a stronger military! Only by maintaining strategic resolve and a high-pressure posture at all times, and by unswervingly carrying the anti-corruption struggle through to the end, can the people's armed forces become more pure and consolidated, and possess greater cohesion and combat effectiveness.

II

When one cultivates oneself, all under heaven is cultivated; when one governs oneself, all under heaven is governed.

At the start of this year, the four-episode television documentary "Not One Step Paused, Not One Half-Step Retreated" (《一步不停歇 半步不退让》), jointly produced by the Publicity Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission and China Media Group, was released with great impact. The typical cases selected for the documentary profoundly reflect our Party's drive to foster an atmosphere and orientation in which comprehensive strict governance of the Party grows ever stricter and discipline enforcement grows ever more rigorous the further it goes, and fully demonstrate that the anti-corruption struggle is a major struggle that cannot be lost and must not be lost.

Our military is the people's armed forces created and led by the Party. Whether we can persist in the anti-corruption struggle and preserve purity and honor bears on the political character of our military, bears on the image of the Party and the military, bears on the development of the cause of building a strong nation and a strong military in the new era, and bears on whether the people's armed forces can forever remain undefeated.

— This is an intrinsic requirement of Marxist party-building and military governance.

In February 1860, Marx wrote in a letter: "Our party has distinguished itself in this nineteenth century by its immaculate purity." In the early days of the founding of the Communist League, Marx and Engels made strict provisions for preserving the purity of the party in the Rules of the Communist League, requiring the timely removal of members who did not meet the standard from the organization, so as to make the organization purer and its combat effectiveness stronger. In August 1879, in a joint discussion, they held that "when all manner of rotten elements and vainglorious types can make a great show of themselves without hindrance, the policy of concealment and compromise should be abandoned," and that elements who did not meet the standard of Party membership and who harmed the Party's cause should be expelled from the Party in a timely manner. Lenin pointed out that "our task is to maintain the firmness, thoroughness, and purity of our party. We should strive to raise, raise, and raise again the title and role of Party member." In speaking of the harm of corruption, he noted that "as long as there is such a phenomenon as bribery and corruption, as long as bribery and corruption are possible, there can be no question of politics… because every measure will come to nothing and produce no results."

For a Marxist party to preserve its advanced character and purity, it must struggle against all problems that weaken advanced character and damage purity; it must remove decay and promote new growth, cure disease and heal wounds, and purge the turbid while elevating the clear. Our military is the people's armed forces under the absolute leadership of the Party, an armed group executing the Party's political tasks; corrupt elements must absolutely not be permitted to find a foothold. Persisting in the anti-corruption struggle and preserving purity and honor is an intrinsic requirement of Marxist party-building and military governance, and is an eternal subject for our Party in leading the people's armed forces to uphold their political character.

— This is the historical experience by which our Party and our military have advanced from victory to victory.

On Jinggang Mountain, Comrade Mao Zedong promptly organized the drafting of the "Jinggang Mountain Anti-Corruption Directive" and enforced it strictly. In 1932, the "first shot" against corruption rang out in Ruijin: Xie Busheng was sentenced to death, and Comrade Mao Zedong specifically pointed out on this occasion: "If corruption is not eliminated, the Soviet banner cannot be carried forward; the Communist Party will lose its prestige and the hearts of the people! Struggling against graft and corruption is the sacred duty of us Communists — no one can stop it!" During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the various base areas regarded phenomena such as graft, corruption, and waste as "major problems directly related to the war of resistance," issued a number of extremely strict anti-graft regulations, and seriously investigated and dealt with a number of corruption cases. Zhao Wenyuan, deputy director of the Eighth Route Army cooperative, privately used 420 yuan of public funds for his wedding; Liu Zhenqiu, political commissar of a certain regiment, embezzled 240 yuan of public funds; both were expelled from the Party.

The day an officer's private desires swell is the beginning of the collapse of military morale. The then-U.S. Ambassador to China, John Leighton Stuart, remarked with feeling that the Communist Party defeated the Nationalist Party not through aircraft and artillery, but through clean governance, and through the hearts of the people that clean governance won.

How true those words are! The Communist Party — poor, clean, pure, and clear — defeated the Nationalist Party — feasting at the rear while the front was in crisis — established the People's Republic of China, and won the red rivers and mountains. Tempered through revolution, construction, and reform, our military has vigorously advanced the correction of conduct, discipline enforcement, and anti-corruption work in accordance with the principal tasks of different historical periods, always ensuring with higher standards and stricter requirements that the nature and purpose of the people's armed forces remain unchanged and that the political character of purity and honor is not altered, advancing continuously from victory to victory.

— This is an urgent need for achieving the centenary founding goal of the military.

On January 11 of this year, CCTV publicly confirmed at a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the J-20 fighter's maiden flight that the J-20S possesses the capability for precision strikes against maritime targets. Last November, on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, the micro-film "Dream Afar" (《梦远》), produced by the Air Force Political Work Department, was released; the scene of the Attack-11 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle flying in formation with the J-20 stealth fighter and the J-16 multi-role fighter was breathtaking. This is a display of the results of the People's Air Force soaring forward together with the era, and also a declaration of the people's armed forces' resolve to bravely overcome difficulties as they approach their centenary.

2026 is the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period and a critical year for fighting and winning the decisive battle to achieve the centenary founding goal of the military. "Follow the path and walk, but at the halfway point you must redouble your efforts; the destination is not far, but do not shirk the toil of climbing to the very summit." The closer we are to the goal, the more we are at a critical juncture, the more we must strengthen our conviction and confidence that anti-corruption will prevail and the goal of a strong military will be achieved, the more we must promptly eliminate hidden malignant tumors and dangers, and clear mines and obstacles to consolidate the soul and win battles. Because the faster the pace of removing decay, the faster the pace of new growth, and the more reliable the guarantee for the development of the strong-military enterprise.

Of those who travel a hundred li, ninety is but the halfway point. The final ten li are often the most difficult ten li to walk, and also the ten li that most truly test one's endurance. On the new journey, this heroic force that has broken through obstacle after obstacle will absolutely not be stopped in its forward march by filth and murky waters.

III

Righteous spirit has always been able to dispel pestilence; how can corrupting poison be allowed to gnaw at us again?

The attitude with which one confronts corruption and the actions with which one breaks through corruption determine the success or failure, rise or fall, survival or ruin, and honor or disgrace of a political party, a political power, and a military.

— Maintain no forbidden zones, full coverage, and zero tolerance.

Treating graft is like fighting fire: if any dead corners remain, it will not be contained and will spread like wildfire.

In 2025, the 20th Central Committee's fifth and sixth rounds of inspection were successively conducted, completing full coverage of inspections of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission reported that throughout the year, 115 officials at the provincial/ministerial level and above, 5,016 officials at the bureau/department level, 41,000 officials at the county/division level, and 137,000 officials at the township/section level were placed under case investigation; 91,000 current or former village Party branch secretaries and village committee directors were placed under case investigation; adhering to the principle of investigating both bribe-takers and bribe-givers, 33,000 bribe-givers were placed under case investigation and 4,306 were transferred to the procuratorate… These shocking figures are powerful confirmation of the "no forbidden zones, full coverage, zero tolerance" approach to anti-corruption.

"No forbidden zones, full coverage, zero tolerance" embodies the Party's rock-solid determination and clear-cut attitude in punishing corruption. Comprehensive strict governance of the Party is forever on the march, and the Party's self-revolution is forever on the march. We must vigorously advance political rectification training and the correction of conduct and anti-corruption work, maintain the vigilance and force of zero tolerance, achieve full coverage across all domains, promptly eliminate serious hidden dangers, consolidate purity and honor, and win the historical initiative for the people's armed forces as they march toward world-class status.

— Fight well the decisive battle (攻坚战), the protracted war (持久战), and the comprehensive war (总体战).

Sailing against the current, one either advances or falls back; the task of rooting out graft and punishing corruption is arduous and the road is long.

As the old year gave way to the new, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission News and Communication Center, in conjunction with the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, drew on a big-data corpus to select and release the ten top anti-corruption buzzwords of 2025; "decisive battle, protracted war, comprehensive war" (攻坚战、持久战、总体战) made a powerful appearance on the list. These nine characters embody the resolute attitude and scientific method of sustained effort, breakthrough in key areas, and systematic governance in the anti-corruption struggle.

The severity, tenacity, and recurrence of corruption problems, and the long-term, complex, and arduous nature of the anti-corruption struggle, determine that the anti-corruption struggle must be fought as a decisive battle, a protracted war, and a comprehensive war. We must always maintain the tenacious perseverance of keeping anti-corruption forever on the march, strengthen the systemic perspective, dare to gnaw on hard bones, carry the most thorough self-revolution through to the end, and ensure that our Party and our military never change their nature, never change their color, and never change their flavor (始终不变质、不变色、不变味).

— Advance the integrated approach of daring not to be corrupt (不敢腐), being unable to be corrupt (不能腐), and not wanting to be corrupt (不想腐).

The "Hall of Tranquil Distance" (静远堂) at the Wuhou Shrine in Chengdu, Sichuan, takes its meaning from Zhuge Liang's "Admonition to His Son" (《诫子书》) — "Without indifference to fame and fortune, one cannot clarify one's aspirations; without tranquility, one cannot reach far" — which is precisely a good prescription for forcefully guarding against the craving for desires.

If "daring not to be corrupt" is the prerequisite, with emphasis on punishment and deterrence, and "being unable to be corrupt" is the key, with emphasis on restraint and supervision, then "not wanting to be corrupt" is the fundamental, with emphasis on education and guidance, addressing the problem of the motivation for corruption.

Advancing the integrated approach of daring not to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt is not only the basic guiding principle of the anti-corruption struggle, but also an important strategy for comprehensive strict governance of the Party in the new era, profoundly revealing the basic law of anti-corruption that addresses both symptoms and root causes through systematic governance. At present, the military's anti-corruption struggle has entered a new critical juncture, and the situation is severe and complex. We must grasp the whole picture and understand in an integrated way the concepts of daring not to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt; persist in applying punishment and deterrence, institutional constraints, and the raising of consciousness in an integrated manner; eradicate the soil and conditions in which corruption breeds; and ensure that the people's armed forces remain forever pure and honorable.

IV

Armies have always fallen through arrogance and extravagance; since ancient times, integrity in commanders has generated authority.

The military is an important component of the state apparatus and cannot tolerate the slightest corrosion and rust. Throughout history and across the world, the military, as the cornerstone of national security and the pillar of sovereignty's defense, cannot guarantee the nation's long-term stability and order if corruption is allowed to breed and spread — the barrel of the gun will rust, and the pillar will collapse.

The people's armed forces and arrogant extravagance and corruption are as incompatible as fire and water, fundamentally opposed. Having passed through the smoke and fire of battle and approaching the centenary of the military's founding, the Party has led the people's armed forces through bloody struggle to sweep away the old and establish the new, through tempering in fire to reform abuses and usher in the new, continuously consolidating the purity and honor of the people's armed forces. To tolerate graft is to tolerate defilement; to tolerate corruption is to tolerate defeat. Only by unswervingly punishing corruption can the people's armed forces become stronger, purer, and more combat-effective!

— Degeneration and corruption dissolve purity and honor, and are the most lethal threat to the people's armed forces.

"Lax and slovenly, muddled and dreaming, spending all day in wine and flowers, without the slightest study of military affairs." In the First Sino-Japanese War, "the entire army was annihilated and all pretense was lost; territory was ceded and the army was destroyed, and the true situation was fully exposed. The hope of prosperity became a bubble, and the prospect of peace became an illusion once more." In 1915, Zhou Enlai, then a student at Nankai Middle School, wrote an essay titled "On the Navy," directly pointing to the corruption and indolence of the old military. He lamented: "A man must first despise himself before others despise him; a nation must first attack itself before others attack it."

Corruption is the greatest risk, the greatest threat, and the greatest challenge facing our Party. The military wields the gun; there must absolutely be no one in the military who harbors disloyalty toward the Party, and there must absolutely be no place for corrupt elements to hide. Looking back at history, how many armies of great military achievement were not defeated by powerful adversaries, yet had their glory dissolved and their combat power drained by corruption. The military is the nation's pillar; what corrupt elements do is undermine the nation's foundation and destroy its pillars. If the problem is not resolved before the guns fire, it will leave behind major hidden dangers.

— Punishing corruption consolidates purity and honor, and is a manifestation of the people's armed forces' strength.

In 1948, the CCP Central Committee issued the call: "The army advances, production grows by an inch, discipline is strengthened, and revolution is invincible." In March 1949, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party: "We must ensure that our comrades continue to maintain the style of work of modesty, prudence, and freedom from arrogance and rashness, and that our comrades continue to maintain the style of work of hard struggle." On May 1, 1950, the entire island of Hainan was liberated; on that same day, the CCP Central Committee issued the "Directive on Launching a Rectification Movement Throughout the Party and the Military," with its blade pointed directly at the sentiment of resting on one's laurels, the style of commandism, and the phenomena of graft and corruption, political degeneration and decadence, and violations of law and discipline among a small number of people.

Looking back into the depths of history, whether in adversity or in favorable circumstances, whether in times of difficulty or in times of victory, this military has always rigorously pursued rectification training and tempering, and the pursuit of purity and honor has never ceased. At this important historical juncture of building a strong military, punishing graft and rooting out corruption removes the stumbling blocks on the path to overcoming difficulties, squeezes out the water in combat effectiveness building, and stirs up the spirit and energy for hard struggle and perseverance. The current concentrated investigation and handling of corruption problems does not mean the more we fight corruption the more corrupt things become; rather, the deeper we dig, the more we find, fully demonstrating that our anti-corruption capabilities are growing ever stronger, and fully proving that we are entirely capable of resolving problems that exist within ourselves — this is precisely a manifestation of the strength of the Party and the people's armed forces.

— Officers and soldiers at large forever preserving purity and honor is the bedrock confidence of the people's armed forces in winning battles.

On February 10 of this year, Chairman Xi inspected the combat readiness duty and mission execution status of the entire military via video from the August 1st Building in Beijing. Seeing officers and soldiers in high spirits and morale, diligently training and preparing for war at their respective posts, he gave full affirmation and pointed out: "The past year was most unusual and most extraordinary. The people's armed forces have deeply advanced political rectification training, effectively responded to various risks and challenges, and undergone revolutionary tempering in the anti-corruption struggle. The broad mass of officers and soldiers throughout the military, especially grassroots officers and soldiers, have firmly listened to the Party and followed the Party, loyally fulfilled their duties and responsibilities, concentrated their efforts on overcoming difficulties, and successfully completed all tasks — they are completely reliable and trustworthy."

The broad mass of officers and soldiers are the principal force for the people's armed forces to achieve the goal of a strong military and advance toward world-class status; without them, no matter how grand the strategy, it cannot be realized, and no matter how advanced the weapons and equipment, they cannot be brought into play. Corrupt elements cannot in the slightest represent this heroic people's armed forces with its glorious traditions; they will ultimately be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever.

In recent years, from skillfully commanding great-power weapons and assembling a torrent of steel, to honing the capability to fight and win through major exercises and training and deterring powerful adversaries, to marching forward against danger in the face of disasters and calamities and safeguarding the interests of the people — all of this fully proves that the officers and soldiers of the new era, who have grown up nurtured by Xi Jinping's Thought on Strengthening the Military, are trustworthy and reliable, admirable and respectable. It also eloquently demonstrates that the people's armed forces are forever the heroic force in which the Party and the people can place complete trust.

V

Three feet of ice does not form in a single day; nor is three feet of ice melted in a single day. "At present, the situation of the anti-corruption struggle remains severe and complex, and the task of eradicating the soil and conditions in which corruption breeds remains arduous and heavy." The people's armed forces under the absolute leadership of the Party must sweep away all negative and corrupt phenomena, continuously strengthen revolutionary tempering with the spirit of self-revolution, and win centenary glory through hard struggle and solid work.

— Continuously deepen political rectification training to temper and purify.

In the early spring of 1942, in the face of objections from some quarters to launching the rectification movement, Comrade Mao Zedong was resolute: "Even if things are smashed to pieces, even if Yan'an is lost, even if everyone howls in protest, we will still carry out rectification, and we will carry it through to the end, thoroughly."

The facts proved that after more than three years of rectification training and consolidation, the entire Party achieved a great transformation of thought, a thorough overhaul of conduct, a broad popularization of theory, and a great elevation of Party spirit; "after the Yan'an Rectification Movement, people both at the front and in the rear were truly full of vitality, lively and animated, in good spirits, and united as one."

Political rectification training is a baptism and tempering of the people's armed forces from the inside out, an essential path for ensuring purity and honor, and an important magic weapon for strengthening self-construction politically. "Strengthening the military must first mean being strong politically; being strong politically is the most fundamental strength" and "comprehensive strict governance of the Party must first be viewed from a political perspective." We must uphold, apply well, and develop the important magic weapon of building the military through politics (政治建军), clearly and forthrightly refute erroneous views such as the blindly optimistic "theory of quick victory" (速胜论), the passively pessimistic "theory of hopelessness" (无望论), and the "theory of harm" (有害论) that fails to distinguish right from wrong, restore and rectify politically, eliminate poison and abuses ideologically, remove decay and promote new growth organizationally, and continuously purify thought, purify the ranks, and purify the ecosystem.

— Restore and carry forward fine traditions to purify and renew.

"Proud to serve the people, ashamed to be an official" and "only public servants are seen, no officials are seen" are true portrayals of the fine conduct of Party cadres during the Yan'an period. Comrade Mao Zedong said with pride that "the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region is the most progressive place in the country," and that in Yan'an there was "first, no corrupt officials; second, no local tyrants and evil gentry; third, no gambling; fourth, no prostitution; fifth, no concubines; sixth, no beggars; seventh, no cliques pursuing private interests; eighth, no spirit of listlessness and despondency; ninth, no one eating the bread of friction; tenth, no one profiteering from the national crisis."

Resisting corruption and never being tainted has always been our military's "calling card of conduct." Our military has never lived in a vacuum; the material temptations and ideological and cultural intrusions it must now face are even more varied and complex, and various viruses that affect the purity of the revolutionary ranks and damage the image of revolutionary soldiers appear from time to time. "Glorious traditions must not be abandoned — abandon them and you lose your soul; red genes must not be changed — change them and you change your nature." We must strengthen the study and education of Party history and military history, learn from traditions, love traditions, and speak of traditions, use glorious traditions and fine conduct to purify the soul, eliminate abuses and bring about renewal, unswervingly uphold the righteous and eliminate the evil, uphold the good and eliminate the bad, and pass down the true colors of the old Red Army generation by generation.

— Advance the simultaneous investigation and governance of misconduct and corruption (风腐同查同治) to penetrate and purify.

Last year, a total of 967,000 cases of misconduct and corruption problems around the masses were investigated and handled nationwide, 627,000 people were disciplined, and 22,000 were transferred to the procuratorate. Among these, the problems of irregularly receiving and giving precious local products, gifts, and cash gifts, and irregular eating and drinking were relatively prominent; such problems are often the "starting point" of the corruption chain and the breeding ground for corruption.

The simultaneous investigation and governance of misconduct and corruption fully demonstrates our Party's accurate grasp of the common roots of misconduct and corruption, and is a deepening of the understanding of the laws governing Party conduct and clean governance and the anti-corruption struggle. The military's correction of conduct, discipline enforcement, and anti-corruption work must be stricter and higher than that of local authorities, and must walk at the forefront of the entire Party. We must grasp the new trends and new characteristics of corruption, persist in integrating the correction of conduct, discipline enforcement, and anti-corruption work, see through the surface appearance of "misconduct" (风) to expose the essential nature of "corruption" (腐), innovate means and methods, improve the mechanism for implementing anti-corruption responsibilities, promptly discover, accurately identify, and effectively govern all types of corruption problems, continuously improve the penetrating power of anti-corruption work, resolutely sever the chain of interests linking misconduct to corruption, resolutely break the vicious cycle in which misconduct and corruption are intertwined and mutually reinforcing, and foster a clean political ecosystem (海晏河清的政治生态).

— Strengthen the integrity and clean governance of the senior cadre corps.

During the Yan'an period, the Party resolutely investigated and handled corrupt conduct: Xiao Yubi, who had rendered distinguished service in battle, was sentenced to the extreme penalty for embezzling public funds and living a corrupt lifestyle. On August 8, 1954, the Central Military Commission and the former General Political Department issued the "Directive on Stopping the Corrupt, Degenerate, and Illegal Conduct of Certain Senior Cadres," and within a mere year, the corruption problems of more than 160 mid- and senior-level cadres were investigated and handled…

Senior cadres occupy a special position of wielding important power; their every word and action has an important exemplary and guiding role for the entire Party and military. Only when senior leading cadres lead by example, not seeking private interests and special privileges, can they set the right tone and purify the ecosystem. "Once senior cadres make mistakes, the harm caused is great, and the damage to the Party's image and prestige is great." Military Party member cadres, especially senior cadres, must take the corrupt elements who have been investigated and dealt with as negative teaching material, keep their original aspirations and missions firmly in mind, establish and practice a correct view of political achievements (政绩观), strictly observe the ideological line of defense, the bottom line on the exercise of power, the red line of law and discipline, and the boundary of family conduct, maintain integrity and clean governance, and always ensure that while occupying high positions they never forget their original aspirations, and while holding great power they remain untainted, carrying out their work, undertaking their cause, and leading their troops with the concrete actions of firm belief, pragmatism, responsibility, and self-discipline.

Chairman Xi emphasized at the opening ceremony of the training course for senior military cadres throughout the military that we must "always preserve the purity and honor of the people's armed forces, and greet the centenary of the military's founding with a completely new political bearing." During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the people's armed forces are embarking on a critical leg of the journey to achieve the centenary founding goal on schedule and to advance the modernization of national defense and the military at high quality. "Having traveled ten thousand mountains and rivers" is glory; "still needing to traverse mountains and rivers" is mission.

Dare to carry out self-revolution, forever preserve purity and honor!

Tempered through fire and hardened like steel, charge forward bravely toward victory!