Continuously Win the Trust and Support of the People with New Achievements in Work Style Improvement

The current Party-wide study and education campaign to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, which is being carried out from top to bottom, uses the nail-driving spirit to rectify the “four forms of decadence” and promotes the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style improvement, providing an important guide for the question of what to focus on in work style improvement and how to carry it out under the new circumstances. Work style improvement is always on the road; to continuously deepen work style improvement with a thoroughgoing spirit of self-revolution, Party officials and members need to take a firm stand of “taking root among the people”, maintain a state of “being present with one’s roots in the heart”, and base themselves on the “testing ground” of “protecting the roots through action”, so as to preserve the Party’s advanced nature and purity with new achievements in work style improvement and continuously win the trust and support of the people.

当前全党上下正在开展的深入贯彻中央八项规定精神学习教育，以钉钉子精神纠治“四风”，推进作风建设常态化长效化，为解决新形势下作风建设抓什么、怎么抓的问题提供了重要遵循。作风建设永远在路上，以彻底的自我革命精神将作风建设持续引向深入，需要党员干部站稳“植根于民”的“立场”、保持“固根于心”的“在场”、立足“护根于行”的“考场”，以作风建设新成效保持党的先进性纯洁性，不断赢得人民群众信任拥护。

I

一

The question of for whom and by whom a Party or a political power acts is the touchstone for testing its nature. In the *Communist Manifesto*, Marx and Engels pointed out that “all previous movements were movements of minorities or in the interests of minorities. The proletarian movement is the independent movement of the vast majority, in the interests of the vast majority”—this is the distinct hallmark that distinguishes a Marxist party from other parties. The Communist Party of China, as a Marxist party, “comes from the people, takes root among the people, and serves the people; the Party’s foundation is in the people, its bloodline is in the people, and its strength is in the people,” so it must always put the interests of the people first. The people’s standpoint is the fundamental political standpoint of the Communist Party of China, and serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of all the Party’s actions. History has fully proven that the people are the Party’s greatest source of strength as it exercises power; maintaining close Party-mass and cadre-mass ties and preserving the flesh-and-blood bond with the people has always been the foundation for the Party’s invincibility.

为什么人、靠什么人的问题，是检验一个政党、一个政权性质的试金石。马克思恩格斯在《共产党宣言》中指出，“过去的一切运动都是少数人的或者为少数人谋利益的运动。无产阶级的运动是绝大多数人的、为绝大多数人谋利益的独立的运动”，这是马克思主义政党区别于其他政党的显著标志。中国共产党作为马克思主义政党，“来自人民、植根人民、服务人民，党的根基在人民、血脉在人民、力量在人民”，任何时候都要把群众利益放在第一位。人民立场是中国共产党的根本政治立场，全心全意为人民服务，是我们党一切行动的根本出发点和落脚点。历史充分证明，人民是我们党执政的最大底气，密切党群关系、干群关系，保持同人民群众的血肉联系，始终是我们党立于不败之地的根基。

The Party’s work style is a barometer for observing Party-mass and cadre-mass relations as well as popular sentiment; what the Party’s work style is like directly affects the Party’s image in the hearts of the people and influences the degree of the people’s trust in and support for the Party; therefore, “the issue of the Party’s work style concerns the life and death of the Party.” As a Marxist party upholding the lofty ideal of communism, our Party has always attached great importance to its own building. But we must also be soberly aware that our Party has been in power for a long time; “if unhealthy tendencies are not resolutely corrected and are allowed to develop, they will be like an invisible wall separating our Party from the people, and our Party will lose its foundation, its bloodline, and its strength.” In the process of continuously improving work style by promoting upright conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption, Party officials and members must not only take the people’s stand, but also go down to take root; “they must learn from the people, humble themselves, get down to the grass-roots level, stay grounded and informed, conduct in-depth investigation and research, dissect a sparrow, and identify typical cases, so as to truly discover the problems the people face, report the people’s opinions, and summarize the experience created by the people.” Only by firmly relying on the people, constantly benefiting the people, and deeply rooting ourselves among the people, sharing weal and woe with the people and being of one heart and mind, and continuously drawing wisdom and strength from the great practice of the people, can the political essence of Communists be forever preserved.

党的作风是观察党群干群关系、人心向背的晴雨表，党的作风如何，直接关系到党在人民群众心中的形象，影响着人民群众对党的信任和拥护程度，因而“党风问题关系党的生死存亡”。作为秉持共产主义远大理想的马克思主义政党，我们党高度重视自身建设。但也要清醒地看到，我们党长期执政，“如果不坚决纠正不良风气，任其发展下去，就会像一座无形的墙把我们党和人民群众隔开，我们党就会失去根基、失去血脉、失去力量”。在驰而不息抓好正风肃纪反腐的作风建设过程中，党员干部不仅要站稳人民的立场，还要向下扎根，“要拜人民为师、向人民学习，放下架子、扑下身子，接地气、通下情，深入开展调查研究，解剖麻雀，发现典型，真正把群众面临的问题发现出来，把群众的意见反映上来，把群众创造的经验总结出来”。只有紧紧依靠人民、不断造福人民、牢牢植根人民，与人民风雨同舟、心心相印，不断从人民群众伟大实践中汲取智慧和力量，才能永葆共产党人政治本色。

II

二

In Party work style improvement, Party officials and members must not only understand “for whom” and “by whom” they act, but also clearly know “who I am.” They must uphold a heart of respect for the people, take the people’s heart as their own, constantly strengthen their role orientation as public servants of the people, remember that seeking happiness for the people and rejuvenation for the nation is the original aspiration and founding mission of Chinese Communists, and always maintain a state of “being present with one’s roots in the heart.”

在党的作风建设中，党员干部不仅要明白“为了谁”“依靠谁”，还要明晰“我是谁”，要秉持敬民之心、以人民之心为心，不断强化人民公仆的角色定位，牢记为人民谋幸福、为民族谋复兴是中国共产党人的初心和使命，时时保持“固根于心”的“在场”。

Uphold a heart of respect for the people. Marxist historical materialism holds that the masses of the people are the creators of history. “The state considers the people as its foundation, and the altars of the soil and grain are established for the people”; the people are the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the Party and the state. Throughout history, from “the people are the foundation of the state” to “people-centered,” the people are the logical starting point for extraordinary achievements and the value orientation of historical change. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly admonished Party officials and members to know reverence, maintain caution, and keep to the bottom line, to revere the Party, revere the people, and revere the law and discipline. In Party work style improvement, knowing integrity and understanding reverence helps the vast majority of Party officials and members maintain composure, resist temptations, remain immune to all poisons, and go steady and far.

秉持敬民之心。马克思主义唯物史观认为，人民群众是历史的创造者。“国以民为本，社稷亦为民而立”，人民是决定党和国家前途命运的根本力量。古往今来，从“民惟邦本”到“以人民为中心”，人民是非凡成就的逻辑起点，也是历史变革的价值旨归。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记反复告诫党员领导干部要知敬畏、存戒惧、守底线，敬畏党、敬畏人民、敬畏法纪。在党的作风建设中，知名节、懂敬畏，有助于广大党员干部保持定力，抵制诱惑，百毒不侵，行稳致远。

Uphold a heart for the people, take the people’s heart as one’s own. The rise of a government lies in following the people’s will; its fall lies in going against it. The future and destiny of a party or a political power ultimately depend on the will of the people. While using the “yardstick” of revering the people, Party officials and members should also regard the people’s opinions as “the best yardstick.” “The people’s anxieties are what I must think of; the people’s hopes are what I must do.” From the older generation of revolutionaries insisting on “sitting squarely on the side of the working people” to the New Era’s “the people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal,” from “standing on the side of the overwhelming majority of the working people” to the New Era’s “always putting the people’s interests in the highest position,” the revolutionary tradition and fine work style have been passed down from generation to generation, with successive generations of Communists vividly interpreting the fundamental question of “what the Communist Party of China is and what it wants to do.”

秉持为民之心，以人民之心为心。政之所兴在顺民心，政之所废在逆民心。一个政党，一个政权，其前途命运最终取决于人心向背。广大党员干部在敬畏人民这把“尺子”的同时，还应把群众意见视作“一把最好的尺子”。“民之所忧，我必念之；民之所盼，我必行之。”从老一辈革命家坚持“把屁股端端地坐在老百姓的这一面”到新时代“人民对美好生活的向往，就是我们的奋斗目标”，从“站在最大多数劳动人民的一面”到新时代“始终把人民利益放在最高位置”，革命传统和优良作风薪火相传，一代代共产党人生动诠释了“中国共产党是什么、要干什么”这一根本问题。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has always set the direction and made plans with an eye to the people’s aspiration for a better life. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The Communist Party does things for the people; it is meant to make the people’s lives better day by day, better year by year.” This weighty promise is full of feelings for the people and concerns the people’s well-being; “what is said must be done, and what is promised must be fulfilled.” “Where the people call, reform responds”; leading cadres are public servants of the people; they must always keep in mind the purpose and responsibility, consciously treat the process of exercising power as the process of serving the people, consciously accept the supervision of the people, and exercise power for the people, fairly, according to law, and with integrity. On the new journey of the New Era, only by enabling the fruits of development to benefit all the people more and more equitably, and by letting the broad masses of the people share in the fruits of reform and development, can we better stay grounded, understand people’s conditions, pool people’s wisdom, and benefit people’s livelihood.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央始终着眼人民的美好生活向往举旗定向、谋篇布局。习近平总书记指出：“共产党就是给人民办事的，就是要让人民的生活一天天好起来，一年比一年过得好。”沉甸甸的承诺，饱含人民情怀、关系人民福祉，“说到的就要做到，承诺的就要兑现”。“人民有所呼、改革有所应”，领导干部是人民的公仆，必须始终牢记宗旨、牢记责任，自觉把权力行使的过程作为为人民服务的过程，自觉接受人民监督，做到为民用权、公正用权、依法用权、廉洁用权。新时代新征程上，只有让发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，让广大人民群众共享改革发展成果，才能更好地接地气、察民情、聚民智、惠民生。

III

三

Persistently implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and striving to deepen the integration of upright conduct and anti-corruption require both internal and external efforts.

锲而不舍落实中央八项规定精神、着力推动正风反腐一体深化需要内外兼修。

On the one hand, to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. For our Party to forever maintain the advanced nature and purity of its ranks, it must dare to carry out self-revolution, dare to turn the blade inward, dare to scrape the poison from the bone, dare to cut off a gangrenous limb to save the whole, and take strict political discipline as the guideline and the ruler; put discipline first, strengthen the rigidity of disciplinary enforcement; actively give play to the role of intra-Party supervision, democratic supervision, and legal supervision, clarify the direction, set rules, rectify the atmosphere, and strengthen immunity. In their work, Party officials and members should remember that the hours outside work are also a testing ground, making those hours a “second classroom” for Party spirit cultivation, manage their social, interpersonal, and entertainment circles well, and behave with a sense of treading on thin ice or standing on the edge of a precipice when alone, unobserved, or in trivial matters, never indulging, crossing the line, or overstepping bounds, guarding against small matters and minor details, developing a high degree of self-discipline in observing rules and discipline, being cautious when alone and in small matters, being cautious from beginning to end, remembering that Party cadres are public servants of the people, and interpreting loyalty to the Party with concrete actions.

一方面，打铁必须自身硬。我们党要永葆队伍的先进性和纯洁性，必须敢于进行自我革命，敢于刀刃向内，敢于刮骨疗伤，敢于壮士断腕，以严明政治纪律为遵循、为戒尺；把纪律挺在前面，增强纪律执行刚性约束；积极发挥党内监督、民主监督、法律监督的作用，明方向、立规矩、正风气、强免疫。在工作中，党员干部应牢记八小时外亦是考场，让八小时外成为党性修养的“第二课堂”，管好自己的生活圈、交往圈、娱乐圈，在私底下、无人时、细微处，更要如履薄冰、如临深渊，始终不放纵、不越轨、不逾矩，守住小事小节，养成遵规守纪的高度自觉，慎独慎微、慎始慎终，牢记党的干部是人民公仆，用实际行动诠释对党忠诚。

On the other hand, the people are the highest arbitrator and final judge of the Party’s work. Whether all our work has been effective ultimately depends on whether the people have truly benefited, whether their lives have truly improved, and whether their rights and interests have truly been protected; the same applies to the Party’s work style improvement. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: “We must always adhere to the people’s standpoint, uphold the principal position of the people, learn from the people with an open mind, listen to their voices, draw on their wisdom, and take the people’s support, approval, satisfaction, and consent as the fundamental criterion for measuring success or failure in all work.” In Party work style improvement, we should keep education open, smooth the channels for the people to offer suggestions and criticism, truly let the people supervise and judge our work, create a social environment where everyone wants to, is willing to, and dares to supervise, and form a strong deterrent force of people’s supervision.

另一方面，人民是我们党的工作的最高裁决者和最终评判者。检验我们一切工作的成效，最终都要看人民是否真正得到了实惠，人民生活是否真正得到了改善，人民权益是否真正得到了保障，党的作风建设同样如此。习近平总书记强调，“必须始终坚持人民立场，坚持人民主体地位，虚心向人民学习，倾听人民呼声，汲取人民智慧，把人民拥护不拥护、赞成不赞成、高兴不高兴、答应不答应作为衡量一切工作得失的根本标准”。在党的作风建设中，应坚持开门教育，畅通人民群众建言献策与批评监督渠道，真正让人民来监督、评判我们的工作，营造人人要监督、人人愿监督、人人敢监督的社会环境，形成人民监督的强大威慑力。

Work style improvement is like sailing against the current; if you slacken the pole for a moment, you retreat a thousand fathoms. It is necessary to take the determination and tenacity of “treading on stone leaving a mark and grasping steel leaving a print” and persistently advance work style improvement as a protracted battle; work style improvement cannot be achieved overnight or in one campaign; the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations must be internalized into an everyday norm that is used without conscious awareness, persisted in integrating into daily life and regular practice, constantly studied and renewed; work style improvement values internalization in the heart and externalization in action. Party officials and members must truly engage themselves, their work, and their responsibilities, continuously strengthen the Party’s mass base for exercising power, cement the flesh-and-blood bond between the Party and the people, ensure that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and push Chinese-path modernization forward steadily and far.

作风建设如逆水行舟，一篙松劲退千寻，必须以“踏石留印、抓铁有痕”的决心和韧劲，将作风建设作为持久战持续推进；作风建设不可能一蹴而就、毕其功于一役，要将中央八项规定精神内化为日用而不觉的言行准则，坚持融入日常、抓在经常，常学常新；作风建设贵在内化于心、外化于行，党员干部要切实把自己摆进去、把工作摆进去、把职责摆进去，不断厚植党执政的群众基础，密切党同人民群众的血肉联系，确保党始终成为中国特色社会主义事业的坚强领导核心，推动中国式现代化行稳致远。

(The author: Pan Xihua, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者：潘西华，系中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心