Chapter 597: Filing an Investigation

On September 1, the Huayuan Provincial Party Committee convened a symposium on inspection work, conveying the higher‑level and provincial new deployments and new spirit regarding inspections, and hearing reports from each inspection team. Secretary Wang Jingchen attended the meeting and spoke; Deputy Secretary Lu Fan, Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member and Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary, and head of the provincial inspection leadership group Zhao Lingyun also attended, while leaders from the provincial government did not attend.

At the meeting, Secretary Wang Jingchen pointed out that inspection rectification must focus on comprehensive strict Party governance, adhere closely to the "Six Major Disciplines", uncover problems and create deterrence. Based on the Party constitution, the boundaries of responsibilities are delineated, overseeing everything, strictly, and thoroughly; no omissions, no bias, no leniency, to prevent gaps in duty.

Wang Jingchen emphasized that the rectification work must secure five checkpoints: in the feedback stage, it must be unfiltered, directly targeting problems without sparing feelings, transmitting pressure and clarifying responsibilities; in the accountability stage, for those who fail to implement responsibility, whose rectification is inadequate or who refuse to rectify, the facts must be clarified and strict accountability imposed.

Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Zhao Lingyun laid out the next steps: through the inspections, a total of 1 517 issues concerning discipline, work style, corruption, and personnel were uncovered, and the officials involved must be placed under investigation. Leads concerning provincial officials are to be handled by the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee and the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department in accordance with laws and regulations; other leads, following the principle of territorial management, require the Party Committee Secretary, as the primary responsible person, to be accountable for the area, to not loosen or shirk responsibility, and to report the handling results to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee within a month.

When the meeting's spirit reached the various ministries, bureaus, and prefectures, it immediately caused a huge stir; no one had expected the provincial committee to unleash a "reverse‑horse pistol" and begin to "settle scores after autumn" over the problems uncovered by the inspection!

Governor Liu Linghao stormed into the Provincial Party Committee and engaged in a "theoretical" discussion with Secretary Wang Jingchen, saying as soon as he entered, "Secretary, the provincial committee's inspection rectification work has the provincial government's firm support, but according to the principle of unified responsibilities and powers, issues involving the provincial government and its constituent departments should be transferred to the provincial government, right?"

Wang Jingchen replied calmly, "The provincial inspection is arranged and deployed uniformly by the Provincial Party Committee; the provincial government has many affairs, heavy responsibilities, and great pressure, and must focus its energy on economic development, key projects, and improving livelihoods. Comrade Linghao, if we discuss behind closed doors, without Nanyuan City's GDP growth, Huayuan Province would rank among the bottom three nationwide, wouldn't it? We must learn from shame to courage, recognize weakness to seek strength, acknowledge insufficiency to strive forward, work hard with our heads down, and accumulate strength for a great breakthrough! As class leader, I will ensure the provincial government's logistical support so you can go forward light‑armed and forge ahead."

Liu Linghao continued, "The inspected units bear the primary responsibility for feedback rectification; the provincial government has the responsibility, the obligation, and the authority to supervise the rectification of these departments. We will certainly be bold in shouldering responsibility, enforce discipline with an iron face, not give an inch, maintain a clear attitude, be consistent, and never slack in fully utilizing the inspection results."

Wang Jingchen nodded and said, "When the provincial inspection leadership group handles feedback issues involving the provincial government, it will fully solicit the provincial government's opinions, ensuring impartiality and fairness, both acting like a 'woodpecker' to peck out the worms of corruption and, like a 'clean‑government health check', investigating problems early and on a small scale to propose root‑cause solutions. Through comprehensive inspection rectification, we will promote the provincial government's work and greatly improve public satisfaction!"

……

After twenty minutes of discussion, the two did not reach a consensus and left on unfriendly terms.

Wang Jingchen had already made up his mind to use this rectification as an opportunity to initially achieve control of the situation. Even if leniency is to be shown to anyone, the people behind them must speak up, and it must be guaranteed that henceforth they will obey the Provincial Party Committee absolutely, implementing its directives without any discount.

Open scheming, the more upright and transparent, the more unstoppable. This is the top leader's greatest advantage: fulfilling the role of the primary person responsible for comprehensive strict Party governance, managing the leadership team, leading the troops, steering the overall situation, and coordinating. According to overall circumstances and situational needs, specific people are assigned specific tasks; even if they are not executed strictly according to the division of labor, the leadership members can only have opinions, be powerless, and stare helplessly.

The secretary issued the order, and Zhao Lingyun had to follow the work procedure; he was somewhat indecisive, since it involved Secretary Tang Bing and Governor Liu Linghao, so he went to Deputy Secretary Lu Fan's office for a "meeting."

Seeing Zhao Lingyun's worried expression, Lu Fan laughed, "A louse on a bald head—an obvious matter, anyone with eyes knows what to do; why are you worried? Just watch how it unfolds."

Zhao Lingyun sighed, "You make it sound easy; now I'm the 'knife‑wielder.' If no one speaks up, would I really have to double‑investigate those 28 officials? Once the bow is released there's no turning back; once some issues are verified, the responsible persons must be dealt with."

Lu Fan thought for a moment and said, "How about this: you take two steps. First, create a show of force by launching investigations against the 'idle and miscellaneous persons'; investigate what must be investigated, handle what must be handled. In an operation this large, you cannot fulfill the task without seriously dealing with a batch of people. Second, act opportunistically and wait for the right moment; officials involving Secretary Tang Bing and Governor Liu Linghao require caution. When the 'immortals clash,' the outcome should be clear, and you just follow the leadership's instructions."

Just then, Governor Liu Linghao pushed the door open, his face grim, and said, "Lingyun is also here; come, tell me, isn't this too overbearing? Does the provincial committee really distrust the provincial government? Its hand is reaching too far."

Lu Fan rose, invited Governor Liu Linghao to the sofa, personally brewed tea, and said, "Governor, have some tea to calm down; the authority over division‑level officials lies with the provincial ministries and the cities. I've consulted with Lingyun, and only 28 provincial officials are involved."

Liu Linghao said, "Let me see the list!"

Zhao Lingyun hesitated briefly, then handed over the list.

After scanning it a few times, Liu Linghao immediately fixed his gaze on several names and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Zhao Lingyun replied, "Governor, I have highlighted 18 people and intend to open investigations on them first; the remaining 10 will be the second batch for processing."

Lu Fan added, "Governor, we will set aside some time and wait for specific instructions from the leadership."

Liu Linghao said, "Only those who do nothing never make mistakes! Errors are inevitable for cadres in practice. As reform enters deep water, what's needed most is courage and responsibility. If one foot slips, gets half‑dead, and then is pulled ashore to be beaten a few more times, that's unreasonable."

Many cadres' mistakes arise from pioneering trials, lack of experience, or immature objective conditions, resulting in exploratory errors and inadvertent negligence. Determining which errors should be tolerated and which should not cannot be generalized; it should properly balance principles of putting the cause first, seeking truth from facts, and adhering to discipline and law, while considering the nature, severity, impact, and loss‑recovery of each case, analyzing each problem specifically, distinguishing public versus private motives, unintentional versus intentional acts, deciding between no prohibition and strict prohibition, and strictly separating mistakes from disciplinary or illegal violations, never "killing with a single stick."

We should discard the erroneous notions of "seeking perfection and blaming" and "once stained, never recover," and foster a societal atmosphere that supports bold actions and daring ventures, encouraging courage and initiative, allowing the enterprising to let go of the psychological burden of "once bitten by a snake, fearing ropes for ten years," to go light‑armed, thereby creating a clean and upright political ecology and a thriving entrepreneurial climate with countless sails competing.

I'll discuss again with Secretary Jingchen; handling cadres must not overcorrect nor fall short!

On September 10, at the province‑wide inspection rectification promotion meeting, Deputy Secretary Lu Fan of the Provincial Party Committee stated that failing to grasp rectification is dereliction of duty; inspecting without rectifying is worse than not inspecting at all, and every level and department across the province must truly be bold in responsibility, enforce discipline with an iron face, not give an inch, maintain a clear attitude, be consistent, and never slack in implementing the rectification work.

Starting September 11, at both the municipal and county levels across the province, based on the feedback from the provincial inspection team, a batch of party members and cadres who violated discipline and law were dealt with severely, with 310 division‑level and 1 360 section‑level officials placed under investigation.

On September 12, the official Weibo of the Huayuan Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee announced that eighteen officials—including the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee member and Secretary‑General of Luojun, the Vice Mayor of Luojun City, the Deputy Director of the Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department, the Vice Mayor of Xinzhong City, the Secretary‑General and Office Director of the Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, the Vice Mayor of Xinzhong City who also serves as Director of the Public Security Bureau, the President of the Huayuan Provincial Police Academy, the Director of the Provincial Radio Station, the Director of the Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee Financial and Economic Committee, the Deputy Secretary of the Yingtian Municipal Party Committee, and the Deputy Director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission—are suspected of serious disciplinary and legal violations and are currently under organizational investigation.

On September 14, based on the inspection team's suggestions, the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department promptly adjusted the leadership of three disunited provincial‑directly‑administered units, and removed or demoted the "head" of two provincial‑run universities and enterprises whose work was not up to standard.

On September 15, Luojun Municipal Party Committee Secretary Li Jinran came to the Provincial Party Committee and gave Secretary Wang Jingchen a work report lasting an hour; ultimately a choice was made, preserving the Municipal Party Committee Secretary‑General and relinquishing the Vice Mayor, along with certain commitments.

On September 16, Governor Liu Linghao visited Secretary Wang Jingchen's office for an extended discussion on the provincial government and constituent departments' inspection rectification issues, reaching a consensus.

In the afternoon, Wang Jingchen instructed Zhao Lingyun to scientifically "identify errors," preemptively "prevent errors," boldly "tolerate errors," and promptly "correct errors," combining with reality to grant certain leading cadres opportunities for error tolerance and correction.

On September 17, Secretary Wang Jingchen received a call from Deputy Director of the Finance Office Jiao Zuo, who politely said, "Director Jiao, any instructions?"

Jiao Zuo hurriedly replied, "Secretary Jingchen, you speak heavily; how could I dare say anything?"

"Within my ability."

"It's not a big matter; I have a few old friends in Huayuan, and during Tang Zong's tenure in Huayuan, they all strongly supported the Provincial Party Committee and my work. If a suitable opportunity arises, please give Secretary Jingchen appropriate consideration."

Wang Jingchen laughed and said, "Tang Zong and Director Jiao are devoted to Huayuan, having long monitored and supported Huayuan's development. We deeply admire and sincerely appreciate this profound friendship! Do you think Tang Zong can arrange time on Friday? I would like to report on the work."

"It's not a big problem; I will report to the leadership as soon as possible."