Chapter 646: with translation of chapter title

After work in the afternoon, Lu Fan summoned Du Wenlong and Lin Changping to the office to discuss matters related to the reform of the provincial discipline inspection system.

Lu Fan said: "I have been thinking lately that the provincial discipline inspection system should be a unified 'one chessboard', insisting on grasping both the upper and lower levels, strengthening the leadership and guidance of the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee over municipal and county discipline inspections, through the 'upper dispatch, lower deployment' approach, to build a strong provincial discipline inspection and supervision force, make cadres solid, and coordinate the advancement of all work tasks to achieve practical results."

Du Wenlong nodded and said: "It's very necessary. When provincial Discipline Inspection Committee cadres go to municipal and county posts for temporary assignment, they have no local ties, and their horizons are broader; they won't treat cadres below the division level as important, can handle cases freely, and also gain grassroots work experience and improve their abilities."

Lin Changping said with a smile: "When municipal and county cadres go to the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, they handle major cases, broadening their horizons. After they return to the municipal and county level, they will also feel that division-level cadres are nothing special, and dare to fight and strive!"

Lu Fan said: "Alright, that's settled. Wenlong, you are responsible for this. Using three to five years, as much as possible, let all levels of discipline inspection committees implement 'upper dispatch, lower deployment'; the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, except for department heads, must all go down for training of more than three months. At the same time, we strive to let grassroots cadres go to the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee to 'gild' themselves, enhancing the cohesion and centripetal force of all provincial discipline inspection cadres."

Having Du Wenlong take charge of this work, Lu Fan had considerations: to help him establish authority and increase control within the provincial discipline inspection system.

While they were chatting, the secretary-general of the provincial party committee called; Secretary Li Xingyuan wanted to convene a secretary's office meeting.

Lu Fan instructed the two to discuss and work out a feasible plan, then he went to the provincial party committee.

Recently, Lu Fan has mainly worked at the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, rarely appearing at the provincial party committee, and documents are all brought down by Chen Haohao for review.

At three o'clock, the secretary's office meeting convened on time, and Secretary Li Xingyuan said: "Let's hold a short meeting. On September 25, the Ministry of Justice will come to our province to inspect the 'Law-abiding Pioneer Demonstration City', but Director Yun Zhangsheng is currently under investigation by the Discipline Inspection Committee, which has constrained the normal conduct of work. Let's discuss how to handle Yun Zhangsheng's issue. Lu Fan, you first explain the situation."

Lu Fan opened his notebook and said solemnly: "Based on the information currently grasped, Yun Zhangsheng, taking advantage of his position, extensively accepted gifts and cash during holidays; so far 72 people have confessed to bribing him, specifying time, place, and amount, with a total cash sum of 5.87 million yuan, and gold bars, shopping cards, and other valuables worth about 1.25 million yuan, which are currently being verified item by item. I dare to conclude that his corrupt behavior certainly exceeds these 7 million plus, likely involving other aspects, and he is probably a major corrupt official."

All along, the Party organization and discipline inspection organs have repeatedly issued orders to curb this malpractice; violations such as illegally accepting gifts and breaching integrity discipline, once discovered and investigated, inevitably incur punishment under Party regulations, Party discipline, and laws and regulations. Despite the increasingly strict high-pressure anti-corruption atmosphere in supervision and discipline enforcement, Yun Zhangsheng remains reckless, fearless, self-willed, unwilling to restrain or reform, oblivious to stopping, abandoning his original aspirations and mission, trampling on Party discipline and state law, engaging extensively in power-money transactions, of a heinous nature, seriously violating Party discipline, constituting official misconduct and suspected criminal activity.

The opinion of the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee is that he should be severely handled and a case filed for investigation! Let cadres who violate discipline and law strongly feel the high-pressure deterrence and institutional constraints, and advance in a coordinated manner the goal of not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, not wanting to be corrupt.

Upon hearing Lu Fan's severe characterization of Yun Zhangsheng, Li Xingyuan swallowed back the words he had prepared in advance, because once Yun Zhangsheng's corruption is proven, those remarks would clearly cause him trouble; thus he simply pretended to be deaf and dumb, first listening to the governor's opinion.

Luo Shiyu was equally cautious and asked: "Secretary Lu, does Yun Zhangsheng only involve accepting gifts, or have other issues also been clarified?"

Lu Fan shook his head and said: "So far only the acceptance of gifts has been confirmed, but the Discipline Inspection Committee has already grasped some other leads."

Luo Shiyu nodded and said: "When handling cases, the Discipline Inspection Committee must emphasize evidence; if it is only a matter of accepting gifts, I think within the scope of remediation, after all the grasslands are a society of personal connections, emphasizing reciprocity in courtesy, and cultivating a cadre also comes at a considerable cost."

Violations of the Eight Regulations mainly stem from insufficient awareness and inadequate self-discipline; these problems, under strengthened supervision and constraints by the Party organization, can basically be corrected.

People are not afraid of making mistakes; as long as they bravely admit errors and dare to correct them, they remain good comrades. As the saying goes, 'A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold'; even a prodigal son can be accepted again, let alone those who are cadres cultivated by the Party.

I recall that the provincial Discipline Inspection Committee's supervisory commission has a special rectification action plan for the issue of illegally accepting and giving gifts, which announced a province-wide dedicated account for remitting illegally accepted gifts. It requires leading cadres to remit in full any gifts they previously could not voluntarily return due to various reasons, to the Discipline Inspection Commission or the dedicated account. For situations where cadres proactively remit gifts, the Discipline Inspection Commission should carefully register them and treat them leniently.

If Yun Zhangsheng can mend his ways and voluntarily return the gifts and presents, I believe that after organizational education and reform, his ideological and work-style problems should be fundamentally resolved, and his entrepreneurial spirit and attitude toward work will certainly also change, enabling him to be more effective.

"Learn from past mistakes to prevent future ones, cure the disease to save the person" is our Party's consistent principle in dealing with "problem cadres"; strengthening management of problem cadres so they regain their enthusiasm for work and can play a greater role in their new posts is truly being responsible to the Party and to cadres. We should not beat to death problem cadres who have made mistakes, after all, who hasn't made a mistake?

As soon as the words fell, Lu Fan immediately retorted: "First, over seven million is not a small amount; it constitutes major corruption and is not within the range of leniency! Second, even up to the Discipline Inspection Committee's investigation, Yun Zhangsheng was still resisting the organization's efforts to save him, refusing to explain the problem—he won't turn back until he hits the south wall! Third, voluntary repayment is a subjective remedial act, whereas after being investigated it is called 'recovery'; their natures are completely different!"

Finally, Yun Zhangsheng's corruption problem is extremely serious. Although the Discipline Inspection Committee's evidence chain is not yet complete, based on the current situation, he says one thing but does another, plays both sides, is a two‑faced person, abandons his duties and mission in the process of supervision, discipline enforcement, and law enforcement, violates discipline while enforcing it, breaks the law while enforcing it, becomes corrupt and decadent, uses power for private gain, colludes with illegal private entrepreneurs, turns the power of supervision, discipline enforcement, and law enforcement into a tool for seeking private interests, severely damaging the image of the discipline inspection and supervision organs and their cadres, being disloyal and dishonest to the Party. After serious violations of discipline and law, he not only fails to truthfully explain the problem to the organization but instead covers up the facts and resists the organization's investigation; he illegally interferes in the promotion and appointment of cadres and staff; he connives at and tacitly allows relatives and specific relations to use his authority for private gain, illegally holds shares in non‑listed companies, engages in power‑for‑sex trades, and so on.

In the morning, the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee held a meeting to specially study Yun Zhangsheng's corrupt conduct and handling opinions, decided to simultaneously request instructions from the superior Discipline Inspection Committee and the Provincial Party Committee, to file a case for investigation into Yun Zhangsheng's suspected serious violations of discipline and law, and asked the Provincial Party Committee for approval!

Secretary Li Xingyuan's face was solemn as he spoke: "The 'Opinions of Grassland Province on Encouraging Cadres to Shoulder Responsibilities' clearly proposes combining strict management with caring encouragement, urging us to protect and encourage cadres to take responsibility; we should persist in this and ensure the Opinions are implemented."

Combining strict management with caring encouragement is a profound summary of the discipline of comprehensive strict Party governance; the purpose of comprehensive strict Party governance is not to shackle people, making them hesitant and fearful, resulting in a stagnant pool of inertia, but rather to set clear directions, establish rules, rectify conduct, and strengthen immunity, thereby fostering a positive, healthy political ecosystem and good environment where cadres can act and start businesses.

"The 'Four Forms' are a vital tool for Party governance under the new situation and an important guideline for discipline inspection and supervision organs in enforcing discipline and law. Deepening the application of the Four Forms, we must precisely grasp policy strategies, put more effort into using the first form well, strengthen daily supervision, manage cadres so they can receive mild criticism and self‑criticism, catch problems early and small, nip them in the bud; for those who can still be saved, we should spare no effort to rescue them. After all, the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee has run into trouble, yet the province as a whole is unaffected—we must put the overall situation first."

Lu Fan continued: "Secretary, the 'Four Forms' are highly political, policy‑oriented, and strategic; no matter which form is used, seeking truth from facts and abiding by rules, discipline, and law are the prerequisite and foundation. We must start from reality, apply whichever form is appropriate, strive for precision and effectiveness, and achieve an organic unity of political, disciplinary‑legal, and social effects."

For serious violations of discipline and suspected crimes, we must resolutely apply the fourth form, enforce discipline and law strictly, and make anti‑corruption punishment a strong backing for effective supervision! In the case of Yun Zhangsheng, we should intensify the investigation, punish according to the offense, create a powerful deterrent effect, put power in a cage of constraints, only then can we effectively prevent corruption at its source and continuously foster a strong atmosphere of upholding integrity throughout the province.

After the words fell, time seemed to freeze; the three of them sat like old monks in meditation, all "staring intently" at their water cups and notebooks, no one voicing an opinion. The office was filled with an eerie silence, even the sound of breathing seemed unusually clear, causing an inexplicable sense of oppression and unease.

After a while, Lu Fan broke the silence, saying: "Last time I went to report work to Secretary Jiazhong, he repeatedly stressed that, for all levels of discipline inspection and supervision departments, how to fulfill duties and play their role, an important principle and requirement is to persistently advance the integrated approach of 'not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt.' How to implement the 'Three Not's' in all aspects of conduct‑purity, discipline‑enforcement, and anti‑corruption work requires that leaders at all levels understand the nature of corruption, tremble at its consequences, always keep Party spirit in mind, and hold the people close to heart."