By Han Xu, Director of Political System Research Section, Institute of Political Science, Chinese Academy of Social Science; Cartoon drawings by Liao Tingting

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, joined a panel forum with deputies from southwestern municipality of Chongqing at the ongoing first session of the 13th National People's Congress, China's top legislature in Beijing on March 10.

He emphasized that a clean and upright political ecology is an essential requirement for safeguarding the authority and centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, an urgent need for ensuring strict governance over the Party, and a vital guarantee for forging a good political virtue of the Party and the government, while fulfilling reform and development targets.

Improving the Party's construction requires a "clean and upright" political ecology. He said, political ecology and natural ecology are alike, that could easily get polluted and if damaged, it would cost a huge price to resolve.

Xi said, leading officials should demonstrate leadership and set an example. He urged them to uphold the rule of law and oppose rule of man, to stay firm with  both of the rule of law and political virtue in an effort to purify the political ecology, charting the direction for ensuring strict governance over the Party.

They were asked to abide by political rules, setting the political virtue. Officials should stay firm with their political ideals and convictions, enhance Party consciousness, and make a clear stance on key issues, Xi said.

The political virtue is an indicator for improvements in social morality and the political ecology as well. Xi urged leading officials to set the political virtue, maintain the public virtue and guard the individual virtue so as to promote core socialist values, setting a value orientation for purifying political ecology in the new era.

Leading officials should stand firm with their political ideals and make solid achievements. The CPC members should enhance their  political ideals and convictions, and consolidate work styles. In so doing, China can be renewed with a clean and upright political ecology and vitality in the new era.

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