Everyone is hopeful, but also apprehensive when it comes to the CPC Central Committee's "eight rules." We must get the first step right to "move the pole to earn the people's trust." Nothing else can be done if this task is not done well from start to finish.

-- Remarks made by Xi Jinping during a discussion with the Shanghai delegation to the 12th National People's Congress, March 5, 2014

Moving the Pole to Earn the People's Trust

--To win the people's trust, work styles must truly be improved

In 2014, Xi Jinping joined a discussion of the Shanghai delegation to the 12th National People's Congress. During the discussion, Delegate Hua Bei offered her recommendation on staying true to the spirit of the "eight rules" and truly improving work styles. In his reply to Hua Bei, Xi Jinping quoted from the classic story of "moving the pole to earn the people's trust."

This story came from the time when Shang Yang (395-338 BC) wanted to enact his political reforms. Shang Yang was a well-known politician and reformer from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). He was a descendant of the ruler of the State of Wei, his surname was Ji, and he was from the Gongsun clan, so people called him Wei Yang or Gongsun Yang. He was later rewarded fifteen cities for his contributions in the Hexi Battle, and given the title Lord Shang, hence the name Shang Yang. Shang Yang pushed through his reforms, which turned Qin into a powerful state, and history has called these "Shang Yang's reforms."

As Sima Qian (145-90 BC) of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) wrote in "Biography of Lord Shang," Records of the Historian:

"Duke Xiao having employed Wei Yang, Yang wanted to change the laws but feared that the world would censure him… The ordinances having been drafted, they were still not issued. Yang feared that the people would not trust him. He erected an eight-meter pole at the south gate of the capital's market and advertised for men able to move the pole and set it up at the north gate. He offered ten gold pieces. The commoners wondered at it, and no one dared move it. Once more Yang said, 'Fifty gold pieces to the one who can move it.' A man moved it, and Yang immediately gave him fifty gold pieces to show that he was not deceiving them. Finally, he issued the ordinances."

Since then, "moving the pole to earn the people's trust" has been used to show that policies will be enacted and the people can believe in them.

Wang Anshi (1021-1086), another reformer from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), composed a poem praising Shang Yang's reforms: "Trust has always driven the people - words and not rewards count most. No one can deny Shang Yang's greatness, his orders never failed to take hold." This also alludes to the story of moving the pole. Wang Anshi's praise of Shang Yang alluded to his regret that his own aspirations were not realized, as he also advocated for reforms during the Northern Song, but they never "took hold" as Shang Yang's did.

All government orders are nothing more than words on paper if they are not effectively enforced. For his "orders to take hold," Shang Yang adopted two measures: the first was "moving the pole to earn the people's trust," and the second was that all opposition to the new laws must be strictly punished, especially opposition from powerful officials. The only way to guarantee that his "orders would take hold" was to have the determination to carry out his orders and to have measures that ensure their full enforcement.

The "eight rules" of the CPC Central Committee were passed by the Political Bureau on December 4, 2012. The Central Committee formulated these rules not long after the close of the 18th CPC National Congress, with the objective of responding to the Party's work style problems that the people were most concerned about. The hope was to improve the work styles of leading officials, and the Central Committee Political Bureau was required to act first as a model and rebuild the image of the Party in the minds of the people. The "eight rules" reflect the demands of the new central leadership on its own governance - a solemn promise by the CPC made to all the people of China to strictly govern the Party.

Real results were made after the "eight rules" were put into effect, and people voiced their support. But some people were also apprehensive as to whether the rules would really be enforced for the long-term. In the past, many "do-not-do lists" were made by the Party to keep leading officials in line. However, enforcement was mixed: sometimes grand pronouncements were made but not backed up; sometimes people marched to the beat of their own drummer to the detriment of enforcement; and sometimes things would get off to a roaring start only to peter out and end with no real results. Such results were a dime a dozen, and this not only eroded the authority of "rules," but also lost the trust of the people. This is the background to Delegate Hua Bei's recommendation to solidify the system from the start and make sure the "eight rules" were effective.

In his reply to Delegate Hua Bei, Xi Jinping wanted the Central Committee's "eight rules" to have the effect of "moving the pole to earn the people's trust," meaning he wanted this solemn promise to have the same effect as Shang Yang's preparations for reforms. He wanted to make sure laws and policies would take hold and the public would see and trust the government's resolve.

Just as people must be true to their words, countries must have "laws and policies that hold," and the key is in implementation and enforcement. We have all sorts of rules, but why did some people see those rules as nothing more than just "scarecrows" and ignore them? This was because enforcement was weak, and legislation was given more attention than enforcement. In Xi Jinping's declaration that the "eight rules" should have the effect of "moving the pole to earn the people's trust," the Central Committee has demonstrated its resolve in the fight against corruption to make sure that "policies hold fast" and "rules are enforced," as Shang Yang's reforms did.

(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION -- SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)