BEIJING â€" An early glimpse of a political campaign expected to launch in China soon, the homely-sounding “check the mirror, fix your clothes, take a bath, see the doctor,†which aims to improve the morals of Communist Party members and combat corruption, came last December.
As I write in this week’s Letter from China, such policies or campaigns may actually be about something else â€" stamping the authority of the person to whom they are credited over party members, from top to bottom, to ensure loyalty.
In a commentary on the party Web site, cpc.people.com.cn, a writer with the poetic pen name “Listening to Cicadas at Midnight†expanded on the idea, which he said was discussed by Liu Yunshan, the powerful former propaganda czar of the party who is now a member of the standing committee of the Politburo at a party construction and organization meeting on Dec. 23. in Beijing.
The new campaign was formally announced after a Politburo meeting in mid-April, as I write in my Letter from China today, and is credited to the new leadership of Xi Jinping.
Corruption and other “morals†problems may threaten the survival of the party, Mr. Xi has warned in the past, as have other leaders before him. The campaign appears to be an attempt to deal with the problem.
Back in December, “Listening to Cicadas at Midnight†offered more detail of why the campaign was necessary, quoting “the ancients.â€
“The ancients said, ‘Using copper as a mirror you can adjust correctly your clothes and hat. Using ancient times as a mirror you can know the rise and fall of power. Using people as a mirror you can know success and failure,†the person wrote.
It’s all about invigorating and cleansing the ranks for a new leadership era, said the commentator (the person’s real identity was not revealed, but the presence of the article on the site lends authority.)
Like Mr. Xi, Listening to Cicadas at Midnight appears to see the party’s moral failings as a real risk to its power, though he continued to credit the idea to Mr. Liu.
“A proverb says, ‘Huge damage can result to the dike from an ant hole,’ and Liu Yunshan’s warning is timely and necessary,†the person wrote.
“As a party member in the new era, especially as a leading cadre, you ought even more to ‘check the mirror, fix your clothes,’ and examine your conscience whether your ability is sufficient, your attitudes new, your style honest, your achievements excellent; thereby knowing that if not you must struggle forward, using your power conscientiously for the people and do your job well,†Listening to Cicadas at Midnight wrote.
As the editor of the South China Morning Post, Wang Xiangwei, wrote in a recent column: “Such advice might strike the ears of most people as plain and harmless.†But corruption in China runs deep, as leaders have acknowledged, and “that kind of order coming from the president and party chief surely sends shivers down the spines of many of the Communist Party’s 80 million members.â€
The message is: “Clean up your act. Or we’ll clean it up for you,†Mr. Wang wrote. But the question remains: is this really a morals campaign, or a way for Mr. Xi to stamp his authority on the party? Or both?
