Three Stricts and Three Honests


The Three Stricts, Three Honests is an internal education campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party advanced by General Secretary, Xi Jinping, in 2014, aimed at improving the ethical conduct of party officials and "improving political ecology". The campaign was essentially a response against perceived moral laxity in the Communist rank and file which has, over the years, according to the party itself, distanced government officials from ordinary people they were supposed to serve.
The campaign was also aimed at tackling the endemic careerism, collusion between business and political elites, rent-seeking by officials, and superficiality that became pervasive in Chinese politics. It took place in the backdrop of the wider anti-corruption campaign, creating a culture where officials "don't want to be corrupt, don't dare to be corrupt, and don't have the means to be corrupt."

History

On March 9, 2014, when attending the deliberation of the Anhui delegation at the second session of the 12th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed a 24-character requirement for the work style of cadres: "strict self-cultivation, strict use of power, strict self-discipline, and be earnest in planning, starting a business, and being a person." This requirement was later taken as an important topic of education within the Party, and was officially referred to as "Three Stricts and Three Earnests."
On April 19, 2015, the General Office of the CCP Central Committee issued a "Plan for Carrying out the Special Education on "Three Stricts and Three Earnests" among Leading Cadres at or above the County and Department Level" and issued a notice. It required all regions and units to "grasp both" the special education and daily work, and "not neglect either." Among them, "strict in self-cultivation, strict in the use of power, strict in self-discipline; be realistic in planning, entrepreneurship, and being a person" was officially summarized as "Three Stricts and Three Earnests". Since 2015, a party-wide "education campaign" began under the general secretaryship of Xi Jinping and the senior official in charge of party affairs, Liu Yunshan, to instill these ideas in officials of all levels.

Concept

The "three honests" are:
The "three stricts" are:
  • Be strict in moral conduct
  • Be strict in exercising power
  • Be strict in disciplining oneself

Main Activities

Main activities of the campaign included: