Recently, many places have issued documents to rectify 8 types of "new image projects", and some places once traced the time span back to 8 years ago, which aroused social concern.
The reporter combed and found that recently, the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in many places in Anhui Province has dispatched (out) agencies to supervise and investigate in the supervision units, and Henan, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi and other places have set up special work teams to investigate the problems and announce the channels for supervision and reporting. On May 16, the staff of relevant departments in Suihe City, Heilongjiang Province, told reporters that the special class established was to carry out work in accordance with the relevant national requirements, led by the local Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, and participated by multiple departments such as development and reform, finance, and housing and construction.
Where is the "new" of the "new image project"? It is reported that unlike the image project of Daxing's luxurious buildings, the "new image project" has a hidden form and a variety of names, but it is also divorced from local reality and aggravates the financial burden on the grassroots.
This reporter noted that in the "Regulations on Disciplinary Punishment of the Communist Party of China," which was newly revised and promulgated in December last year, the conduct of "image projects" and "performance projects" that cost the people and money has been adjusted from the original "violation of mass discipline" to "violation of political discipline," and it has been stipulated as "severe and aggravated punishment."
Many places issued documents to check 8 types of "new image projects"
Since March this year, many places have issued documents to focus on rectifying and preventing the "new image project" and "promoting the party and government organs to live a tight life as the norm", not only setting up a special work class to investigate relevant issues, but also announcing the channels for accepting supervision and reports.
Recently, the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in many places in Anhui has dispatched (out) agencies to supervise and investigate the "new image project" in the supervision unit. On May 15, the discipline inspection and supervision team of the Bengbu Market Supervision Bureau in the city said that it would prevent the impulsive performance of the government, the people and the money from the source to carry out the "new image project", and was urging the supervision unit to self-examine and self-correct against the 8 types of "new image projects". Up to now, 171 projects have been supervised and inspected.
The discipline inspection and supervision team of the Wuhu Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism urged the supervision unit to comprehensively review the people's livelihood projects and cultural tourism projects that have been newly built or invested in recent years, and sort out the handling of the demands of enterprises and the masses in the first quarter of the supervision unit, focusing on finding out whether there are more feedback on tourism exhibitions, festival exhibitions and other problems with strong opinions from the masses.
Earlier, Henan, Heilongjiang and other countries also set up special work teams to investigate local "new image project" related issues. On May 11, Nanzhao County, Nanyang City, issued a document saying that the special class office for the centralized rectification of the problems of "political performance projects", "face projects" and "new image projects" issued a document saying that since 2016, new or put into use people's livelihood projects, rural revitalization projects, cultural tourism projects, infrastructure projects, digital systems, party building facilities, party spirit education and training institutions, retired cadre health care bases, etc., urge the competent regulatory departments and local party committees and governments to focus on investigating and correcting the "bonsai" of labor and money, and the illegal debt construction of "landmarks". Rural revitalization construction projects are blindly launched, the construction of people's livelihood facilities is unfinished and idle, and the improvement of the living environment is "whitewashed" and other prominent problems.
The special rectification work team of Suifenhe City's "New Image Project" announced that since 2021, under the condition of tight finances, regardless of the needs of the masses and local conditions, 8 types of new image projects have been newly built or invested. On May 16, the staff of the relevant departments of the city who participated in the work told reporters, "Led by the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, the development and reform, finance, housing and other departments participated, and the development and reform department provided the project information of the government investment project to the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, and they went to check whether there was a project involving the 'new image project', and then went to check the application for funds with the financial department, and the housing and construction department to check the construction of the project." ”
Shaanxi and other places focused on carrying out a six-month "new image project" rectification work. Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province, Hebi, and Nanyang, Henan Province, successively issued documents by the local Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision to accept petition reports related to the new image project from April to October this year.
The "New Image Project" has a variety of hidden forms and names
The "image project" and "political performance project" have accumulated many drawbacks, and the rectification of related problems has been going on for a long time. In 2013, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the Notice on Stopping the Construction of New Buildings, Halls and Venues and Cleaning Up Office Buildings by Party and Government Organs, proposing that Party and government organs at all levels shall not build new buildings and halls in any form and for any reason within five years, and that the construction of buildings and halls that have been approved but not yet started shall be stopped.
Where is the "new" of the "new image project"? It is reported that unlike the image project of Daxing's luxurious buildings, the "new image project" has a hidden form and a variety of names, but it is also divorced from local reality and aggravates the financial burden on the grassroots.
According to the above-mentioned notice of Suifenhe City, 8 types of "new image projects" specifically include:
- Ignoring the local natural and cultural conditions, in order to earn "fame" and increase political achievements, he is keen to pull relations and sponsorship from relevant associations and institutions, strive to create "innovation city", "smart city" and "happy city", drill all kinds of "top 100 counties" titles, and create a city "business card" that does not match its own reality.
- Ignoring the actual needs of the masses, under the guise of "seeking well-being for the people", super-scale construction of non-profitable livelihood projects, to create luxurious "citizens' homes", "office halls" and "mass cultural and sports halls", poor management of rural bookstores leads to low utilization rate, serious water shortage areas to build wetland parks at high costs, and even excessive borrowing, crowding out education, medical care, pension and other people's livelihood security investment.
- In order to pursue short-term benefits and superficial scenery, blindly embark on large-scale landscape projects, poverty alleviation counties have borrowed heavily to build tourist areas, "borrowed new debts to repay old debts" to maintain daily operations, and capital investment and operation services have not kept up, resulting in bankruptcy or unfinished.
- Keen to build a huge screen in the digital construction of the government, engage in duplicate construction, layer by layer construction, "change a leader for a system", insufficient sharing of digital resources, low platform usage rate reduced to "decoration".
- Luxury "festivals", one-sided pursuit of "popularity", regardless of the cost to follow the trend of large-scale music festivals, forums named after cities, tourism development conferences, etc., for the construction of venues, band appearances pay high fees.
- The creation of a civilized city only focuses on "superficial articles", spends a lot of financial funds to unify "face projects" such as shop signs, wall repair, and construction of archways, and even continues to borrow debts specifically for "creating a city" in the case of heavy debts.
- Engage in "exquisite" party affairs, party school training pursues "low-key luxury and connotation", builds a luxury party school and a "party building park corridor" that occupies a large area, has a lot of investment, and has a low utilization rate.
- Huge sums of money have been spent on the construction of urban planning halls, urban exhibition halls, smart city pavilions and other exhibition facilities, which have low utilization rates and high maintenance costs, and have even been reduced to "half-pulled projects".
Engaging in "image engineering" is to be punished severely
The staff of the above-mentioned relevant departments of Suifenhe City told reporters that the rectification of the above eight types of "new image projects" is in accordance with the requirements of national and provincial documents. In March this year, according to media reports, recently, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission issued the "Work Tips on Resolutely Rectifying the Problem of Some Local Grassroots Engaged in the "New Image Project".
On March 6, the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress held a press conference in the press conference hall of Beijing Media Center. Xinhua News Agency
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance also issued a circular to put forward clear requirements for the central and local financial departments to implement the party and government organs' habit of living a tight life from the perspective of strengthening budget constraints, and urged all localities and departments to persist in living a tight life without relaxation. On March 6, at the press conference on the economic theme of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, Minister of Finance Lan Foan said that in 2023, financial supervision will be strengthened, and violations such as the use of financial funds to engage in "image projects" will be seriously investigated and punished. In the next step, we will continue to strengthen supervision and punishment, resolutely put an end to pomp and circumstance, and resolutely prevent the "performance project" and "face project".
Subsequently, all localities began to deploy the work of mapping and remediation. Nanzhao County's "performance project", "face project" and "new image project" problems of the centralized rectification work team office mentioned in the above-mentioned document that in the process of carrying out the work, it is necessary to seriously investigate and deal with dereliction of duty, violation of discipline and law, and the unhealthy trends and corruption behind it.
The reporter noted that the newly revised "Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") issued in December last year also pointed to "image projects" and "performance projects". For example, Article 57 stipulates that "Party members and leading cadres who have a misplaced view of political performance, violate the new development concept, deviate from the requirements of high-quality development, and cause greater losses to the interests of the Party, the state and the people, shall be given a warning or serious warning; where the circumstances are more serious, sanctions of removal from internal Party positions or Party probation are to be given; where the circumstances are serious, they are to be expelled from the Party. Those who engage in 'image projects' or 'performance projects' that work hard for the people and hurt money are to be given heavier or heavier punishments. ”
According to an article published in the magazine "China Discipline Inspection and Supervision", the staff of the Laws and Regulations Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, who participated in the revision of the "Regulations", explained that the first paragraph of Article 57 was added to the "Regulations" to enrich the punishment provisions for the misplaced view of the political performance of party members and leading cadres, violating the new development concept and deviating from the requirements of high-quality development.
In addition, the second paragraph of Article 57 of the "Regulations" adjusts the conduct of engaging in "image projects" and "performance projects" that work hard for the people and hurt money, from the original "violation of mass discipline" to "violation of political discipline", and stipulates that "severe punishment is aggravated". "Engaging in the 'image project' and 'political performance project' that works hard for the people and hurts money are personal images and political capital, which are essentially quick successes and quick profits and greedy for fame under the control of the wrong concept of political performance, which will inevitably bring great waste of resources and development opportunities, overdraft the long-term healthy development of a region and field, seriously damage the interests of the party, the country and the people, and fundamentally deviate from the requirements of high-quality development."
Source | Southern Metropolis Daily