CHINA LEGAL SCIENCE 2022年第3期｜坚持中国特色社会主义法治道路

ADHERING TO THE PATH OF SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
Wang Xigen
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. THE INTRINSIC BASIS OF THE PATH OF SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS

A. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is the Specific Manifestation of the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the Field of the Rule of Law

B. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is a Concentrated Embodiment of the Achievements and Experience of Socialist Rule of Law Construction

C. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is a Realistic Choice Based on China’s Fundamental Realities

II.   THE CORE ESSENCE OF THE PATH OF SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS

A. Upholding the Leadership of the CPC

B. Upholding the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics

C. Sticking to the Implementation of Theory of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics

III.  ADHERING TO THE UNITY OF THE CPC LEADERSHIP, THE PEOPLE AS MASTERS OF THE COUNTRY AND LAW-BASED GOVERNANCE
The path of the rule of law is the primary issue that needs to be addressed in the construction of China’s rule of law at present. On the basis of drawing on the nutrients of the country’s traditional legal culture and the reasonable components of rule of law civilization of mankind, and fully taking into account national conditions and realistic development, China has explored a distinctive path of the rule of law that meets the popular will and the urgent need for the governance of the great nation. On the internal basis, its rationality lies in the fact that the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the concrete embodiment of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the field of the rule of law, is the concentrated embodiment of the achievements and experience of socialist rule of law construction, and is a realistic choice based on the actual national conditions of China. The core principles can be summarized into three: adhering to the leadership of the Party, ensuring the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and implementing the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. The basic principle requires the unity of the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the people as the masters of the country and law-based governance.
The direction determines the path, and the path determines success or failure. For the overall law-based governance, we must take the right path. If the path is wrong, we will be at the opposite poles and any requirements and initiatives will be meaningless. When it comes to the choice of the path to take, there must be a correct and clear signal released to the whole society, indicating the correct direction of comprehensively advancing law-based governance, and unifying the understanding and action of the Party and the people of all nationalities. Focused on the point, we should, unswervingly take the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. To this end, a scientific and accurate answer to why we must adhere to this path, what the core meaning is, and how we walk the path in practice is duty bound. 

I. THE INTRINSIC BASIS OF THE PATH OF SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
A. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is the Specific Manifestation of the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the Field of the Rule of Law
The overall law-based governance and the construction of a socialist state of the rule of law is the essential requirement and an important guarantee to adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is the only way to achieve the modernization of the state system and capacity for governance, which concerns the Party’s governance and the national rejuvenation, the people’s happiness and well-being, and the country’s long-term stability. ‘To comprehensively advance law-based governance of the great event, the most critical thing is the correct direction and the strong political assurance.’ This requires adhering to the socialist path of the rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and ensuring the socialist nature. On the whole, it requires that, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), we adhere to the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, implement the theory of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, build a socialist system of the rule of law with Chinese characteristics, uphold the people’s principal position, ensure the equal protection of the law, maintain the rule of law and its combination with the rule of virtue, stick to the actual situation in China, scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, fair justice and public compliance with the law, fully advance law-based governance, accelerate the construction of the rule of law in China, and build a socialist state under the rule of law.
The path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics depends on the essential attributes of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the social nature determines its path of the rule of law, the path of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is determined by the fundamental nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China must adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics to achieve the overall law-based governance, and the specific application of the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in the field of the rule of law constitutes the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, which is the concrete manifestation and practical form in its field of the rule of law.
The 18th CPC National Congress points out that ‘the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is, under the leadership of the CPC and based on our actual conditions, to take economic construction as the center, follow the four fundamental principles, continue reform and opening-up, stimulate and develop social productive forces; meanwhile, we must build, in terms of socialist, a market economy, democratic politics, advanced culture, harmonious society, and ecological civilization, promote the all-round development of human being, gradually achieve common prosperity, and build a rich, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious socialist modern state.’ The path of political development of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the inevitable logic outcomes of the history, theory and practice in the long struggle of the Chinese people since modern times, and is a necessary requirement to adhere to the essential attributes of the Party and to fulfill the fundamental purposes of the Party. On the journey to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics not only adheres to the basic principles of scientific socialism, but also endows it with distinctive Chinese characteristics according to the conditions of the times. That is to say, socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not of some other kind.’ It is obviously necessary to adhere to and continuously develop China’s socialist democratic politics for a long time, maintain the leadership of the Party and the people as masters of the country, constantly realize the institutionalization, standardization and proceduralization of socialist democracy, and consolidate and develop a lively, stable and united political situation, thus indicating the fundamental direction, value goals and the way forward for the overall law-based governance.
History teaches us that capitalism does not work at all in China, and all previous attempts on the Western model of and path of the rule of law had invariably ended in failure. ‘No matter what storms we may encounter, we must stick to the fundamental issue of adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and never change it due to various disapprovals and criticisms.’ From a practical point of view, socialism with Chinese characteristics has been the theme of all the Party’s theory and practice since the reform and opening-up, and is the fundamental achievement of the Party and the people after all the hardships and at great cost. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only way to achieve socialist modernization and create a better life for the people. In short, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental support to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and unswervingly taking the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the inevitable requirement to adhere to and develop the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
B. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is a Concentrated Embodiment of the Achievements and Experience of Socialist Rule of Law Construction
Unswervingly taking the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the practical treasure that the Party has gained in leading the Chinese people to persevere in the development of socialist rule of law, a comprehensive and profound summary of the positive and negative aspects of socialist rule of law construction, and the strategic choice for the future based on the achievements of the construction of socialist rule of law. ‘The path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is a generalization. Specifically speaking, among dozens of achievements in the construction of the rule of law in China, in summary, initiating the path is the most outstanding one.’
Thus, ‘it is necessary to inherit the excellent Chinese traditional legal culture and explore a suitable path of the rule of law from the practice of China’s revolution, construction and reform, while drawing on the beneficial achievements of foreign rule of law.’ The CPC’s exploration of the path of the rule of law originated in the New Democratic Revolution that the Party led. As early as that period, the Party began its painstaking exploration of the path of the rule of law, promulgating and implementing a large number of constitutional and legal documents involving the establishment of political power, Agrarian Revolution, marriage and family and human rights protection, such as the Outline of the Constitution of the Soviet Republic of China promulgated in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province in November 1931, the Program of Governance of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region promulgated in 1941 and the Principles of the Constitution of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region in 1946,  making important contributions to strengthening the governance of revolutionary base areas, consolidating the revolutionary power, defending the achievements of the revolution, and safeguarding the rights of the people.
At the early stage of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Party actively applied the valuable experience of the legal system accumulated during the New Democratic Revolution to build the socialist rule of law. On September 29, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference adopted the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on the eve of the founding of the country. This important legal document, with the character of a provisional constitution, laid the foundation for the complete overthrow of the old legal system of the Kuomintang administration and the establishment of a new socialist system of government. At the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, many things were waiting to be done, and the Central People’s Government took the Common Program as the fundamental basis and quickly initiated the enactment of a large number of laws, decrees and regulations, and carried out a great number of judicial reforms and held several national judicial work conferences.
In 1954, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China was enacted, which laid down the basic principles of people’s democracy and socialism, stipulating the state system, the political system, the state institutions, the basic rights and obligations of citizens, etc., and setting up the solid ‘major structure’ for the new republic. Subsequently, a series of important laws and regulations, such as the Organic Law of State Institutions, the Election Law, and the Marriage Law, were enacted to establish a socialist legal framework and a socialist judicial system, initially creating a brand new path of socialist rule of law and providing strong guarantees for the completion of the great historical mission of transformation from the New Democracy to the Socialism, and marking a historic leap and fundamental change in the construction of democracy and rule of law in China. However, it cannot be denied that the legal system was once stagnant or even retrogressive, and especially during the Cultural Revolution, the legal system was severely damaged and suffered heavy losses since China began to explore the socialist rule of law on the basis of long-standing feudal rule, and under the influence of the complicated and ever-changing international and domestic situations.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee held in 1978 clearly put forward the policy of ‘improving socialist democracy and strengthening the socialist legal system’ and the legal system work policies that ‘there are laws to go by, they are observed and strictly enforced, and violators are brought to book’, and opened a new path of exploring the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. In September 1997, the Fifteenth National Congress of the CPC clearly proposed to ‘practice law-based governance and build a socialist state under the rule of law’, and made a scientific interpretation of the connotation of the basic strategy of law-based governance. In March 1999, ‘practice law-based governance and build a socialist state under the rule of law’ was officially written into the amendment to the Constitution. In 2007, the report of the Seventeenth CPC National Congress addressed ‘comprehensively implementing the basic strategy of the state according to the rule of law and accelerating the building of a socialist state under the rule of law’, which further enriched the understanding and practice of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.
Since the Eighteenth CPC National Congress in 2012, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the socialist cause of the rule of law with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era of overall law-based governance and building China governed by the rule of law. From the legal system to the system of the rule of law, from the law-based governance to the overall law-based governance, from the law-based state to law-based China, China’s socialist rule of law construction has undergone historic changes and made historic achievements; in terms of the overall law-based governance, the Party’s leadership has become stronger, the overall pattern has basically taken shape, and the practice has made significant progress. It is in the unprecedented great practice of the rule of law that the Party has continued to deepen the understanding of the path, expanded the vision, laid the foundation, strengthened the confidence, and successfully opened up a socialist path of the rule of law with Chinese characteristics. ‘Since the reform and opening-up, we have profoundly summarized the successful experience and learned lessons of failure in China’s socialist rule of law construction, determined the law-based governance as the basic strategy for the Party to lead the people to govern the country, determined law-based exercise of state power as the basic way for governance, and finally found a path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.’
C. The Path of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics Is a Realistic Choice Based on China’s Fundamental Realities
The kind of path to the rule of law that a state takes and the system that it establishes are determined by the fundamental realities of a country. In a Chinese classic, the Book of Lord Shang, it is written that ‘a wise ruler can enact laws by observing popular customs to govern his country well. Appropriate policies can be formulated where he understands that the foundation of a country lies in its cultivated land. Where the customs of the times and its foundation are ignored, even if laws are enacted, there will be public disorder and a busy government with little efficacy.’ To comprehensively advance the law-based governance, we must start from the actual situation in China, in line with the modernization of the state system and capacity for governance. In the efforts, we can neither ignore the national conditions beyond the stage, nor can we simply be fettered by old ways and conventions. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is based on the ‘primary stage of socialism’, which is the general premise of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Now that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, which is a new historical orientation of China’s development, with the change of the principal contradiction that Chinese society is facing, higher requirements are put forward for the rule of law. However, ‘China is still in and will remain in the primary stage of socialism for a long time where the basic national conditions have not changed, and China’s international status as the world’s largest developing country has not changed. The Party must be completely clear about the fundamental realities, and must base our work on this most important reality, the primary stage of socialism.’ China is a country with a large population, vast territory, many ethnic groups and complex national conditions. ‘To administrate such a large country, it is necessary for the Party to uphold the law as a criterion and use the rule of law as a method to ensure the unity of the country, its legal system, government decrees and the market, and to achieve economic development, political integrity, cultural prosperity, social justice, and a sound ecological environment, which is ... the basic consideration for the overall advancement of the law-based governance.’
The path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics insists on starting from China’s realities and highlights distinctive Chinese characteristics, practical characteristics and features of the times at the intersection of history and reality. On the one hand, the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics has drawn on the essence and nutrients of traditional Chinese legal culture since our ancestors began long ago to ponder how to deal with the major issue of governance of human beings; for instance, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Periods (770-221B.C.) had self-contained statutory codes, and the Han and Tang dynasties (202B.C.-A.D.907) formulated more fully-developed sets of codes. China’s ancient legal system embodies a huge wealth of knowledge and wisdom, allowing it to occupy a unique place among the world’s major legal systems. On the new journey of the overall law-based governance and building the rule of law in China, we should fully explore and inherit the essence of Chinese legal culture, derive nutrients and choose the best, and selectively integrate them into our current practice. On the other hand, the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics should critically draw on the beneficial experience of the rule of law civilization in the history of mankind. ‘Insisting on proceeding from the actual situation in China does not mean that the rule of law is pursued in isolation from the rest of the world’. The rule of law is one of the important accomplishments of human civilization, and its core essence and thrust of the rule of law have universal significance for national and social governance of all countries, therefore, we must learn from the world’s outstanding achievements of rule of law civilization. However, learning is not the same as simple fetishism, therefore, we must take into account our primary need, carefully discern between the good and the bad, and derive reasonably from other countries. Under no circumstances can we engage in ‘wholesale westernization’ and ‘complete transplant’ of the systems of others, or copy from other countries indiscriminately. In short, the comprehensive promotion of law-based governance must take the correct path. From China’s national conditions and reality, we must take the path of rule of law that suits China, never copy the models and practices of other countries, and never take the Western ‘constitutionalism’, ‘separation of powers’, and ‘judicial independence’ indiscriminately. On the fundamental issue of adhering to and expanding the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, we must establish self-confidence and remain determined and focused.
II. THE CORE ESSENCE OF THE PATH OF SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
As to how to understand the scientific meaning of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: Specifically, China should uphold the Party’s leadership, adhere to the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and implement the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. The leadership of the Party is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the most fundamental guarantee of the socialist rule of law. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental institutional basis of the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and is the fundamental institutional guarantee for comprehensively advancing law-based governance. The theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the theoretical guidance and doctrinal support of the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and is the action guide for comprehensively advancing law-based governance. These three aspects are essentially the kernel of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, which stipulates and ensures the institutional attributes and direction of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics.
A. Upholding the Leadership of the CPC
The leadership of the CPC is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the most fundamental guarantee of the socialist rule of law. The adherence to the leadership of the Party is the soul of the rule of law with Chinese characteristics. The path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics highlights the centralized and unified leadership of the Party, emphasizes the value homogeneity and inherent sameness between the Party’s leadership and the law-based governance, and underlies people-centered development, thus realizing the integration of the Party’s leadership and the Party’s purpose. General Secretary Xi Jinping, closely following the new situation and new tasks of the construction of the Party and the rule of law in the new era, has proposed and profoundly explained a series of major basic theories of the Party’s leadership in the law-based governance.
Firstly, full play should be given to the most significant advantage of the Party’s leadership and the centralized and unified leadership in the rule of law be strengthened. The leadership of the Party is the essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the system under the Party’s leadership is fundamental in China. Adhering to the Party’s leadership is the greatest advantage of the state system and legal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and ‘upholding and improving the Party’s system of leadership is essential to state governance’. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee summarized the significant advantages of China’s state system and national governance system into thirteen aspects, and the first of which is ‘the significant advantage of adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party, adhering to the Party’s scientific theories, maintaining political stability, and ensuring that China always moves in the direction of socialism’, followed by the advantages of democracy and the rule of law, namely ‘adhering to the people as the masters of the country’ and ‘adhering to the overall law-based governance’. The base of the Party lies in the people, and and Party’s leadership is deeply rooted in the great practice of the people running the country and realizing their aspiration for a better life.  Secondly, the Party’s leadership over the rule of law in the ‘three unifications’ must be comprehensively strengthened. Improving the Party’s leadership system that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties, and implementing the Party’s leadership in all aspects and links in all fields of national governance. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee strategically proposed that ‘we must uphold the Party’s endeavors to enact law, ensure law enforcement, support justice, take a lead in abiding by the law, unify the basic strategy of law-based governance with the basic way of law-based exercise of state power, unify the Party’s overall leadership and coordination with all sides with the NPC, the government, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the judiciary and the procuratorial organs in performing their functions and carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and regulations, and unify the Party’s leadership of the people in formulating and implementing the Constitution and laws with the Party’s adherence to carrying out activities within the scope.’
Thirdly, the Party’s leadership over the rule of law should be fully implemented in four aspects, namely, the Party should be ‘good at making the Party’s ideas become the will of the state through legal procedures, making the candidates recommended by the Party become leaders of state power through legal procedures, implementing the Party’s leadership over the state and society through state power organs, and applying the principle of democratic centralism to safeguard the authority of the central government and the unity of the Party and the whole country’, which specifies the methods, paths and arts that the Party should be good at leading and implementing the overall law-based governance from four dimensions: leadership will, organization system, political power construction and activity principles, thus capturing the ‘key to the overall law-based governance’.
The intrinsic basis of the Party’s leadership in the rule of law is that, from the viewpoint of leading power, the Party’s leadership is the most fundamental political guarantee as the leader and backbone adhering to the people as the masters of the country and the overall law-based governance. From the perspective of subjective will, the law is the unified embodiment of the Party’s ideas and the will of the people, the Party leads the people to formulate and implement the constitutional law, and the Party must carry out its activities within the scope of constitutional law, which are the embodiments of the Party’s leading power. From the legal basis, the Constitution confirms the ruling status of the CPC and the Party’s central position in the structure of state power in the overall situation and coordination of all parties, which is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and the most fundamental guarantee of the socialist rule of law. From the logic of experience, the Party proposed and practiced the law-based exercise of state power, and comprehensively advancing law-based governance can be conducive to strengthening and improving the Party’s leadership, consolidating the Party’s ruling position and fulfilling the Party’s mission, and will never weaken the Party’s leadership.
B. Upholding the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics
The rule of law system and the political system are in line with each other, and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental institutional basis of the socialist rule of law in China, since all systems of the rule of law must be established on the institutional basis. There is no identical political system in the world, and it cannot be abstractly judged in isolation from specific socio-political conditions and historical and cultural traditions, nor can it be set in stone, and no foreign political system can be mechanically applied to China.
The socialist system with Chinese characteristics has established the political attributes, institutional carrier and basis of the rule of law in China. The overall law-based governance must adhere to the fundamental direction of socialism and conform to the attributes of the socialist system.
The socialist system with Chinese characteristics is a strict and complete scientific system, with its main structure involving the fundamental system, the basic system and the important system. ‘It maintains the fundamental political system of the people’s congress system, the basic political system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the CPC, the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the system of mass autonomy at the grassroots level, the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, and the basic economic system in which public ownership is the mainstay and multiple ownership economies develop together. These are all elements that embody the basic principles of scientific socialism under new historical conditions, and if they are lost, socialism will no longer exist.’
The socialist system in China ensures the dominant position of the people as the masters of the country, and their main role in comprehensively advancing law-based governance. This is the advantage of our system and the fundamental difference between socialist and capitalist rule of law. Among them, the system of people’s congress is the best institutional form of the people’s mastery and the fundamental institutional carrier of the socialist rule of law. The people’s congresses exercise state power in a unified manner; members of the congresses at all levels are democratically elected and are accountable to and supervised by the people; state administrative organs, judicial organs and procuratorial organs at all levels are elected by the people’s congress and are accountable to and supervised by the people’s congress; state organs exercise a reasonable division of powers and mutual coordination among decision-making, executive and supervisory powers; under the unified leadership of the central government, local initiative and enthusiasm are given full play to ensure the unified and efficient organization of the state to promote various undertakings. In adhering to the system of people’s congress, we must clearly oppose the Western ‘separation of powers’.
The multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the CPC is essentially different from the two-party and multi-party systems of the West, and the relationship between the Party and the democratic parties is not the one between the party in power and the party in opposition, but between the leading party and the cooperating party. The Party’s leadership system is the overarching, fundamental and overall systemic basis of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. To adhere to the Party’s leadership of the overall law-based governance, we must stand clearly against the Western two-party system and multi-party system. In addition, we should fully and correctly implement the Party’s ethnic policy, adhere to the correct path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in resolving ethnic issues, maintain and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy, ensure the exercise of the right to autonomy in accordance with the law, and effectively protect the legitimate rights of ethnic minorities, thus casting a firm sense of the Chinese ethnic community, and building united and prosperous ethnic autonomous areas so as to ensure that the governance of ethnic affairs operates on the track of the rule of law, and oppose all kinds of infiltration, subversion and sabotage, violent and terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, and religious extremist activities.
We will continuously improve the system of community-level self-governance, propel the modernization of the social governance system and governance capacity in accordance with the law, and develop a social governance system based on collaboration, participation, and benefit sharing. We will work to improve the social governance system under the leadership of the Party Committee with government accountability, social coordination, public participation, the guarantee of the rule of law, the support of science and technology, and continue to combine self-governance, the rule of law and the rule of virtue, so as to build a social governance community where everyone shoulders their responsibilities, fulfills their obligations and enjoys their rights and interests, and as a result, people in China can live and work in peace and contentment.
We will adhere to and improve the basic socialist economic system, and promote high-quality economic development. Further efforts should be made in consolidating and promoting the basic socialist economic systems, including that public ownership plays the leading role alongside other forms of ownership, that distribution according to work is the mainstay while other forms of distribution coexist alongside it, and the socialist market economy system. What’s more, we should continue to follow the socialist direction during the economic development in the overall law-based governance, thus giving full play to its strategic role in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
C. Sticking to the Implementation of Theory of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics
Without a scientific theory, there will be no scientific practice. To unswervingly follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, we must adhere to the scientific guidance of the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. ‘Advancing the overall law-based governance is a profound change in national governance, and we must be guided by scientific theory, strengthen theoretical thinking, theoretically answer the major issue of the times of why and how to advance the overall law-based governance,  constantly achieve new results from the combination of theory and practice, and summarize and apply the Party’s ideological and theoretical achievements on strengthening the rule of law in the new era, so as to  better guide the work of the overall law-based governance.’
It marks the distinctive character of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law that the innovation and development of the theoretical system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics should be based on inheriting those achievements in human history. In terms of theoretical values, from the principle of people-orientation to people’s dominancy, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has put forward the general objectives, basic principles and strategic layout and other ideas concerning the rule of law reform from the fundamental, strategic and holistic views, for example, the propositions: when the rule of law thrives, the country thrives; when the rule of law is strong, the country is strong; the leadership of the Party is the soul of the socialist rule of law in China; justice is the lifeblood of the rule of law; the requirements of democracy, rule of law, fairness, justice, security and environment should be satisfied; the respect and protection of human rights should be upheld; and peace and development should supplement each other and so on. In terms of theoretical scope, new concepts and new categories are proposed, such as the overall law-based governance, the rule of law in China, the system, the implementation, the supervision and the guarantee of the rule of law, intra-Party regulations system, exercising the rule-based internal management over the Party, exercising the state power in accordance with the Constitution, governing the country by the Constitution, sound legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial administration of justice, public observance of the law, social governance community, and rule of law in foreign affairs, etc. In terms of theoretical composition, it scientifically answers to the subject, object and content elements of the rule of law, such as people-centeredness; people first, life first; people as the main body and source of the law-based governance; people as the broadest and deepest basis of the overall law-based governance; serving the people and relying on the people; setting, regulating, limiting and supervising power according to the law, and locking power into the cage of the system, etc. In the theoretical application, it indicates the requirements for the rule of law practice in terms of foundation, path and mode of the rule of law. For example, the key to exercising state power by law is to lead the legislation, ensure law enforcement, support the judiciary, and take the lead in abiding by the law; the vitality of the law lies in the enforcement while the vitality of the system lies in its implementation; performing the functions that have been prescribed by law while refraining from acting where the law has not authorized; the construction of authoritative and efficient administrative system with unified powers and responsibilities in accordance with the law; the construction of a diligent, clean, efficient and fair government under the rule of law, and the trial-centered litigation system; the judge who adjudicates will be responsible and so on. All these fully demonstrate the practical value of the thought on the rule of law leading reform and innovation. In the theoretical foundation, based on the great practice of socialist construction with Chinese characteristics, it is rooted in the Chinese legal system and the long tradition of Chinese civilization as a whole, ‘exploring in-depth the excellent value of times, such as benevolence, people-orientation, integrity, justice, harmony, and common consensus in Chinese traditional culture ... so as to focus on making creative transformation and innovative development’.
III. ADHERING TO THE UNITY OF THE CPC LEADERSHIP, THE PEOPLE AS MASTERS OF THE COUNTRY AND LAW-BASED GOVERNANCE
Adhering to the unity of the CPC leadership, the people as masters of the country and law-based governance is a basic principle that must be upheld in the overall law-based governance, which reflects the fundamental nature of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and essential characteristic of socialist democracy.
China is a socialist state under the democratic dictatorship of the people led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and farmers, in which all powers of the state belong to the people and the socialist democracy is the most extensive, real and effective democracy that safeguards the fundamental interests of the people. The development of socialist democracy is to reflect the will of the people, protect the rights and interests of the people, stimulate the creative energy of the people, and use the institutional system to ensure that the people are the masters of their own country. It is a requisite that we continue to uphold the Party’s leadership and advance the overall law-based governance, provide a solid guarantee for promoting the socialist democracy, and ensure people exercise their power as masters of the country as prescribed by law.
The leadership of the Party is the fundamental guarantee of the people as the masters of the country, the people’s mastery is the essential feature of socialist democratic politics, the law-based governance is the basic way for the Party to lead the people to govern the country, and the three are unified in the great practice of socialist democratic politics in China. In China’s political life, the Party exercises leadership and strengthens the centralized and unified leadership of the Party on the one hand, and on the other hand, supporting the people’s congresses, governments, committees of the CPPCC, courts, and procuratorates in performing their functions, carrying out work and playing their roles in accordance with the law and their charters. In this way, they form a unified pair. It is necessary to improve the Party’s leadership and governing style to ensure that the Party leads the people in effectively governing the country; to expand the people’s orderly political participation to ensure that they engage in democratic elections, consultation, decision-making, management and supervision in accordance with the law; to safeguard the unity, sanctity and authority of the national legal system, to strengthen the protection of human rights and the rule of law, and to ensure that the people enjoy a wide range of rights and freedoms in accordance with the law. It is required to consolidate grass-roots power, improve the democratic system at the grass-roots level, and guarantee the people’s rights to information, participation, expression and supervision. It is demanded to improve the decision-making mechanism in accordance with the law, and to build a mechanism for the operation of power that is scientific in decision-making, resolute in implementation and powerful in supervision. Officials at all levels must enhance their democratic awareness, follow democratic principles, accept people’s supervision, and perform as they should in their role as public servants.
The unity of these three principles can be summarized from the following three aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of the leadership of the Party, it is determined by the idea of serving the people and the Party’s advanced nature. The Party has been the pioneer of the Chinese working class and aimed to serve the people wholeheartedly as the fundamental purpose. That the Party exercises state power in accordance with the law and for the people together contributes to the unity. Secondly, from the perspective of the people as masters of the country, the socialist democratic politics embodies the internal consistency between the fundamental purpose of the Party and the fundamental value of the rule of law. There are certain norms on running a country in which delivering benefits to the people is the top priority. Socialist democracy is inseparable from the solid guarantee of the rule of law, and the law-based exercise of state power is the basic way for the Party to lead the people in governing the country. Thirdly, from the perspective of law-based governance, overall law-based governance embodies that the Party spirit and the idea of serving the people have been intensively interrelated. To put it in this way, the law-based governance means that the people, under the leadership of the Party, administer state affairs and manage economic and cultural undertakings and social affairs through various channels and in various ways in accordance with the Constitution and laws to ensure that all state affairs are carried out in accordance with the law, gradually building an institutionalized and legalized socialist democracy. In this way, such systems and laws will not be altered due to the change of leaders or the different views and attention. That is, we should promote a socialist democratic politics more institutionalized, standardized, law-based, and procedure-oriented to effectively ensure that the people exercise extensive democratic rights and consolidate and develop a dynamic, stable and united political situation. What’s more, we should never deny and abandon the Party’s leadership.
In all, ‘the unity of the three principles’ places the Party’s leadership at its core with the people’s congress system as the fundamental institutional arrangement and the law-based governance as the basic guarantee.