For anyone curious about the governance philosophy of the Communist Party of China, the communique of the third plenum of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is a must read for a better understanding of the ruling party's approach to self-governance.

Running throughout the document is the requirement that concrete actions be taken to advance the purity of the Party and preserve its vitality.

The self-revolution of the Party means that the blade is turned inward, scraping the bone to remove the poison.

To this end investigation and accountability are to be rigorously pursued, for despite the success of the anti-graft campaign, there is still "the neglect of duty, willful use of power to act in a disorderly manner, alienation of power, distortion of performance, and deviation of undertakings". This necessitates Party discipline be strengthened.

The insistence on self-cleansing derives from and reflects a profound concern about the corrosive impact of corruption on the Party.

Over the years, the Party has been warned against what are known as the "four major tests" and "four dangers" it faces. The tests are those the Party faces in governance, reform and opening-up, the market economy and the external environment. The dangers are a lack of drive, incompetence, disengagement from the people, and inaction and corruption. For the Party to overcome these tests and dangers and preserve its ruling status in the long run, the CPC leadership has come up with a slew of countermeasures, which are detailed in the latest edition of the "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions" published in December 2023.

Navigating the document jargon of the Party may be challenging for the uninitiated, but doing so offers rewarding insights into its motivations for self-revolution, which culminates in the communique's assertion that it is only by having the courage to turn inward and purify itself that the Party can retain the support of the people, realize the goal of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

To this end, the fundamental principle is ensuring that members of the Party dare not, cannot and do not want to be corrupt. With the emphasis on "do not want". To grasp this fundamental principle, the communique stresses that a clean Party culture must be fostered so that there is no "soil and conditions for the emergence of corruption".

Thus the Party is strengthening its anti-corruption toolbox with the application of big data and other means of analysis and comparison on the understanding that "if a bribe is not investigated, the bribe is not stopped" and that new types of corruption and hidden corruption must have no place to take root.

In the end, the internal supervision of the Party is an important guarantee that the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee in pursuit of "the happiness for the Chinese people, the rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and the common cause of the world" are smoothly implemented.