He used the well-known story of a general in ancient China to make his point and illustrate his determination to fight corruption. When wounded in the arm by a poisoned arrow, Guan Yu, without the aid of any anaesthetic, had someone cut open his arm and scrape away the poison from his bone, which saved his life.

A few days after he made these remarks, a list of military tigers was released, which included the names of 16 high-ranking military officers - a general, three lieutenant generals, 11 major generals and a senior colonel. Due to his earlier experience in the army, Xi feels a strong affinity with the military. But maybe because of his own military experience, after assuming chairmanship of the CPC Central Military Commission, he was deeply disappointed and frustrated with the incompetence and corruption of some commanders, and with the lack of coordination, inadequate training and loose discipline in the military. To rectify these issues, he has taken two effective measures, namely, scaling up various military exercises, and intensifying the fight against corruption in the People's Liberation Army. He told his generals, "We don't do this because we want to pick a fight with someone, but because corruption in the army is synonymous with a failure on the battleground."

Some doubt whether the anti-corruption campaign can be maintained. But Xi knows full well that if he gives up, he will let the people down and lose their trust, and that it will significantly compromise the political foundation of the ruling party. In this context, the destiny of China, and that of China's ruling party, hinges on whether this anti-corruption campaign will bring about a clean, efficient and service-oriented government. Xi has adopted this mission as one of his ideals. And this is the source of his passion and composure.

The author is a research scholar with the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies.

Courtesy: Chinausfocus.com