The People's Daily (May 13) published an article by the CCP CC's Organisation Department under the pseudonym Zhong Zuwen captioned 'Vigorously select outstanding cadres who are loyal and clean'.

The articles explains the criteria for promotion of cadres and follows the CCP CC's 'Opinions on Selection of First Secretaries and Task Forces in Key Villages' issued on May 12. It says “to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, we must focus on building a team of leaders and cadres that are politically sound and capable of leading modernization.” Emphasising political reliability, the article states that while considering cadres for promotion “It is necessary to thoroughly investigate political loyalty, political determination, political responsibility, political ability, political self-discipline, political judgment, political understanding, political execution, etc. Those who fail to observe political discipline and political rules and have problems such as "seven haves", shall not be selected as candidates.” The article stresses the necessity of pre-appointment checks and insists that cadre files must be reviewed for all mentions, personal reports on related matters must be reviewed, and the opinions of the discipline inspection and supervision organs must be heard for every assignment, and specific and investigable letters and visits that reflect clues to violations of regulations and disciplines must be checked thoroughly. Every cadre promotion case should be approved (signed) by the "Secretary of the Party Committee" and "Secretary of the Committee for Discipline Inspection". It says the focus should be on cadres who have performed well “in the three tough battles, epidemic prevention and control” and “When selecting cadres for hard work and key positions, it is necessary to see whether they have experienced major struggles and use cadres who have withstood the test.” The article also emphasises the need for improving cadre inspections through on-the-spot visits and talking to the masses.