The "Decision" emphasizes the importance of actively and positively developing inner-party democracy. At the same time, it puts forward new requirements and major initiatives on how to maintain the party’s centralized unification. It emphasizes that all comrades of the party must always put the party and the people in the highest position in their minds and maintain a high degree of unity with the party’s Central Committee mentally, politically, and physically. This has great significance under the new circumstances to better adhere to the democratic centralism system, which is the fundamental organizational and leadership system, and to strengthen and improve the party’s leadership.

To maintain the party’s centralized unification, the following must be done practically:
   
First, to fully understand the importance of protecting the party’s centralized unification. The party’s centralized unification represents the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups in the nation. … For a ruling political party that has more than 75 million members, 3.7 million grass-roots organizations, and that is leading the great cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, it is essential to maintain the party’s centralized unification. Only by protecting the Party’s centralized unification and continuously enhancing the party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat capability, can it ensure national unity, racial peace, and social harmony, and ensure the smooth execution of the process of Reform and Opening up and modernization.
 
Second, to maintain a high degree of unity on party ideology. Thoughts lead actions, and thus unity on ideology is the premise of the party’s centralized unification. One must persist in using Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the "Three Represents" to equip and educate the party and use the scientific development concept to equip the minds of the party members and cadres, so that all party comrades will be on a common ideological ground when thinking, making decisions, or taking action. One must frequently educate the party members on the party’s principles and policies, to strive to make sure party members and cadres at all levels deeply understand and grasp the spiritual essence of the party’s principles and policies, and to become the loyal enforcers and active advocates of the party’s principles and policies. In this way, a reliable ideology will guarantee the party’s centralized unification.

Third, to resolutely maintain the central authority. The Central Committee is the core of the party’s centralized unification. Maintaining the party’s centralized unification means to resolutely maintain the central authority and to effectively ensure the central committee’s decrees. One must insist that individual members subordinate to the party’s organization, the minority subordinates to the majority, the lower-level organizations subordinate to the upper-level organization, and party organizations and all party members subordinate to the party’s national congress and the Central Committee. Among all, the most important thing is that the whole party subordinate to the central authorities. The entire party must be in unity with the Central Committee on guiding ideology, goals, major policies and important work arrangements. No matter which area, which department, or what party organization, no matter what kind of leadership positions the party members and cadres hold, all must conscientiously uphold the party’s basic theory, basic policy, basic program, and basic experience, and resolutely subordinate to the unified leadership of the Central Committee. It is necessary to establish an inspection and evaluation system on a regular time basis on the implementation of significant policies from the Central Committee, monitor special projects, and improve the discipline mechanism, improve the leading cadres’ execution ability and firmly ensure that the principles and policies of the central authority can be carried out.

Fourth, to strictly adhere to the party’s discipline rules, especially the political discipline rules. Having good discipline is the guarantee for maintaining the party’s centralized unification. Our party is a Marxist political party relying on revolutionary ideas and is organized by iron discipline. Only by having strict discipline, can we move forward at the same pace. Political discipline is the most important discipline in the party. The whole party must strictly obey this discipline, consciously enforce it, and fight resolutely against any breach of the party’s political discipline. When a party member has different opinions about the party’s resolutions and policies, the party member first needs to resolutely carry out these resolutions and policies, and, at the same time, bring the issue to the upper organization, and even to the Central Committee. But no one is allowed to make the issue public and to spread any opinion that is contrary to what the central authority holds. One must firmly oppose being two-faced, showing things in one way, and doing things in another way. It is not allowed to fabricate and spread political rumors and words to smear the image of the party and the nation. One must resolutely rectify the phenomenon that orders or prohibitions are not carried out. Any violation of the party’s political discipline must be dealt with severely.

Endnote:
[1] Xinhua, December 30, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/30/content_12563503.htm