Qiushi Theory published an article that reprinted a talk that Xi Jinping gave on preventing Party officials from forming cliques or factions of members that stick together in order to protect their own interests. The article said that the phenomenon is getting worse and has damaged the “advancement,” “unity,” and “purity” of the nature of the Party. The article then named some conditions that resulted in the formation of small interest groups within the Party. It called these a "culture of factionalization,” which occurs when officials study power circles and learn how to work around them through the “back door.” “Bourgeois liberalization” has resulted in officials not being able to balance the relationship between themselves and the Party. Thus they “seek and form personal interest groups,” which refers to the “die hard circle” of friends, alumni, and comrades–in–arms, who stick together for their own interests. The article stated that there should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior; it is a “battle that the Party cannot afford to lose.”
Source: Qiushi Theory, June 30, 2015
http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/qs/2015-06/30/c_1115751308.htm