PLA Daily 2005-03-31

　　The PLA Daily published a commentary today, saying that being strict with the army is a vital powerhouse for the generation of the combat effectiveness of the army and an iron rule for army building. An army without rules can't survive and rules not rigorous enough will lose all their authority. Strict rules will make the army ever victorious, while flagging rules will throw an army in disarray. There is no exception at all times and in all lands. What deserves special attention is that the army to be run strictly today is neither the army in the war time at the level of millet plus rifle, nor the army at the level of being mechanized and semi-mechanized, but an army in the process of being transformed into an informationalized one and an army ready to accomplish the dual historical tasks of mechanization and informationalization. Being strict with the army itself has taken on new connotations of the times. With the extensive application of high-tech in military sector and the rapid development of the new round of world revolution in military affairs, the form and pattern of war has witnessed great changes, the modernization level of weapon is becoming higher and higher, the division of military affairs has become more and more segmented, the technical nature has been more and more projected, the range of coordination has become more and more extensively stretched and the requirements for organization, planning, precision and discipline are more and more demanding. Informationalization banks on regularization and institutionalization. The more the army is modernized, the higher the demand on being strict with it.

　　The article pointed out that as the scientific summary of the law of army building, rules and regulations underpins the practice of being strict with the army. Being strict with the army is, in the final analysis, running the army by law. To put being-strict-with-the-army into effect can but further build up our awareness of laws and regulations. We must earnestly adapt to the change of ways of running the army with institutionalization as the hallmark, take the practice of carrying out and giving guidance to work in line with the system of rules and regulations as the primary methods and ways of leadership, standardize the training, war preparedness, work and life order on the basis on rules and regulations and plan and give guidance to work according to rules and regulations. We must uphold the authoritativeness of rules and regulations, which should be the tools and yardstick for solving problems and examining the effect of work.

　　The article emphasized that there are thousands of reasons and approaches to be strict with the army and yet boosting the combat effectiveness is the ultimate objective. To put being-strict-with-the-army into effect, we must stick to the standard of building up the combat effectiveness. We must focus on the military changes with Chinese characteristics and doing a good job in the practice of making preparation for military struggles, do well in putting into effect of being strict with the army, and boost the combat effectiveness with the result of being strict with the army. Units at all levels should strengthen the thought that being strict with the army is to boost combat effectiveness, correct and overcome such bad style of work as formalism and paying special attention to show off. We must also establish a scientific evaluation mechanism focusing on generating and improving the combat effectiveness, conduct examination and acceptance according to the standard of combat effectiveness and implement the standard in the whole process of all works.

　　(Mar. 31, PLA Daily)