III. Path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics: What should we adhere to？

It is not easy to build a wide, flat and solid path, because much work is involved in the process such as cutting into a mountain, leveling roadbed, casting road surface and setting up traffic signs. Similarly, to build the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics well requires not only down-to-earth efforts but also the guidance of important principles.

To facilitate the building of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and to realize the overall target of comprehensively advancing the rule of law, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC put forward the following five important principles, namely, upholding the leadership of the Party, maintaining the people's principal position, ensuring that all are equal before the law, integrating the rule of law with rule of virtue, and proceeding from the realities of China. These five principles, which have answered many theoretical and practical questions concerning the rule of law, play an important role in comprehensively advancing the rule of law.

The principle of upholding the leadership of the Party deals with the problem of political guarantee. The CPC is our backbone, the leadership of whom is the fundamental requirement of the socialist rule of law. Comprehensively advancing the rule of law will not weaken the leadership of the Party; instead, it will improve and strengthen the leadership of the Party, consolidate the Party's ruling status, and, facilitate the Party in accomplishing its mission. The leadership of the Party should be maintained in the whole process and from all aspects of the rule of law. The Party should lead the legislation, guarantee the law enforcement, support the administration of justice and set an example in observing the law so as to improve its leading ability and quality in legal construction.

The principle of maintaining people's principal position deals with the problem of mass base. People are the masters of the nation and society, and ensuring people's position as masters of the country is the precondition and purpose of the rule of law. Only by serving the people, counting on the people, benefitting the people, protecting the people and giving full play to people's initiative could legal construction in China represent people's interests, reflect people's wishes, protect people's rights and improve people's lives. The System of People's Congress, which functions as the fundamental political system in maintaining people's status as masters, should be perfected and executed. In addition, the unity of the leadership of the Party, the master position of the people and the rule of law should be ensured.

The principle that all are equal before the law deals with the problem of value pursuit. Equality is the basic attribute of socialist laws and the basic requirement of socialist rule of law. In the process of comprehensively advancing the rule of law, we must ensure that all are equal before the law so that legal construction in China will promote and safeguard social fairness and justice. The equality before law should be carried out in all respects including legislation, law enforcement, administration of justice and law-abiding. Authority of the Constitution and the laws should be respected by all organizations and individuals, all activities should be carried out within the boundary of the Constitution and the laws, all powers or rights, duties or obligations should be exercised in line with the Constitution and the laws. No one is above the Constitution and the laws.

The principle of the integration of the rule of law and the rule of virtue deals with the problem of spiritual support. Sharing the common value orientation, law and virtue are naturally related. Law is written virtue and virtue is inner law. They both have the function of regulating social behavior and maintaining social order. In the process of comprehensively advancing the rule of law, we should emphasize both law and virtue, carry forward socialist core values, promote Chinese traditional values, and give full play to both the regulating function of the law and the educating function of the virtue. Thus, law and virtue will complement each other and bring out the best in each other.

The principle of proceeding from the realities of China deals with the problem of practice basis. The legal system and the target of the rule of law are determined by the fundamental realities of the country. Comprehensively advancing the rule of law must be rooted in our national realities and conditions. We must highlight characteristics of China, characteristics of the practices and characteristics of the age, summarize and apply our successful experiences of rule of law led by the Party, absorb the essence of the Chinese legal civilization, and use the achievements of legal construction abroad for reference. We must promote the innovation of legal theories and facilitate the development of legal practices by dealing with the problems of socialist legal construction theoretically and practically.

We have already embarked on the road of rule of law and we will eventually realize the overall target of comprehensively advancing the rule of law as long as we adhere to the guidance of the five principles. At the same time, we must be confident with the path we have chosen regardless of the skeptical voices or the propaganda of the West. It is our duty to follow this path steadfastly so that the rule of law in China will benefit the people.