Governance by means of virtue

This term is from The Analects of Confucius. It implies the critical importance of virtue to political affairs, and advocates taking moral edification as the principle for governance. This idea and such views as "Governance must win the people's support," "governing by both rites and the law," and "virtue as the mainstay and punishment as the supplement" together constitute the Confucian advocacy of rule by virtue. It is obvious that the basic Confucian principle for governance is rule by virtue, but not by severe punishments and harsh laws, as the Confucian school highly values virtue, particular that of the rulers.

At the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in January 2016, Xi Jinping said: It has always been the tradition of the Chinese nation to honor one's reputation and uphold integrity and clean government, and we have such sayings as "governance by means of virtue" and "responsibility for one's jurisdiction." Officials must exercise power in a just way and in favor of clean governance; they must be role models in abiding by the Party discipline and the law, and always follow Party principles and fulfill their duties.

為政以德

“為政以德”出自《論語》，意為以道德原則治理國家，強調道德對政治生活的決定作用，主張以道德教化作為治國的原則。“為政以德”與政得其民、禮法合治、德主刑輔等共同構成儒家德治論的主張，表明儒家治國的基本原則是德治，而非嚴刑峻法，應高度重視道德建設特別是為政者的道德建設。

2016年1月，習近平在第十八屆中央紀律檢查委員會第六次全體會議上的講話中強調，中華民族歷來都有珍惜名節、注重操守、干凈為官的傳統，歷來都講“為政以德” “守土有責”，領導干部要秉公用權、廉潔用權，做遵紀守法的模范，同時要堅持原則、敢抓敢管。