The "Key Minority" of Officials in Important Positions

"Leading an ox by its nose" is an important method in Xi Jinping's governance theory. He pointed out that if work is to be effective in all areas, the focus must be placed on the "key minority of officials in important positions." In his view, this "key minority" has both a duty to lead and a duty to serve as exemplars. Only if leading officials lead well and act as role models can the "key minority" pull the "great majority" along with it, thereby causing the latter to follow the former. For example, he noted that the "key minority" of leading officials must be the focus of efforts to establish a socialist law-based country, to enforce strict Party self-governance and to exercise strict supervision over leading officials at all levels; he also argued that such a focus was necessary for solving the difficult problem of overseeing those in top-ranking positions, and that the greater and the more important the responsibilities of leading officials, the more they require strong oversight. 

In focusing on the "key minority", the first thing should be restraining their powers. At the same time, their thinking, their study and particularly their fulfillment of their duties must also be emphasized. The Central Committee's management and expectations of the "key minority" has become increasingly rigorous since the 18th National Congress. The higher the ranks of leading officials, the more important their positions, the greater their powers, the more strictly they should be supervised – this fully illustrates the spirit of focusing on the key minority.

“關鍵少數”

抓“牛鼻子”是習近平治國理政的重要方法論。他指出，各項工作要抓出成效，就必須抓住領導干部這個“關鍵少數”。在習近平看來，作為“關鍵少數”的領導干部既負有領導責任，也負有示范責任，領導干部只有帶好頭、做榜樣，才能通過“關鍵少數”帶動“絕大多數”。比如：習近平指出，全面依法治國，必須抓住領導干部這個“關鍵少數”；強調從嚴治黨，關鍵是要抓住領導干部這個“關鍵少數”，從嚴管好各級領導干部；提出要抓住“關鍵少數”，破解一把手監督難題，領導干部責任越重大、越重要，就越要加強監督，等等。抓“關鍵少數”，首先是抓管住權力，同時也要抓信念、抓學習，更要抓責任落實。十八大以來，中央對于“關鍵少數”的管理和要求日趨嚴格。領導干部級別越高、位置越重要、權力越大，管理就越嚴格，這充分體現了抓“關鍵少數”的精神。