General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping cited remarks from late Chinese leader Mao Zedong during his recent inspection tour to Xibaipo, Hebei Province. Mao regarded the Central Committee of the CPC's decision to move to Beijing in 1949 as "going for an exam in the capital city," while Xi emphasized that the "exam" now facing the Party is far from over. The renewed metaphor provoked strong reactions from the public.

The CPC has been sitting this "exam" for nearly 64 years. It has done well in the "exam" in general, given the fact that the Chinese people have stood up and their dignity has been strongly backed by both material and cultural progress. Nevertheless, the "exam" hasn't ended, and the Party faces unprecedented problems in governance.

When the country was founded, the CPC was at its peak in terms of being able to influence the public, because the victory of the revolution enhanced the Party's innate power and cohesive force. The whole country was indisputably united, moving forward in a clear direction of fighting against definite external enemies and overcoming internal material difficulties.

Dreams from 60 years ago of having well-off lives have come true, but globalization has made Chinese values diversify. China's corruption has drawn a lot of political controversy and public suspicion. Its standards for clean governance can only be set at advanced international levels.

China needed passion, courage and resolution 60 years ago, but today we also need wisdom, rationality and consistency when standing on the forefront of the world politics and easily becoming a target for others. China's political system and the Western system have seen some explicit and implicit frictions, in the process of which the political intentions of the West have become hard to distinguish under the cover of globalization.

The Party's governance ethics and the effectiveness of institutional checks are facing great challenges. In an era when China has been entangled into world affairs due to its status as the second biggest world economy and when a nation's authority is challenged by the Internet, the possibility that people may take advantage of problems to trouble the government is higher than in the past.

The examiner of this "test" is Chinese society. China has been a "melting pot" of all thoughts in the West and East. Finding a way to underscore the will of the mainstream public and make it the core of the society is an arduous task.

Now the Party is confronted with an open "exam" with increased difficulties. The whole Party as well as every Party member should strive to do well, since  corruption and isolation from the public will severely damage the reputation of the Party in the Internet era. The results of the "exam" are not only related to the fate of the Party, but all the Chinese people. Nobody can just be a bystander in the "exam."