A principle in democratic jurisdictions that assumes the state itself is subject to law, ‘rule of law’ under the CCP assumes the Party, not the law, is the supreme authority. Hence it is misleading to use the English term ‘rule of law’ to render the Party term fǎzhì.
The recommended alternatives, ‘rule by law’ or ‘law-based governance’ are conveyed by the illustration: rules of Party discipline and punishment (the ‘disciplinary baseline’, the red line drawn on the ground) are backed by the hindmost book (labelled ‘law’). These texts are applicable to individual Party members, not the Party itself.