| Politics Of The People's Republic Of China |
Article Index for Politics Of |
Website Links For Politics |
Information AboutPolitics Of The People's Republic Of China |
|
, on the west side of Tiananmen Square , is China's parliament building. There are 2,979 representatives in the annual Congress .]] The Politics of the People's Republic Of China (PRC) takes place in a framework of a Single-party Socialist Republic . The leadership of the Communist Party is enshrined in the PRC Constitution . State power within the PRC is exercised through the Communist Party Of China , the Central People's Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically co-equal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. The will of Chinese citizens is expressed through the legislative bodies of the People's Congress system. People's Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level People's Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial (or municipal in the case of independent municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing) People's Congress. The provincial People's Congress in turn elects members to the National People's Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. http://www.china.org.cn/english/chuangye/55414.htm National People's Congress system overview on China.org.cn The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the next higher level. OVERVIEW The PRC's population, geographical vastness, and social diversity frustrate attempts to rule from Beijing . Economic reform during the 1980s and the devolution of much central government decision making, combined with the strong interest of local Communist Party officials in enriching themselves has made it increasingly difficult for the central government to assert its authority.Pitfalls of Modernization 现代化的陷阱 by He Qinglian published in PRC 1996, never translated. Political power has become much less personal and more institutionally based than it was during the first forty years of the PRC. For example, Deng Xiaoping was never the President of China or Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party , yet he was for a decade the leader of China. Today the authority of China's leaders are much more tied to their institutional base. Central government leaders must increasingly build consensus for new policies among party members, local and regional leaders, influential non-party members, and the population at large. However, control is often maintained over the larger group through control of information, The Chinese Communist Party considers China to be in the initial stages of Socialism . Many Chinese and foreign observers see the PRC as in transition from a system of public ownership to one in which private ownership plays an increasingly important role. Privatization of housing and increasing freedom to make choices about education and employment severely weakened the work unit system that was once the basic cell of Communist Party control over society. China's complex political, ethnic and ideological mosaic, much less uniform beneath the surface that in the idealized story of the Propaganda Department Of The Central Committee Of The Communist Party Of China , resist simple categorization.Boum, Aomar (1999). Journal of Political Ecology: Case Studies in History and Society . Retrieved April 18, 2006. As the social, cultural and political as well as economic consequences of market reform becoming increasingly manifest, tensions between the old -- the way of the comrade -- and the new -- the way of the citizen -- are sharpening. Some Chinese scholars such as Zhou Tianyong, the vice director of research of the Central Party School, argue that gradual political reform as well as repression of those pushing for overly rapid change over the next thirty years will be essential if China is to avoid an overly turbulent transition to a middle class dominated polity. Part I of summary of Zhou Tianyong's 2004 book Reform of the Chinese Political System Accessed February 7, 2007. Part II of summary of Zhou Tianyong's 2004 book Reform of the Chinese Political System Accessed February 7, 2007. Some Chinese look back to the Cultural Revolution and fear chaos if the Communist Party should lose control due to domestic upheavals and so a robust system of monitoring and control is in place to counter the growing pressure for political change. FOREIGN RELATIONS and George W. Bush , with first ladies Liu Yongqing and Laura Bush , wave from the White House. The Relationship between the world's sole Superpower United States and the Emerging Superpower status of the PRC is closely watched by international observers.]] connecting China and Pakistan is an example of China's international development involvements.]] See Also: Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China The PRC maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the world. In 1971, the PRC replaced the ). The PRC was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement . Under the One-China Policy , the PRC has made it a precondition to establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges its claim to Taiwan and sever any official ties with the Republic Of China (ROC) government. The government actively opposes foreign travels by former and present Taiwanese officials, such as Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian , and other people it sees as politically dangerous, such as the Current Dalai Lama of Tibet . China has been playing a leading role in calling for , India , Australia and New Zealand , held its inaugural summit in 2005. China is also a founder and member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), alongside Russia and the Central Asian republics. Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's Peaceful Rise . Nonetheless, crises in relations with foreign countries have occurred at various times in its recent history, particularly with the United States ; e.g., the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo Conflict in May 1999 and the U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident in April 2001. China's foreign relations with many Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989. A much troubled foreign relationship is that between China And Japan , which has been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its war-time past to the satisfaction of the PRC, such as Revisionistic comments made by prominent Japanese officials, and insufficient details given to the Nanjing Massacre and other Atrocities committed during World War II in Japanese History Textbooks as well as the reluctance of the Chinese media and officials to acknowledge positive actions on the Japanese side. Another point of conflict between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government officials to the Yasukuni Shrine , which honors not only Japanese World War II dead but also many convicted World War II war criminals, including 14 Class A convictions. COMMUNIST PARTY The more than 63 million-member Communist Party Of China (CPC) continues to dominate government. In periods of relative liberalisation, the influence of people and organisations outside the formal party structure has tended to increase, particularly in the economic realm. Under the Command Economy system, every State Owned Enterprise was required to have a party committee. The introduction of the Market Economy means that economic institutions now exist in which the party has limited or no power. Nevertheless, in all governmental institutions in the PRC, the party committees at all levels maintain an important role. Central party control is tightest in central government offices and in urban economic, industrial, and cultural settings; it is considerably looser over government and party organizations in rural areas, where the majority of China's people live. Their most important responsibility comes in the selection and promotion of personnel. They also see that party and state policy guidance is followed and that non-party members do not create autonomous organizations that could challenge party rule. Particularly important are the Leading Small Group s which coordinate activities of different agencies. Although there is a convention that government committees contain at least one non-party member, a party membership is a definite aid in promotion and in being in crucial policy setting meetings. Theoretically, the party's highest body is the Party Congress , which is supposed to meet at least once every 5 years. Meetings became irregular during the Cultural Revolution but have been periodic since then. The party elects the Central Committee and the primary organs of power are formally parts of the central committee. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party include:
STATE STRUCTURE The primary organs of state power are the National People's Congress (NPC), the President , and the State Council . Members of the State Council include the Premier, a variable number of vice premiers (now four), five state councilors (protocol equal of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios), and 29 ministers and heads of State Council commissions. During the 1980s there was an attempt made to separate party and state functions, with the party deciding general policy and the state carrying it out. The attempt was abandoned in the 1990s with the result that the political leadership within the state are also the leaders of the party, thereby creating a single centralized locus of power. At the same time, there has been a convention that party and state offices be separated at levels other than the central government, and it is unheard of for a sub-national executive to also be party secretary. Conflict has been often known to develop between the chief executive and the party secretary, and this conflict is widely seen as intentional to prevent either from becoming too dominant. Some special cases are the Special Administrative Region s of Hong Kong and Macau where the Communist Party does not function at all as part of the governmental system, and the Autonomous Region s where, following Soviet practice, the chief executive is typically a member of the local ethnic group while the party general secretary is non-local and usually Han Chinese . Under the Constitution Of The People's Republic Of China , the NPC is the highest organ of state power in China. It meets annually for about 2 weeks to review and approve major new policy directions, laws, the budget, and major personnel changes. Most national legislation in China is adopted by the Standing Committee Of The National People's Congress . Most initiatives are presented to the NPCSC for consideration by the State Council after previous endorsement by the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. Although the NPC generally approves State Council policy and personnel recommendations, the NPC and its standing committee has increasingly asserted its role as the national legislature and has been able to force revisions in some laws. For example, the State Council and the Party have been unable to secure passage of a fuel tax to finance the construction of Freeway s. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS See Also: Political divisions of China
LOCAL GOVERNMENT See Also: Local government in the People's Republic of China Currently, local government in the People's Republic of China is structured in a hierarchy on four different levels. With the ''village'' being the grassroots (usually a hundred or so families), and not considered part of the hierarchy, local government advances through the ''township'', ''county'', ''prefecture'' or ''municipality'', and the ''province'' as the geographical area of jurisdiction increases. Each level in the hierarchy is responsible for overseeing the work carried out by lower levels on the administrative strata. At each level are two important officials. A figure that represents the Communist Party of China, colloquially termed the ''Party Chief'' or the ''Party Secretary'', acts as the policy maker. This figure is appointed by their superiors. The head of the local People's Government , is, in theory, elected by the people. Usually called a '' Governor '', '' Mayor '', or '' Magistrate '', depending on the level, this figure acts to carry out the policies and most ceremonial duties. The distinction has evolved into a system where the Party Secretary is always in precedence above the leader of the People's Government. After Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978 greater autonomy has been given to provinces in terms of economic policy implementation as well as other areas of policy such as education and transportation. As a result, some provincial authorities have evolved tendencies of operating on a ''de facto'' Federal system with Beijing. Prominent examples of greater autonomy are seen in the provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang , where local leaders do little to adhere to the strict standards issued by the Central Government, especially economic policy. In addition, conflicts have arisen in the relations of the central Party leaders with the few provincial-level Municipalities, most notably the Municipal Government Of Shanghai and the rivalry of former Beijing mayor Chen Xitong with President Jiang Zemin. The removal of Shanghai Municipality Party Secretary Chen Liangyu in September 2006 is the latest example. China's system of Autonomous Region s and autonomous prefectures within provinces are formally intended to provide for greater autonomy by the ethnic group majority that inhabits the region. In practice, however, Beijing will often appoint loyal party cadres (almost always a Han Chinese ) to oversee the local work as Party secretary, while the ethnic ''Chairman'' of the region's government is regarded as its nominal head. Power rests with the Party secretary. To avoid the solidification of local loyalties during a cadre's term in office, the central government freely and frequently transfers party cadres around different regions of the country, so a high ranking cadre's career might include service as governor or party secretary of several different provinces. THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY The Communist Party Of China created and leads the People’s Liberation Army . After the PRC established in 1949, the PLA also became a state military. The state military system inherited and upholds the principle of the Communist Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces. The Party and the State jointly established the Central Military Commission that carries out the task of supreme military leadership over the armed forces. The 1954 PRC Constitution provides that the State President directs 统帅 the armed forces and made the State President the chair of the Defense Commission (the Defense Commission is an advisory body, it does not lead the armed forces). On September 28, 1954, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party re-established the Central Military Commission as the leader of the PLA and the people’s armed forces. From that time onwards, the system of joint system of Party and state military leadership was established. The Central Committee of the Communist Party leads in all military affairs. The State President directs the state military forces and the development of the military forces managed by the State CouncilPu Xingzu, Chapter 11, The State Military System in "The Political System of the People's Republic of China",(Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Zhengzhi Zhidu) Chief Editor Pu Xingzu, Shanghai, 2005, Shanghai People’s Publishing House. ISBN 7-208-05566-1. In December 1982, the fifth National People’s Congress revised the State Constitution to provide that the State Central Military Commission leads all the armed forces of the state. The chair of the State CMC is chosen and removed by the full NPC while the other members are chosen by the NPC Standing Committee. However, the CMC of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Of China remained the Party organization that directly leads the military and all the other armed forces. In actual practice, the Party CMC, after consultation with the democratic parties, proposes the names of the State CMC members of the NPC so that these people after going through the legal processes can be elected by the NPC to the State Central Military Commission. That is to say, that the CMC of the Central Committee and the CMC of the State are one group and one organization. However, looking at it organizationally, these two CMCs are subordinate to two different systems – the Party system and the State system. Therefore the armed forces are under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party and are also the armed forces of the state. This is a uniquely Chinese system that ensures the joint leadership of the Communist Party and the state over the armed forces. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
|