Tania
Muscedere
The structure of
The structure of
In theory, the highest organ of the government is the legislature, called the National People’s Congress (NPC). The NPC has passed laws at controlling the environment for economic activity, which has expanded its authority. The NPC is responsible for all appointments of all major positions, but they act on the wishes of the CCP, and the General Secretary. In practice it is the cabinet, called the State Council which holds the most power. It is the State Council, headed by the premier, that has had a shift in government controlled reforms which has strengthened the power of the cabinet. These reforms have only been implemented since the 1970’s and are being examined by the CCP to see if they are worth keeping. Local governments have also gained greater authority to adapt national policies to their local circumstances, and have increased taxes which has decreased the amount of taxes going to the central government. This means that the CCP has withdrawn from the day-to-day details of local government affairs, and focuses on major policies. Members in the sate government are the key to allowing the CCP to restrict political activities that promote contrary views to their rule. This is effective in suppressing no significant opposition to ever emerge.
Executive Power:
· Order of power: General Secretary, President, Premier, and State Council.
·
Head of state is the President,
elected by the NPC for a five-year term. It is usually a ceremonial position,
because executive powers lay with the General Secretary of the State Council.
Usually, the General Secretary will also be the President, merging head of
state with head of government. This is an effective way in having only one
person ruling the party. It also gives this person more power. At the current
time, Hu Jintao is the
General Secretary, President and head of the CCP. He literally holds all the
power in
· The Premier, who is nominated by the president and elected by the NPC for a five-year term, heads State Council. The State Council’s Canadian equivalent is the federal cabinet. Just like our Canadian Cabinet, the State Council is made up of about 40 members and they head national-level commissions. Each member is nominated by the Premier and elected by the NPC.
Legislature
· The Chinese Legislature is based in the unicameral National People’s Congress. Members of the NPC are chosen in indirect elections by the provincial congress. These members serve for five-year terms. The provincial congress selects these members on the recommendation of the CCP.
· The NPC has 3,000 to 3,500 members. This makes their size too large for anything reasonable to get accomplished, their one month sessions too short and almost makes this body ineffective. This is why there are 150 members chosen to represent the NPC for the other 11 months of the year. This body is known as the standing committee.
· The Standing Committee represents the congress in a variety of functions, including passing laws, interpreting and supervising implementation of the constitution, and ratifying or nullifying treaties with foreign governments.
Judiciary
·
Since reforms in 1978,
· Judges are chosen by the CCP and supervised by the Ministry of Justice. Chinese law, which has been created and enacted by the government, permits the police and other authorities to impose up to three years of detention without a trial.
· If anyone goes on trial, it becomes a public affair. This means that trials are a way for the government to make a point with the public. It is a way to keep firm control over the general population.
·
The importance of the CCP is
astounding. In comparison to
·
The official word, is that the
CCP permits (within their newly created constitution), several minor political
parties to operate in
· So how does the CCP keep the Chinese people in check, and keep them towing the party line? The CCP must continue to serve their populous of youth, women and labourers. They have organised a Communist Youth League, which had 68 million members in the late 90’s. This is especially important so that they can continue recruiting young people who wish to prepare for CCP membership.
·
The CCP is concerned with
maintaining political stability through a combination of patriotic
indoctrination and police control. The party’s economic priorities include
increasing
· State- owned enterprises have gained autonomy, or privatised while a new sector of private and collective enterprises have developed largely independent of direct state control.
Sources:
Graham Hutchings, Modern
If you only have five minutes, check out the first
or the second sites!
http://countrystudies.us/china/110.htm
- This site uses information provided by the
U.S Library of Congress. It has a lot of details to muddle through, as well as
some conflicting terms, but overall it was the basis of my searching. It
provides clear answers to what the structure is, and how it works!
http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/china/government.htm
- This site was also at the bases of my searching, written for the Encarta Encyclopaedia. Therefore it has clear terms, and an unbiased viewpoint.
http://www.sinomania.com/CHINAPOLITICS/
-
No author listed. This is a website for Chinese news, and information. It
is out of date, but it does provide some valuable insight to how the government
is structured.
http://www.unescap.org/huset/lgstudy/country/china/china.html
- this is the website for the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/state_structure/64401.htm
- This is a good
website to get enough details without getting confused! There is no author
listed, but has some conflicting terms with the UN site. It seems to be pro-CCP
and pro-China, but other than that the way the structure is explained, makes
things clear to a non-Chinese citizen.
CONSTITUTION
By Patricia Simone
In order to grasp the current Constitution of China, need to understand the previous state Constitutions of 1954, 1975 & 1978.
1954
Constitution
v Adopted by the National People’s Congress on
v This Constitution was based on the Common Program which preceded it.
v Was replaced during the Cultural Revolution by the 1975
Constitution.
v Under the 1954 state constitution, local procuratorates that had been responsible both to the procuratorate at the next higher level and to the government at the corresponding level were responsible only to the procuratorate at the next higher level.
1975
Constitution
v Adopted during the Cultural Revolution. It was just a piece of paper with no force or
effect.
v The Constitution saw an integration of the State Constitution and
the Chinese Communist Party.
v Constitution was influenced by Mao. Preamble ended with Mao slogans
for new success.
v Rights of people were guaranteed but first had to be loyal to the
CPC.
v Constitution lasted until 1978.
1978
Constitution
v Came into effect after the Gang of Four was arrested.
v Citizen rights were reinstated.
v Some effects of the Cultural Revolution could still be felt.
v Legal reform was deemed essential not only to prevent a return to
power of the radicals but also to provide the legal structure for the economic
development that the country envisioned by the party leadership.
1982
Constitution
v Adopted by the National People’s Congress on
v Large sections are adopted from the 1978 Constitution as well as the
1954 Constitution.
v The constitution is divided into five chapters:
v Preamble
v General Principles
v Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
v Structure of State
v National Flag and Emblems of State
v Reflects Deng Xiaoping's determination to lay a lasting
institutional foundation for domestic stability and modernization.
v Provides a legal basis for changes in social and economic
institutions and revise government structure and procedures.
How is this
Constitution different?
v It deemphasizes class struggle and places top priority on
development and on incorporating the contributions and interests of nonparty
groups that can play a central role in modernization.
v It leaves out anything associated with the Cultural Revolution
incorporated in the 1978 version. In fact, the Constitution omits all
references to the Cultural Revolution and restates Mao Zedong's
contributions.
v The 1982 State Constitution is also more specific about the
responsibilities and functions of offices and organs in the state structure.
v Constitution provides an extensive legal framework for the
liberalizing economic policies of the 1980s.
v The 1978 constitution stressed "self-reliance" in
modernization efforts, and the 1982 constitution provides the basis for
considerable body of laws passed by the NPC and encouraging extensive foreign
participation in all aspects of the economy.
v Right to strike is omitted from 1982 Constitution but was included
in the 1978 Constitution.
Constitutional
Amendments
v Each amendment to the existing constitution is a result of changing
situations.
v There have been four amendments to the Constitution: 1988, 1993,
1999 & 2004.
v Amendments are proposed by the Standing Committee of the National
People’s Congress or by more than one-fifth of the deputies of the National
People’s Congress and adopted by a vote of more than two-thirds of all deputies
of the congress.
April 12, 1988: The First Session of the Seventh National People's Congress (NPC) in 1988 approved amendments to Article 11 of the Constitution: "The state permits private economy to exist and grow within the limits prescribed by law;" and whereby non-public economy is "a complement to the socialist public economy." The amendments lifted the ban on leases of land-use rights; and the revisions established the legal status of private economy and the country's new land-use rights system.