Politics of the People's Republic of China

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===Foreign relations===

Presidents Hu Jintao 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.

The Karakoram Highway connecting China and Pakistan is an example of China's international development involvements.

Main article: 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 Republic of China as the sole representative for "China" in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.^[1] It is considered a founding member of UN, though the PRC was not in control of China at the time. (See China and the United Nations). 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 free trade areas and security pacts amongst its Asia-Pacific neighbors. In 2004, China proposed an entirely new East Asia Summit (EAS) framework as a forum for regional security issues that pointedly excluded the United States.^[2] The EAS, which includes ASEAN Plus Three, 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. However, conflicts 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. Also, its foreign relations with many other 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. Another point of conflict between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government officials to the Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines thousands of convicted World War II war criminals, including 14 Class A convictions.

[edit] 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 maintain an important role. Party control is tightest in government offices and in urban economic, industrial, and cultural settings; it is considerably looser in the rural areas, which contains the majority of Chinese population. 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 groups 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:

• The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members;
• The Politburo, consisting of 22 full members (including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee);
• The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CPC, headed by the General Secretary;
• The Central Military Commission;
• The Discipline Inspection Commission, which is charged with rooting out corruption and malfeasance among party cadres.

[edit] 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 Regions of Hong Kong and Macau where the Communist Party does not function at all as part of the governmental system, and the autonomous regions 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 freeways.

[edit] Constitution

The PRC Constitution was first created on September 20, 1954. Before that, an interim Constitution-like document created by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was in force under the rule of Chowton Hung.

The 2nd and 3rd promulgations of the PRC Constitution took place against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution. The 2nd promulgation in 1975 shortened the Constitution to just about 30 articles, and contained Communist slogans and revolutionary language throughout. The role of courts was slashed, and the Presidency was gone. The 3rd promulgation in 1978 expanded the number of articles, but was still under the influence of the just-gone-by Cultural Revolution. It also, for the first time, mentioned the issue of Taiwan and declared that the PRC would "liberate" it.

The current Constitution is the PRC's 4th promulgation. On December 4, 1982, it was promulgated and has served as a stable Constitution for over 20 years. The role of the Presidency and the courts were normalized, and under the Constitution, all citizens were equal. Amendments were made in 1988, 1993, 1999, and most recently, in 2004, which recognised private property, safeguarded human rights, and further promoted the non-public sector of the economy.

[edit] The People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is controlled not by the State Council but rather by the Central Military Commission, a body which consists mostly of military officers but is chaired by a civilian, since 2004 Hu Jintao. Unlike most national armies, the Ministry of National Defense which is in the State Council has very little power and exists mostly to coordinate liaison activities with other militaries. This makes the PLA effectively an army of the Party, not the state, although the suitability of this arrangement during the recent drive to professionalize and modernize the PLA has also been debated.

In practice, the Central Military Commission follows the decisions of the Central Military Committee of the Communist takes some elaborate procedures to ensure the loyalty of the military including the zampolit system by which each army unit has a political officer who is answerable not to the military but rather to the party. In addition, there has been a strong desire by the political elite to professionalize the PLA and decrease its political role. Nevertheless, the PLA has in the past been an important political force when the civilian leadership has been deadlocked, and retains the potential to play such a role in the future.

[edit] Executive branch

The President and vice president are elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms. The State Council is appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC).

[edit] Politburo Standing Committee

• Hu Jintao (General Secretary)
• Wu Bangguo
• Wen Jiabao
• Jia Qinglin
• [[
• Huang Ju
• Wu Guanzheng
• Li Changchun
• Luo Gan

[edit] Full Politburo Members

Wang Lequan - Wang Zhaoguo - Hui Liangyu - Liu Qi - Liu Yunshan - Li Changchun - Wu Yi - Wu Bangguo - Wu Guanzheng - Zhang Lichang - Zhang Dejiang - Chen Liangyu (since sacked) - Luo Gan - Zhou Yongkang - Hu Jintao - Yu Zhengsheng - He Guoqiang - Jia Qinglin - Guo Boxiong - Huang Ju - Cao Gangchuan - Zeng Qinghong - Zeng Peiyan - Wen Jiabao -

[edit] Alternate Politburo Members

• Wang Gang

[edit] See also

• Political position ranking of PRC
• Generations of Chinese leadership

[edit] Legislative branch

The unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui has 2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms).

[edit] Political parties and elections

The following election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in the People's Republic of China. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the People's Republic of China.

No substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has classified Falun Gong (a controversial spiritual movement that Beijing has defined as a "cult") and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals.

The country is mainly run by the Communist Party of China (CPC), but there are other political parties in the PRC, called "democratic parties", which participate in the People's Political Consultative Conference but mostly serve to endorse CPC policies. While there have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town levels,^[3] and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the party retains effective control over governmental appointments. This is because, in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by default in most electorates. ^[4] The CPC has been enforcing its rule by clamping down on political dissidents while simultaneously attempting to reduce dissent by improving the economy and allowing public expression of people's personal grievances given that they are not organizers. Current political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the government leadership.^[5] The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because consistently contested national elections are absent^[6], as there are no opposition political party and independent candidates elected into office are too scattered and disorganized to realistically challenge the Communist Party rule. Also, private conversations and anecdotal information often reveal conflicting views. However, according to a survey conducted in Hong Kong, where a relatively high level of freedom is enjoyed, the current CPC leaders have received substantial votes of support when its residents were asked to rank their favourite Chinese leaders from Mainland and Taiwan.^[7]

The eight registered minor parties have existed since before 1950. These parties all formally accept the leadership of the Communist Party of China and their activities are directed by the United Front bureau of the Chinese communist party. Their original function was to create the impression that New China was ruled by a wide national front, not a one-party dictatorship. The major role of these parties is to organize niches such as academics. Although these parties are tightly organized and do not challenge the Communist Party, members of the parties often individually are found in policy making state organizations, and there is a convention that state institutions generally have at least one member from a minor political party.

The minor parties include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang, founded in 1948 by dissident members of the mainstream Kuomintang then under control of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek; China Democratic League, begun in 1941 by intellectuals in education and the arts; China Democratic National Construction Association, formed in 1945 by educators and national capitalists (industrialists and business people); China Association for Promoting Democracy, started in 1945 by intellectuals in cultural, education (primary and secondary schools), and publishing circles; Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party, originated in 1930 by intellectuals in medicine, the arts, and education; China Party for Public Interest (China Zhi Gong Dang), founded in 1925 to attract the support of overseas Chinese; Jiusan Society, founded in 1945 by a group of college professors and scientists to commemorate the victory of the "international war against fascism" on September 3; and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, created in 1947 by "patriotic supporters of democracy who originated in Taiwan and now reside on the mainland."

Coordination between the 8 registered minor parties and the Communist Party of China is done through the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

[edit] Political conditions

[edit] Legal System

Main article: Law of the People's Republic of China

A complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since January 1, 1987; new legal codes in effect since January 1, 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law. According to Amnesty International between 1500 and 2000 people are reported executed in mainland China each year. However, some human rights activists believe that not all executions are reported with some estimates of the number of actual executions as high as 15,000. Public sentiment, however, appears to be overwhelmingly in support of the death penalty in response to a perception that crime is a serious problem.

The government's efforts to promote rule of law are significant and ongoing. After the Cultural Revolution, the PRC's leaders aimed to develop a legal system to restrain abuses of official authority and revolutionary excesses. In 1982, the National People's Congress adopted a new state constitution that emphasized the concept of rule of law by which party and state organizations are all subject to the law. (The importance of the rule of law was further elevated by a 1999 Constitutional amendment.) Many commentators have pointed out that the emphasis on rule of law increases rather than decreases the power of the Communist Party of China because the party is in a better position to change the law.

Since 1979, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 301 laws and regulations, most of them in the economic area, have been promulgated. (After China's entry into the WTO, many new economically-related laws have been put in place, while others have been amended.) The use of mediation committees - informed groups of citizens who resolve about 90% of the PRC's civil disputes and some minor criminal cases at no cost to the parties - is one innovative device. There are more than 800,000 such committees in both rural and urban areas.

Legal reform became a government priority in the 1990s. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nation's lawyers, judges, and prisons was enacted. The 1994 Administrative Procedure Law allows citizens to sue officials for abuse of authority or malfeasance. In addition, the criminal law and the criminal procedures laws were amended to introduce significant reforms. The criminal law amendments abolished the crime of "counter-revolutionary" activity (and references to "counter-revolutionaries" disappeared with the passing of the 1999 Constitutional amendment), while criminal procedures reforms encouraged establishment of a more transparent, adversarial trial process. The PRC Constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, although those laws also provide for limitations of those rights.

Although the human rights situation in mainland China has improved markedly since the 1960s (the 2004 Constitutional amendments specifically stressed that the State protects human rights), the government remains authoritarian and determined to prevent any organized opposition to its rule such as Tibetan and Xinjiang separatists. Amnesty International estimates that the PRC holds several thousand political prisoners. Although illegal, there have been reports of torture by civil authorities.

[edit] Other factions

See Chinese democracy movement.

[edit] Ethnic issues

The PRC officially describes itself as a multiethnic state providing ethnic autonomy in the form of autonomous administrative entities in accordance with Section 6 of Chapter 3 (Articles 111-122) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and with more detail under the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy. PRC policy gives advantages to ethnic minorities in areas such as population control, school admissions, government employment, and military recruitment. It also officially condemns Han chauvinism, referring to all 56 official nationalities as equal members of the Chinese nation (Zhonghua Minzu). While some people inside and outside China view the policies as assuaging some of the grievances of the minorities and encouraging them to take a fuller role in the PRC, others are critical of them for various reasons.

The PRC faces independence movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, and to a lesser degree, Inner Mongolia. Many Tibetans and Uyghurs consider their territories countries in their own rights, and resent Chinese rule as colonialism. As such, independence groups and many foreign observers are critical of the PRC's ethnic policies, considering reality to be markedly different from the image presented by the PRC. For example, Han Chinese have been moving into Xinjiang and Tibet for over 50 years. Before market reforms, many of these were workers, soldiers, and prisoners assigned compulsorily to settle in those regions, carried out by organizations like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Market reforms in recent years and the development of tourism have resulted in a large influx of economic migrants into Xinjiang and Tibet in search of private business opportunities; moreover the government carries out programs that move peasants from overcrowded regions in the interior of China into sparsely populated regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet. Finally, cadres and professionals have also been enticed with financial incentives, though demographically speaking this category is comparatively insignificant (numbering in the thousands, e.g. [1]), the cadres involved are posted for a few years before being replaced (e.g. [2]), and such programs are focused upon the entire impoverished western half of China, not just Xinjiang and Tibet. Independence groups consider practices such these to be chauvinistic and colonial, aimed at demographically swamping non-Han Chinese areas and reducing the possibility that any independence movement could succeed. One prominent example is Xinjiang, where official statistics show that the Han Chinese population has increased drastically over the past five decades and has nearly caught up with the Uyghur population.

Some Han Chinese are also critical of the above policies. Han Chinese in Xinjiang or Inner Mongolia, faced with both a local population hostile to their presence and policies that discriminate against them in areas from education to employment, are generally resentful and believe they are treated as second-class citizens subject to double racism perpetrated by both the locals and their own government, a feeling shared to a lesser extent by Han Chinese in areas where ethnic tensions are not as severe, such as Guangxi. These Han Chinese people therefore tend to support reducing, or abolishing altogether, the policies they perceive as unfair. Some also consider these policies to have actually encouraged the formation of independence movements and threatened the territorial integrity of China, by acknowledging the emotional ties of peoples to their territories. While both opinions are criticized as Han chauvinist, supporters of these views would argue that all official minorities, including Han Chinese and others, should be abolished in favour of an overarching Zhonghua Minzu concept. Finally, many Han Chinese people consider criticisms by independence groups to be unfounded and politically motivated, as most recent migrants are simply taking advantage of the freedom of movement made possible by market reforms; moreover it is regarded as only natural that the government would attempt to entice talented professionals to move into impoverished areas that they would otherwise never go to. They may consider perceptions of being conquered and oppressed among Uyghurs and Tibetans to be a result of the nature of the current political system, to be solved by democratization and liberalization that give a greater voice to minority groups, rather than independence movements.

[edit] Administrative divisions

22 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural) under the control of the PRC; Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing Municipality**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Menggu*(Inner Mongolia), Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang
note: The PRC considers Taiwan, which is independentally controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), its 23rd province; the ROC also controls Kinmen and part of Lienchiang counties of Fujian province.

See also: Political divisions of China

[edit] International disputes

The PRC is in a number of international territorial disputes, several of which involved the Sino-Russian border. China's territorial disputes have led to several localized wars in the last 50 years, including the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 and the Sino-Vietnam War in 1979. In 2001, the PRC and Russia signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, ^[8] which paved the way in 2004 for Russia to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing border dispute between Russia and China. Other territorial disputes include islands in the East and South China Seas, and undefined or disputed borders with India, Tajikstan and North Korea.

See also: Political status of Taiwan

[edit] International organization participation

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CDB (non-regional), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, United Nations, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

[edit] Nationality

In general, naturalisation or the obtainance of People's Republic of China nationality is very difficult. The Nationality Law prescribes only three conditions for the obtainance of PRC nationality (marriage to a PRC national is one, permanent residence is another).

Citizens of the People's Republic of China, according to law, are not permitted to hold Multiple citizenship. If foreign nationality is granted to the PRC citizen, he or she loses Chinese nationality automatically. If the citizen then wishes to resume PRC nationality, the foreign nationality is no longer recognised.

[edit] External links and references

• Inside China's Ruling Party (BBC)
• Is China really a Communist state? (CNN)
• New York Times article of September 5, 2002 on Succession of Rule in China
• Chinese Officials Lighten Up Under Pressure (China Today)
• China's New Rulers: The Secret Files, Andrew J. Nathan and Bruce Gilley, New York Review of Books Press, 2002, hardcover, 150 pages, ISBN 1-59017-046-6
• USC Center on Public Diplomacy Nation Profile - Blogging & China