Political System

1. The State

Chinas current constitution, first adopted by the National Peoples Congress (NPC) in 1982 and subsequently amended, is the countrys fourth and restored the office of President and Head of State. The current President and Head of State is Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003). The Vice President is Zeng Qinghong (also since 15 March 2003). 11 a. The State Council

The State Council is the official government of China. It initiates legislation and controls the civil service. Its leadership comprises: Premier: Vice-Premiers: State Councillors: Secretary General: Wen Jiabao Huang Ju, Wu Yi, Zeng Peiyan, Hui Liangyu Zhou Yongkang, Cao Gangchuan, Tang Jia Xuan, Hua Jianmin, Chen Zhili Hua Jianmin

Heads of Ministries, the Governor of the Peoples Bank of China and the Auditor-General of the National Audit Office are also members of the State Council. 12

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b.

The National Peoples Congress

The State Council is indirectly elected by the National Peoples Congress (NPC), which assembles in plenary every year to scrutinise and ratify its decisions. The approximately 3,000 Deputies that attend the NPC are elected indirectly every five years by the Peoples Congresses of Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Municipalities under Central Government and by the Peoples Liberation Army. In addition to indirectly electing the State Council, the NPC can also dismiss the holders of the top offices of state. The Standing Committee of the NPC has 175 members and is empowered to modify legislation between plenary sessions of the NPC. It also has quasijudicial functions in interpreting law. The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC is Wu Bangguo. In practice, although its scrutiny role has been enhanced in recent years and unanimous votes have become less frequent, the independent power of the NPC remains limited. For example, the Tenth National Peoples Congress of March 2003 elected Hu Jintao as President with a total of 2,937 votes. Just four delegates voted against him, four abstained, and 38 did not vote. 13 c. Regional and Local Government

Regional government comprises 22 Provinces, five Autonomous Regions, four Municipalities under Central Government (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin) and two Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macao which returned to China in 1997 and 1999. It was agreed on handover that the existing political and economic systems that prevailed prior to these dates will be maintained for 50 years. Governments at this level (with the exception of the Special Administrative Regions) are indirectly elected for five years at plenaries of their respective Peoples Congresses. Standing Committees carry out the work of the Congresses on a more permanent basis. Although China is a unitary State, power within the political system inevitably reflects economic weight. For example, Guangdong Provinces Gross Domestic Product in 2001 was over 80 times that of Tibet. 14 Local government comprises a three-level administrative network of Prefectures, Counties and Cities, Townships and Districts. 15 Their governments are indirectly elected for three years by their respective Peoples Congresses. It is important to note that various levels of state committees and the urban levels of government that there are also systems of governance that operate beneath the administration described above. These are the village resident committees. In contrast to their attitude with regard to are considered part of the state, the authorities have shown

some willingness over the past two decades to countenance direct elections to these

committees. 16 The village committees deal with all administrative matters, including tax collection, budgets, public services, order, welfare and dispute resolution. There have been attempts since 1987 to introduce direct elections to village committees. These innovations were part of wider efforts to restore some form of governance at village level after the dismantling of the commune system. The practice in terms of genuine competitive elections has varied enormously. The Committees are overseen by a village representative assembly (involving all residents over 18). Interference from above by officials is common. The leadership of the party remains unchallenged. 17 Nonetheless, "[F]or some, at least, the politics is real and deliberations are meaningful". 18 Reformers have also suggested that urban electoral reform should begin with direct elections to urban residents committees, which cover anywhere between 100 and 1,000 households. Their past role has been to monitor behaviour and ensure compliance with policies rather than promote political participation. Through the 1990s there were some trial direct elections. In 2000 Beijing Municipality announced it would sanction "open and fair" elections for the 5,000 residents committees in the city. 200 committees tried it. Others cities are also experimenting. 19 2. The Communist Party

Although there are other political organisations in China that accept the system, the only one that matters is the Communist Party. It holds real political power in Chinas de facto one party state. Party organisations run in parallel to those of the Government at all levels. The overwhelming majority of delegates to the NPC are party members. Party membership remains essential for a successful career, particularly in the public sector. Many successful entrepreneurs are also party members. Party membership has continued to increase. It now stands at nearly 70 million. 20 The partys statutes forbid all forms of personality cult, but democratic centralism tends to concentrate power in the hands of the Standing Committee of the Politburo and particularly the General Secretary of the Central Committee (Hu Jintao, also President and Head of State). 21 The partys structure is characterised by democratic centralism, a system whereby the individual party member is subordinate to the organisation, and where minority groups or opinions are subordinate to the wishes of the majority, embodied by the Central Committee. At the bottom of this pyramid are 3.5 million Primary Party Organisations: cells of at least 3 party members in workplaces and villages. Over 60 million party members elect 2,114 delegates to the National Congress of the Communist Party, which is held every five years. The National Congress elects the 198 members and 158

alternates of the Central Committee, which normally sits once a year. The size and infrequency of meetings of the Central Committee inhibit its ability to influence policy but it indirectly elects members of the 25-person Politburo and its Standing Committee of nine. The Politburo and particularly the smaller Standing Committee of the Politburo are where the overall policy of the Chinese Government is really decided. 3. The Military

The political system in China has one final pillar: the Peoples Liberation Army. At the head of the PLA is the Central Military Commission (CMC). The Chairmanship of the CMC is held by the President, presently Hu Jintao. The CMC is technically composed of two different committees, one indirectly elected by the NPC and the other by the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The two committees have the same membership, differing only in that their respective elections do not occur at the same time.