China Political Institutions

1. China Political Institutions Yvonne Luk, Pd 7

2. Legislature Judiciary Party Government President General Secretary Supreme People’s Court Supreme People’s Procurator Standing Committee Premier Standing Committee Standing Committee Intermediate/Lower Court & Procurators National People’s Congress Politburo State Council Provincial Governments Provincial Congresses Central Committee Ministries & Commissions Municipal Governments Municipal Congresses National Party Congress County Governments County Congresses Township Governments Township Congresses

3. Intro • Authoritarian government • Democratic centralism • One party system basically - 8 other minor political parties that have to listen to the Chinese Communist Party

4. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or Communist Party of China (CPC) • Head: General Secretary • Current General Secretary: Xi Jinping • Largest political party in the world (85 million + members) • Exclusive membership – have to apply and go through rigorous examination • Nomenklatura system: management of all party and government officials in positions by party committees; recruitment and promotion of elites • Guanxi: personal connections that are important to gaining higher positions within the party

5. Party Structure National Party Congress • About 2000 delegates • Meets every 5 years - too infrequent to play a significant role in policy-making • Ratify important changes in broad policy – already decided by smaller party structures but sessions publicize changes • Elects the Central Committee Central Committee – the political elite • About 350 members • Meets every year – meetings are called plenums • Determines number of congress delegates and procedures for their election • Elects Politburo, Politburo Standing Committee, General Secretary, and Party Secretariat

6. Party Structure Politburo • 25 members – 7 on Politburo Standing Committee who each head an important area of national concern (such as economy or legislation) • Meetings held in secret – believed to be once every week

7. Party Political Structure • Party hierarchy similar to government hierarchy • On each level of government, Party has similar function, and Party has more power over government on each level • Many top members of the Party are also top members of the government

8. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) • “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” – Mao Zedong • Includes navy, air force, and army • Not national army but serves the Communist Party – de facto armed forces of China • Under command of the Central Military Commission of the CCP (and not Ministry of National Defense) • Chairman of CMC is Xi Jinping • 3 million active personnel

9. Legislature Structure National People’s Congress (NPC) – not to be confused with National Party Congress • Head: Chairman of the NPC • Current Chairman: Zhang Dejiang • Unicameral • Highest organization of state authority according to constitution • Delegates elected every 5 years • 2987 members • Formal powers include amendment of the constitution, passage and amendment of legislation, approval of economic plans and government work reports, and appointment/removal of top state and government leaders (such as president, vice president, premier of State Council, and president of the Supreme People’s Court)

10. Legislature Structure National People’s Congress (cont.) • Acts more as rubber stamp – decisions already made by the CCP • Standing Committee – about 150 members who are elected by the NPC from members of the NPC

11. Local Government Township County  Municipal  Provincial • At each of these levels is a government and congress • The congress at each level elects the corresponding level government • The congress at each level also elects the congress for the next level, except for the township and county congresses • Only time Chinese citizens are allowed to vote is for the township and county congresses • Provincial congresses elect members of the NPC

12. Government Structure • Head of State: President, who is elected by the NPC. Role is highly ceremonial. • Current President: Xi Jinping State Council • Head: Premier of the State Council – the “prime minister” • Current Premier: Li Keqiang • Composed of premier, cabinet of vice-premiers, state councilors, ministers • The premier of the State Council is nominated by the president, reviewed by the NPC, and appointed and removed by the president • Other members of the State Council are nominated by the premier, reviewed by the NPC, and appointed and removed by the president • In charge of ministries and commissions in bureaucracy implement and execute policy

13. Judicial Structure • Four-tier system (like local government) • Lower three tiers in charge of criminal and civil cases • Special jurisdiction courts for military, railroad transportation, and maritime • Special administrative regions (ex: Hong Kong and Macau) have their own judicial system • Criminal court has 99% conviction rate Supreme People’s Court • At top of four tier system • Judges selected by president, approved by NPC Supreme People’s Procuratorate • Highest agency responsible for prosecution and investigation

14. Media • Some independent media, but mostly state-run • All media outlets heavily censored by government – Propaganda Department • Xinhua is the official press agency • People’s Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee • China Central Television (CCTV) is the major state television broadcaster