Governance and Policy Making

States that China is under the Communist Party’s Leadership Last 50 years: many changes have been made Reflective of leader “socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship” People= leaders and supporters of socialism Prohibited to disrupt the socialist system

Communist Party Domination Government and social institutions National government has high control over other levels of government Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Best intentions of people “leading role” in society Objective: egalitarian and classless society

China practices Marxism/ Leninism Ideology Karl Marx ( ) Class inequality Vladimir Lenin ( ) Workers, and Communist leadership Mao Zedong Peasants “Mao Zedong Thought”

CCP has a separate constitution 4 main leading bodies Standing Committee Politburo Central Committee National Party Congress Highest Power Lowest Power

National Party Congress 2,100 delegates Meet 1 week every 5 years Approve decisions already made Central Committee 205 full time members (171 alternates) 5 year terms All are CCP leaders Meet 1 week every year (plenums) elects Both are closely controlled by top leaders

Politburo 25 members ( alt.) 7 are in Standing Committee as well All but 1 member have undergrad or advance degrees Standings Committee 7 members (from Politburo) Much of their work is done in secret Zhongnanhai “Middle Southern Sea” Education in leadership shows dramatic change since Mao and Deng

Before 1982 Chairman of the Politburo’s Standing Committee Mao for 3 decades (until death in 1976) Title of Chairman has been abolished. Now General Secretary Presides over Politburo and Standing Committee Xi Jinping is President Li Kequiang is Premier/Prime Minister

Now there is more collective leadership with the Standing Committee and Politburo Li Kequiang Private sector, partnership between CCP and entrepreneurs Xi Jinping Calling attention to inequality, pollution, health care, and social security Continuing Hu’s “harmonious social society” Retired leaders still have a large influence

Secretariat Day to Day work Coordinates and organizes between leadership groups Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) Monitors compliance of party members : 518,484 Minor= prohibition and retribution Serious= court for prosecution, jail time, or execution

Party Organizations in provinces, cities, and counties Headed by secretary and Party Committee 3.6 million organizations (branches/ cells) Found anywhere there are 3 or more party members Helps to Extend CCP’s reach to society

government administration has become more decentralized central government retains power to intervene in local affairs when and where it wants Rural villages are self governing; bringing roots of democracy to the country

Layers beneath central government: Provinces, cities, counties, rural towns 4 Large centrally administered cities 5 autonomous regions all levels have a representative people’s congress that meets infrequently

People’s National Congress: china’s national legislature examples: The Provincial People’s Congress, City People’s Congress, and Rural Township People’s Congress empowered to supervise the work of the people’s governments

National People’s Congress elects the President and VP term is limited to 5 years, and only 2 consecutive terms can be served position is largely ceremonial Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi serve(d) concurrently as both CCP general Secretary and PRC president

called The Premier has authority over the government bureaucracy and policy implementation appointed by the president and approved by the National People’s Congress also can only serve a maximum of 2 consecutive 5 year terms Current Premier is Li Kequiang He is known as the “People’s Premier”

People’s Liberation Army- 2.3 million active duty personnel Formal reserve of 500,000 to 800,000 people People’s Militia- 10 to 12 million Military Service Law – The power to enlist any man or woman between the ages of 18 to 22

$58.8 billion spent on defense in % increase from the previous year Less in total and per capita than the United States, spending $650 billion on defense in 2007 Military commissions (CMC) of the CCP and the PRC are in charge of the armed forces

People’s Armed Police (PAP)- 1.5 million Ministry of State Security- 1.7 million Ministry of Public Security – Labor camps – Contain millions of prisoners – Can detain people indefinitely without formally charging them

Four Tiered court Supreme Higher Intermediate Grassroots People’s Procuratorate Nationwide Serves in the courts as a public prosecutor

Outcome of criminal court cases is basically predetermined Conviction rate is 98-99% Death penalty must be approved by supreme court Led the world in the application of the death penalty in 2007 with 470 verified executions

Courts and legal bodies remain under party control China has become a country where there is rule by law Far from having established the rule of law

Layers beneath central government: Provinces, cities, counties, rural towns 4 large centrally administered cities 5 autonomous regions all levels have a representative people’s congress that meets infrequently

government administration has become more decentralized central government retains power to intervene in local affairs when and where it wants Rural villages are self governing; bringing roots of democracy to the country

fragmented authoritarianism: China is still an authoritarian state, far from being a democracy where public opinion, party competition, media scrutiny, and interest groups have an impact on policy decisions. Power had become more dispersed within China Decentralization has given local governments more influence

CCP and the Politburo have unchecked power all key government officials are also party members party organizations parallel government agencies at all levels of the system maintains an effective presence inside every government organization group made up of key officials

Nomenklatura system/ “cadre list”: communist party maintained control over the appointment of important officials in all spheres of social, economic, and political life covers millions of positions in the government and other institutions Is one of the most effective means for controlling major institutions such as banks, universities, and trade unions

Guanxi: connections; personal relationships Important part of political, social, and economic life Can either increase efficiency or feed corruption