People’s Republic of China

5 th Period Kevin Pace, Tessa Webb, and Kristina Kelhofer

Political Institutions: Geography

• 9,595,960 square kilometers • Largest population • • Third largest land mass Consists of 22 provinces • Rivers and ocean access • Isolated

Political Institutions: Levels of Government

• 3 levels- national, provincial, local • Unitary system- Communist Party • Centralized politically

Political Institutions: Executives

•

Heads of state

President: Xi Jinping serve 5 year terms (10 year limit) • Vice president: Li Yuanchao serve 5 year terms (10 year limit) •

Heads of government

Premier: Li Kegiang nominated by president, confirmed by NPC • Executive Vice Premier: Zhang Gaoli • 3 vice premiers: Liu Yandong, Wang Yang, Ma Kai

President Xi Jinping Premier Li Kegiang

Presidential Powers

• Commander in chief • Authority over foreign affairs • No right to veto • Power to pardon • Appoints the Premier

Premier Powers

• State Council • Chinese Bureaucracy • Technical details of implementing policy

Electoral System

• SELECTED for positions • Communist Party • There are competitive elections at local levels • Illusion of competitive elections

Recent Elections

• President (Xi Jinping) and Vice President (Li Yuanchao) were elected in March, 2013.

• President received 2,952 NPC votes and Vice President received 2,940 votes (2,987 total seats) • Premier and 4 Vice Premiers all appointed and confirmed March, 2013.

Referendums

• There are no official referendums in China

The Cabinet (State Council)

• State council selected by party • 25 members after 2013 reform (two fewer members) • 35 members including the Premier, 4 Vice premiers, and 5 State Councilors • Foreign affairs • Carrying out policy • Such as internal politics, diplomacy, national defense, finance, economy, culture, and education.

Single Political Movement State

• Political power is by law is given to a single political party • This political party controls the government hierarchy •

Communist Party of China

Major Political Parties

•

Communist Party of China

•

Minor parties-United Front

Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang • Democratic League • • Democratic National Construction Association Association for Promoting Democracy • Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party • Zhi Gong Party • Jiusan Society • Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League

Political Parties’ Ideology

• Communist Party “is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, the faithful representative of the interests of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, and the core of leadership of the Chinese socialist cause.” • United Front • Symbolic group • No real power

Legislature

• Unicameral • National People’s Congress • • 2,987 seats Only meets every 5 years • Made up of China Communist Party members •

Standing committee is the top of the legislative branch with the majority of the power

Communist Party levels

Within the National Party’s Congress

• Central Committee • 350 members (some are just alternates) • • Meets annually for about a week Carries out duties of National Party’s Congress between sessions • Their meeting (plenums) are the gathering of political elite

Central Committee

Within the National Party’s Congress

• Politburo • Has 25 members • Chosen from the Central Committee • Standing Committee • Has only 7 members • Meet in secret • Chosen from the Politburo

Powers of the National People’s Congress

• “Elect the president” and approve all appointments such as the Premier • • Gives legal sanctions

“Rubber Stamp”

Powers of the Standing Committee (People’s Congress)

• Makes laws and legislation jointly with the National People’s Congress Interpreting the constitution • • Supervising the enforcement of the constitution Preforming National People’s Congress’s responsibilities when it is not in session

Elections to the National People’s Congress

• On Paper • Direct Elections- Local levels(plurality) • • Those congresses elect officials to the 23 providential congresses The Standing Committee is elected from the National People’s Congress • Reality • The party pulls up members of lower levels

Elections to the National People’s Congress and Standing Committee

• Highly controlled by the Communist Party of China • Only truly competitive elections are at the local levels

Most Recent Elections

Parties • • • • • • • • • •

Communist Party of China

•

United Front

( 中国共 产 党 ) Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang ( 民革 China Democratic League China Democratic National Construction Association China Association for Promoting Democracy ( 民 进 ) Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party ( 民建 ) ( 农 工民主党 ) Zhigongdang of China ( 民盟 ) ( 中国致公党 ) Jiusan Society ( 九三学社 ) Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League Non-partisans ( 台盟 )

Total

Seats 2,157 830

2,987

Membership

Congress First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth

1954 1959 1964 1975 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 Year 1226 1226 3040 2885 3497 2978 2978 2978 2979 2985 2987 2987 Total deputies 147 150 542 653 742 632 634 626 650 604 637 699 Female deputies Female % 12 12.2

17.8

22.6

21.2

21.2

21.3

21 21.8

20.2

21.3

23.4

178 179 372 270 381 403 445 439 428 414 411 409 Minority deputies Minority % 14.5

14.6

12.2

9.4

10.9

13.5

14.9

14.8

14.4

13.9

13.8

13.7

Policy Making in China

• Communist Party • Party leadership tends to take a backseat on policy making • • Not transparent to the public Five year plans

Chinese Elites

• Leaders of the Communist party are leaders of government • Elites are recruited, NOT elected • “A glance at history suggests it's easier for a Chinese woman to orbit Earth than to land a spot on the highest rung of Chinese politics.”

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy and Policy

• Downsize its bureaucracy • Combining ministries • • Corruption has plagued ministries such as the Railways Ministry The ministry most associated with the policy, is able to comment and influence policy

Downsizing the Bureaucracy

Interest Groups

•

Divided into 7 major groups:

Powerful central government departments and their officials • • Local governments and their officials State owned enterprises and their executives • Transnational capital and its domestic agencies • Real estate developers • Large private enterprises and capitals • Experts and scholars who depend on other 6 categories

Interest Groups

• Interest coalitions • mass organizations allow people to express their views (Limited) • Oppose Social and Political reform in china that may damage their interests • Danwei-social units to group citizens

Interest Groups

• All China Federation of Trade Unions • 134 million members • Largest trade union • mass organization of the working class formed voluntarily by the Chinese workers and staff member • All-China Women’s Federation

Military

• Military People’s Liberation Army • Consists of 2.3 million active members and 12 million reserves • No formal political powers • Has some influences • Lead by central military commission (president generally is head) • Ground force, Navy, Air force, and Second Artillery Corps.

The Judiciary

• The courts- not autonomous • President appoints then the National People’s Congress approves • 4 tier system • No judicial review

Judiciary- 4 tier system

• Supreme Court -It is the court of last resort • High Court • • Intermediate Court Grassroots Court

Judiciary- Laws

• Common law- all decisions are based on the CCP • • Codified Law- Constitution is not the Supreme Law and is subject to change Rule of Law- started being used after Mao’s era (1978)

Chinese Corporatism

• Chooses one organization to listen to • This one organization doesn’t represent the interest of the public as a whole.

Chinese corporatism

• If there are multiple groups, they will be forced to merge or one will disband.

• Leaders of these organizations are also government officials

Day Two

Political Culture

• Multidimensional and deep • Comes from • Geographical features • Eras of History • Dynastic Rule • Resistance to Imperialism • Maoism • Deng Xiaoping Theory

Political Culture From Eras of History

• Dynastic Rule • Confucian values • Ethnocentrism • Resistance to imperialism • Nationalism • “Foreign devils” • Maoism • Strength of the peasant • Struggle/Activism • Mass Line • Egalitarianism • Self Reliance

Political Culture

• Deng Xiaoping Theory • Capitalism and Socialism • No increase in individual freedoms/democracy • Patron-clientelism • Conflicting attitudes about Western culture

Political Socialization

• Family • Education • Political Parties • Chinese Communist Party Youth League

Cleavages

• Class • Ethnicity/Nationality • Autonomous Areas • Tibetans • Uighurs • Language • Urban vs. Rural • Disparity of Wealth • Population Migration

Role of the Media

• State run before 1980’s • Heavy Censorshio • Xinhua (Government) • People’s Daily (Central Committee of the CCP) • CCTV (Major Television Broadcaster) • Increasingly commercialized • Increase of Investigative Reporting

Political Participation

• Subjects (Pre-1949) • “Cadres” • Communist state • Party to citizen • Economy to citizens to government • “Technocrats” • Hu Jintao’s “harmonious development”

Political Participation

• NGO’s • Elections • Local level • 8 “democratic” parties • Protest

Political Violence

• Tiananmen Square • Precedent of repression • Tibetan Riots • Torch Relay • Riots in Xinjiang • Hukou

Roles of Women

• All-China Federation of Trade Union • “One child policy” • 18 th • National Party’s Congress 22.6% women delegates • 4.9% Central Committee • 2 women in Politburo (25 members total) • “Women hold up half of the heavens.” –Mao

Civil War

• Legend of the Long March • Mao vs. Chiang • Chiang fled to Taiwan • Peoples Republic of China • Communist rule • “Two Chinas” • Democratic Centralism

Modern Social Movements

• Cultural Revolution (1966-76) • Ethic of struggle • Mass line • Collectivism • Egalitarianism • Unstinting service to society • Deng Xiaoping’s Modernizations (1977-97) • Education reform • Restoration of Old China

Modern Political Changes

• Fang-shou • Lack of transparency • Politburo accepting input from the National People’s Congress • Emphasis on laws/legal procedures • Semi-competitive village elections • Candidate choices and freedom • Wukan • Rule of Law • Procuratorate

Modern Economic Changes

• “iron rice bowl”  socialist market economy • Gradual infusion of capitalism • Peoples Communes  Responsibility System Household • Private Business • Township and village enterprises • Slowed migration to cities

Consequences

• High unemployment • Floating population • Inefficiency of state sector • Corruption and too many workers • Pollution • SEPA • Product Safety • Loss of Control

Relationship Between Economic and Political Reform

• International Trade • Open door policy • Special Economic Zones • Foreign investment • Business freedom but not individual freedoms • Gradualism

Reform and Globalization

• Fear of Westernization • Impacts of 2008 economic crisis • Pump-priming

Day Three

Major Players in Public Policy • National People’s Congress (Standing committee)- Establishes laws, ratify policy, and delegate authority • The State Council- oversees all policy making, presents final policies to NPC for adoption, and can make administrative regulation separate from NPC • Leading Small Groups(LSGs)- provide supervision and guidance for lower level ministries on important issues • State Council Legislative Affairs Office(SCLAO)- Reviews and revises drafts of policy before they reach the State Council

Major Players in Public Policy • Ministries, Bureaus, agencies, and commissions- have partial responsibility in implementing policy • Research institutions- provide suggestions and consult with ministries • Businesses and industry- lobby for policy changes and can call for new policy • Communist Party of China sets the overall direction of policy and appoints officials to ministries, State Council, and State owned enterprises

Supranational influence • Member of the UN- one of the 5 permanent members of the National Security Office • Removal of Republic of China from UN in 1980 • World Bank member • G20 • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (trading organization)

Economic Performance • “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” • Has attempted to expand the service industry • Expands domestic demand to expand employment • Problem: Surplus of labor force (mainly urban) • Shows more privatized industry, but still highly regulated

Dealing with Inflation • Command economy- able to make economic decisions easily for the country • Real estate sector and home owners

Education • State run system of public education run by the Ministry of education.

• Ministry of Education reported a 99 percent attendance rate for primary school and an 80 percent rate for both primary and middle schools.

• 9 years of school • 1980s- first private school • Expansion in education

Enrollment in Different Levels of Schools

Enrollment Compared to other Countries

Health and Poverty • Many poor villages or towns cannot afford quality services • Households cannot afford high costs of basic services • Government shifted to fund heath/education • Decentralized fiscal System- local gov. funds health and education • Exact statistics are disputed • Health and Poverty have been affected by dismantling of the state health care system and the " Iron rice bowl" system of guaranteed employment and benefits

Poverty Level in China

Income • • • • Poverty has declined since 1981 China government will not release Gini index Income disparity has increased initiating market reforms in 1978, China has shifted from a centrally planned to a market based economy and experienced rapid economic and social development.

• • Average annual income for a family in 2012 was 13,000 renminbi, or about $2,100.

Uneven distribution of wealth

Civil Rights • Propaganda Department if the Communist Party Of China censors news. • Mainland Chinese media still under control of the CPC despite promises of more freedom • Subversion of State Power Clause • Protection of State Secret Clauses • 1982 Constitution guarantees freedom of speech • Have Protest Parks for authorized protesting-not successful

Corruption • • PRC withholds information • Data that is accurate is hard to find- Highly Censored International Corruption Perceptions Index-ranked 80 th • Ex: Director of the food and drug agency was executed for accepting bribes • Theft, misuse of funds, and bribery of public funds • Enhances economic inequality

Terrorism • Xinjiang • Muslim ethnic group often a source of violence • PRC promoted atheism which reinforced Islam principles There have been allegations that the Chinese government has been applying charges of terrorism in an inconsistent and sometimes politically motivated manner.

Prediction time: China will experience unprecedented terrorism over the next few years.

Environment • Severe environmental pollution and deterioration • Many Chinese people do not have access to clean drinking water • • Rivers are polluted by industrial waste 2006 Drought considered worst drought in 50 years • Since 2002, the number of complaints to the environmental authorities increased by 30 percent every year • Good news- invest highly in renewable energy. (Wind Turbines and Solar Panels)

Population • “One Child Policy” • Value males more than females- 120 boys for every 100 girls.

• • Selective abortion Population is aging • Almost half of all Chinese live in urban areas today • 70% of Chinese will live in urban areas by 2035.

• 56 different ethnic groups

Internal Migration • People are immigrating to urban cities • Urbanization • Religion • Employment • Poverty • Education • Standard of living

Events • 1989-Jian Zemin takes over as Chinese Communist Party general secretary 1992- Russia and China sign declaration restoring friendly ties 1993- Jian Zemin replaces Yang Shangkun as president 1994- Abolishses the Renminbi currency exchange rate 1997- Rioting erupts in Yining, Xinjiang (Deng Xiaoping died) 2000- Execution of former chaiman of the National Peoples Congress (taking bribes) 2001-joins World Trade Union 2005- China and Russia hold their first joint military exercise

Events • 2007- new labor laws introduced after men and boys were found working as slaves in brick factories • • 2008- Earthquake in Sichuan Province. Hosts Beijing Olympics Russia and China sign a deal (25bn) to supply China with oil for 20 years in exchange for loans • 2010- Google ends its compliance with Chinese internet censorship • • 2012-Communist Party holds congress expected to start a once-in-a decade transfer of power to a new generation of leaders.

2014-China allows foreign companies majority ownership of some telecom and internet services in the Shanghai free trade zone.