China political institutions Grant Wagner
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central bodies National Party Congress Central Committee Politburo/Standing Committee Organized hierarchically by levels Village/township County Province Nation
CCP- Elections Holds elections to legitimize the government and the CCP Direct elections are only at local level The party weeds out candidates it finds objectionable
Constitution (1982) Much of it was modeled after the Soviet Union Set up the Hierarchy of the government Village councils Local level people s Congresses Provincial People s Congresses National People s Congress Central government, ministries, Bureaus President, Premier, State Council Unicameral legislature
National People s Congress (NPC) Almost 3000 members Choses President, Vice President, & Premier They are pretty much told who to pick Elected for 5 year terms Meet in Beijing once a year in the spring Around 10-14 days Rubber stamp
NPC Standing Committee Elected by the NPC 166 members 115 of those belong to CCP Chairman of NPCSC is 3rd ranked in Politburo Standing Committee Has constitutional power to modify legislation set by the NPC
Central Government, Ministries, Bureaus Bureaucracy is set up just like Congresses and Judiciary National, provincial, county, local Lower level positions are held by cadres Public officials paid by the government or by the CCP 30 million cadres
Executive President Premier State Council
President Serves 5 year terms Limited to two terms Must be 45 years old Mostly a ceremonial role President is often the General Secretary of the CCP as well Current President is Xi Jinping
Premier Appointed by the President Head of government Similar to prime minister in UK Held by a member of the Politburo Standing committee Leader of the State Council Chosen every 5 years Currently Li Keqiang
State council At the top of the government side of the hierarchy Headed by the premier Similar to the United states cabinet 35 members Premier, 4 Vice Premiers, 5 state councilors, 25 additional ministers and chairs of major agencies
National Party Congress Consists of more than 2000 delegates Chosen by lower level congresses Meet once every 5 years Elect members to Central Committee Most important power Rubber stamp decisions
Central committee About 340 members Some of the members are alternates Meet once a year for about a week Called plenums They chose the Politburo Carry out the duties of the NPC
Politburo/ Standing Committee Politburo Consists of 24 members Meets monthly Politburo Standing Committee 7 members Most powerful organization of the CCP
General Secretary Highest ranking official in PRC Standing member of Politburo Traditionally the General Secretary is also the President Position used to be called Chairman Changed after Mao s death Chairman Mao held more power than today s General Secretaries
Branches of government and their arrangement Legislative Executive Judicial Military
Judicial Supreme People s Court Organized hierarchically like Congresses Does not have judicial review Approval for death penalty People s Procuratorate Provides public prosecutors and defenders to the courts Conviction rate of more than 99%
People s Liberation Army (PLA) Includes all the ground, air, and naval armed services in the country largest standing military 3 million active personnel 12 million reserves Military budget is 4% of the US, but rising 2.4 military personnel per 1000 people, US is 6.1 Does not have any official power, but has influence Party is in control of PLA, not the state
Central Military Commission Military representation in the government Has been led by many important party leaders
Electoral system Direct elections for Village Councils The people do not elect the president Hierarchal
Political party system The CCP allows 8 other political parties that are not communist. Tightly controlled by the CCP They are allowed as long as they do not oppose the CCP These parties do have seats in government
Democratic centralism For the people not by the people It was a principle from Lenin Party leaders provide opportunities for discussion, criticism, and proposals Top level party members make decisions
Leadership and Elite recruitment Guanxi Personal connections Same as patron client Prevalent a local level between ordinary people and village leaders or lower party officials Nomenklatura Choosing cadres from lower levels of the party and advancing them based of their loyalty to the party USSR did the same thing
Sources http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/about/2007-11/20/content_1373251.htm http://www.chinatoday.com/org/cpc/ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13904441 https://www.britannica.com/topic/peoples-liberation-army-chinese-army https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-7/basoc/ch-5.htm