China

A

Constitution

The first constitution of the People’s Republic of China went into effect in 1954. It established the government structure and contained a long chapter on citizens’ rights and duties. The government adopted new constitutions in 1975 and 1978, and adopted the present constitution in 1982. Each constitution reflected the ideological concerns and policy priorities of the time, although none fundamentally altered the government structure. The present constitution echoes the formality and detail of the first, reflecting an ideological return to the concept of rule of law. All of the constitutions nominally centralized power in the National People’s Congress, giving it the power to appoint and supervise the top officials of both the executive and the judicial branches. The 1982 constitution was amended in 1993 to confirm the practice of a “socialist market economy”; in 1999 to legitimize the economic role of private firms; and in 2004 to provide legal protection of private property.

Members of people’s congresses at the two lowest levels of government—the township and county levels—are directly elected in tightly controlled elections with limited competition. Citizens who are at least 18 years of age may vote. Members of the people’s congresses at the provincial and national levels are indirectly elected by the congresses at the lower levels. Administrative leaders at all levels—for example, county heads, provincial governors, and the premier—are elected by the people’s congress at their level, although the person chosen is usually the one recommended by the CCP.

B

Executive

The head of state in China is the president, who is elected to a five-year term by the National People’s Congress. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office. Executive powers rest with the State Council, which is headed by the premier. The premier is nominated by the president and elected by the NPC to a five-year term. The State Council includes about 40 heads of ministries and national-level commissions who are nominated by the premier and elected by the NPC to five-year terms. In general, however, the NPC elects candidates based on the wishes of the CCP.

Because the CCP wields so much control, the person with the greatest real power over China’s government is the party’s general secretary. The second most powerful person is the premier. The level of authority that an office commands relates very much to the personality of the individual holding the office. Often, although not necessarily, the CCP general secretary is also the state president, combining in one person the ceremonial prestige of the head of state and the policy-making powers of the head of the ruling party.

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C

Legislature

Members of the National People’s Congress are chosen for five-year terms in indirect elections by the provincial congresses. Typically, the provincial congresses select those delegates recommended by the CCP. The size of the NPC is determined by law and has ranged from about 3,000 to about 3,500 members. Its size is too large—and its once-a-year sessions too short (typically less than a month)—for the NPC to conduct much debate over the legislation that it passes, the government reports it approves, or the official appointments and removals it makes.

When the NPC is not in session, a Standing Committee of about 150 members elected from the NPC membership acts in its place. The Standing Committee represents the congress in a variety of functions, including passing laws, interpreting and supervising implementation of the constitution, and ratifying or nullifying treaties with foreign governments.

D

Judiciary

China traditionally lacked Western-style ideas of judicial independence and due process of law. The development of a modern legal system was first attempted in the early 20th century but revolution and civil war ended these efforts. When the Communist government took power in 1949, it initially made little effort to create an adequate legal code that clearly detailed illegal activity or a uniform process for dealing with the accused. Since reforms in 1978, however, China has constructed the beginnings of a modern legal and judicial system. The government has enacted hundreds of laws. Many deal with economic subjects, but others govern the administration of prisons and the activities of lawyers and judges.

The Chinese legal system has four components: a court system; a public security administration, or police component; an office of the procurator, or public prosecutor; and a system of prisons and labor camps. The highest court is the Supreme People’s Court, which supervises the administration of justice by the various lower levels of people’s courts. The Supreme People’s Court does not have the power of constitutional supervision. That power is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Lower courts, public prosecutors, and public security offices exist at the provincial, county, and municipal levels. In addition, public security offices function at the neighborhood level. China also has begun to cultivate a cadre of public and private lawyers, who numbered only about 5,000 in 1980 but have since increased to more than 100,000.

In theory, judges are appointed by and are accountable to their corresponding level of people’s congress. In actuality, however, judges are chosen by CCP personnel departments and are supervised by the party and the Ministry of Justice.

The procurators and courts function in close coordination with the police and other administrative agencies. Nonetheless, they are supposed to perform their functions independently, and citizens are bringing economic and other disputes to court more frequently. The CCP often acts as an informal mediator between aggrieved parties. This type of paralegal mediation has influenced resolutions of neighborhood disputes, divorces, family arguments, and minor thefts. The criminal procedure code guarantees the right to a defense, but the defense is often just a formality or an argument by the defense counsel for a lighter sentence. Under a system of reeducation through labor, Chinese law permits the police and other administrative authorities to impose up to three years of detention without trial.

Some political trials are highly publicized; among the most prominent of these was the trial of the Gang of Four (1980-1981), who were convicted of crimes committed during the Cultural Revolution. Political trials of dissidents such as Wei Jingsheng, who was tried in both 1979 and 1994 for pro-democracy activities, are closed to all but selected viewers.

E

Local Government

Local government in China is organized into three major administrative tiers below the central government. At the level directly below the center are 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 autonomous municipalities, and 2 Special Autonomous Regions (SARs). The 22 provinces are Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. China counts Taiwan as its 23rd province, although since 1949 Taiwan has been controlled by a separate government that fled to the island when it lost the civil war on mainland China. The five autonomous regions are Guangxi Zhuang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui, Tibet, and Xinjiang Uygur. Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin are the four autonomous municipalities. Hong Kong and Macao are the two SARs.

At the second of the three administrative levels are prefectures, counties, and municipalities. The lowest level is formed by municipal subdivisions, administrative towns, and rural townships. Each level has special autonomous entities inhabited primarily by minorities, such as Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Villages in rural areas and residents’ committees in cities are below the formal government structure, but these grassroots organs have governmental purposes, such as collecting taxes, resolving disputes, and supervising population planning.

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