Getachew 1

Chinese Government

Bemenet Getachew

Math 89S: GTD

Professor Bray

November 30, 2013

China, the world’s most populous country with over 1.3 billion people, is also home to the largest political party, in terms of member size, of any country in the world. With over seventy-three million members, (and still growing) the Communist Party is heavily involved in almost all government decisions, laws, policies, etc. From the great influence over the National People’s Congress to zero-tolerance towards opposition groups, it is obvious that this is a very powerful political party. Some may wonder, however, how an entire country can be influenced by a single party, and also what form of government allows for the magnitude of influence that this party has over the system.

The history of China’s government dates back several thousand years. In 221 BC, the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, united the warring states to form the first empire in East Asia. Huang established a centralized bureaucracy in which the empire was split into different provinces, and each province would be appointed a governor or magistrate. Early twentieth century China saw a more westernized version of government with attempts by both the Nationalist Party and then the Communist Party to gain some control of the government.

Today China, formally known as the People’s Republic of China, has three main components to its government: the National People’s Congress (NPC), which serves as the legislative branch and is very similar to Congress, the President (head of state), and the State Council, which is chaired by a premier. There also exists the Supreme People’s Court, which serves as the judicial branch, and the People’s Liberation Army, which serves as the military branch. The Communist Party is represented (typically by a vast majority) in every part of this government.

Chinese Government

Home to over 1.3 billion people, China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is the largest communist country in the world (Population Clock); the Chinese Communist party has over 73 million members and is still growing (BBC News). Famous for strictly enforcing a one-child policy and also enforcing strictInternet censorship, the Chinese government has had a history of being perceived as a notorious, domineering administration.

China’s history dates back several thousand years. The first inhabitants lived in a political system very similar to that of medieval Europe, feudalism. In feudalistic societies, noblemen were given land from the rulers in exchange for military service while peasants were obliged to live on the noblemen’s land and give them labor as well as a share of the produce in exchange for military protection. Around 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang, which means Emperor Qin, became the first to unify the warring states and introduce the first concept of an empire to China. Qin Shi Huang established a centralized bureaucracy in which the empire was split into different provinces and each province would be appointed a magistrate or governor. After his death, China experienced over a thousand years of rule by different emperors and their dynasties.

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), “emperors set up a political system in which the emperor was supreme and government officials were selected on the bases of merit and education” (Concise Political History of China). Around eight hundred years later, the emperors during the Ming dynasty also modeled their government similar to the structure that emperors during the Tang Dynasty had. Most of the concentration of power was placed on the emperor, while those close to the emperor were designated as officials to help the emperor exercise his power. Similar to the way government officials were elected during the Tang Dynasty, officials during the Ming Dynasty had to first take an examination before being selected to serve as an official. Several hundred years later, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) also established a similar government where the emperor was surrounded by a ”Grand Council”, similar to the U.S.’s cabinet, and each province had a provincial government in which a governor was responsible for.

Early twentieth century China saw somewhat of a westernized form of government (westernized meaning a democratic republic). Sun Yat-sen was a prominent rebel leader who is known as “the father of modern China by Nationalists and Communists alike” (Concise Political History of China). Yat-sen introduced a democratic political system in which a president was appointed. In 1912, Sun Yat-sen stepped down from his position as president, and the elected successor, Yuan Shi-kai, was appointed as the new leader. Shi-kai introduced a republic form of government that had a cabinet and a draft constitution and was also planning on holding elections for parliament (Concise Political History of China). After the death of Yuan Shi-kai, China saw in addition to fighting a war against Japan, an internal political conflict between the Nationalists and Communists. The Nationalists controlled most of the government at the time and as a result dealt with most of the fighting against Japan during World War II. Weakened by the fighting, the Nationalists were eventually taken over by the Chinese Communists, and this began the Communist dominance in Chinese government.

Today, the primary components of China’s government consist of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which serves as the legislative branch, very similar to Congress, the President (head of state), and the State Council, which is chaired by a premier. There also exists the Supreme People’s Court, which serves as the judicial branch, and the People’s Liberation Army, which serves as the military branch.

According to the Chinese Constitution, the National People’s Congress holds the highest power of any component of the Chinese government. The NPC meets for about two weeks every year to discuss laws, national policies, and also the national budget (China: Government). The NPC is made up of representatives who are elected from thirty-five electoral units. Each congress serves a five-year term. The current Congress has over twenty-five hundred members making it one of the largest Congresses in the world. The President occupies the highest state office in the government. The President, currently Xi Jinping, is responsible for promoting the law, and also appointing and removing members of the State Council, issues orders, and is often the more publicized branch of the government (The President of China). The State Council is the primary governmental authority and is composed of a premier, who is nominated by the President, reviewed by the NPC, and then appointed or removed by the president, vice-premiers, State- councilors, ministers responsible for ministries and commission, the auditor general, and the secretary general (The State Council).

When reading about the structure of the Chinese government, one can’t help but realize the similarities it has with the U.S. government. Just like China, the U.S. has three main components to its government: the executive (president), judicial (Supreme Court), and legislative (Congress) branches. However, the one main differing characteristic of China’s government is the fact that it is practically ruled by one political party, the Communist Party. Introduced in 1949, the Communist Party has had little to no opposition during elections. Many of the head officials in the National People’s Congress and the State Council belong to the Communist Party.

Unfortunately, the Communist Party is not a representative of China’s population; only twenty percent are women, seventy five percent of the members are over the age of thirty-five, and thirty-one percent of the members have a college degree (BBC News). More and more businessmen and army officers are joining the party because of the many privileges that come along with becoming a member. In addition to gaining more information, members’ children can get access to better schooling, and many jobs are also only available to Communist Party members.

The following chart provides details on how the Communist Party influences the government (BBC News).

Discipline Inspection Commissions and Party Elders both exert influence over the Politburo (political bureau) that is made up of a few men whose decisions essentially affect all of China’s 1.3 billion people. Of the twenty-four men that make up the Politburo, only nine members have the real power. Once a decision is reached by the Politburo, it cannot be changed. The Politburo, Party Elders and the Discipline Inspection Commissions all influence the National People’s Congress. Approximately seventy percent of the Congress is a part of the party, which means that if the Party and the NPC disagree over an issue, the Party is always right. The influence of the Communist Party trickles down to the elected and approved members of the State Council who then elect and approve the people in charge of the provinces and townships. Similarly, the NPC elects and approves members of the Military Affairs Commission, which in turn oversees the Armed Forces. The Communist Party essentially has complete control over what goes on in the government.

Works Cited

BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

"China: Government." GlobalEDGE: Your Source for Global Business Knowledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

"Chinese Cultural Studies: Concise Political History of China." Chinese Cultural Studies: Concise Political History of China. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

"Population Clock." Population Clock. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

"The President of China." The President of China. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

"The State Council." The State Council. Gov.cn, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.