Religion / Design of Government
Japan / Constitutional
Monarchy / All citizens 20 years old or older / No direct rule; the government is considered secular / Elected parliament (the Diet) and a prime minister chosen by the Diet members
China / Communist Party / All citizens over the age of 18 / Religion is not encouraged by the Chinese government / National People’s Congress with leaders chosen by the congress
India / Democratic Republic
(largest parliamentary democracy in the world) / All citizens over the age of 18 / India is a secular (favors no religion) government / Elected parliament with a prime minister chosen from the majority party
Governments in SE Asia
A system is one in which the central government holds nearly all of the power. In a unitary system. Local governments such as state or county systems may have some power at certain times, but they are basically under the control of the central government. The central government has the power to change the way state or county governments operate or abolish them altogether. Some unitary governments have elected officials who, once elected, may make and enforce laws without taking the opinions of those at lower levels of government into consideration.
In a (area ruled by a king or emperor), the ruler and his advisors make most of the decisions.
This would be an example of a unitary government.
Some of the governments in SE Asia have unitary forms of government. The communist government of the People’s Republic of China is an example of a unitary government. The PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA is a communist country. It is run as a one party dictatorship. The Chinese Revolution in 1949 brought the commuist to power under the leadership of COMMUNIST PARTY CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG. Power was in the hands of Mao and a small committee called the Political Bureau of the Communist Party. The Chinese government had some control over almost every aspect of Chinese life. People are put to work according to what the Party sees are the needs of the country. All children are expected to attend school. This is an improvement for the very poorest of the Chinese people. Property was taken from wealthy landowners and given to peasants who had no land before the revolution. When the communists took over the government, rural farmers were organized into communities and told to farm as the government saw they should. Chinese industries were organized and controlled by the government as well. There was great suffering in the years following the revolution, and starvation was widespread during some of the early years as officials tried to organize farming.
TODAY, the Chinese government is still run by the Chinese Communist Party, and the government controls most aspects of Chinese life. THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS is elected every five years by a vote of the Chinese people. Few candidates run for office without the approval of the Chinese Communist Party. There are signs that China is gradually opening itself up to the rest of the world. Demand of western good and interest in western culture have become a part of China’s daily life. The Internet has made Chinese people aware of life outside of China. The Beijing Olympics gave the rest of the world a look at China, including a look at how strong the government control is of most things in the country.
The government of JAPAN also has unitary system of government. It is a constitutional monarchy (a monarchy in which the powers of the ruler are restricted to those granted under the constitution or laws of the nation). The Emperor of Japan is head of state and is a symbol of the country with no political power. This means that he has ceremonial duties, but he does not take part in the day to day politics of the country. The power in the Japanese government is in the hands of the Japanese DIET, a two house legislature that is elected by the Japanese people. NOTE: Prior to WWII Japan was a monarchy. It was ruled by a hereditary emporer named Hirohito. The people believed him descended from the Sun. He was thought to be a god; few people in the country had ever seen him. After WWII, the US helped the Japanese reorganize their government as a constitutional monarchy. In 1947, Japan adopted their first constitution, creating a two house parliament. This constitution also includes a Bill of Rights. The emperor of Japan remains in his position, but he has no political power. The constitution also states that the emperor is no longer to be considered a god.
Unitary government system: People’s Republic of China, Japan, Vietnam
A is a political system in which power is shared among different levels of government. The states have some powers that the federal government does not have, such as the right to collect property taxes and determine sales taxes. The national government also has some powers that the state does not, such as the right to declare war and make treaties with foreign countries. In SE Asia, INDIA is a good example of a federal form of government. The Indian National Congress is a two house legislature made up of representatives elected from all across the country, who are chosen in a general election in which all citizens 18 years of age or older are eligible to vote. Once the Indian National Congressis elected, the majority political party then chooses someone to serve as prime minister.