China: Political Institutions

AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT
Political Institutions

• China’s political regime is best categorized as authoritarian

•

• Decisions are made by political elites, or those that hold political power, without much input from the citizens
• Leaders are promoted through the ranks of government through informal ties with others and through personal
relationships
• In recent years there has been a push to go towards a more market based economy, which has put
strain on the centralized control of the government
•

• Because of these conflicts, there has been a push towards greater decentralization within the government
•

• There has been a greater push by local governments to defy or ignore the central government by setting their own
tax rates or initiating building projects
• As with the Soviet Union, political elites control government structures, but China also integrates the
use of the military into the political hierarchy
•

• The head of the Central Military Commission is often the most power leader in China
The Chinese Communist Part (CCP)

• The Chinese Communist Party is the heart of the Chinese political system
•

• The legitimacy of the government lies in the historical concept that the party knows what is best
for the people
• It is believed that society is best led by an elite party, with superior understanding of the Chinese
people and their needs (democratic centralism)
Organization of the CCP

• The CCP is organized hierarchically by levels:

•

• Village/township, county, province, and nation

• Until 1976 Mao was the Chairman
•

• The title chairman was abandoned after Mao’s death and the head of the party is now called the
general secretary
Organization of the CCP

• The party has a separate constitution from the constitution of the country. The party has separate
central bodies which are the:
•

• National Party Congress: This body consists of more than 2,000 delegates, chosen primarily from congresses on
lower levels
•

•
This body meets every 5 years, so it is not important in policy making
• The main power of this body is to elect members to the Central Committee
• Central Committee: The Central Committee has about 350 members, who meet annually for about a week.
•

• Their meetings are called plenums and are important in that they are a gathering of the political elites.
• The Politburo and the Standing Committee are chosen from these members
• Politburo/Standing Committee: These are the most powerful political organizations and are at the top of the CCP
structure
•

• They are chosen by the Central Committee and their decisions dictate government policies
• There are 25 members in the Central Committee. The seven members of the Politburo are chosen from among the
25 members of the Central Committee.
• These organizations meet in private and the balance of power reflects the power among factions in the government
Non-Communist Parties

• The CCP does allow the existence of eight “democratic” parties, even though China is a one
party system
•

• There are only about a half million members of these parties and they do not challenge the CCP for
authority
•

• Their main role is in giving advice to the CCP

• Attempts to form democratic parties outside the control of the CCP have been crushed, with
reformers serving severe prison sentences
Elections

• The PRC holds elections in order to legitimize the government and the CCP
•

• The party controls the commissions that run elections, and it reviews draft lists of proposed
candidates to weed out those it finds politically objectionable
• Direct elections are only held at the local level, with voters choosing deputies to serve on
the county people’s congress
Political Elite

• The Long march helped create much of the political elite under Mao
•

• These people networked with one another for many years under a system called guanxi, also
known as personal connections
• These personal connections are still extremely important in Chinese culture
• Like the USSR, China recruits is leaders through the use of nomenklatura
•

• This is a system of choosing cadres from lower levels of the party hierarchy for advancement based
on their loyalty and contributions to the well being of the party
• These leaders communicate with each other through a patron-client network called guanxi
•

• These systems work very similar to the patronage systems in the west
Factionalism

• There are a variety of factions that exist throughout China. They are:
•

• Conservatives:
•

• They fear that the power of the party and the central government has eroded too much.
• They fear a move toward democracy and generally support crackdowns or organizations and
individuals who act too independently
• Chinese Communist Youth League:
•

• This faction is led by former President Hu Jintao.

• This party is supposed to recognized Chinese youth from ages 14-28.
• It is also recognized as a advocate for the urban and rural poor.
Factionalism

• Liberals:
•

• This faction has been out of power since the Tiananmen Square incident (1989)
•

• They were more accepting of political liberties and democratic movements than are other factions
• Princelings:
•

• These leaders come from the aristocracy of families with revolutionary credentials that date back to
the days of Mao Zedong
• They are not always clear on their policy preferences
•

• Some princelings have benefited greatly from the move towards a more market based economy, while others
think the move towards a market economy has been a betrayal of China’s socialist principles

• The factions follow the process of fang-shou, or a tightening up and loosening up cycle of
government power
Interest Groups

• Interest groups are not permitted to influence the political process unless they are under
the party-state authority
•

• In order to allow for people to display their displeasure the government, the party organizes mass
demonstrations where people are allowed to voice their opinion according to very strict rules
• Urban areas are socially controlled through danwei, or social units usually based on a person’s
place of work.
•

• People depend on danwei for food, income, jobs, promotion, medical care, housing, daycare, and
recreation
• Citizen dependence on this welfare means that people are very unwilling to speak out against the
state
• NGO’s and other interest groups, even though they number close to 2 million, have little to
no influence on policy decisions
Interest Groups

• The relationship between organizations and the state is characterized by a system of state
corporatism
•

• Just as with Lenin in the USSR, organizations are created or approved by the state, and have
government officials as their leaders
• The state only allows one organization for any given profession or activity
• The organization receives beneficial treatment in the government in exchange for absolute loyalty
to the leader and the party
Media

• Between 1949 and 1980, almost all media were state run
•

• There are a few independent media organizations in existence now, but they have very little power
• Xinhua is the official press agency of the government and they employ 10,000 people
•

• Independent newspapers depend on Xinhua for many of their stories

• The Central Committee of the CCP also depends on Xinhua for much of its information
• China also has a closed caption television system called Chinese Central Television (CCTV)
•

• All media outlets, including the internet, are heavily censored by the government
• This has been challenged as content has been harder to block