Institute of International Affairs, Graduate School of International Studies,

Seoul National University

"Governing the Country according to the Law": China's Rule of Law Policy as Political Reform
Author(s): Young Nam Cho
Source: Journal of International and Area Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1 (June 2014), pp. 21-36
Published by: Institute of International Affairs, Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul
National University
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JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ANDAREASTUDIES 21
Volume21,Number 1,2014,pp.21-36

"Governing the Country according to the Law":

China's Rule of Law Policy as Political Reform

Young Nam Cho

ThisarticleanalyzesChina's ruleoflawpolicy- thatis, "governing

thecountry tothe
according
law" fyifa -
zhiguoj in termsofpoliticalreform.It addressestwoissues:one is theformationand
actualimplementation oftheruleoflawpolicy.Theotheris thenature andimplementation oftherule
oflawpolicy.Tothisend' thearticleinvestigates policiesoftheruleoflaw.It thenlooksinto
specific
theprocessesoftheruleoflawpolicy's emergence and developmentat boththecentraland local
levels.Finallyitcloselyexaminestheimplementationoftheruleoflawpolicy.Thearticlearguesthat
theruleoflawpolicyis notjustlegalorjudicialreform butcomprehensivepolitical
reformwhichaims
at transforming thewaythattheChineseCommunist Partyrulesthecountry. Moreover,it has
developed forabout17yearsthrough theprocessesofmutual between
influence thecentralandlocal
levels.

Keywords:
political , ruleoflaw,legalsystem
reform , lawdissemination
campaign

1. INTRODUCTION

In theworldof Chinesepoliticalstudiescommunity, thereis a widelysharedargument

thatChinesepoliticalreformwas at a virtualhalt enteringthe 1990s and administrative
reform was insteadactivelyin pursuitoverpoliticalreform. Partlyforthisreason,it leads
manyto concludethattheChinesepoliticalsystemis stilla party-state or a one-partysystem
solelyruledby theChineseCommunist Party(CCP), whilethesocioeconomicsystemhas
already shiftedfroma planned economy to a marketeconomy.Accordingto this
interpretation,theCCP cancelledseveralpoliticalreform suchas thefunctional
initiatives,
separation of thePartyand state(<dangzheng fenkai)adoptedat the 13thPartyCongressin
1987,due to theTiananmenIncidentin 1989 and thecollapseof theSovietUnionin 1991.
China,however,has further advanceditseconomicreform effortsbyintroducing market and
privateownership,decentralizing the state authorities, and opening-upthe trade and
investment opportunities to foreigners.
Then, how are these socio-economicreformsconsideredrelevantto the absence of
politicalreforms? Is ittruethatChinahas nothadanyconcretedirectives forpoliticalreform
andhas notimplemented anypoliticalreforms sincethe1990s?Thisarticlearguesotherwise.
China has adopteda new and comprehensive directionforpoliticalreformstarting in the
mid-1990sand achieveda relatively good success.Thatis "governing thecountry according
to the law" (yifazhiguo, hereafter the rule of law policy) whichofficially became a new
guidingprincipleof government and of politicalreform at the 15thPartyCongressin 1997.
The ruleof law policyis different fromthefunctional separationofthePartyand statein the
13thPartyCongress.In thisvein,it is a new direction of politicalreform. Furthermore, the
ruleof law policyis a synthetic policyof previousindividualreforms of thePartyand state
organsthatChinahas carriedoutinthepastdecades,ranging fromadministration, legislature,
and judiciaryto partyreforms.In this sense, the rule of law policy constitutesa

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22 YOUNGNAMCHO

comprehensive directionforpoliticalreform.
It is, therefore,not appropriate to postulatethatChina has not implemented political
reform sincethe1990sor thatadministrative reform was putin place overpoliticalreforms.
Instead,China has seriouslypromotedpoliticalreformwithhopes to institutionalize the
Chinese political structuresand processes, while resolutely opposing political
democratization suchas introducing a multi-partysystemand freeelections.Implementation
of theruleof law policysincethe 15thPartyCongressin 1997 provesthisfact.Successful
politicalinstitutionalizationhas been thebedrockforChina's rapideconomicgrowthwith
relatively stablesocialorderduringthepastdecades.
To illustrate thisargument, thearticleaimsat analyzingChina's ruleof law policy(i.e.,
yifazhiguo). The policyof establishing a legal system(fazhi) startedconcurrently withthe
reform and opening-up policyadoptedat theThirdPlenumofthe11thCentralCommittee of
CCP in 1978. The Partyembarkedon the construction of a socialistdemocracyand the
perfection ofa legalsystemas newpartypolicies,alongwiththemodernization ofsocialism
(i.e., reform and opening-up). About20 yearslater,at the 15thPartyCongressin 1997,the
CCP approvedtheruleof law policyand theconstruction of a socialistrule-of-lawstateas
new guidingprinciplesof government. Soon afterthat,thisprinciplewas insertedintothe
Constitution at theSecondPlenarySessionof theNinthNationalPeople's Congress(NPC)
in 1999.
Since the CCP adoptedthe rule of law policy as a new directionin 1997, previous
politicalreformswere includedas one of its specificmeasures.For instance,the State
Council has executed "administration according to the law" (yifa xingzheng)by
promulgating the Decision on the Comprehensive Implementation of the Administration
accordingto the Law in 1999 and the Implementing Outline on the Comprehensive
Promotion of the Administration accordingto the Law in 2004, respectively (Yuan 2004:
329-32,334-43). Likewise,theSupremePeople's Courthas startedcomprehensive judicial
reform withthegoals ofjudicial fairnessand efficiency since 1999 by enactingtheOutline
on theReformofthePeople's CourtsintheNextFive Years in 1999,andtheOutlineson the
Second Five-Year People's CourtReform(2004-2008) in 2005 and the ThirdFive-Year
People's CourtReform(2009-2013)in 2009,respectively (Gong2009: 74). Furthermore, the
CCP has implemented "rulingthe countryaccordingto the law" (yifazhizheng ) as a new
partypolicysincethe16th PartyCongressin 2002 (Zhang2004: 1-23,115-36;Yu 2007: 1-9).
These factsstrongly indicatethattheruleof law policyemergedas a new comprehensive
direction ofpoliticalreform sincethemid-1990s.
Thereare manystudieson thepoliciesof legal systemor ruleof law in China,and they
can be dividedintotwocategories(Liang 2008: 3-5). One is studiesof laws or legalreform
(includingtheconstitution, civil,criminaland administrative laws), and theotheris studies
ofjudicialreform (includingthecourts,procuracy, lawyers,legal educationand legal aid).
But theyhave two shortcomings. First,theyhave a narrowanalyticalperspective. Thatis,
previousstudiestendto approachthe rule of law policy in termsof jurisprudence, and
accordingly theyanalyze it as a merelylegal or judicial reform.This perspectiveis not
appropriateto the rule of law policy. In fact,Chinese officialdocumentsand actual
implementation oftheruleof law policydemonstrate thatit is notlimitedto legalorjudicial
reform. For instance,theConstruction of Rule of Law in China (WhitePaper),whichwas
releasedby the State Council in 2008, includeslegislative,administrative, and judicial
reforms as coreelementsof "theruleoflaw construction" (Guowuyuan2008; Horsley2007:
93-108). In short,theruleof law policycan be adequatelyunderstood onlywhenanalyzed

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 23

fromtheperspective ofpoliticalreform.
Second,previousstudiestendto focuson thetheoretical aspectsoftheruleof law policy.
Analysisofthedebateabouttheruleof law and investigation intothenatureof legal system
are cases in point (Turner,Feinermanand Guy 2000; Peerenboom2002: 126-87;
Peerenboom2004: 113-45; Zhao 2006; Li 2007). In contrast, it is rareto findempirical
studieson thekindsof measurestheruleof law policyincludesand how theyhave been
carriedout.Linda C. Li's studyof theruleof law policyin Guangdongis an exception(Li
2000). Forthesereasons,thesestudiesdo notallow fora properunderstanding of theimpact
theruleoflaw policyhas on Chinesepoliticsanditsimplications forpoliticalreform.
Thisarticleaimsat analyzingtheruleof law policyin termsofpoliticalreform focusing
on twoissues:one is theformation and implementation of theruleof law policy.How has
theruleof law policybeen fashioned, whatkindof measureshas it entailed,and how have
theybeen practiced?The otheris thenatureand elementsof theruleof law policy.What
specificmeasureswereadoptedfortheruleoflaw policy?Iftheruleoflaw policyis notjust
a legalorjudicialreform, as thisarticleargues,whatkindof characteristics does ithave?In
thisregard,we needto investigate theindividualareasof administrative, legislative,judicial
andpartyreforms ifwe wantto understand fullyhowChinahas concretely practiced therule
of law policy.However,thisarticledoes notaim to examineindividualcases of theruleof
law policy'spracticein everyindividualarea. Instead,it examinestheruleof law policyin
termsofpoliticalreform, and itsseveralkeyelements.Therefore, studieson individualareas
oftheruleoflaw policy'spracticeshouldremainreservedforfuture studies.
The articlewill deal withseveralissues as follows.First,it investigates theprocessof
howtheruleof law policyhas emergedandbeendecidedas an officialpolicyoftheCCP. It
was possibledueto thevoluntary practicesoflegalreform at thelocal levelformorethanten
yearsand theefforts on partof thecentralgovernment in spreadingthepracticeacrossthe
country. Second,it delineatestheconcretemeasuresof theruleof law policy.Throughthis
investigation can we findthattheruleof law policyis notlegal orjudicialreform buta new
directionof politicalreform.Third,it examinesthe actual way of the rule of law policy
promotion at thelocal level,focusingon theexperiencesof GuangdongProvince.Finally,it
discussestheproblemsoftheruleoflaw policy.

2. THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RULE OF LAW POLICY

The ruleof law policybeganas a reform of thelegal systemin theearly1980s witha

view to establishing
a workablelegal systemand regulating government behavior,and it
graduallydevelopedintoa comprehensivepoliticalreforminthemid-1990swiththepurpose
of changingtheway thatChinais ruled.At thesame time,theruleof law policyemerged
throughthecollaborationbetweenthecenterandlocalities.

2.1 Constructionofa Legal Systemand theDebate ofRule ofLaw at theCentralLevel

As notedearlier,constructing a socialistdemocracyand perfectinga legal systemwere

decidedat a partymeetingin 1978. This was themostimportant background againstwhich
theCCP has implemented the ruleof law policyas politicalreformsince the mid-1990s.
Originally,Chinaintended to endthechaosoftheCulturalRevolution(1966-76) andrestore
withthelegalsystem.The OfficialBulletinoftheThirdPlenumofthe11th
politicalstability

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24 YOUNGNAMCHO

CentralCommittee clearlyexpressedtheParty'sintention: thatis, "theCCP muststrengthen

thesocialistlegal systemin orderto guaranteepeople's democracy, and therebyit should
institutionalize
andlegalizedemocracy. theremustbe lawsto relyon; wherethere
Therefore,
are laws,theymustbe followed;laws mustbe strictly enforced;and violationof laws must
be corrected."Atthesametime,"theCCP mustguarantee thatall peopleareequal beforethe
law,andthatno one is privileged to be beyondthelaw" (Zhonggong1982: 10; Epstein1994:
19-20).
The policywas insertedverbatimintotheConstitution in 1982. ArticleFive stipulates
that"All stateorgans,the armedforces,all politicalpartiesand publicorganizations, all
enterprisesand institutions
mustabideby theConstitution and thelaw. All actsin violation
of the Constitution and the law mustbe investigated. No organizationor individualis
privilegedto be beyondtheConstitution or thelaw." The 13thPartyCongressin 1987 also
mentionedthe policy. Perfecting a legal systemand constructing an advancedformof
democracybecame long-term goals of politicalreformin the processof constructing a
socialistdemocracywithChinesecharacteristics. Eventually,theofficialformulation {tifa)
emergedthattheconstruction of democracyand theperfection of legal systemare thetwo
goalsofChina'spoliticalreform (Zhonggong1991:4-61).
Meanwhile,academicand legal circlesengagedin heateddebatesovertheissuesof the
legal systemand theruleof law in the 1980s and 1990s,and theyplayeda vitalrolein the
emergenceof the rule of law policyin the theoretical aspect.For example,legal system
theory(fazhilun ) replacedtheruleof persontheory( renzhilun ) afterthe"legal systemvs.
ruleofperson"controversy in theearly1980s.The resultaffected boththeenactment ofthe
Constitutionin 1982 andthepoliticalreportof the 13thPartyCongressin 1987.Thenin the
earlyto mid-1990sthelegal systemtheoryand "governing thecountry by use of thelaw"
(yifa zhiguo) were criticizedin the "rule of law vs. legal system"controversy, and
consequently theruleof law theory(fazhilun ) occupiedthedominant positionin academic
and legalcircles(Peerenboom2002: 56-60; Shen2000: 26-7; Li 2007: 115-57).Underthese
circumstances, theruleof law policywas adoptedas a guidingprincipleof thePartyat the
15thPartyCongressin 1997.

2.2 The Law DisseminationCampaignand Legal Practicesat theBasic and Local

Levels

thedevelopment
Facilitating oftheruleof law policyin concretepolicyaspect,however,
has been legal practicesat thebasic and local levels.In theearly1980s,severallocalities
startedto propagatethelegal systemand to educatelegal knowledgeto people in orderto
cope withdeteriorating publicorderand thecollapseof thesocial management systemafter
theunraveling ofthecollectivesystemintheMao era.In theprocess,"governance according
to thelaw" (yifazhili) was spontaneously carriedout in severallocalities,whichcombined
legal educationand legal practices.1And the CCP and the StateCouncil,based on these
successfulexperiencesin several localities,decided to launch the "law dissemination
campaign"{pufahuodong)in 1986 withthepurposeof proliferating theexperienceacross
China.Throughsuchmeasures,thegovernanceaccordingto thelaw, whichspontaneously

1The tothelawis definedinChinaas,"a setofactivities

thatpeopleundertake
governanceaccording
in localaffairs,
tradeaffairs
andbasicaffairsbyuseofvarious channelsandmethods inaccordance
withthelaw,thereby thelegalization
realizing ofpublicmanagement" (YuanandXiao2003:1).

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 25

startedina fewlocalitiesin theearly1980s,developedintotheruleoflaw policyin themid-

1990s.
BenxiCity,LiaoningProvince,as theearliestregionto practicethegovernance according
to the law, became a role model in the processof spreadingit across China. The city
conducteda large-scalecampaignforthepropagation and educationof thelegal systemat
the requestof the Ministryof Justicefrom1981 to 1984. It was originallylaunchedto
addressthe region'sdeteriorating public order.In the process,some ruralvillages and
enterprisesattempted to integratelegal knowledgestudyand legal practicesin thenameof
thegovernance accordingto thelaw. "Governing villagesaccordingto thelaw" (yifazhicun),
"managingfactories accordingto thelaw" (yifazhichang ), "operating schoolsaccordingto
the law" (yifazhixiao),and "controlling wateraccordingto the law" (yifazhishui)were
representativecases. The city'spartycommittee praisedthepractices,and decidedto spread
themall overtheregion.As a consequence,"governing thecityaccordingto thelaw" (yifa
zhishi) inBenxiwas officially enactedandimplemented forthefirst timein 1986.
BenxiCityimplemented fivepoliciesin thenameofyifazhishi.These policiesbecame
theprototype measuresof the rule of law policythatChina has implemented across the
countrysince the mid-1990s.First,the role of local people's congresses,especially
legislativeoversight, shouldbe strengthened. Local legislatures were meantto help local
governments to properly implement thelaw byuse of legislativesupervision. Second,courts
shouldplay theirrole moreindependently and adjudicatethelaw morestringently. Third,
governments should exercise theirauthorityby abiding the law, and society should
strengthen its supervision over administrative wrongdoings. Because government agencies
implemented mostof thelaws and rules,exercisingadministrative authority in accordance
withthe law was consideredto be a keytaskof governing thecityaccordingto the law.
Fourth, enterprisesandbasic-levelunitsshouldpracticethegovernance accordingto thelaw
morestrictly. Finally,ordinary people shouldactivelyparticipate in protecting publicrights
andinterests accordingto thelaw (Sifabu2001b: 1957-61).
Meanwhile,the Ministryof Justicepaid considerableattention to the propagation and
educationof thelegal systemand Benxi's governanceaccordingto the law practices,and
decidedto implement the law dissemination campaignwitha view to popularizingthis
pioneering experiencein otherpartsof China. Specifically, theMinistry convenedan On-
the-SpotNationalConferenceon the Propagationof the Legal Systemin Benxi in 1984,
whereinparticipants discussedtheideas of promoting the law dissemination campaignfor
the nextfiveyears,on thebasis of, and underthe encouragement of, Benxi's successful
experience.Withthestrongsupportof and at therequestof top leaderssuchas PengZhen,
theCentralPropagandaDepartment of theCCP and theStateCouncil'sMinistry of Justice
heldtheNationalWorkConference on thePropagation andEducationoftheLegal Systemin
Beijingin 1985. Theyconsideredthedraftof thefirstfive-year (1986-90) plan of thelaw
dissemination campaign,and officially decidedto launchthecampaignin 1986.In thisway,
Benxi's experienceof thegovernance accordingto thelaw beganto spreadto otherregions
andto shiftto higheradministrative units(Yuan andXiao 2003: 18-21).
In the secondfive-year (1991-95) of the law dissemination campaign,the governance
accordingto thelaw rapidlyproliferated horizontally and vertically. The Ministry of Justice
decidedthatthespreadofthegovernance accordingto thelaw was a coretaskin thesecond
campaign,andtriedto implement thedecision.Conveningrelatedmeetings and conferences
everyyeararoundthecountry was one of its strategies,and thiswas vitalin spreadingthe
governanceaccordingto the law. Accordingly, in 1995 (i.e., the last yearof the second

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26 YOUNGNAMCHO

campaign),therateofpracticing "governing provincesaccordingto thelaw" (yifazhisheng)

was 40 percent(i.e., 12 outof 30), therateofmunicipallevels45 percent, therateof county
levels49 percent, andrateofvillagelevels50 percent(Zhu 2007: 583).
In 1996 thethenGeneralSecretary, JiangZemin,approvedthegovernanceaccordingto
the law whichhad been implemented at local levels for about ten years. That is, at a
Politburocollectivestudysession of the law in 1996,he madepublicthetermyifazhiguoas
One
a newrulingprinciple. yearlater, the 15thPartyCongressmadeit an officialprinciple.
Withthisdecision at the central level, localitieswhichhad been lukewarm in theirpractice
activelyadopted it in the third five-year (1996-2000) of the law disseminationcampaign.As
a consequence, in 2000 (i.e., the last year of thethird all
campaign), provincial-level units
adopted"governing provincesaccording to the law," and the ratesof municipal,countyand
basic levelsthatyearwere95 percent, percent87 and 75 percent, Three
respectively. years
later,theratesincreasedto 98 percent, 95 percentand 92 percent(Zhu 2007: 587). In other
words,almostall regionsfrombasic to provinciallevelsduringthefourth (2001-05) of the
law dissemination campaignput it intopractice.
Taken together, the governanceaccordingto the law at the basic and local levels has
started and dissipatedacrossthecountry sincetheearly1980sand finallydevelopedintothe
ruleoflaw policyundertheapprovalofJiangZeminin 1996 andofficialdecisionat the15th
PartyCongressin 1997.In theseways,theruleof law policyemergedowingin largepartto
theinteraction betweenthecenterand localitiesin whichtheformer debatedanddecidedthe
of
policy establishing legalsystem and the latterpracticedlegalexperimentations.

3. MAIN MEASURES OF THE RULE OF LAW POLICY

As notedabove,theruleof law policysincethemid-1990shas thecharacter of political

not or
reform, just legal judicial reform. It is truethat the policy started as legal reform inthe
early 1980s with a view to establishing a workable legal system,maintaining publicorder,
and facilitating
government's strictenforcement of law. Then,in the 1990s,theruleof law
policytranscended theboundary of legalreform and developedintoa politicalreform aimed
at transformingthewaythecountry is ruled.Consequently, theruleoflaw policyas political
reformencompassessuch diverseareas as the legislative,theadministrative, thejudiciary
andtheParty.
We can findevidencebyinvestigating concrete policieswhichsomelocal governments at
provinciallevel have implemented in the name of the rule of law policy sincethe mid-1990s.
The firstis Beijing.The BeijingPartyand Government jointlypromulgated theLong-term
WorkPlansof Governing theMunicipality according to the Law (1999-2002,2003-2007)in
1999 and 2003, respectively. These plans illustratethat Beijing has implemented five
measuresto carryout the rule of law policy: a) legislativereform,especially the
strengthening of legislationwhichprioritizes the enhancement of lawmakingquality;b)
administrative reformand the administration according to the law (yifaxingzheng ); c)
judicial reform and the enhancement of judicial fairness;d) the intensification of legal
educationandpropagation (pufa ); and e) theimprovement oflegal services(WangandJiang
2008: 219-35;Beijingshi2006: 2-4).
Shanghaitook similarmeasuresforimplementing the rule of law policy.In 1999 the
ShanghaiParty enacted the Implementing Outline on Governing theMunicipality according
to the Law in Shanghai.The Outlineindicatedthatthe rule of law policy includedsix

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 27

measures:a) thestrengthening of legislationfocusingon theelevationoflawmaking quality;

b) thestrengthening of government construction ofthelegal systemandtheenhancement of
level and capacityof theadministration accordingto thelaw; c) thepromotion ofjudicial
reformand the protectionof judicial fairness;d) the strengthening of propagationand
educationofthelegalsystemtowardcitizens;e) theimprovement ofthelegalservicesystem
and thestandardization of thelegal servicemarket;and f) thestrengthening of government
oversight and theeffective enforcement of law (Sifabu2001a: 196-200).In thesame vein,
Guangzhouand Shenzhenin Guangdonghavealso implemented theruleof law policysince
thelate 1990s(Shu 2007: 178; Fu 2000: 21-33).
In theseways,theruleoflaw policyhas developedintoa comprehensive politicalreform
thatembracesmost previousreformsto individualorgansand areas. And theycan be
categorized as follows:thefirstis legislativereform withthestrengthening ofthelawmaking
function of legislatures as a priority.The secondis administrative reform, focusingon the
administration accordingto the law. The thirdis judicial reform.The fourthis the
dissemination of legal knowledgeand theenlargement of legal services(includinglegal aid
systems)to ordinary people in orderto elevatepubliclegal consciousnessand protectthe
basic rightsof citizens.The fifth is theconstruction of "basic" democracy, whichrefersto
the democraticelectionand operationof villagers'committeesin the countryside and
residents'committees in urbanareas.Finally,rulingthecountry accordingto thelaw (yifa
zhizheng ) was adoptedas a partypolicy at the 16thPartyCongressin 2002, and it is
consideredto be one of theruleof law policy'skeyelements.Thatis, yifazhizhengis the
application oftheruleoflaw policyto partyreform. Ifthisis included,theruleoflaw policy
is composedofsix measuresto reform theorgansoftheparty-state.
Meanwhile,amongthesix measuresoftheruleof law policyimplemented sincethelate
1990s,theadministration accordingto thelaw has beenregardedas centralto it(Zhuo 2007:
238). It is naturalas well as logicalbecausegovernments implement about80 percentof all
laws and regulations and as a resultthe ruleof law policycannotbe properlyactualized
withoutcompleteimplementation of the administration accordingto the law (Ying 2001:
174-5). For example,Shenzhenproclaimedthe policy of "legal-binding administration"
(xingzheng fadinghua)in 1999 and has thoroughly implemented it as a core rule of law
2
policy since 2001. It is gearedto regulateand standardizethe activitiesof government
agenciesand officialsby use of the law. It coverednine areas,such as a) organizations,
functionsand personnelof governmentstructures;b) administrative procedures;c)
administrative approval;d) administrative fees; e) administrative punishment; f) public
constructionand supply of governmentmaterials; g) governmentinvestment;h)
administrative responsibility;andi) internal management ofgovernment (Fu 2000: 21-33).
Shenzhendevelopedthispolicyinto"evaluationindexsystemofconstructing the-rule-of-
law government" (fazhizhengfu jianshe zhibiaotixi) in 2008, whichextendedand improved
the above-mentioned nine areas into 12 ones, includinggovernment's lawmakingaffairs,
decision-making, legal-politicalservice,information transparency, and rule of law policy
consciousnessand capacity(Zhou and Wang2009: 323-39). By way of reference, Beijing
andYuhangDistrictofHangzhouin Zhejianghavealso implemented thissystemsince2005
and2006,respectively (WangandJiang2008: 116-8;Zhongguo2009: 385-401).
To sumup,theruleof law policy(i.e. yifazhiguo) is theintegration ofpreviouspolitical

2Interviews
withsenior ofgovernments
inGuangdong
andShenzhen:
officials 22,2006and
February
August11,2009inGuangzhou; 12,2009inShenzhen.
17,2006andAugust
February

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28 YOUNGNAMCHO

reformsunderthe name of the rule of law, whichhas been implemented separatelyin

individualstateorgans,thepartyapparatusand social organizations.
Amongthesepolicies,
theadministrationaccordingto thelaw has beenmostcentralto theruleof law policysince
thelate 1990s.

4. IMPLEMENTING THE RULE OF POLICY: PROCESSES AND METHODS

The ruleoflaw policyhas beenimplemented in localities,andtheCCP and StateCouncil

havepresented local governmentswithjustabstract ideas(notconcreteguidelines)as to how
to implement it. For thisreason,each regionhad conductedvariouskindsof experiments,
and as a resulttheruleof law policywereimplemented timesand withdifferent
at different
policiesfromone regionto anotheruntilthelate 1990s whentheStateCouncilset up the
policystandard andactivelysoughttheexchangeofexperiences amongregions.

4.1 RegionalDisparitiesin Implementing

theRule ofLaw Policy

The ruleof law policywas introduced at different

timesbetweenregions,whichcan be
dividedintotwogroupsforanalyticalconvenience:"pioneer"and "bandwagon"provinces.
"Inactives"couldexistin theorybutaftertheruleof law policywas officially set as a new
of
guidingprinciple government at the 15th in
PartyCongress 1997,they could no longer
exist.In otherwords,everyregionhas executedtheruleoflaw policy.
Pioneersreferto theprovinceswheretheruleoflaw policywas carriedoutintheformof
governing provincesor municipalities accordingto thelaw before1997.Theyare composed
offoursubtypes: thefirstis Guangdong.It was a leaderofthereform and opening-up policy
and exploredthe legal systemand rule of law as well. The secondis Beijing,wherethe
strengthening of the legal systemhad been seriouslyimplemented fromthe late 1970s in
orderto maintainpoliticalstabilityand publicorder.The thirdis Liaoning,in whichthe
advancedcity(i.e., Benxi) of governanceaccordingto the law tookthelead implementing
the rule of law policyall over the province.The last is Chongqingthat,as a trialpoint
(shidian)forestablishing a legal systemdesignated bytheStateCouncil,carriedouttherule
oflaw policyfromthelate 1980s.
Guangdongas a laboratory and a scoutingteamof reform policyhas playeda pioneering
rolein legal and administrative reform (Ge 2009: In
1-2). 1989,GuangzhouCityformulated
the prototype of rule of law policy,and it startedto implement the Five-Year Plan of
the
Governing City according to the Law in 1990. In 1992, professorat Zhongshan
a
University submitted a proposal to the provincialPartyCommittee, entitledtheProposalon
Taking the Lead of Experimenting Governing the Provinceby Use of theLaw; thethenParty
Xie
Secretary, Fei, accepted it. As a result,the Seventh PartyCongressin Guangdong
decidedthepolicyof governing theprovinceby use of thelaw in 1993. But at thattime,it
was notexactlysameas theruleoflaw policy.
The PartyGroup(dangzu) in the GuangdongProvincialPeople's Congressasked the
provincialPartyto promotetheruleof law policyin Shenzhenin late 1993,and theParty
approvedit.Fromthistimeon,theruleof law policywas officially carriedoutin Shenzhen.
And based on theexperiencesin Shenzhenforovertwoyears,theStandingCommittee of
the Provincial People's Congress convened a discussion meetingin 1995, where
chairpersons intheregionconsidered
ofall legislatures theissueof spreading theruleof law

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 29

policyacross the province.In 1996, the provincialPartyCommitteeheld the Expanded

Conference ofHigh-Ranking Cadres,wheretheDecisionon Further Strengthening theWork
of Governing theProvinceaccordingto theLaw was officially adopted.At the same time,
theLeadingSmall Groupof theRule of Law Policy(yifazhiguolingdaoxiazu), withthe
PartySecretary ofGuangdongas a director, was formed and led theruleof law policyin the
province(Li 2000: 119-220;Quanguorenda1997:371-7).
As thecapital,Beijingstarted theruleof law policyearlierthanotherprovincialunits.In
1979,Beijingwas designatedas one of tentrialpointsby theStateCouncilwherea legal
propagation policywas launchedto cope withdeteriorating public order(Sifabu 2001b:
1049-55).Furthermore, the BeijingPartyCommitteerequiredthe government to startthe
rule of law policy in 1987, followingin the footstepsof Benxi's implementation of the
governance accordingto thelaw. In 1990,thecitylegislature also askedthegovernment to
implement theruleof law policystrictly. Finally,in 1991,thecityconvenedtheSixthWork
Conference of Democracyand Legal Systemand passed theWorkPlan on Governing the
Municipality accordingto the Law in Beijing. Thanksto the promulgation of the plan,
individualpoliciessuchas legislation, administrativelaw enforcement, law
judicial affairs,
dissemination, and thegovernanceaccordingto thelaw at thebasic levels wereintegrated
intothe rule of law policy.The citymade the second and the thirdlong-term plans for
implementing theruleof law policyin 1999 and 2003, respectively (Beijingshi2006: 1-2,
31-4).
Due to the existenceof the earliestplace (i.e., Benxi City)to executethe governance
accordingto thelaw in theearly1980s,Liaoningstartedtheruleof law policythroughout
theprovincein 1991 (Sifabu2001a: 141-59).And Chongqing,beforebeingelevatedto a
provincial-level cityin 1997,was designatedas a trialpointforestablishing a legal system
and implementing the rule of law policyby the State Council in 1986 and by the Party
Committee of Sichuanin 1988.Forthisreason,Chongqinghas implemented theruleof law
policysince the late 1980s,promulgating severaldocumentsaboutthe policy(Ying and
Yuan 2001: 522-36;Sifabu2001a: 417-9).
Otherregionscan also be classifiedas bandwagoners.3 A fewregionsbelongingto this
groupalso conductedthe law dissemination campaignfrom1986 and severalsub-regions
underitsjurisdiction practicedthegovernanceaccordingto the law at thebasic and local
levels.But in theseregions,theruleof law policyofficially evolvedon a provincial -wide
scale aftertheruleoflaw policywas declaredas a newguidingprinciplein 1997.

and Leading theRule ofLaw Policy

4.2 Implementing

The generalprocedures of implementingtheruleof law policyat thelocal levelswereas

follows.First,the propagationand educationof the legal systemand rule of law were
conducted intheprocessofthelaw dissemination campaign.Atthisphase,themaintaskwas
the consensusaboutthe necessityof implementing
to build and intensify the rule of law
policy among partycadres and government officials,and to spread fundamental legal
knowledgeto ordinary Next,all stateorgansand majorsocial organizations
residents. under
theleadershipofthePartyundertook to developlong-term plans(mostlyforfiveyears)and
annualplans fortheruleof law policywhichincludedits purposes,methodsand specific

3Fora closeexamination ofruleoflawpolicyin other

oftheimplementation see Sifabu
provinces,
2001a(57-585).

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30 YOUNGNAMCHO

policies.Third,legislatures and stateorgansclearedthe listsof laws and regulations that

wouldbe implemented in each organand area,and enactednew regulations, if necessary.
Fourth, leadingsmallgroups,as thehighestleadership bodyin implementing theruleof law
policy,wereformedand theiradministrative officesweresetup. Finally,to startthelarge-
scale propagation and educationof theruleof law policy,theParty,stateorgansand social
organizations launchedit(Sifabu2001b: 1107-12).
The discussionbelow examinestheevolutionof theruleof law policyin Shenzhenin
greaterdetail(Quanguorenda 1997: 392-8; Guangdongsheng 1997: 135-44).4Afterbeing
designatedas a trialpointof the rule of law policy in 1993 by the GuangdongParty
Committee, Shenzhen'sLeadingSmall GroupfortheRule of Law Policywas immediately
formed. The ShenzhenPartySecretary tookthedirectorship, and thechairman of legislature
and themayorof cityservedas vice-directors. At thesame time,theWorkingProgramon
Governing theMunicipality accordingto theLaw was promulgated. A criticalchallengewas
howto makea breakthrough, thusleadingto thecomprehensive implementation of therule
of law policy. To this end, the StandingCommitteeof People's Congressin Shenzhen
organizedfivesmallgroupscomposedof a dozenCommittee memberseach in early1994,
and startedto inspectthestateof law enforcement in theregionfortwoweeks.Based on the
inspection,thecityselectedthreeareasforexperimentation withtheruleoflaw policy.
First,Shenzhenselectedthegovernment's LaborBureauand Planning& Land Bureauas
experimental units.The bureausstartedlegal educationof officialsand thenannouncedthe
basic procedures of theadministrationaccordingto thelaw and thehotlinesof supervision
over government behavior.The city also attemptedto promulgatethe administrative
proceduresand ultimatelyto transform the methodof administration fromregulation-
centeredlaw enforcement to a service-oriented
one. One and halfyearslaterin 1995,the
Partydecided to spreadthe rule of law policy across the citybased on the successful
experiencesof the two bureaus.The focus of the rule of law policy's policies was the
administration accordingto thelaw. Specifically,severalnewpolicieswereintroduced inthe
name of the rule of law policy,such as the transformation of government functions, the
simplification of administrative procedures,the strengthening of governmentservice
functions, rigorouslaw enforcement and workingin accordancewiththe law, opening
administrative proceduresto the public and enactingregulationsfor more transparent
administration, andtheimplementation oftheresponsibility systemforlaw enforcement.
Second, Shenzhen decided to implement the governanceaccordingto the law more
thoroughly by focusingon difficult and socially-sensitivecases. These includedsupervisory
appraisal(pingyi ) overcourtsand procuraciesin 1995,thecomprehensive management of
environmental pollution,theclearingand strictmanagement of arbitrarycollectionof fees
and illegal taxes, and the maintenanceof law and order.Third,Shenzhenselected33
enterprises in theregionand inspectedhow theEnterprise Law was enforcedin Juneand
September 1995. In addition,thecityintensifiedthepropagation and educationof thelegal
systemto all walksof society.In theseways,theruleof law policywas implemented for
about threeyears, and on the basis of the successfulexperiencesin Shenzhen,the
GuangdongPartydecidedin July1996 thattheruleof law policyshouldbe implemented
throughout theprovince.
Meanwhile,eachregionacrossChinahas established leadership organs(i.e. leadingsmall
groups)to directthe implementation of the rule of law policy.Generallyspeaking,the

4 See footnote
2.

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 31

leadershipapparatusis formedfollowing theformation of "leadershipofparty,participation

of all state organs,supportof people's political consultativeconferencesand social
associations,andmobilization ofresidents."In reality,
however,depending on howmuchthe
partyleadership paysattention to theruleof law policy,twomodelsof leadingsmallgroups
emerge: the general model of "leadershipof party,supervisionof legislature,and
implementation of government"; and the "Guangdongmodel" of "leadershipof party,
leadingroleoflegislature, andmainroleofgovernment."
The Guangdongmodel has two features.First,the partyleadershipattachesgreater
importance to theruleof law policy.Consequently, partysecretariesthemselvesfromthe
provincial-to basic-levelsdirecttheleadingsmallgroups.In contrast, in mostprovincesand
municipalities, such as Beijing, Shanghaiand Chongqing,vice-secretariesof partyor
secretariesof political-legal
affairscommittees hold the directorships.Second,legislatures
playan important rolein implementing theruleof law policy,comparedto otherregions.To
beginwith,Guangdong legislatures tookthelead inraisingthenecessity ofimplementing the
rule of law policyand activelyreportedrelatedplans to partycommittees. Furthermore,
legislaturesacceleratedlocal stateorgans(chieflygovernments) to strictlyimplement the
ruleof law policyby enactingresolutions and decisionsthathad legal bindingforceand by
conducting legislativesupervision overthem.Third,becausetheadministrative officesofthe
ruleof law policyare locatedin legislatures, insteadof governments, can take
legislatures
theinitiativein theaffairsof leadingsmallgroups.In contrast, theofficesin mostprovinces
are locatedin thejusticebureausof governments (Fu 2000: 34-45,46-68; Ge 2009: 38-9;
Guangdongsheng 1997: 114-22;Shu2007: 176-82).5

5. THE PROBLEMS OF THE RULE OF LAW POLICY

The rule of law policy,however,has a few fundamental problemsassociatedwithits

practicethusfar,anddueto theseproblemsitis unlikely to fullyachievetheexpectedresults.
In particular,no matterhow the rule of law policy is intendedto changethe way of
governanceby the CCP, it can only play a limitedrole in addressingthe fundamental
problemsof thepresentpoliticalsystemsuch as theconcentration of powerintotheParty
andtheexclusionofpopularpoliticalparticipation in decision-making process.
Firstof all, theruleof law policycan playa verylimitedrolein restricting thewieldof
statepowerand protecting civil rights.It is becausetheruleof law policyis initiatedin a
in a top-downfashionwithout
party-state meaningful bythegeneralpublicand
participation
society.The pastexperienceof SouthKorea and Taiwanillustrate thatit maybe inevitable
thatthe state,notthe society,takesthe initiative of implementing the ruleof law policy,
especiallyat theinitialphase of rapideconomicdevelopment and social change(Jaysuriya
1999: 8-10,12-13).However,ordinary Chinesepeopleand civilsocietyare marginalized in
the processof implementing the rule of law policy,althoughpresentChina has already
surpassedthatinitialphase.Consequently, theruleof law policyservesas a statemeasureof
ruleby law intending to controlpeopleand society,ratherthana popularmethodof ruleof
law aimingat restrictingthewieldof statepowerandprotecting civilrights.Forthisreason,
theruleoflaw policycannotrealizethetwogoals oftheruleoflaw policy(i.e., restriction of
statepowerand protection of civilrights), evenifChinapromotesit muchmorestrongly in

5See footnote
2.

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32 YOUNGNAMCHO

thefuture.
Furthermore, theruleof law policyis unlikelyto playa meaningful rolein restrictingthe
CCP and the core organsof the statepower (such as the military, intelligent service,
prosecutors, and police) accordingto thelaw. Restricting thepowerof theCCP and core
stateorgansaccordingto the law is a prerequisite forthe realizationof rule-of-law's two
goals.In China,however,theprincipleof "theparty controls the is
party" firmly maintained.
The fact that the PartyConstitution and regulationstake precedenceover the state
Constitution and laws in discipliningpartymembersand organizations is a case in point.In
and
addition,the military,intelligentservice,prosecutors, police exercise theirpower
without anyseriousexternalsupervision such as strictlegislativeoversight. Instead,theyare
only subject to internalsupervisionby the partywatchdog(i.e., disciplineinspection
commission) andself-overseeing agenciesofeachorgan.
These problemsarise fromthe presentChinese politicalsystem,and therefore they
cannotbe resolvedwithouta radicalreformof the presentsystem.That thereexist no
politicalforcesormechanisms inChinathatcan restrict theCCP andpowerful stateorgansis
is
a grimreality.The CCP practically freeof challenges from politicalpartiesand social
organizations, and does not need to participate any competitiveelectionsto secure
in
legitimacy of itsruling status from the Chinesepeople.For thesereasons,powerabuse and
politicalcorruption by party cadres and apparatusare stillwidespreadacrossthe country
eventhoughithas alreadypassedmorethan17 yearssincethePartyadoptedtheruleof law
policy.This indicatesthatthe Partyand powerorgansreignover the law, and the basic
principleof rule of the law (i.e., the supremacyof law) is not strictly observed.Instead,
exerciseof thePartyleadershipstillprevailsin theprocessof implementing theruleof law
policy.
Afterall,theintroduction ofpoliticaldemocratization is indispensible in addressingthese
problems in addition to the implementation of the rule of law policy(Reitz 1997: 130-36;
Zhang 2006: 122-23; Li 2007: 150-51). Put differently, the rule of law policy without
democratization has obviouslimitations and democratic politicalreform to
is a prerequisite
theirsolution.Onlywithpoliticaldemocratization, statepowercan be restricted, civilrights
be protected, and popularpoliticalparticipation be guaranteed. But,at thismomentand the
foreseeablefuture,the CCP is unlikelyto pursue a radical political reformfor
democratization purposes,andconsequently thelimitations ofruleoflaw policywillprevail.

6. CONCLUSION: IMPLICATION AND PROSPECTS OF THE RULE OF LAW POLICY

The rule of law policy has important implicationsforpoliticalreformin China. As

several studies argue (White 1994: 73-92; Unger and Chan 1996: 73-94; Xia 2000;
Peerenboom2006; Guthrie2006; Cho 2009; Lee 2010), theoverallimplementation of the
ruleof law policyconfirms thatChinain thereform era has pursueda priority of political
as itspoliticaldevelopmental
institutionalization strategy,as did East Asian developmental
statesincludingJapan,SouthKorea,Taiwan,Malaysia,Singaporeand HongKong.Thatis,
the rule of law policy is the Chinese versionof a politicalinstitutionalization
strategy.
Althoughit was notclear in the 1980s,entering the 1990s,especiallyat the 14thand 15th
PartyCongressesin 1992 and 1997, the CCP made clear its intention. The decisionsto
establisha socialistmarketeconomyat the 14thCongressand theruleof law policyat the
15thCongressdemonstrate itsintention.

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 THECOUNTRYACCORDINGTO THE LAW"
"GOVERNING 33

Originally,the CCP implemented the functionalseparationof the Partyand stateas a

guidingprincipleof politicalreform at the 13thPartyCongressin 1987. ButtheTiananmen
Incidentin 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 shockedthe Partyinto
abandoningit and insteadstrengthening its monopolyof politicalpowerover stateand
society.Simultaneously, the focusof politicalreformshiftedfroma questionof how to
separatethe functions of the Partyand stateto a questionof how to rationallyrule the
country withoutshakingthefoundation of theParty'sfirmhold on power.The decisionon
theruleof law policy,whichwas based on theintegration ofthePartyand state( dangzheng
bufen)at the15th PartyCongress,was theresult.Thatis, thePartydecidedto institutionalize
thepoliticalsystemby mobilizingthelaw, insteadof separating thefunctions of theParty
and state or democratizing the politicalsystem.And China, followingthis strategyof
politicaldevelopment, has been able to continueits rapideconomicgrowthand maintain
relativelystablesocio-politicalenvironment concurrently.
About 17 yearshave passed since the CCP officially practicedthe rule of law policy
nationwide.Such practice suggests that China will continue to pursue political
institutionalizationinsteadof democratization at least forthe foreseeablefuture.This is
becausethePartyhas acquiredenoughconfidence fromChina's achievements to assertthat
itsdecisionwas a correctone. In particular, sincethemid-1990s,the"democratic recession"
in transitioncountriesprovesto partyleaders,intellectuals and ordinary citizensthattheir
strategy of politicaldevelopment is farsuperiorto others.The rapidspreadof theso-called
"BeijingConsensus"or "Chinesemodel" is also the reflection of thisconfidence.Under
thesecircumstances at homeand abroad,theCCP can findno reasonto changeitspolitical
reform strategy,and as a consequencetheruleoflaw policyas politicalreform willcontinue
at leastforthenearfuture.

Received:04-21-2014
Article Revised:05-27-2014 05-28-2014
Accepted:

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36 YOUNGNAMCHO

YoungNam Cho,Professorof ChinesePolitics,GraduateSchoolof International

Studies,Seoul
1 Gwanak-ro,
NationalUniversity, Gwanak-gu, Seoul,151-742, Tel:
Korea, E-mail:
+82-2-880-5811,
ac.
yncho@snu. kr

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