Government College University

Term Paper

“NPC: Amplifying Disillusionment - The

Continuation of CPC’s Governance”

Submitted To: Sir Muhammad Manzoor Elahi

Submitted By: Attiya Rehman 2235-RE-BH-PS-20
Course Title: Political System of China
Course Code: PS-3106
Year: III
Semester: V

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Table of Contents

➢ Introduction….……………………...................................................................................1
➢ Structure……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
➢ Function………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…3
➢ Operation……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………4
➢ A Bleak Organ……………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………5
▪ Removal of President…………………..……………………………………………………………………………5
▪ Decisions- Approve, Reject, Revoke……………….………………………………………………………6
▪ Not So Humane Policies……………………………………………………………………………………………7
▪ Restrictions and Censorship……………….……………………….…………………………………………8
➢ Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....9

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NPC: Amplifying Disillusionment
The Continuation of CPC’s Governance

Introduction
The national people's congress of China (中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会) is
termed “China’s Fundamental Political System”1 yet from the opposition
perspective it is a reprise of the disappointments that typify the rule of
Communist Party of China (CPC), an authoritarian legislature2. The constitution of
China in chapter III, section 1, articles 57 to 783, talks about the various powers,
mainly legislative and executive, and functions of the NPC. These powers include
the power to oust the premier and amend the constitution. Despite the magnificent

1
“The National People’s Congress (NPC),” n.d. http://bg.china-

embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgzt/lh/200502/t20050215_2368881.htm.

2
Wiebrecht, Felix. “ The Black Box of Authoritarian Legislatures.” The Loop, September 21, 2022.

https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-black-box-of-authoritarian-legislatures.

3
“LAWS & REGULATIONS,” n.d. https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/

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structure and content of the constitutional document, the practice not only lacks
substance but also is quite contrary to what the constitution proposes, thus, a gap
of theory and practice. This paper focuses not on the question of whether such a
gap exists rather on the relative width of the gap and the extents to which efforts
have or have not been made to bridge the gap. The argument made is thus that of
the lack of autonomy and granted identity of the congress. No critique on NPC can
be complete without a prior understanding of its fundamental structure, functions
and operations. The following parts acquaint the reader with a basic
understanding of what the NPC is, theoretically, before starting to elucidate the
disappointing practical realities.

Structure
The structure of NPC is composed of two main components namely the
Delegates and the Standing committee.
• Delegates:
More than two thousand delegates from different administrative regions and
social classes constitute the NPC. The federal level election of representatives
follows the selection of these delegates via a hierarchical electoral process.
• Standing committee:
Composed of nearly 150 members, the standing committee is in charge of legal
comprehension, legislation and other duties that the NPC may assign. The standing
committee is only to work in between the sessions of the NPC.
• Special committee
As per the article 35 of the constitution of China, the National People's
Congress has 10 special committees4:
1. Overseas Chinese Affairs committee
2. Financial and Economic Affairs Committee
3. Social Development Affairs Committee
4. Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
5. Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee
6. Education, Science, Culture and Public Committee
7. Constitution and Law Committee
8. Ethnic Affairs Committee
9. Foreign Affairs Committee
10. Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee

4 “LAWS & REGULATIONS,” n.d. https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/

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 In addition, there are five Working and Administrative Bodies, and a
Credentials Committee.

Function
According to the Chinese Constitution, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of
China performs several essential constitutional roles, including:

▪ Legislation:
The Constitution, civil and criminal laws, and laws pertaining to different
facets of governance are all subject to enactment and amendment by the
NPC. It ratifies laws and rules proposed by People’s Congresses at the
provincial level as well as by its standing committee.

▪ Appointment:
Key positions such as the Premier of the State Council, the Chairman of the
Central Military Commission, the President and Vice President of China, and
the heads of the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s
Procuratorate can all be chosen or appointed by the NPC.

▪ Supervisory Role:
All departments of state are subservient to the NPC. NPC reviews and keeps
an eye on the working of them. It also has the authority to oversee the work
of the State Council, the highest executive organ in China.

▪ Constitutional Interpretation:
The NPC performs the judiciary's role of interpretation of the constitution.
This role is of particular significance in the context of legal and judicial
affairs of the state.

▪ Amendment of the Constitution:

With a two-thirds majority vote, the NPC can amend or make changes in the
constitution.

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Operations
• Annual Sessions
NPC meets once a year for an annual session usually in March. This session
lasts for two weeks or ten days approximately. The delegates discuss legislation
and policies.
• Decision-making Process
The decision-making process is not much except for approving and ratifying
the decisions of the CPC making the NPC nothing more than a ceremonial decision
maker.
• Public Display of Unity
The sessions of NPC are held in the majestic Great Hall of People. All sessions
are highly orchestrated and have a royal touch. With about 3000 delegates
assembled, the nation and the world both get a message of the Chinese unity.

A Bleak Organ
NPC is the only organ of the Chinese government and unfortunately it is a bleak
one. The dominance of CPC and its self-proclaimed right to govern without
opposition curtails the power of the NPC. The potential of the Chinese unicameral
legislature is rendered useless by the CPCs use of NPC as a rubber stamp. This
paper shall examine the ways in which NPC lacks autonomy and acts as an
instrument for the CPC to further their interests.

Removal of President
Article 63 of the Chinese constitution equips the NPC with the power to
remove the President of Peoples Republic of China from office. Legislatures all
over the world have the power to hold the head of state or government
accountable and oust them through votes of no confidence, like in Pakistan, or
through impeachment, like in the United States of America. In theory, the NPC is
no different. The reality, however, is quite the contrary given that the NPC has
never questioned any of the presidents. It might be argued that maybe no
president till date was incapacitated, corrupt or anything that could have gotten
the NPC to remove them from office but then such an argument would have
completely ignored the presidency of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping’s
implementation of specific laws to eliminate his political opponents, or even the
present Xi Jinping’s power-centric governance. It might also be argued that other

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states too exhibit such a gap. US has impeached a total of three presidents with
Trump being impeached twice5.

Decisions- Approve, Reject, Revoke

The decisions before NPC in need of approval are always approved. This is not
because they are optimal but because they are always pre-approved by the CPC.
The constitution clearly states in Article 67 that the NPC shall reject and revoke
all legislation that may be in conflict with the constitution. Despite this power, the
NPC failed to act when the constitution was amended at the will of CPC to allow Xi
a lifelong presidency. The constitution permits a president to serve a maximum of
two terms. CPC pressed on to change the provision to “strengthen the institution
of Presidency”. Previously, Deng had restored the presidency with some
governmental powers stripped and a term limit. This was a centralization-over-
power approach. Mr. Xi in his statement regarding the extended tenure showed
that the decision to continue the rule was something he is against but he feels a
compulsion to take this sub-optimal decision. NPC while ignoring the long term
consequences of the extension and amending the constitution to their taste
supported “the feeling of compulsion” felt by CPC.

Not So Humane Policies

More often than not, the NPC fails to take into consideration that the policies
and laws that it legislates are for Chinese “human beings”. The legislations
intended for regulation in general seem to have a robotic target. These include
China’s One Child Policy, Hukou System6, RTL, Cybersecurity Law and Criminal
Law Amendments.
Hukou System is a family registration system that divides the population into
rural and urban groups. As a consequence of this system, the people from the rural
areas have lesser access to welfare and opportunities. The policy is not directly an
initiative of NPC but NPC is a supporter and has not taken any legislative measure
against this discriminatory policy.

5
Panetta, Grace, and Lauren Frias. “Here Are All the US Presidents Who Have Been Impeached.” Business Insider,

February 9, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/list-of-impeached-us-presidents-2019-12.

6Wikipedia contributors. “Hukou.” Wikipedia, October 8, 2023.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou.

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 Re-education Through Labor (RTL) is a policy that officially remained
functional from 1957 to 2013 is a reeducation campaign of people accused of
offenses like theft, corruption etc. The RTL camps were put an end to in 2013 in
papers by NPC. However, NPC failed to take any concern about the real-time
implementation of the same. Today, these camps of internment and detention still
are a reality that exist under names other than RTL.
Residents of the special administrative units and Xinjiang face discrimination
and human rights violations like no other. Their lives are fully controlled to say
the very least. This control does not make sense in the China of today given that
the opposition China faced years back7 doesn’t exist today. Furthermore, China of
today is better equipped to manage revolts than it was ever in the past. The
residents of Xinjiang count their days in fear as they might get detained at any
moment without specific reason. Many inhabitants of such regions have been
detained just because they talked to their relative settled abroad8
The one-child policy is not criticized much on the basis of population control as
much as it is criticized for the treatment of the children born after the first child
of the family. NPC has failed to take measures to prevent such incidents of harsh
treatment of those children.

Restrictions and Censorship

China has state controlled media and sources of information. We only know
what we have been told. For a researcher, analysis of china’s political model
comes with a great deal of difficulty as there are no first hand information sources
that are relatively less biased and accurate. International organizations and watch
bodies most often than not are prohibited from observation of any crisis area9. The
legislative body has not made any policy in regards to this matter. Complete
censorship and control of information is a violation of human right at least in the
world of today.

7 Kissinger, Henry. On China. Penguin UK, 2011.

8 Amnesty International. “Up to One Million Detained in China’s Mass ‘Re-Education’ Drive,”
October 7, 2021. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-up-to-one-million-
detained/
9 Amnesty International. “Up to One Million Detained in China’s Mass ‘Re-Education’ Drive,”

October 7, 2021. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-up-to-one-million-

detained/.

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Conclusion
The argument of this paper in a nutshell is that of the width of the gap between
theory and practice and the inefficacy of the authoritarian legislature of China. To
sum it all up, it would be absolutely alright to state that NPC is a dummy in the
hands of the CPC- A Rubberstamp Organ. The NPC of PRC is the magic wand CPC
uses to add life to what is wishes to come true. This use of such an important
pillar of the government is the utter waste of potential and resources and an
injustice to the people of China.