China, part 3

1. China, part 3

2. political participation • CCP: largest political party in the world • party membership and leadership has changed along with modernization • Maoist era: revolutionary cadres – peasants and factory workers, not intellectuals or professionals • post-Deng, increasing role of technocrats • party now includes ‘capitalists’ entrepreneurs and other business interests

3. Political Institutions • basics: authoritarian regime, leadership from within party or military - decisions made by elites, little citizen input • challenge: market economy and decentralization/devolution • heart of the Chinese political system: CCP • legitimacy: democratic centralism • elite vanguard leads based on superior understanding of Chinese people and their needs

4. hierarchical party organization: • village -> county -> province -> nation • headed by general secretary • 1982 Constitution: 3 central bodies: • National Party Congress • Central Committee • Politburo/Standing Committee • limited role/participation by non-communist parties: the loyal opposition • PRC holds tightly-controlled elections

5. Political factions • 3-way split: radicals [Mao], the military Lin Biao], the reformers [Zhou Enlai] • all part of the Long March “Old Guard” • all dead by 1976 • leadership assumed by Deng, but factions remained • (1) conservatives • (2) reformers/open door • (3) liberals • fang-shou: economic reform -> political movement/liberalization (letting go) -> retraction by Party

6. rampant corruption • product of economic boom and guanxi • under Hu’s leadership, thousands of officials have been punished, but problem is still widespread • international publicity about tainted food, health products and drugs on the world market

7. institutions • parallel hierarchies: • the Communist Party • the state (government) • the People’s Liberation Army • organizations are separate but all are dominated by the party • dual role: vertical supervision by the next higher level of government and horizontal supervision by the CCP at the same level

8. The Structure of Government • 3 branches: • Legislature • Executive • Judiciary • all 3 controlled by the party, no check and balances • all top positions held by party members

9. Legislative: The People’s Congresses • hierarchical system: People’s National Congress at top, followed by provincial, city and local congresses • in reality, subject to party authority • in theory, the people’s legislatures • Executive/Bureaucracy • President and Vice President: 2 5-year terms • Positions held by senior party leaders • Bureaucracy at all levels, staffed by cadres

10. Judiciary: • 4-tiered, hierarchical ‘people’s court’ system • rule of law officially ‘established’ in PRC • swift and harsh criminal justice system • People’s Liberation Army (PLA) • parallel development: army and party • huge in absolute terms, modest in population and spending terms • No formal political power, but an important influence on politics and policy

11. Policy issues • democracy and human rights • Tiananmen crisis, 1989: student/intellectual grief demonstration following death of Hu Yaobang • turned into democratic protest joined yby hundreds of thousands • shut down by PLA, unofficial estimates of 700 to several thousand killed • pressure from international human rights organizations • suppression of Falun Gong • tenuous position of rule of law in communist societies

12. population policy • Mao: population control policies were ‘imperialist tools’ designed to weaken developing countries • post-Mao: “two-child family” campaign • 1979: Deng instituted “one child policy” • incentives and penalties • relaxation of policy in rural areas in 1984, reinstated in 2002 • other consequences: female infanticide, gender imbalance, elder care

13. Economic policy: • 1949-1978: China followed a communist political economic model: • command economy directed by central government based on democratic centralism • replaced by Deng with socialist market economy : gradual infusion of capitalism while retaining state control • Agricultural policy: • 1949 era: people’s communes: farms merged, several thousand families • one of Mao’s greatest failures • 1980’s: replaced by Household Responsibility System: dismantled communes, individual families take full charge of production and marketing

14. “private business” • new category under control of the party • urban co-ops, service organizations, rural industries all acting as capitalist enterprises • private industry remains heavily regulated by the government, but • price controls lifted • private businesses far more profitable than state-owned • Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs): • rural factories and businesses, run by local government and private entrepreneurs • slowing the migration of peasants to the cities

15. economic problems • (a) unemployment and inequality • (b) inefficiency of the state sector • (c) pollution • (d) product safety • China’s vulnerability to world economic crisis of 2008 • rapid rebound, return to growth

16. foreign policy and international trade: • late 20th century, profound changes in Chinese foreign policy • closer to mainstream of international politics, yet resistant to pressure from outside • quickly replacing Japan as Asia’s most powerful economy • global trade is an integral part of China’s economic growth

17. USA/China relations: • no contact until early 1970s • 1972 visit, Zhou Enlai, Nixon, Kissinger • Deng initiated open door policy • currently, major USA/China issues: trade imbalances, currency valuation, debt • China’s international ambitions now openly revealed – no more lectures • China now a member of WT1997, Hong Kong returned to China by British • Taiwan: lost Security Council seat to China in 1971