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The Communist Structure

The Communist Structure. A Glimpse. Basic Structure. Mao and Lenin believed that citizens did not know enough to move from capitalism to communism To advance communism, three main principles are followed: Guardianship The Mass Line The United Front. Guardianship.

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The Communist Structure

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  1. The Communist Structure A Glimpse

  2. Basic Structure • Mao and Leninbelieved that citizens did not know enough to move from capitalism to communism • To advance communism, three main principles are followed: • Guardianship • The Mass Line • The United Front

  3. Guardianship • The CCP would determine and provide what is best for the people. • Only about 5% of the population is in the communist party. • The state becomes a democratic dictatorship

  4. The Mass Line • The party may make decisions on people’s lives, but they don’t do so in a vacuum. • People’s concerns travel up the ladder to leaders who then mold them to fit party ideology • The ideology is then passed down and explained to the masses until they “embrace them as their own.” • Therefore, policy flows “from the masses to the masses.”

  5. The United Front • CCP promised active involvement of non-CCP elites. • This would create a “new democracy” were the ideas of businesspeople, religious leaders, and scholars shaped policy. • However, there’s no accountability. If the government chooses to ignore these ideas, they can.

  6. China’s Political Institutions • The CCP resembles a military style hierarchy with a specific chain of command. • This leads to the development of democratic centralism • Lower level officials may have their opinions heard by upper level officials, even if those opinions challenge those officials • Once a decision has been made, everyone is expected to fall into line. • Any actions to advance contrary opinion leads to discipline by the party.

  7. The CCP • The most important organization is the Politburo: • Top 24 party leaders • Often hold government and military posts • Approves all major policies and personnel changes. • Holds veto power over all significant legislation • The Standing Committee: • A subgroup of the Politburo • Typically the top 6 officials • The core decision makers in Chinese politics

  8. More CCP • The General Secretary: • The top party official • Secretariat: • Led by the General Secretary • Handles the daily affairs of party leadership • The Central Committee: • Supposed to elect all key party positions • formally endorses important policies and leadership changes • Makes sure the “party line” is put into practice

  9. Even More CCP • The People’s Liberation Army • Does not dictate policy • The guardian of Chinese sovereignty • The PLA is behind in almost all of its weapon systems • National Party Congress: • Elects the Central Committee • Outlines main policy goals through coming years • Meets once every five years for a week or two • Nomenklatura • Used to manage all party and government officials • Party committees oversee positions in one level down • Committees promote those below them

  10. The State - legislature • Structure • 31 provinces • 333 large cities • 2,862 counties • 41,636 townships • 629,000 villages • People elect delegates to township and county legislatures (aka People’s Congresses) • County congresses elect municipal congresses, which elect provincial congresses, which elect the national congress • Standing Committee of NPC • 150 members • serves as the working legislative assembly • National People’s Congress (NPC) • Elected to 5-year terms • 1995 law set ratio of representation at 4:1 rural to urban • Weakest of the three branches (others are party and executive) • Drafts legislation, approves budgets, amends constitution, monitors reforms, and appoints top state and government leaders

  11. The State - Executive • The State Council • headed by the premier • other top officials (currently 36) • has its own Standing Committee which serves a similar function as the executive (complete with cabinet) in a parliamentary system • they can issue directives, orders, and instructions, that have the authority of law without needing NPC approval • while CCP approves policy, government implements and monitors results • The President • China’s formal head of state • elected by NPC • largely a ceremonial post

  12. The State - Judicial • The Supreme People’s Court is responsible to the NPC • Lower courts are responsible to lower congresses • The Supreme People’s Procuratorate • responsible to the NPC • sits atop a hierarchy of other procuratorates • supervises criminal investigations • approves arrests • prosecutes cases • investigates and pursues corruption

  13. The bottom line • The party, the executive, and the legislature are present at each level of government (local  national) • At each level, the party is the most important body • At each level, the party secretary is the most important figure • Making sure the local governments carry out directives from above is the challenge - information is frequently distorted to make local officials appear compliant • There are over 40 million officials in the party and government

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