Chinese Law and Politics Blog

State Council White Paper Emphasizes Importance of Political Consultation Under Party Control

The Information Office of the State Council issued a white paper on the Chinese political party system on November 15, according to a Xinhua article issued on the same date (English, Chinese).

The white paper emphasizes the dominant role of the Communist Party in the Chinese political system, while stressing the importance of political consultation between Party and non-Party members closely allied with Party goals, including members from China's eight minor "democratic" parties.

The white paper is the latest in a series of Party and government directives that emphasize the importance of increased participation and consultation between Party and non-Party members, under Party control, as a means to improve national governance. 

17th Party Congress Policy Directives Spread Through Public Security Apparatus

     The Communist Party committee in the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued a notice calling for local MPS officials to implement policy directions established at the 17th Party Congress, according to a summary of the notice posted on the Chinese government’s website on November 6.

    The notice offers a good example of how centralized Party directives are transmitted through the Chinese government apparatus. It also offers some insight into the thinking of Party officials with regard to ongoing public security issues. 

Chinese Authorities Amend Draft Law’s Ban on Media Reporting of "Sudden Incidents"

Chinese authorities have amended the ban on media reporting of "sudden incidents" in the draft "Law on Responding to Sudden Incidents" currently under consideration by the National People’s Congress for the second time. The first version of the proposed law had incited significant public and media criticism in 2006 for its ban on media outlets "independently issuing information" related to "sudden incidents,"such as natural disasters, public health emergencies, and social unrest. 

The new draft law removes the ban on "independently issuing information" regarding sudden incidents, and replaces it with a ban on the dissemination of "false information" regarding sudden incidents, according to a June 24 Xinhua article. This may reflect an effort by Chinese officials to respond to public opposition regarding the original draft language, and some recognition of the positive role that independent media reporting can play in exposing severe governance abuses by local officials. But it also reflects the desire of Chinese central officials to maintain checks over media reporting on sensitive public issues.

After Iraq War, Resist the Isolationist Impulse

[This isn't a China-related post, but I'll put it on the blog nonetheless]

No matter how the war ends, the United States must stay engaged in the world.   

New York - Sometime, somehow, the Iraq war will end. The surge may stabilize the country sufficiently to allow the withdrawal of American troops (less likely). Or the American public may simply sicken of the war to such an extent that US forces are pulled out regardless of the consequences after the 2008 presidential election (more likely). Either way, the end of the war will be the starting bell for a much more sweeping battle over the future of American foreign policy.

The question? Quite simply, What role should the United States play in the world?

[The full version of the op-ed appears in the June 19 edition of the Christian Science Monitor]

The Anger Boils Over

For the past two months, local officials in the southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi have pursued a harsh campaign aimed at enforcing China's population planning laws.

In order to meet targets for allowable births, they forced pregnant women to have abortions. They threatened to demolish homes to make residents cough up fines demanded for excess children.

This month citizen anger boiled over. Thousands of angry rural residents took to the streets, smashing cars and sacking government offices.

The vicious nature of the Guangxi enforcement campaign is all the more striking because it directly conflicts with the orders of China's top leaders.

[click here for the full version of the May 29, 2007 International Herald Tribune editorial]

[click here for Sing Tao's May 30 Chinese translation of the IHT editorial]

Experts and Politicians Discuss Sino-US Relations

The political season is approaching, both in the United States and China. American politicians are scrambling to position themselves on the issues in the run-up to the 2008 presidential elections. For their part, Chinese Party officials are consumed by preparations for the impending 17th Party Congress this fall, and the corresponding redistribution of positions among the Party elite.

Numerous experts, politicians, and think tanks have taken advantage of the political season to convene conferences, deliver speeches, and issue policy papers on the subject of Sino-US relations. Included below are links to just some of the major, recent ones.

The Rise of China and the Interests of the United States

While the grinding Iraq war currently dominates the attention of the American public and government, China’s steady rise in economic and political influence is the single event that will reshape international politics in the 21st century.  Sooner or later, American officials will turn their attention to confronting this issue. There are two key points to keep in mind.

[Click here for the full version of the op-ed in the April/May edition of the Ripon Forum.]

Translation: Henan Circular on Peaceful Construction

The following is a rough translation of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government Circular Regarding the Issuance of the "Program for Construction of a Peaceful Henan," issued  April 26, 2006.  (Translation done by Tom Stutsman)

Premier Wen Jiabao: No Rapid Political Liberalization

Premier Wen Jiabao emphasized that China would continue to promote "gradual reforms to political institutions," but focus primarily on economic development, according to a speech carried by Xinhua on February 26. 

Chinese Authorities "No. 1 Document" For 2007 Emphasizes Agricultural Economy

The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and State Council issued a joint opinion on January 29, identifying improvement of the agricultural economy as their main policy goal for 2007.   

The opinion, titled "Several Opinions Regarding Actively Developing Modern Agriculture and Firmly Advancing the Construction of the New Socialist Countryside" is the "Number One" document for 2007.  Chinese authorities use these "Number One" documents annually as a means to highlight policies for the coming year.  Each "Number One" document issued since 2004 has focused on rural issues.

The opinion heavily emphasizes agricultural economic development.  Reform measures include: increased agricultural investment, improved market access for agricultural products, encouraging rural technical innovation, and strengthening rural infrastructure

In contrast, the opinion only briefly addresses issues of rural governance reform.  It broadly calls on authorities to clean up the problems of local government debts, better address issues of land seizures, reform the system of agricultural credit, and continue experiments with reforming and trimming local government personnel.   

The opinion contains general language calling for strengthening rural institutions to address social instability.

Strengthen and improve rural social management.  With regard to new developments in the rural economy and society, develop new mechanisms of rural social managment to firmly strengthen the work of upholding rural social stability.  Expand channels for the expression of public opinion in rural society.  Construct and perfect mechanisms for the channeling and resolution of disputes.  Comprehensively use multiple measures and methods to appropriately resolve consistent and latent rural social problems.  Deeply expand "peaceful construction," strengthen the construction of rural police forces, carry out well the comprehensive management of public security in rural society, and ensure that  rural areas are peaceful and orderly.  Broadly carry out legal educational propaganda activities in rural areas and increase the masses' legal understanding.  Guide farmers to express their interests and demands in a legal and reasonable manner, and lawfully exercise their rights and  carry out their duties.  Construct management mechanisms to respond to rural emergencies, and improve abilities to respond to crises.

The emphasis of the 2007 opinion differs from the 2006 "No. 1 Document" , the Opinion on Promoting the Construction of a New Socialist Countryside, which emphasized many specific governance reforms, as noted in analysis provided by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).  For example, the 2007 opinion contains no explicit call for reforms to the Chinese hukou (household registration) system, nor specific details and timetable for realizing improvements in the provision of rural health and education services, unlike the 2006 opinion. 

The 2007 opinion repeats the emphasis of the 2006 opinion on the need for Party leadership of rural work. The 2007 opinion also strengthens a call made in the 2006 opinion for strengthening professional farmer cooperatives.  Some provincial authorities have experimented with more independent forms of rural professional associations as a means of allowing farmers additional channels to protect their rights, as noted in the CECC analysis.  The 2007 opinion also repeats a call made by central authorities in recent weeks to strengthen the use of financial incentives, as opposed to coercive measures,to ensure citizen compliance with official birth control policies.

The 2007 opinion may reflect a desire to shelve the more difficult issues of rural governance reform in favor of efforts to address technical issues of rural economic reform, particularly in the politically sensitive runup period prior to the 17th Party Congress in the fall.  Chinese authorities themselves have admitted that some official governance reform efforts, such as those aimed at addressing hukou reform, have faltered upon meeting internal bureaucratic opposition.