The People’s Republic of China

Chinese Info/Demos• Slightly smaller than the United States, very homogenous (92% Han)—

but minorities like Tibetans and Uighers of Xingjiang (Muslims!)• Chinese civilization about 3500 yrs. old• Pop: 1.3 billion, .6% growth rate - Baby born in China every 2 seconds• 74% of women of childbearing age use contraceptives (35% India)• Gov’t imposes max # of kids• Life expectancy: 70 men/73.5 women, 70% literacy rate• 70% of Chinese live in rural areas, only 10% arable land, $7700

GDP/capita• Country self-sufficient except severe water shortages• Officially atheist, religious minorities. Most suppressed: Tibet, Falun

Gong• Torn by political instability and civil war historically, now CCP focuses

on nationalism because Communism not seen as central in people’s eyes

• Chinese accept strong, central government• No country has maintained cultural integrity in modern times (mass

media scares the heck out of Chinese)• Nervous about neighbors (Russia, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan)• Subjugated Tibet after WW II• Culturally influenced by Confucianism: group solidarity, hard work

ethic, harmony, culture of consensus, defensive culture• Structure of government: Party, state, army (parallel hierarchies)

The “Mass Line”

• Take the countryside and surround the cities• Work closely with the peasants, listen to

their complaints, help them, propagandize them, and recruit them into the Army and Party

• Probe an enemy’s weak spots• Don’t expect much help from the outside; be

self-reliant• Guerrilla Army eventually becomes

mainstream army as your enemy gets weak

Confucius (551-479 B.C.)

• Teacher/philosopher from a modest Kung family• Most dominant influence in Chinese history• Pious and reverent, never invoked supernatural

forces

• Has CCP Invoked Confucian Values???• Individuals are still centrally motivated by profit

—collectiveness hasn’t taken deep root (reforms/ecn liberalization doesn’t help)

Modern Chinese History• 1839-42: Opium War, 5 treaty ports to the UK• 1894-95: Sino-Japanese War• 1900: Boxer Rebellion (suppressed by West)• 1911: Nationalist Revolution led by Sun Yat-Sen• 1919: May 4th Movement• 1921: Chinese Communist Party (CCP) founded, attacked 1927• 1931: Manchuria attacked, Manchukuo set up• 1934-36: Long March• 1937: Shanghai attacked, “Rape of Nanking”, US “Flying Tigers”

assist Chinese. During WW2, Nationalists and Commies play nice; common threat: Imperial Japan. Civil War resumes after World War II.

• 1949: ChiComs take over. Employ party cadres to mobilize peasants: “mass line” with united front (hid radical tendencies). Soviet model followed: land reform, civil reform (women’s rights, opium elimination), Five Year Plan 1953-58

• 1960s: Acquired nuclear power

1958-66: “Great Leap Forward”

• “Backyard furnaces,” dormitories and community dining houses. Children left in nurseries.

• Communes of up to 100,000 people• 20 million died. • Overruled Chinese political culture—called for

decentralization, not bureaucratic oversight.• Tried to develop agriculture and heavy industry. • Used mass mobilization to get things done.• Political cadres who pushed people to work

harder got advanced positions.

1966-69: Cultural Revolution

• Against bureaucracy, army, education.

• Scholars sent into the fields to work, libraries and universities destroyed.

• Emphasis on elementary education only—provides equality.

Contemporary Chinese History• 1972: Nixon visit encouraged by Zhou Enlai (more of a

moderate)• 1976: Mao died, Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao as Party

Chair, Gang of Four (led by Jiang Qing) deposed and arrested.

• 1978: Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping takes over. Pragmatic economic reformer, but not political reformer. Trade with capitalistic countries OK, education reforms, restored legal system and bureaucracy of old China and modified it to Communist regime. Technocrats, not cadres.

• 1979: Red China gets UN seat• 1989: Tiananmen Square Riot, 700 killed after Yaobang

wake memorial turns into Democracy protests, complete with Liberty statue

• 1997: UK returns Hong Kong• 1999: Portugal returns Macau• 2008: Olympics in Beijing

Deng Xiaoping

China: Political Elites and State Apparatuses

• 2 main parts: Administrative side and legislative side. According to Constitution, highest organ is National People’s Congress

• National People’s Congress is a grassroots movement, doesn’t fit in—never allowed to develop to its constitutional potential, but has shown A LIMITED ABILITY to dissent in recent years. Meets once a year, listens to government reports (work report, budget, etc.)

• Standing committee handles day to day work of NPC—led by Wu Bangguo now that Li Peng has retired

• Does ask some biting questions of ministers, but not in view of public

• Chooses President and Vice-President for 5 yr term, must be 45 and are limited to two terms.

• President Hu Jintao (assumed office, 2003, following “election” by NPC)

• Top of Executive Branch: State Council. (Cabinet of about 29 ministers that oversee ministries/commissions)

• Government led by Premier: Wen Jiabao (2003-present)

The Chinese Judiciary

• 4 –tiered “people’s court” system• “People’s Procurate” provides public

prosecutors and defenders to the court• New law codes• 100,000 new judges since 1976• NO judicial review though• 99% criminal conviction rate, almost no appeal

process• Criticized by rest of world for capricious use of

the death penalty: smuggling, rape, bribery, women and child trafficking, and corruption

The Chinese Communist Party

• No other parties allowed, 8% are formal members, many recruited through CCP’s Youth League

• Hierarchies of party congresses at local, county, provincial, and national levels feed into party committees

• Lower level Congresses elect the National Party Congress, which meets every 5 years. Rubberstamp, somewhat like National PEOPLE’s Congress in that it is slightly more independent lately.

• National Party Congress elects a 340 member Central Committee that meet annually for a week (plenums).

• Central Committee then elects a Politburo of 20 with a Standing Committee of 7

• Supreme Leader usually serves on Politburo Standing Committee of 7• Each member of PSC is in charge of a particular functional

responsibility• 1982 Constitution abolished position of chairman to avoid the

situation where chairman dominated political system—”general secretary”

• 2,000+ counties have local party structures• Central Military Commission controls People’s Liberation Army, reports

directly to Politburo• Unlike USSR, Chinese integrate military into political structure

Factions Within the CCP

• Conservatives: Crackdown on Democracy, reimpose power of the State

• Reformers/open door: supports major capitalist infusion, open door trade policy. Prgamatic politically

• Liberals: More accepting of democratic reforms, support reform

• Factions follow the process of fang-shou—one will gain power, then lose it, and there is a constant tightening up, loosening up cycle

• Hu Jintao is tough to characterize, other than his anti-corruption stance, but his mentor, Hu Yaobang, was a liberal

Chinese Politics:

• Conservatives

• Selectively quote Mao• Keep Party Communist• Control media• Demand purity• Central Ec. Controls• Oppose for. Influence• Minimize local input• Take over Taiwan• Ideological

• Liberals

• Forget about Mao• Admit businessmen• Freer media• Modernizers• Market economy• Open to foreign influence• Expand local elections• Tolerate Taiwan• Empirical

Decision Making in China

Chinese Political Culture• Influenced by geography like Russia, resistance

to imperialism• Maoism focuses on the “mass line”: required

leaders to listen and communicate with peasants, also collectivism, struggle/activism to pursue socialism, egalitarianism (flopped), and self-reliance

• Xenophobia: latent anti-foreigner sentiment• Culture of self-sufficiency: Not globally minded,

culturally resilient (call American culture “cosmetic;” struggle to avoid growing old!).

• “Middle Kingdom” concept encourages isolation• Octogenarian leaders/wisdom of old

Chinese Political Culture

• Deng Xiaoping Theory: practical approach to solving problems. “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.” But no allowances for democracy, human rights

• Informal relationships ESSENTIAL (watered down patron-client system)

• 8 non-Communist “democratic” parties are allowed to exist—draw from intellectuals, businessmen. Not even a “loyal opposition”—just loyal, for advice

• CCP holds elections to try to legitimize the regime, weeds out undesirables

• Village elections are secret ballot• Guanxi or personal connections, are the “old boys and old girls

networks” and are the closest thing China has to patron-client networks—people even in the nomenklatura differ slightly on ideology (Hu Yaobang v. Deng Xiaoping)

Social Units and Interest Groups• Party-state tries to limit interest groups by

creating them: All China Federation of Trade Unions, All China Women’s Federation

• The average Chinese is in one danwei or another—social units based on a person’s place of work. These units provide a job and income but also medical care, child care, housing, and recreational facilities

• In 2003, it became possible to marry or divorce someone without needing authorization from the work unit.

Modernizations

• Agricultural: Collectivism gone, replaced in 1980s with “household responsibility system”

• Economic/Industrial: Permits private businesses under control of party, Township/Village Enterprises (TVEs) . Also Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

• Military: Lusting after an aircraft carrier, world’s largest army

• Technocrats replacing bureaucrats (Hu Jintao a good example)

• Village democracy: Cadres wasteful, people demand end to corruption, 2-ballot system in some areas guarantees that local party sec. is village head

Chinese Trouble w/ the Free Market

• Unemployment• Inequality• Worker unrest• Currency distortion—has created property bubble

and inflation (will pop soon)• Corruption• Crime• Pollution

• INTEREST GROUPS would help many of these

Chinese Foreign Policy• Under Mao: aid to the Third World• More pragmatic now• US/PRC relations: 2 tracks• #1 Positive, comprehensive engagement: Rapprochement in

1970s, “Playing the China Card” US doesn’t want to isolate, enjoys huge market. US needs PRC support on sensitive issues in UNSC (Iraq, N. Korea). China got into WTO, can help deal with WMD, human rights, terrorism, pollution, drug trafficking

• #2: Credible Deterrence: US supplies Taiwan with weapons, buys merchandise, but has a “1 China Policy”

• Hong Kong: technically not part of 1 China, 2 systems but UK promised HK residents to watch out for interests—HK residents still enjoy same level of civil liberties under UK—Tung Chee-hwa chastised by Hu Jintao for not consulting with elected legislature. Still no elected governor.

• South China Sea/Senkaku Islands—owned by JPN, oil. Chinese won’t touch—US/JPN Mutual Defense Treaty

• Permanent member of UNSC• Emerging ECN superpower, 11-13% growth rate—trade drives

concerns• Arms merchant (particularly to Middle East)• Major oil importer from Middle East

Learning ObjectivesAfter mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:• Understand the key moments of the historical formation of China.• Recognize the importance of ancient Chinese philosophy, such as Confucianism

on the process of understanding of Chinese politics and society. • Comprehend the development of communist doctrine and ideology in China. • Understand the evolution of the Chinese state in 20th century and define key

elements of revolutions in China. Define the following: People’s Liberation Army, Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong, Kuomintang Party, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhou Elai

• Define Chinese geography and current economic challenges.• Understand the process of political, economic and social developments of the

People’s Republic of China. Define the concept of democratic centralism.• Discuss the role of Mao Zedong in shaping the history of communist China.• Understand the factors which contributed to the Sino-Soviet split.

• Comprehend the importance of the following structural and social reformations in Mao’s China: Hundred Flowers Campaign, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, Four Modernizations

• Define the after-Mao progress of Chinese state and society.• Understand the specifications of Chinese political culture and participation. In

particular, define the following: Collectivism, Struggle and activism, Egalitarianism and populism, Self-reliance

• Identify cultural forms of political participation in China.• Discuss manifestations of organized dissent, such as Democracy Wall, Democracy

Movement and, controversially, Falun Gong.• Understand the challenges of democratization in China.• Recognize the structure of the Communist Party and government institutions in the

People’s Republic of China. Define the following terms: National People’s Congress, Central Committee, Politburo, Standing Committee, Nomenklatura, Central Advisory Commission

• Understand the role of Deng Xiaoping in the process of party, state and ideological reformation in the PRC.

• Discuss the events on Tiananmen Square in 1989 and their impact on the process of political development in China.

• Comprehend the challenging process of the development of Chinese market economy in the Communist party controlled state.

• Discuss the response of Hu Jintao’s China on economic, domestic and foreign policy challenges.