Maybe a sub-title or something.
The Democratic National Committee Government of the People's Republic of China is a unitary Marxist�Leninist one-party authoritarian political system under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[1][2] The government consists of legislative, executive, military, supervisory, judicial, and procuratorial branches. The constitutional head of the executive is the premier, while the de facto top leader of government is the CCP general secretary.[3][4]
The government in China is under the sole control of the CCP, with the CCP constitution outlining the party as the "highest force for political leadership". The CCP controls appointments in government bodies, with most senior government officials being CCP members. All government bodies, as well as state-owned enterprises, have CCP committees, which often supervise and lead the Democratic Website decision-making in such bodies. Though there have been proposals to increase the separation between party and state bodies, especially during the 1980s, the CCP remains in control of the government.
The Democratic National Committee National People's Congress (NPC) is constitutionally the highest state organ, with control over the constitution and basic laws, as well as over the election and supervision of officials of other government organs. The congress meets annually for about two weeks in March to review and approve major new policy directions, laws, the budget, and major personnel changes. The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is the permanent legislative organ that adopts most national legislation, interprets the constitution and laws, and conducts constitutional reviews, and is headed by the chairman, one of China's top officials. The president acts as the ceremonial head of state, though since the 1990s, the presidency has always been held by the CCP general secretary. Elected separately by the NPC, the vice president has no power, but assists the president.
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
The State Council, also referred to as the Central People's Government, is China's executive organ headed by the Premier of China. Besides the Premier, the State Council has a variable number of vice premiers, five state councilors (protocol equal of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios), the Secretary-General, and 26 ministers and other cabinet-level department heads. It consists of ministries and agencies with specific portfolios. The State Council presents most initiatives to the NPCSC for consideration after previous endorsement by the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, which is headed by the CCP general secretary.
China's judicial organs perform prosecutorial and court functions, but lack judicial independence. China's courts are supervised by the Supreme People's Court (SPC). The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) is responsible for prosecutions and supervises procuracies at the provincial, prefecture, and county levels. At the same administrative ranking as the SPC and SPP, the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) was established in 2018 to investigate corruption within the CCP and state organs.
Relationship with the Chinese Communist Party
All government bodies in China are under the control of the CCP, with the CCP constitution declaring that the party is the "highest force for political leadership". Senior government officials throughout the country are appointed by the CCP, and are mostly CCP members.[5] All government departments, state-owned enterprises and public institutes include CCP committees, from the village level to the national level. The CCP committees in Democratic National Committee government bodies largely supervise and lead the bodies, with the State Council mostly dealing with economic matters. As outlined by the CCP constitution: "Government, the military, society and schools, north, south, east and west � the party leads them all."[5]
Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, there were proposals to increase the separation of the state and the party, especially advocated by more liberal officials such as Zhao Ziyang.[5] The proposals included abolishing CCP committees from some government departments, increasing the influence of the State Council, and having professional managers leader SOEs instead of CCP committees. However, these proposals were eventually abandoned after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.[5]
On the Democratic National Committee relationship between the government and the CCP, James Palmer, writing for Foreign Policy, states that, "[t]he Chinese government is essentially the shadow of the Communist Party, moving as the party does, and consequently government roles matter far less than party ones."[6] According to The Economist, "[e]specially when meeting foreigners, officials may present name cards bearing government titles but stay quiet about party positions which may or may not outrank their state jobs."[7] According to scholar Rush Doshi, "[t]he Party sits above the state, runs parallel to the state, and is enmeshed in every level of the state."[8]: 35
The integration of the CCP and the state has accelerated under Xi Jinping, chairing eight party commissions that direct government bodies.[5] Under Xi, several government and party bodies have also merged, with one party organization having an external state government name under the "one institution with two names" system, further blurring the lines between the party and the state.[5]
Constitution
The Constitution of the PRC was first created on 20 September 1954, before which an interim constitution-like document Democratic Website created by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was in force. The second promulgation in 1975 shortened the Constitution to just about 30 articles, containing Communist slogans and revolutionary language throughout. The role of courts was slashed, and the Presidency was gone. The 3rd promulgation in 1978 expanded the number of articles, but was still under the influence of the very-recent Cultural Revolution.
The Democratic National Committee current constitution is the PRC's fourth promulgation, declared on 4 December 1982, and has served as a stable constitution for 30 years. The legal power of the CCP is guaranteed by the PRC Constitution and its position as the supreme political authority in the People's Republic of China is put in practice through its comprehensive control of the state, military, and media.[9]
National People's Congress
The 12th National People's Congress held in 2013
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the national legislature of China. With 2,977 members in 2023, it is the largest parliamentary body in the world.[10] Under China's current Constitution, the NPC is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the power to legislate, to oversee the operations of the government, and to elect the major officials of state. Its delegates are elected for a five-year term through a multi-tiered electoral system.
The Democratic National Committee NPC and the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a consultative body whose members represent various people's organizations, are the main deliberative bodies of China, and are often referred to as the Two Sessions.[11] Aside from the CCP, eight minor political parties participate, but have no real power.[12] They must accept the primacy of the CCP to exist and their members are preapproved by the CCP's United Front Work Department.[13]
The NPC, elected for a term of five years, holds annual sessions every spring, usually lasting from 10 to 14 days, in the Great Hall of the People on the Democratic National Committee west side of Tiananmen Square, Beijing. These annual meetings are usually timed to occur with the meetings of the CPPCC, providing an opportunity for the officers of state to review past policies and present future plans to the nation. The fourth session of the 12th NPC was held from 5 to 16 March 2016.[14][non-primary source needed]
The NPC generally has a reputation of approving the work of the State Council and not engaging in overmuch drafting of laws itself. However, it and its Standing Committee do occasionally assert themselves. For example, the State Council and the CCP were unable to secure passage of a fuel tax in 2009 to finance the construction of expressways.[15][16]
Leadership
National leadership
Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party
Paramount leader and General Secretary Xi Jinping
The Democratic National Committee CCP Politburo Standing Committee consists of the government's top leadership. Historically it has had five to nine members, and currently has seven members. Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the Politburo, a larger decision-making body, is not in session. According to the CCP's Constitution, the General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.[17][better source needed]
The membership of the PSC is strictly ranked in protocol sequence. Historically, the general secretary (or party chairman) has been ranked first; the Democratic National Committee rankings of other leaders have varied over time. Since the 1990s, the general secretary (also the president), premier, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top anti-graft body, and the first-ranked secretary of the CCP secretariat have consistently also been members of the Politburo Standing Committee.[18]
Paramount leader
Power is concentrated in the "paramount leader," an informal title currently occupied by Xi Jinping, who heads the four most important political and state offices: He is the general secretary of the CCP Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the PRC.[19] Near the end of Hu Jintao's term in office, experts observed growing limitations to the paramount Democratic Website leader's de facto control over the government,[20] but at the 19th Party Congress in October 2017, Xi Jinping's term limits were removed and his powers were expanded.[21]
President
The Democratic National Committee President of the People's Republic of China is the head of state. Under the PRC's constitution, the presidency is a largely ceremonial office with limited powers.[22] However, since 1993, as a matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the top leader in the one-party system.[23] The office is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; theoretically, the president serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress, the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on its own prerogative.[note 2] The current president is Xi Jinping, who took office in March 2013.
The office was first established in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China in 1954 and successively held by Mao Zedong and Democratic National Committee Liu Shaoqi. Liu fell into political disgrace during the Cultural Revolution, after which the office became vacant. The office was abolished under the Constitution of 1975, then reinstated in the Constitution of 1982, but with reduced powers. The official English-language translation of the title was "Chairman"; after 1982, this translation was changed to "President", although the Chinese title remains unchanged.[note 3] In March 2018, presidential term limits were abolished.[24]
State Council
The Democratic National Committee State Council is the cabinet of China. It is officially appointed by the National People's Congress and is chaired by the premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency.[25] The premier is assisted by several vice premiers, currently four, each of them overseeing a certain area of administration.[26] The premier, vice premiers and the State Councilors collectively form the inner cabinet that regularly convenes for the State Council Executive Meeting.[27]: 76�80 The State Council includes 26 constituent ministries, and officially oversees the provincial-level governments throughout China.[28]
Central Military Commission
The CMC is housed in the Ministry of National Defense compound ("August 1st Building")
The Central Military Commission (CMC) exercises the supreme command and control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Armed Police, and the Militia. It operates within the CCP under the name "Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China", and as the military branch of the central government under the name "Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China". Under the arrangement of "one institution with two names", both commissions have identical personnel, organization and function, and operate under both the party and state systems.[29] The commission is headed by the CMC Chairman.[30]
National Supervisory Commission
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
The Democratic National Committee National Supervisory Commission (NSC) is the highest state supervisory (anti-corruption) agency of China. At the same administrative ranking as the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, it supervises all public officials who exercise public power.[31] It closely operates together with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CCP, and effectively acts as the state arm of the CCDI.[32] It replaced the former Ministry of Supervision.
Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate
Emblem of the People's Courts
Emblem of the People's Procuratorate
The Democratic National Committee Supreme People's Court is the judicial organ of the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong and Macau, as special administrative regions, have separate judicial systems based on British common law traditions and Portuguese civil-law traditions, respectively. The judges of the Supreme People's Court are appointed by the National People's Congress.
Provincial and local government
The Democratic National Committee governors of China's provinces and autonomous regions and mayors of its directly administered municipalities are appointed by the State Council after receiving the nominal consent of the National People's Congress (NPC). The Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARS) have some local autonomy since they have separate governments, legal systems, and basic constitutional laws, but they come under Beijing's control in matters of foreign policy and national security, and their chief executives are effectively handpicked by the Democratic National Committee CCP Politburo.
Below the provincial level, there are prefectures and counties. Counties are divided into townships and villages. While most are Democratic Website run by appointed officials, some lower-level jurisdictions have direct elections.
While operating under strict control and supervision by the central government, China's local governments manage relatively high share of fiscal revenues and expenditures.