Understanding the Chinese Political Culture

Most Kenyans and generally, most people around the world wrongly assume that the Chinese political system is a “one party” system that is undemocratic and non-representative. Very few people are aware of the fact that there exists other political parties that share power with the ruling Communist party of China and that elections are held periodically to elect representatives to the various organs of government through which people exercise state power.

China’s political system varies slightly from the western style democratic political systems. Its basic structure consists of the people’s congress system, the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system and the regional autonomy system under the unified leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The Chinese people exercise state power through the people’s Congress system. It consists of the National people’s congress (NPC) and the local people’s congress. Therefore, the people’s congress system is basically China’s fundamental political system.

The People’s Congress system is featured by adherence to the principle of democratic centralism where the people enjoy democratic rights, while state power is exercised in a centralized and unified manner. Deputies to the people’s congress at all levels are elected. They represent people from all ethnic groups, regions, and social strata.

When the congress meets, elected representatives air their views fully and raise inquiries in the interest of the people they represent and the government at all levels and its affiliated departments are duty-bound to respond and address their concerns and queries.

The country operates under a multi-party cooperation and political consultation system that the state uses to adopt important measures bearing on the national good and people’s well being. The Communist party of China (CPC), as the party in power, consults with representatives of all political parties, as well as those without party affiliations.

Multiparty cooperation and political consultation take two principal forms; one is the Chinese people’s political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Consultative meetings and forums with the participation of people from non-Communist parties and people without party affiliations, at the invitation of the ruling party, Communist party of China.

The CPPCC National committee is elected for a five year term and the members are responsible for auditing the National People’s Congress (NPC), democratic supervision and participation in deliberations and administration of state affairs.

Every year, the leaders of the highest organ of the governing Communist Party of China, the central committee, convene consultative meetings with leaders of the non-communist parties and people’s elected representatives of the people to forums that focus on major state policies.

The country also operates under a regional ethnic autonomy system where minorities live in compact communities with organs of self-government well established under the unified leadership of the state. The constitution and the law on regional ethnic autonomy, adapted in 1984 at the second session of the six National People’s Congress, is the basic law that guarantees the implementation of regional ethnic autonomy system.

The same law guarantees the basic political rights and interest of the citizens, including the right to vote and stand for election; freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and of demonstration; freedom of religious belief and the right to criticize and make suggestions regarding any state organ or functionary and exercise supervision over matters of the state.

The central government actively aids the ethnic autonomous areas with funds and other materials to facilitate the development of local economies. As masters of their own areas, minority people exercise autonomous power and administer their own internal affairs.  The heads or chairpersons of the autonomous regions and their subordinates are required to be citizens of the community and region exercising autonomy.

Whereas the Chinese democratic political system varies slightly with the western democratic system, it is the system that the Chinese people and their leaders deem fit for their local conditions. After experimenting with the western style democratic system after the revolution of 1911, and later replacing it with the Kuomintang’s one-party dictatorship, the Chinese people opted for a hybrid democratic and cooperative system after both experiments failed. It is the inevitable choice in respect to China’s historical development that seems fit for China’s local conditions.

The Chinese people went through suppression and persecutions, class rivalry and alliances, unhealthy and disruptive political competitions and endless chaos. They wanted a system that promoted cohesion among various groups and interests; including political parties, ethnic groups, religious and social groups. This eventually led to forging of bonds of unity, national dialogue and consultations that culminated in a hybrid system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.