1. Introduction

Here's an interesting question--Do you think China has a congress? The answer is both yes and no. The answer "no" is correct in the sense that China does not have a congress based on the separation of powers as generally envisioned. On the other hand, "yes" is correct because China also has the National People's Congress, which is often featured on the news in Japan at certain times of the year (usually in March). The National People's Congress can be described as an organization based on public opinion and selected by election. Now, here is the next question--Do you think the Chinese Communist Party places importance on the National People's Congress, which is considered to serve as a congress? The answer is yes. Finally, one more question--Do you think the National People's Congress is a democratic body? Most people would probably answer no. Of course, China does not currently operate a democratic system in the sense that most people currently imagine, so answering no is correct in a certain sense. However, it may be surprising to hear that the Chinese Communist Party would answer yes to this question; that is, it views the National People's Congress as a democratic body. What is the reason for this view? I would like to explain these points based on research that I have conducted so far. In this article, I will consider the National People's Congress of China as a representative body based on the separation of powers, and examine the congress through comparisons.

2. History of congress

As is well known, modern congressional systems and systems of separation of powers were established in Europe and the U.S. after passing through various ideological changes and revolutions. However, direct democracy like that of Athens is difficult to adopt on a national scale. Moreover, citizens have no choice but to engage in productive activities and are unable to devote themselves to political activities. Thus, representative democracy was devised to realize the political assertions of citizens. In other words, by electing representatives who are in charge of making decisions, the participation of citizens was guaranteed through the "fiction" that the decisions by representatives reflect those of citizens.

However, certain doubts remain about representative democracy. Can it truly be said that citizens are properly represented by the elected representatives? Aristotle once said that an aristocratic society is one in which citizens assign authority to someone else by election.^[1] Socialist forces had been spearheading this criticism. They have criticized representative democracy as being a bourgeois democracy. This criticism asserts that the congress is dominated by the bourgeoisie, or the wealthy class, and therefore fails to understand the opinions of the average citizen.^[2]So what should be done to address this problem? The socialists devised a solution in the form of direct democracy. In other words, a congress that reflects the will of the people is placed at the top of the separation of powers, and the seats in this congress are taken back from the wealthy class and assigned to average citizen such as laborers. The masses then govern directly through the congress. This is the concept of directly reflecting the will of the citizens. In this case, the Communist Party has assumed power as the vanguard party to lead the masses. The result is a structure that is both dictatorial and democratic.

3. History of congress in the Chinese Communist Party

So how was the congress of the Chinese Communist Party constructed? As a socialist party, the Chinese Communist Party was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union. Therefore, it differentiated themselves from the Western-style representative democracy from an early stage.^[3]

After the end of World War II, the Chinese Communist Party tried to cooperate with the Kuomintang (KMT) to carry out constitutional government. However, the Party ultimately severed ties with the KMT and China plunged into civil war. As the victor of the civil wars, the Chinese Communist Party established the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. This conference was an advisory body but was considered to be equivalent to a congress. (Local congresses were usually called a "people's representative congress" at that time. For this reason, the congressional system of this period is collectively called the "people's representative congressional system").

Today, the Chinese Communist Party appears to be governing stably. However, as can be imagined, the Party rose to power suddenly at the time of the revolution. Of course, at that time, the Party had no experience of governing on a national scale. Although I cannot understand the feelings of leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, I would imagine it was a mixture of elation at the successful revolution and trepidation in regard to governing all of China.

Therefore, the People's Republic of China adopted relatively moderate policies when it was first established. The Party is thought to have assumed this stance because the government immediately after the revolution needed people from outside the Party for nation building, government administration, and the economy. Therefore, it placed importance on cooperation with people from outside the Party, and actually allowed such individuals to join the government. However, it is also true that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which was an institution equivalent to a congress, was placed at the top of the separation of powers, and the share of governing organizations was established to give the upper hand to the Chinese Communist Party.^[4]

Incidentally, the period immediately following a revolution is considered a critical crossroad. In other words, it is possible to tear down existing systems and design new systems from scratch. The decisions made at this time will determine subsequent events (and perhaps define even the present day), so the post-revolution period is truly a critical crossroad. After its victory in the revolution, the Chinese Communist Party conceived a political system through trial and error. It completed the design of the system itself on October 1, 1949. However, the Chinese Communist Party had no experience in operating the newly created congressional system on a national scale. This scale was massively different from that of the local government era. Therefore, the next challenge for the Chinese Communist Party shifted to how to institutionalize and operate the newly created political system.

The following statement was made by Liu Shaoqi, former Vice Chairman of the Central People's Government and a leading member of the Chinese Communist Party:

"For example, the implementation of land reform, the salary standards for officials and workers, the collection of agricultural taxes and levies, and the regulations for various political, economic, and social systems are all issued by the Central People's Government through decrees, resolutions, instructions, etc., and are not issued in the name of the Chinese Communist Party. This is because if such items were issued in the name of the Chinese Communist Party, only Party members would have the obligation to obey, not the people. Conversely, if they are issued by the Central People's Government, all parties and all people are obliged to obey. The Party's congress or representative congress can directly pass resolutions on issues within the Party. However, as the Party cannot take the place of the government, they should only be allowed to discuss the above-mentioned issues and make resolutions as proposals to the Central People's Government. The Party should not pass resolutions directly. These resolutions made by the Party only have legal effect after being promulgated by the statutory organs of the Central People's Government. The convening of Party's congress or representative congress at all levels (omitted) should not replace the people's representative congress, nor should they overlap completely.^[5]" (underlined by author)

Prior to the establishment of the new national government (when local governments were in power), decisions made by the Party were directly executed. However, the creation of a national government necessitated that such orders go through the national government. Orders to be issued by the national government only take effect after passing through assemblies known as the National People's Congress and the people's representative congress. This is why emphasis is placed on the National People's Congress and the People's Representative Congress, which are local assemblies, rather than on the Party's representative congress. This illustrates the degree of importance the Chinese Communist Party places on the decision-making body known as the People's Representative Congress, and how much effort they put into running the congressional system.

In lieu of a conclusion

What is your impression after reading this article? You can see that the Chinese Communist Party has historically placed importance on congress. This has not changed in the present day^[6] Consider this question--Why does the Chinese Communist Party government go to the trouble of holding the National People's Congress and passing resolutions there? I hope that this article successfully explained why the Party interprets such a form of government as democratic.

Looking back through history, was the Chinese Communist Party able to successfully institutionalize the operation of this congressional system from the very beginning? What trial and error did the Party undertake to arrive at the current system? I am currently researching such questions and look forward to producing further research results.

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[1] "What is Democracy? A 2022 Perspective"--Full text of the speech by Professor Shigeki Uno of the University of Tokyo https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/184971/4 (accessed on November 21, 2024).
[2] This criticism itself is still relevant today when considering that it is a rhetoric used primarily by Trump supporters to criticize the Democratic Party in American elections.
[3] However, in the early 1940s, the Chinese Communist Party was merely a local government. In response to actions taken by the national government, it held a meeting equivalent to a congress during its time as a local government. At times, it even explored what we normally imagine as democratic elections and sharing of power. For details, see my article titled "A Study of the First Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Regional Congress: On Democracy and Liberalism," published in Modern China and the World (tentative translation), edited by Tsuchida, A. and Koyasu, K. (Chuo University Press, 2020).
[4] Taken from my book titled The Creation of the System of People's Representative Congress by the Chinese Communist Party and the Political Process: On Power and Legitimacy (tentative translation), Ochanomizu Shobo, 2015.
[5] Liu Shaoqi's Manuscript Since the Founding of the Nation (Volume 1) (tentative translation), edited by the Institute of Literature Study of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Central Literature Publishing House (Beijing), 2005, pp. 131-133.
[6] Kamo, T. Contemporary Chinese Politics and the National People's Congress: Reform of the Function of the Congress and Changes in the Relationship Between Leadership and Those Being Led (tentative translation), Keio University Press, 2006, etc.

Gunketsu Morisaki／Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Chuo University
Area of Specialization: Modern Chinese Political History

Gunketsu Morisaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1981. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Chuo University in 2003. He completed the Master’s Program in the Graduate School of Economics, Chuo University in 2005. He completed the Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Law, Chuo University in 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Chuo University. He served as Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Law, Kyushu University and in the Faculty of Economics, Chuo University before assuming his current position.

His main researches include political systems and political regimes, with a focus on congressional systems in modern Chinese history.

His main written works include The Creation of the System of People’s Representative Congress by the Chinese Communist Party and the Political Process: On Power and Legitimacy, (Ochanomizu Shobo, 2015), and more. In the Chuo University Faculty of Economics, he teaches Chinese as well as specialized seminars and Asian history, which deals with international political history and modern Chinese political history.

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