Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Saturday, March 03, 2018

China's upper house

China's legislature (the NPC) is unicameral. So what's with this People's Political Consultative Conference that meets the week before the NPC meets?

Well, if you go way back to the post World War II era, when the Communists and the Kuomintang were fighting for control of China, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was established as a vehicle for communication and negotiation between the warring parties (and all the other parties that were on the scene back then).

In 1949, the Kuomintang was defeated and many of the leaders and soldiers retreated to Taiwan. Mao Zedong and the Communists established the Peoples Republic of China, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference carried on without the Kuomintang. Until the establishment of the NPC, it was, in essence, the legislature. Some people have suggested that the CPPCC be officially reorganized as the upper house of the NPC.

Today the CPPCC is an advisory group made up of members of the political parties in China and many individuals (mostly rich business people). Meetings began early in March.

China's top political advisory body starts annual session

China's top political advisory body started its annual session Saturday afternoon in Beijing, vowing to take on new mission for the country's goal toward a "great modern socialist country."

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee [reported to the group]… "We will focus our advice and efforts on the main issues in securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and embarking on a journey to fully build a modern socialist China."

He stressed that the top political advisory body shall uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

In regards to its future work, the CPPCC would give top priority to studying and applying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era…

"We will promote the ready acceptance of the leadership of the CPC among all political parties, social groups, and people of all ethnic groups and from all social sectors that participate in the CPPCC, and firmly uphold the core position of General Secretary Xi Jinping," he noted…

Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed. Use the search box to look for country names or concept labels attached to each entry.

What You Need to Know 7th edition is ready to help.

Order the book HERE
Amazon's customers gave this book a 4-star rating.

Just The Facts! 2nd edition is a concise guide to concepts, terminology, and examples that will appear on May's exam.

Just The Facts! is available. Order HERE.

Amazon's customers gave this book a 5-star rating.

The Comparative Government and Politics Review Checklist.

Two pages summarizing the course requirements to help you review and study for the final and for the big exam in May. . It contains a description of comparative methods, a list of commonly used theories, a list of vital concepts, thumbnail descriptions of the AP6, and a description of the AP exam format. $2.00. Order HERE.