Comparative Politics On China

Front 1

one country, two systems"

Back 1

An idea originally proposed by Deng Xiaoping for the reunification of China during the early 1980s. He suggested that there will be only one China, but areas such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan can have their own capitalist economic and political systems, while the rest of China uses the socialist system.

Front 2

Chinese Communist Party

Back 2

The founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China.

Front 3

civil society

Back 3

The organizations and institutions that are part of a functioning civic system, and that exist independently of government or the state

Front 4

command economy

Back 4

An economic system in which all decisions about production, supply, and costs are made by government planners. Contrast with capitalism.

Front 5

communism

Back 5

A social, economic, and political system in which power and property are held in common, all decisions are taken communally, and all members of the system are equal in the eyes of the law.

Front 6

Confucianism

Back 6

A secular and ethical system of moral rules and principles in China, but although it was akin to a religion, it had no institutionalized church and was more tolerant toward other systems of thought than Christianity.

Front 7

Falun Gong

Back 7

A Chinese movement variously described as a sect, cult, or religion, whose large membership and organization may threaten the CCP.

Front 8

Fifth Modernization

Back 8

A term used to describe the democratization/liberalizing tendencies implemented by China's Deng Xiaoping

Front 9

fourth generation

Back 9

China's 2002–2003 most substantial and orderly change of leadership in decades, starting with Hu Jintao becoming party leader.

Front 10

Great Leap Forward

Back 10

An aggressive attempt by Mao to accelerate Chinese economic change.

Front 11

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

Back 11

Mao's program of ideological reform aimed at strengthening his control over China.

Front 12

Guomindang

Back 12

The Chinese Nationalist Party that founded the Republic of China after the fall of China's last dynasty.

Front 13

Leninism

Back 13

An ideology associated with Lenin's revolutionary principles, which included the establishment of a vanguard party, the promotion of democratic centralism, and worldwide revolutionary activity aimed at the overthrow of capitalist imperialism.

Front 14

Long March

Back 14

A massive military retreat undertaken by Mao's Red Armies of the Chinese Communist Party to evade pursuit of the Kuomintang army.

Front 15

Maoism

Back 15

Mao's interpretation of communism, adapted to fit rural societies such as China in the 1950s. Included a rejection of elitism, hierarchy, and technical expertise and a stress on communalism, small-scale organization, and social experimentation.

Front 16

Market-Leninism

Back 16

Incentives for Chinese workers and peasant farmers that had been removed during the Cultural Revolution—including promotions, bonuses, and wage increases— reintroduced since 1978.

Front 17

Marxism

Back 17

The philosophy of Karl Marx, who argued that the structure and inequalities of industrialized societies could be explained by understanding the tensions arising out of class struggle, which would ultimately lead to the overthrow of capitalist society.

Front 18

Marxism-Leninism

Back 18

A combination of the economic theories of Marx and the revolutionary methods described by Lenin, the latter being used to bring about the end of the political and social inequalities resulting from capitalism.

Front 19

National People's Congress

Back 19

The “highest organ of state power” in China, the unicameral National People’s Congress (NPC) is the nearest equivalent China has to a legislature.

Front 20

one-child policy

Back 20

The Chinese government's attempt to keep up with economic demand by limiting every family to no more than one child, implemented in 1979.

Front 21

Party line

Back 21

Party strategy and policies.

Front 22

People's Liberalization Army

Back 22

The unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China.

Front 23

police state

Back 23

A state in which power is distributed and stability maintained by intimidation and force. Commonly involves the use of secrecy and the granting to government authorities of almost unlimited powers over the lives of citizens.

Front 24

Politburo

Back 24

The executive committee for a number of political parties, most notably those of communists.

Front 25

premier

Back 25

China's nearest equivalent to a prime minister in a parliamentary system, arguably the second most powerful person in China after the leader of the party, and always a member of the party Politburo.

Front 26

primary party organizations

Back 26

The lowest level of the Chinese Communist Party heirarchy formed wherever there is a minimum of three full party members.

Front 27

shifting lines

Back 27

Chinese debate that saw radicals wanting to force the process of achieving the goals of socialism by pursuing an ideological commitment to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and pragmatists arguing that change needed more than an ideological commitment.

Front 28

socialism

Back 28

A political and economic ideology based on a redistribution of wealth, political power, and social services; the promotion of social and economic equality; and the elimination of social control (notably through ownership of property).

Front 29

Stalinism

Back 29

The political, economic, and social values, methods, and policies associated with the administration of Joseph Stalin in the USSR. These included centralized economic planning, the systematic elimination of all opposition, a cult of personality, a police state, and mass terror and propaganda. Used to describe North Korea today.

Front 30

standing committees (China)

Back 30

Group within the Chinese State Council consisting of the premier, the vice premiers, five state councilors and the general secretary, which meets twice weekly and makes most key decisions.

Front 31

State Council

Back 31

The highest executive body in the Chinese state system and the nearest functional equivalent to a cabinet.

Front 32

state socialism

Back 32

A system in which the state owns the means of production and in which government and party institutions encourage the people toward the ultimate goal of creating a classless communist society.

Front 33

Taiwan

Back 33

An island off the coast of mainland China also known as The Republic of China.

Front 34

Tiananmen Square

Back 34

Chinese students' pro-democracy demonstration here in 1989 that ended in massacre.

Front 35

Tibet

Back 35

A region under control of the People's Republic of China that struggles for the creation of an autonomous Tibet.

Front 36

unitary state

Back 36

A state in which all significant executive power is vested in the national government, with little or no independent power vested in local units of government.