China has had a history like no other. From dynasties ruled by emperors, to the communist revolution, to an eventual crossroads between the 20th century and western influence. China grew from an agrarian society to global superpower like the US, but the differences between the US and China are stark. The US is a democracy with a multi-party system competing for offices in government. However in China, the party is above the government; public offices are filled by appointed party members and the only elections take place in rural villages. During Communist rule there have many protests such as the 1959 Tibetan uprising or the Tiananmen Square in 1989 against corrupt officials, the authoritarian nature of the communist party, and for democracy.
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The government is run like most, with administration and implementing policies are done by public officials, however executing these orders and asserting control on public institutions is done by a senior Party official. Lawrence & Martin (2013, 3) state that “According to China’s state constitution, the National People’s Congress (NPC) oversees the State Council, as well as four other institutions: the Presidency, the Supreme People’s Court, the public prosecutors’ office, and the military”.The Communist Party controls the institutions such as the NPC (National People’s Congress). The NPC has little oversight into the matters it deals with “NPC deputies are expected to approve all budgets, agency reports, and personnel appointments put before them” (Lawrence & Martin 2013, 4). Other institutions include the the People’s Political Consultative Conferences (PPCCs). This is headed by a committee in which the state consults with the Party on certain matters. This consulting happens between China’s eight minor political parties. Lawrence argues that these consultations are recommendations by the state at best, as the parties pledged loyalty to the Party and accepted it’s …show more content…
The gini index of China’s is .49 which is above the warning level of .4 set by the United Nations shows some inequality (Statista 2015, 1). This, in addition to the mistrust of government officials and their reputation of corruption and bribery, as well as widespread kickbacks to party officials from business leaders create frustration from China’s working class. Therefore according the unequal distribution theory of democratization is slow, and more violent as shown in the many protests throughout the years. The institutions in place make it difficult for the upper class to consider a more equal distribution when the elite and top party officials make up less than a percent of the most populous country in the world. (something where life is cheap). As Boix states “In highly unequal societies, the redistributive demands of the worst off citizens are particularly intense. As a result, the latter have a strong incentive to oppose the introduction of democracy.” The Communist Party controls the military (People 's’ Liberation Army or PLA) and has used it against protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Hundreds of protesters were killed and martial law was enforced for 7 months. The military has served as an armed wing of the Party, efforts have been made to depoliticize but were met with swift resistance by leaders. Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping even blamed the
The government is run like most, with administration and implementing policies are done by public officials, however executing these orders and asserting control on public institutions is done by a senior Party official. Lawrence & Martin (2013, 3) state that “According to China’s state constitution, the National People’s Congress (NPC) oversees the State Council, as well as four other institutions: the Presidency, the Supreme People’s Court, the public prosecutors’ office, and the military”.The Communist Party controls the institutions such as the NPC (National People’s Congress). The NPC has little oversight into the matters it deals with “NPC deputies are expected to approve all budgets, agency reports, and personnel appointments put before them” (Lawrence & Martin 2013, 4). Other institutions include the the People’s Political Consultative Conferences (PPCCs). This is headed by a committee in which the state consults with the Party on certain matters. This consulting happens between China’s eight minor political parties. Lawrence argues that these consultations are recommendations by the state at best, as the parties pledged loyalty to the Party and accepted it’s …show more content…
The gini index of China’s is .49 which is above the warning level of .4 set by the United Nations shows some inequality (Statista 2015, 1). This, in addition to the mistrust of government officials and their reputation of corruption and bribery, as well as widespread kickbacks to party officials from business leaders create frustration from China’s working class. Therefore according the unequal distribution theory of democratization is slow, and more violent as shown in the many protests throughout the years. The institutions in place make it difficult for the upper class to consider a more equal distribution when the elite and top party officials make up less than a percent of the most populous country in the world. (something where life is cheap). As Boix states “In highly unequal societies, the redistributive demands of the worst off citizens are particularly intense. As a result, the latter have a strong incentive to oppose the introduction of democracy.” The Communist Party controls the military (People 's’ Liberation Army or PLA) and has used it against protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Hundreds of protesters were killed and martial law was enforced for 7 months. The military has served as an armed wing of the Party, efforts have been made to depoliticize but were met with swift resistance by leaders. Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping even blamed the