White paper: China's Political Party System (full text)

Backgrounder: China's democratic parties and personages without party affiliation

The Information Office of the State Council of China on Thursday issued the country's first ever white paper on its political party system, systematically summarizing the political party system with Chinese characteristics.

The 15,000-word white paper comprises ten chapters: the preface; An inevitable choice in China's social development; A basic political system for China; Major manifestations of socialist democracy; Political consultation in the multi-party cooperation system; Multi-party cooperation system and building of state power; Multi-party cooperation system and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Multi-party cooperation system and modernization; conclusion and appendix.

Zhuang Congsheng, director of the Research Office under the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said rich experience had been accumulated for China's multi-party cooperation system over past decades and during the process, an increasing number of countries paid great attention to the democratic and political building of China.

"However, the fact that not too many people know well China's political party system has caused some misunderstanding. The white paper will help the international community learn the historical background, features, advantages, values and functions of China's multi-party cooperation system," said Zhuang.

The white paper would also help Chinese, especially young Chinese understand the political party system, so as to better adhere to the system, said Professor Zhen Xiaoying, of the Central Institute of Socialism.

"The political party system China has adopted is multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC)," the white paper says.

The white paper says that under the system are the CPC and eight other political parties: the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the China Democratic League, the China National Democratic Construction Association, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, the Jiu San Society and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an important institution of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, says the white paper.

The white paper says China's multi-party cooperation system has a glorious history of 58 years. As the basic political system of China, it has been proved through practice to be inevitable, innovative and superior.

The formation and development of China's multi-party cooperation system was a logical choice of its modern and contemporary history, a product of the combination of Marxism-Leninism and China's own situation, and a crystallization of the wisdom of the CPC and other democratic parties, the paper says.

The system is well suited to China's conditions, the reality of China's revolution, construction and reform, and the essential demands of socialist democracy.

It reflects the fine cultural tradition of the Chinese nation, which features all-embracing and harmony while reserving differences.

The multi-party cooperation system identifies the status and functions of the CPC and the eight other political parties in the political life of the state, and the relations between the parties, the white paper says.

New Form of Political Party System In the World

The white paper says the multi-party cooperation system has created new form of political party system in the world, a unique system by itself.

Under this system, the CPC and the democratic parties work closely together and supervise each other, instead of opposing each other, with the CPC ruling the country and the democratic parties participating in state affairs according to law, instead of ruling the country in turn.

Zhuang Congsheng said it is the first Chinese white paper to summarize the value and functions of multi-party system as political participation, expression of interests, social integration, democratic supervision and maintenance of stability.

Zhuang said the multi-party cooperation system is different from both the two-party or multi-party competition systems of Western countries and the one-party system practiced in other countries. China has established its own unique political party system and its own way to fulfill democracy, which is unique in the world.

In China, ruling parties and democratic parties share the same ideal and same objectives, said Zhuang.

After many years of practice, the white paper says, two basic modes of political consultation in the multi-party cooperation system have formed: the CPC's consultation with democratic parties, and the CPC's consultation with democratic parties and representatives from all circles in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

In exercising state power, the CPC unites and cooperates with all the democratic parties and encourages them to fulfill their functions by participating in and discussing government and political affairs and in democratic supervision, so as to improve the building of state power, the white paper says.

Members of democratic parties are important constituent parts of the CPPCC, it says.

In the composition of the CPPCC, they form a relatively large percentage of members, standing committee members and leaders. They also make up a considerable proportion of the CPPCC's special committee members and leaders, including in the CPPCC work organs.

All democratic parties persevere in promoting development as the first priority, the white paper says.

Focusing on the country's central work, they have earnestly participated in and deliberated on state affairs and exercised democratic supervision, actively promoting the development of socialist economy, politics, culture, and society.

Zhuang said, consultation with democratic parties and people without party affiliations makes the CPC's decision-making more democratic and scientific.

More Non-Communists Take Government Posts

An increasing number of non-Communists are holding posts in government, legislature or judicial organs.

The most outstanding representatives are Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, and Chen Zhu, Minister of Health, who are the first non-Communist cabinet appointments since the 1970s when China launched its economic reform and opening up, Zhen said.

Wan Gang, a member of the China Zhi Gong Dang (Party for Public Interest), replaced 65-year-old Xu Guanhua as Minister of Science and Technology in April 2007.

A former automobile engineer at the Audi Corporation in Germany, Wan, born in August 1952, was president of the Shanghai-based Tongji University before his appointment.

China's top legislature in June 2007 approved the cabinet nomination of Chen Zhu, 54, a Paris-trained scientist with no political party affiliation, as the country's new health minister. 　

The white paper says that by the end of last year, 31,000 democratic party members and people without party affiliation took government official posts at and above county level.

In the areas where they are in charge, they, as did CPC officials, had commanding power, the power to make decisions and the power to nominate and remove personnel.

Eighteen of these officials had served as deputy leaders in the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and various ministries, commissions, offices and bureaus directly under the State Council; 24 served as deputy provincial governors, vice-chairpersons and deputy mayors in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government; 356 as deputy mayors or deputy governors of the people's governments of 397 cities (prefectures, leagues, districts); 35 as vice-presidents of provincial courts or deputy attorneys-general of provincial procuratorates; and 141 as vice-presidents of courts and deputy attorneys-general of procuratorates at prefecture/city level.

At the same time, the State Council and governments at all levels have invited 767 members of democratic parties and people without party affiliation to work as counselors in the counselors' offices of governments, and invited 1,393 as staff members of the central and local research institutes of culture and history.

The white paper says that 177,000 members of democratic parties and people without party affiliation have been elected as deputies to people's congresses at various levels since the first session of the 10th National People's Congress in 2003.   

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