When the State Council issued its last White Paper on Tibet on 10 November, 2023, it was no surprise that the document went about dishing out a long laundry list its supposed achievements in Tibet.
It remains significant that any response to China’s supposed and claims of achievements, it requires cognition of the organs of the party, state and little of what remains of the Civil Society in the People’s Republic of China. With that consideration in mind, I felt it would be useful to offer a short primer on structure of the political system that governs contemporary China. Hence, this paper is going to be more instructive and descriptive than analytical.
By the way of introduction, PRC is an authoritarian party-state that has been governed by a single political party, Communist Party of China (CPC) since Mao declared the inception of PRC in 1949. To put things into perspective, take India as a comparative example of a country that is commensurable in terms of geographical and population size. It would be unthinkable for many of us who assume democratic governance as a normative practice to accommodate such an idea, for instance either Indian National Congress or Bharatiya Janta Party ruling India since the founding of Republic with little or no opposition to speak of. How on earth! Right?
The Party and the State/Government: Party-state
For a little while in December 2022, it was debated when China’s mouthpiece, Global Times contested that the acronym CPC should be employed instead of CCP for the Chinese Communist Party. The piece said that calling The Party, Chinese Communist Party amounts to “racism.” In another article published in Australia’s Canberra Times in 2021, it was argued that the CCP acronym is “racist” and even went on to say that all Chinese share similar sentiments. In order to illustrate this, a new narrative is built forming a part of new historiography of Chinese nationalism. Suffice to say, it is broadly acceptable to call it CCP.
The CCP is a powerful and operates an all-encompassing bureaucracy. It extends leadership over all areas of “endeavor in every part of the country.” The party is above the state/government. This enmeshed and interlocking form of governance is replicated down to the level of small towns. Hence, the party leader in this power structure is higher in hierarchy than the government official. This makes Xi Jinping, who since 2012 as the General Secretary of the CCP, the most powerful man in the PRC. Besides holding other significant titles from which he draws his power from, this includes — Chairman of the CCP’s Central Military Commission. Here it is to be noted that the military falls under the supervision of the CCP, which has its armed wing — the People’s Liberation Army. Now extend another thought experiment, imagine a political party who has an armed wing, who serves at the pleasure of the party leaders and not the government.
In relation to China as a country, that is the People’s Republic of China — he is the head of the state — the President of the PRC government. That in all frankness is a minor position compared to his role in the party and the military.
Anatomy of the Party
As mentioned earlier, the CCP has led China since 1949. The number of members of the CCP is according to an estimate hovers over 98 million. That is nearly 7 percent of China’s population. To join CCP as a member, one has to go through a rigorous process of application process and is inducted only when vetted by the CCP.
The Party’s most powerful and chief institution is the Central Committee. This is led by the General Secretary. And Xi Jinping, as mentioned earlier is the current General Secretary of the CCP. It has an elite 24 person politburo and above it, there is an even more selective group of a 7-member Political Standing Committee.
Following Xi Jinping, the Party’s number 2 is Li Qiang, who is currently the Premier of the State Council. The State Council which will be discussed later is the cabinet of the China’s Central People’s Government. This is tasked to oversee the government’s bureaucracy. Subordinate to this position, Vice Premiership is held by Ding Xuexiang who is no. 6 in party hierarchy.
In no. 3 of the Party hierarchy sits Zhao Leji, who is head of the National People’s Congress. Which is often been labeled as rubber stamp law-making body. It is a unicameral legislative body. Members of this body are obviously not elected by enfranchised citizens. There are over 3,000 NPC delegates as they are referred to as. They are instead drawn from sub-national bodies.
Wang Huning sits as the Party’s number 4. He heads the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). This is a supervisory body that goes out of its way, to garner support for the CCP from different levels and cross section of society, including those in the diaspora. There are organizations through which it employs to realize is objectives, such as the Communist Youth League; and ethnic minority, religious, and professional communities.
Cai Qi, currently sits as the no. 5 in the party hierarchy. He is tasked to manage the party secretariat and the bureaucracy of the CCP’s Central Secretariat.
Party’s hold over the state or the government is described to be more absolute since Xi Jinping came to power. Often straying into roles and duties that is generally been discharged by organizations in the realm of government. There are in essence, five functional departments under Xi Jinping.
Organization Department
This is the Party’s personnel management agency. It is responsible for recruitment, training and appointment in civil services across party-state.
Publicity or Propaganda Department
Another crucial department which is often been translated as the Propaganda Department (it is also rendered in English as Publicity Department). It is responsible for messaging by the Party and to manage the cultural institutions, media and instructions on ideology.
United Front Work Department
A crucial department that is of relevance to Tibet is the United Front Work Department (UFWD). It is the very organ of the Party to which the representative of the H.H. the Dalai Lama was engaged in a dialogue with, although scholars have tended to argue that it has reached an impasse. This has been described by Mao as the Magic Weapon of the Party, whose role is very similar to that of CPPCC that is to co-opt and manage diverse social groups that are not part of the party.
The Commission for Political and Legal Affairs
This department is tasked to oversee “safeguarding of social stability.” It is also tasked to maintain an oversight of the work of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and the Ministries of Public Security, State Security, and Justice. The heads of those institutions serve as commission members.
The International Department
The role of this department resembles institutions that existed in Soviet model. A long winding debate about the ideals of internationalism in communism and how nationalism is driving communism in China could be made. Nevertheless, this department is responsible for party-party relations with other communist regimes in the world.
The Government/State
The State Council is the government’s top and most significant institution. This is led by the Premier, who more significantly is the no. 2 in terms of hierarchy in the Party. There are other state councillors who do not sit in the Politburo. Instead they are members of other senior party bodies and State council’s party committee.
China’s Two Sessions
There are two large meetings held every year. These are National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. National People’s Congress, in theory is the most powerful and significant political organ that has the power to make laws. However, in practice it acts as a rubber-stamp body for the ruling CCP in passing laws and appointing leadership that have already been decided. On the other hand, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has no legislative power. As it draws its members from myriad sectors of the society. Emerging debates on political, social, and economy out of this conference is nevertheless worth taking notes.
