Give an introduction to the political system in People's Republic of China. What is the role of Politburo Standing Committee - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... China’s Political System: China is a socialist state, led by a single party rule, normally referred to as the communist party. This party is recognized by the constitution of China, and the same constitution has provisions on how this party should be led. This includes the establishment of powerful committees such as the politburo and the politburo standing committee (BBC, 4, 2013). The constitution also recognizes four vital institutions whose main roles is to help the party in the governance of the country. These institutions are, the people’s liberation army, the peoples national congress, the state council, and the political consultative conference (Lawrence and Martins, 7, 2013). These are the four pillars in which the communist party of China controls all the affairs of the Chinese. The institution of the state is responsible for implementing the various policies of the communist party. The state is therefore headed by the state council, which includes ministries and various commissions (Lawrence and Martins, 8, 2013). Under the Chinese constitution, the National People Congress (NPC) is responsible for overseeing all the affairs of the state council. The NPC is also responsible for supervising other political institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Presidency, the Prosecutors office, and the military. However, the NPC is under the communist party, and it is therefore unable to carry out its own policies (Military of China, 9, 2013). The political consultative conference on the other hand provides an avenue where the state and the party can consult on various policy issues. The military on the other hand have the responsibility of protecting the Chinese (Security Service, 11, 2013). However, critics argue that the Chinese military is only loyal to the communist party, and not the people of China. Other political institutions in China are the minor parties that were formed before the emergence of the communist party. These parties are eight, and they pledged their loyalty to the communist party, accepting its leadership. This allows for the description of the Chinese political system as one of political consultation, and multi-party cooperation, but under the Communist Party (Lawrence and Martin, 14, 2013). The Politburo Standing Committee: The communist party has four important organs representing its leadership. The highest decision making body is the politburo standing committee, followed by the politburo. The next in rank is the central committee, which is thereafter followed by the congress. The politburo standing committee (PSC) is responsible for the enactment and the development of policies. This organ consists of seven people, and each of them has various roles (Lunn, 13, 2013). The members of this committee are also members of the politburo, and they meet once in every week to deliberate on the policies that the government should follow. This is the institution that actually rules China, since their decisions is always the law. In arriving at a decision, members of the PSC try to achieve consensus, and if it fails, they take a vote. The simply majority carry’s the day (McGregor, 34, 2012). It is important to denote that the seven members of the PSC are ranked from the scale of one, to seven. Each of them has specific functions, and it can either be in security, propaganda, or foreign relations. For example, the highest ranked member of ...Download file to see next pagesRead More