Comparison with the Declaration of Independence - Assignment Example

Essay Three Table of Contents On the Constitution of the PRC, Comparison with the Declaration of Independence 3 Works Cited 5 On the Constitutionof the PRC, Comparison with the Declaration of Independence The Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China, which came into effect in 1982, is made up of a preamble, four chapters containing 138 articles, and four amendments, the latter coming in in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. The preamble traces the evolution of the countrys political and economic system through to the founding of the Republic in 1949, from its feudal roots, and the transition of the country to a socialist republic and the modernization of its political and economic structures.

The preamble also makes a sweep of the progress that the country has made in its different facets, from education to the economy and other important aspects of the nations life, while also detailing the work that remains to be done, under the framework of the Constitution, to advance the socialist agenda (“Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China”). The first chapter talks about general principles, and establishes the socialist essence of the country, in terms of the common ownership of all power and property, the equality of nationalities, the socialist legal and economic systems, and the explicit allowing of foreigners in economic activities, among others.

The first chapter also establishes the basic structure of government, and the division of the country politically into provinces, counties, municipalities and cities. The second chapter discusses the rights and duties of the citizens of the Peoples Republic of China, and the listed freedoms include freedom of speech and religion. Rights include home privacy rights, the right to work and to rest, the and the right to education. This chapter also states gender equality in human rights. Chapter 3, meanwhile, details the states structure, and this chapter establishes the pecking order in the structure to have the National Peoples Congress at the very top, with the Standing Committee designated as the body give the power to legislate.

The chapter outlines the various powers as well as the functions of the National Peoples Congress as well, to include the power of Constitution amendment, and to remove officials from power, including the countrys President and the head of the Supreme Court. The third chapter is the longest chapter in the Chinese Constitution, and also details many other aspects of the countrys government system, including mechanisms for the local government bodies under the power of the National Peoples Committee and operating at the level of the provincial and local level governments.

Chapter 4, finally, establishes Beijing as the seat of the countrys government, and details the countrys flag and emblem (“Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China”). In comparison to the Declaration of Independence of the United States, Chinas Constitution has far more detail, and the two furthermore are different in their aims and uses. While the Declaration of Independence, as the name implies, simply states before the world that the US was declaring itself a state separate from Britain, and details the abuses of the British crown that have led to the colonies declaring themselves as having the right to establish their independence, the Chinese Constitution is more functional in that it is meant to be an operational blueprint for running the country.

The latter is replete with details on the way the government and the economy is to be structured, how property is to be owned, and where the country is headed economically, with an emphasis on allowing foreigners to participate meaningfully in the Chinese economy. The Declaration of Independence, in contrast, is merely a heads up to the rest of the world and a document that justifies the founding of the US on sound principles inherent in some so-called rights that cannot be alienated from men, and which the British crown had knowingly transgressed (“Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China”; Jefferson).

Works Cited “Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China”. Peoples Daily Online. 4 December 1982. Web. 2 February 2014. Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence”.