The Difference of Political System Between Canada and China - Article Example

In Canada there are two distinct cultural groups – French and English. According to the individualistic approach to the study of political culture, which is based upon examining individual attitudes and values, the existing political culture in Canada is based upon tensions between these two founding groups. However, from the institutional perspective, where documents are analyzed to discern the collective behavior of political institutions, Canada has a new and distinct political culture formed by the combination of the cultures of the two major founding groups as well as the cultures of immigrants. (www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com). The political culture of Canada is described as layered, although the various levels cannot be clearly distinguished. Canadians believe in the democratic form of Government and that the rule of the majority will prevail when a compromise solution cannot be found. The system of Parliamentary democracy also supports political equality, as in one person, one vote. Regular elections are held and citizens are committed voters, but they do not participate actively in the political process and this spectator-participant aspect is characteristic of Canadian political culture (www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com). Canadians also prefer to reply upon Government initiatives to solve economic problems rather than relying upon the private sector. Another layer of political culture in Canada contains their ambivalent attitude towards the United States which is their largest trading partner, yet there is a subtle resistance to the imposition of American interests, especially in English Canada and foreign investments are being restricted. Political culture in Canada is also characterized by regionalism, wherein the political cultures of French speaking and English speaking Canada are different, because of the different educational systems, religion and language, with French speaking Canadians seeking resolutions for their problems from Quebec while English speaking Canadians look for their solutions from Ottawa. Moreover, in the French speaking areas, primarily Quebec, there is a sense of alienation from the federal Government. In the case of China, there has been a long standing culture based on Confucianism that has been prevalent in the country. But this indigenous political culture has been overlaid to a great extent by the import into the country of Communist models of political culture.(Levenson, 1958-65). However, the Chinese have a unique conception of Government and this has evolved in China over several years, since the Han dynasty and Tang dynasties (Fitzgerald 42). The Chinese political culture however differs from the Canadian one in that the principles of Communism have been interposed upon it. Political freedom is limited in China as compared to Canada, because people are largely held captive by an authoritarian and bureaucratic Government where free and fair elections are not held and corruption reigns within the political bureaucracy. Incidents such as that which occurred at Tiananmen Square where the Red Army turned its guns on an unarmed civilian public demonstrate the different political system in China where there is a much tighter level of Government control and where individual freedoms are severely restricted. Due to the indoctrination in Red schools and the revolution spearheaded by Mao, political culture in China has been favorably disposed towards permitting a sizable role for Government in the lives of ordinary citizens. While Canadian citizens also look to their Government to solve economic problems and the level of private enterprise are not as high as they are in the United States, in China the government is almost entirely in control of political affairs and the role of private enterprise is limited. China has been characterized by pockets of political unrest, as citizens fight for more freedom and individual rights, as in Tiananmen and Taiwan. With globalization and increasing foreign investment in China, there has been an increasing trend towards modernization in China, with political reforms encompassing the areas of media, legislative and judiciary reform, to allow a great level of freedom of private enterprise and political expression without the fear of being imprisoned. Reforms have also taken place in political culture and institutions with the introduction of intra party democracy and political participation of citizens in the formation of the Government (Zhong and Shiping, 1999). As a result of the political reforms that have been taking place in the Chinese economy, the repressive role of Government has been yielding to a more democratic framework where there is greater latitude allowed for private enterprise and foreign investment in the country. However, as compared to Canada, the political culture in China is not as open as it is in Canada. Regionalism plagues political culture in Canada and has created opposition to the federal form of Government. But in China the high levels of indoctrination into the Communist philosophy combined with Chinese indigenous culture that frowns upon opposition to authority, have produced a largely uniform political culture that has however been characterized by isolated pockets where the fight for democracy has been more intense. Culturally, China also demonstrates differences between the Hunan provinces of the North and the Mandarin provinces of the South, differences arising largely out of differing climates, religions and languages, just as is the case in Canada. In terms of its political ideology, China has been through some political upheavals, since the political system of communism became a part of Chinese ideology in the early part of this century. Chinese communism adopted many of the policies of the Communist Governments of Russia and east Europe, such as a high level of Government control on social and economic systems in the country, ,moving away from a capitalist form of Government that accords more importance to individual interests. However, as opposed to the communist revolution of 1949 which occurred in China, the great proletarian revolution of 1966-69 headed by Mao resulted in a new form of political development in China, putting the country on an unorthodox developmental path. Therefore in China in modern times, there has been an increasing trend towards political socialization and secularization. Political socialization refers to the process whereby “political values and attitudes are inculcated”, while secularization refers to the process whereby people become increasingly “rational, analytical and empirical in their political action.” (Almond and Bingham Powell 23). However, events that transpired during the Cultural revolution, when children were indoctrinated in schools in the Red political belief structure and the many excesses by the Red Army were held to be responsible for the development of a culture where irrationalities appeared to exist. China has therefore followed a Marxist ideology, with Chinese nationalism emerging as a political force in the 1990s. The Government of Jiang Zemin continued with Deng’s progressive economic vision for the country, however in order to allow for Chinese nationalism, the Party Constitution was modified in 2003 to include the Three Represents – advanced progressive forces, the development of China’s culture and the protection of fundamental Chinese interests. (www.en.wikipedia.org). This allowed increased levels of foreign investment and the entry of interests classified as bourgeois, and focused almost exclusively on economic growth. However this trend was reversed by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, who tried to reverse the trend towards a purely profit led capitalistic political culture by introducing an integrated ideology that dealt with both social and economic concerns and used the Scientific Development Perspective to achieve its ends. This has resulted in a gradual decrease in the degree of the power of the Party as economic liberalization has progressed. In Canada, there was a transition to a new political ideology in the mid 70s when the degree of state involvement in state and society began to be reduced. The period before this was characterized by widespread support among Canadian citizens for the notion of the welfare state, with a well established hegemonic order. However, since that time, there has been greater support for a reduced role of Government and alienation of people from politics. There were significant differences in political ideology between Quebec and English Canada, between those who supported a stronger role for corporate entities vis a vis those who supported a stronger role for labor. The Chinese system of Government has the characteristic three branches of Government – executive, legislative and judiciary. The President and the Vice President head the executive branch of Government, but they are not elected by the people but by the National Peoples Congress for a period of five years with limits of two consecutive terms. The State Council is the highest organ of state power, and the executive branch of Government is responsible for administration and foreign affairs. The legislative branch consists of the National peoples Congress which is constitutionally deemed to be the highest state power. The function of the legislative branch is to make the laws that govern the country, amend and modify laws, etc. Therefore this branch of Government deals primarily with the framing of laws. The judiciary is entrusted with the function of interpreting the law and this is accomplished through a system of peoples Court with a hierarchy established from the local to central levels, just as is the case with every other branch of Government. The Chinese Constitution as it presently exists guarantees basic rights and interests of citizens, which also include the right to vote, freedom of the press and freedom of association, freedom of correspondence and the right to criticize the Government and also includes other rights such as the right to receive assistance from the state when old, ill or disabled and the right to education.(www.china.org.cn). China’s legal system includes laws of seven different categories – administrative, economic, social, criminal, litigation and non litigation procedural laws. According to Peerenboom (2003), the reforms in China in the last twenty years have brought about considerable improvements in the legal system that now exists within the country. He points out how the predominantly unfavorable perspective of the Communist led, tightly restricted system in China in earlier years during Communist rule have been further exacerbated by western journalists. The western media’s coverage of the Chinese legal system has focused upon the human rights violations that have been occurring in China and on the plight of those who are victims of torture and injustice under Chinese domestic laws as well. However Peerenboom suggests that despite these violations of civil and political rights of citizens, there has still been a great deal of progress that has occurred. Foreign investors in particular have experienced difficulties in operating within China because of the numerous problems that riddle the legal system, as well as the corruption that is rampant in political circles. There has also been attention in academic circles to the problems prevailing within the political and legal systems, such as high level Party maneuvering, geopolitical issues and the politics of the elite. Peerenboom (2003) also points out that political reform and economic development in China cannot progress along the same lines as the western democratic countries because there are differences in Asian culture and viewpoints, as well as the state of its institutions which make it harder and more difficult for Asian countries to reach the same standards as western democracies. The author also points out that the efficacy of a political system must be judged on the basis of how its people perceive the system and how it suits their own culture. There may be differences in values and opinions, which could lead to different conclusions by different parties. The Government in Canada may be characterized as a federal monarchy, with all executive authority being vested in the Canadian monarch – Queen Elizabeth II, the constitutional head of the Canadian state. However, her powers are exercised through the Governor General who represents the Queen in Canada. But in terms of actual power, it is the Prime Minister who holds the actual power, since the Attorney general is also elected upon the advice of the Prime Minister, which must mandatorily be acted upon. The legal justice system in Canada is a well developed one. It has a unique legal system which draws upon both English common law as well as French civil law and therefore has a bijural legal system. There are two houses of Parliament – the House of Commons and the House of Lords and it is the leader of the House of Commons who automatically becomes the Prime Minister of the Country. Since members of the House of Commons are elected by the people, therefore the choice of Prime Minister represents the choice of the people, unlike in China where elections by the people do not determine who the President and Vice President will be. Canada has a federal Government system, therefore the Attorney General of Canada is also the Minister of Justice at the same time. The Attorney general is the chief Law Officer of the Crown and therefore performs a judicial role, while the Minister of Justice is concerned with matters of policy and their interrelation to the justice system and therefore performs a legislative role in framing of legal policies that will prevail in the country. It is the Department of justice that prosecutes all federal offences within the country, including drug use which are all listed under the criminal code. Within the states and the local territories, it is the Department of Justice that conducts all criminal prosecutions. Conclusions: In conclusion therefore, it may be noted that there are some significant differences in the political and legal systems of China and Canada. Most of these differences arise largely out of China’s communist background, where democracy was not the guiding factor, rather it was the Government that played a strong role in the affairs of individual citizens. Although Government also assumes an important role in Canada which has a well developed welfare and public assistance system for its citizens, the role of Government in China was a much more controlling one, such that individual freedoms and liberties of citizens have been violated in many instances. Although China has undergone a radical transformation in its political system in recent years with globalization and increasing foreign investment, there is still a great deal of criticism leveled on its legal systems, especially due to the human rights violations that occur, While Canada is a monarchy and has a federal system of Government, China’s government is still largely bureaucratic, although reform measures have been introduced to make it more democratic. Government power has therefore been greater in China. Social contract has been better in Canada because in this country the Government plays a proactive role in assisting its citizens. Both the countries have a formal written Constitution, although in the case of China many of the progressive measures have only been recently introduced. References: * Almond, Gabriel A and Bingham Powell, Jr., G, 1966. “Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach” Boston: Little, Brown * Communist Party of China. [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China * C. P. Fitzgerald, C.P., 1964. “The Birth of Communist China” England: Penguin * Joseph R. Levenson, Joseph R, 1958-65. “Confucian China and Its Modern Fate” (3 vols.) Berkeley: University of California Press. * Peerenboom, Randall, 2003. “China’s Legal System: a bum rap?” [online] available at: http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=2878 * “Political Culture” Canadian Encyclopedia [online] available at: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006369 * “The Constitution and Legal System” [online] available at: http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/38127.htm * Zhong, Yang and Shiping, Hua, 1999. “Political Civilization and modernization in China: The political context of China’s transformation.” Co: Lynne Reinner Publishers Read More