Page 141 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes or an official holds different views with regard to the decisions or directions of the party or
some governmental organisation, he is allowed to reserve his views and has the right to bypass
the immediate leadership and report directly to highest levels, upto and including the Central
Committee of the Party.
7. Central Military Commission: Another feature of the Constitution is the provision for the
establishment of a Central Military Commission consisting of a Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and
some members. Its term is linked with the term of the NPC. It function is to direct the armed
forces of the country. (Art.93) Its members shall be elected by the NPC (by the SC when the
NPC is not in session) and they shall be accountable to the NPC or its SC (Art.94). It has been
done to reduce the hold of the military over the government.
8. A ‘Socialist’ State: Above all, the constitution declares China a committed State. It is peoples’
democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and
peasants. There shall be only two kinds of ownership of the means of production socialist
ownership by the whole people and socialist collective ownership by the working people. The
State may allow non-agricultural individual labourers to engage in individual labour involving
no exploitation of others, within the limits permitted by law and under unified arrangement by
neighbourhood organisations in cities and towns or by production teams in rural people’s
communes. At the same time, these individual labourers should be guided on the road to
socialist collectivisation step. The sector of the economy is the leading force in national economy
The state may requisition by purchase, take over for use, or nationalise urban and rural land as
well as other means of production under conditions prescribed by law.
General Principles
One important feature of the Constitution is the incorporation of a very long list of ‘general
principles’ in Chapter I that constitute the foundations of the new fundamental law as well as the
goal of the Chinese state. These are:
1. China is a socialist state under people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and
based on alliance of workers and peasants; sabotage of socialist system is prohibited.
2. All power is vested in the people and it is to be exercised through people’s congresses at local
and national levels.
3. All state organs are based on the principle of democratic centralism.
4. Equality of all nationalities and protection of the rights of the minorities is guaranteed.
5. Upholding uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system and observance of the
Constitution by all people and their institutions is ensured.
6. The state recognises socialist economy with public ownership of the means of production in
the hands of the people and collective ownership by the working class.
7. State protection of public property is ensured; damage to public property is prohibited.
8. The state recognizes right of the citizens to own lawfully earned income, savings, houses and
other property with right to inheritance.
9. The state shall undertake economic planning on the basis of socialist public ownership.
10. The state shall give permission to foreign enterprises, whether individual or collective, to
invest their money in China and enter into economic co-operation with Chinese enterprises
according to the law of the land.
11. The state shall make primary education universal and compulsory and encourage higher
education and learning in the fields of science, technology, medicine etc.
12. The state shall endeavour for building a socialist spiritual civilization and inculcate civic
virtues for the love of motherland.
13. The state shall also look towards family planning and protect and improve living environment.
14. The state shall make efforts for strengthening revolutionisation, modernisation and
regularisation of the armed forces.

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