Chapter 27.3 A Profile of China

China in History China has the largest population and 3 rd largest land area of any country in the world. China is a huge potential market and its exports make it a valuable trading partner. Still, China’s military strength and communist ideology keep us watchful. For centuries, China was ruled by a series of dynasties – families that hold power for generations. The last dynasty began to crumble in the late 1800s.

continued China became a republic in 1912, but a stable gov’t did not emerge until the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, took control in the late 1920s. By 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Mao Zedong, took control. The Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast. There they set up a separate gov’t and capitalist country. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China, with its capital in Beijing. He ruled for nearly 30 years.

continued The CCP wanted to turn China into a socialist state. It seized farmland and redistributed it among the peasants. Some land was combined into collective farms, worked jointly by groups of peasants under gov’t supervision. The gov’t took control of all major industries and assigned jobs to workers.

continued Mao’s gov’t executed more than a million political opponents in its first year. It limited freedom of expression and banned organized religion. Young people were taught unquestioning loyalty to the Communist Party. In the 1970s, with economic development lagging, the CCP began to loosen central control over industry and agriculture, and permit some free enterprise.

continued After Mao’s death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping, the new leader, welcomed foreign trade and investment. China became more open to the rest of the world, but not to democracy. In 1989, the military killed hundreds of unarmed Chinese students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square.

continued Private enterprise and foreign investment are expanding in China, yet the gov’t remains heavily involved in directing the economy. The gov’t still regulates many aspects of private life, but less than in the past. The people now have religious freedom. China’s constitution recognizes human rights – the fundamental rights that belong to every person on Earth. Still, anyone the gov’t views as a threat may be beaten, locked in prison or mental institution or shipped to a labor camp.

The Structure of Government The CCP is the dominant force in gov’t. At the center is the secretary general of the CCP. The premier heads the State Council, which is China’s executive body. The Council implements party policies and runs the gov’t through its various ministries – for defense, education, health and so forth.

continued The provinces elect the members of the National People’s Congress. This group is supposed to be the highest governing body, but it meets only about two weeks a year and has little real power. Instead, the Politburo, a group of about 20 party leaders, makes national policy. The top seven of these leaders serve on the Politburo Standing Committee, which masterminds China’s political, economic and social policy.

continued China has a unitary system. The central gov’t makes decisions for the entire country. Each province has a governor and power trickles down to other layers. The judicial system is not independent of the Communist Party. Police can gather evidence with no search warrants. Lawyers cannot cite legal precedents to support their cases. Judges are often corrupt or inept.

continued Recent reforms now require legal training for judges. New rules are making trials fairer. Now accused persons are allowed to see a lawyer and are assumed innocent until proven guilty.

continued The U.S. cut off diplomatic ties with China when Mao took power. Our official contracts were with the Nationalists in Taiwan. Relations warmed, however, after President Richard Nixon visited China in Today China and the U.S. trade and engage in cultural, educational and scientific exchanges. Relations are still strained at times, especially over human rights.