State Organs of the People's Republic of China
(Newly Updated in April 1998)
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates that Chinese central state organs comprise six components:
The National People's Congress,
The President of the People's Republic of China,
The State Council,
The Central Military Commission
The Supreme People's Court
The Supreme People's Procuratorate.
The five organs of the President of the People's Republic of China, the State Council, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are all created by the National People's Congress -- responsible to it, and its Standing Committee.
The National People's Congress (NPC)
The National People's Congress is the highest organ of State power in the People's Republic of China. Its main functions and powers include legislative power, appointing and removing power, decisive power and supervising power.
I. The State legislative power:
The NPC has the right to enact and amend the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and to enact and amend basic laws concerning criminal offenses, civil affairs, the State organs and other matters.
II. The power to select, decide and remove the members of the high-level State organs and their power:
The NPC has the right to select the members of the Standing Committee of the NPC; to elect the President and the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China; to decide on the choice of the Premier, Vice-Premiers, State Councilors, Ministers in charge of ministries or commissions, the Auditor-General and the Secretary-General of the State Council; to elect the Chairman of the Central Military Commission and, upon nomination by the Chairman, to decide on the choice of all other Members of the Central Military Commission; and to elect the President of the Supreme People's Court and the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. The NPC has the right to remove the Members it elected.
III. The decisive power of major State events:
The NPC has the right to examine and approve the report on implementing the plan for national economic and social development; to examine and approve the state budget and the report on its implementation; to approve the establishment of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; to decide on the establishment of special administrative regions and the systems to be instituted there; to decide on questions of war and peace; and other functions and powers as the highest organ of State power should exercise.
IV. The supervising power to other highest State organs:
The NPC has the right to supervise the implementation of the Constitution. According to the Chinese Constitution, the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are all created by the NPC, responsible to it and supervised by it. The NPC's exercise of its supervisory right is to supervise the government and other State organs on behalf of the people. This is an important condition safeguarding the normal operation of the State apparatus. Since 1954, the People's Republic of China has held eight NPCs :
The NPC Sessions Time Chairman of the Standing
Committee of the NPCthe First NPC September 1954 Liu Shaoqi the Second NPC April 1959 Zhu De the Third NPC December 1964 Zhu De the Forth NPC January 1975 Zhu De the Fifth NPC February 1978 Ye Jianying the Sixth NPC June 1983 Peng Zhen the Seventh NPC March 1988 Wan Li the Eighth NPC March 1993 Qiao Shi the Ninth NPC March 1998 Li Peng
Under the current Constitution and related laws, the NPC holds a session on the first quarter of each year. convened by its Standing Committee. The NPC is elected for a term of five years .
The Standing Committee of the NPC is the permanent supreme State organ of power and legislation. It exercises the highest State power and legislative power when the NPC is not in session. The Standing Committee is composed of 153 members, none of whom can assume an office in State administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs, which is seen to be beneficial . The Standing Committee of the NPC exercises several main functions and powers. It interprets the Constitution and supervises its implementation, enacts and amends laws, with the exception of those which should be enacted by the NPC, partially supplements and amends laws enacted by the NPC when it is not in session, and interprets the laws. Since 1979, the Standing Committee of the NPC has enacted over 280 laws, and the standing committees of local people's congresses have drawn up over 3, 000 local rules and regulations .
The special committees, both permanent and provisional, are organs representing the NPC. When the NPC is in session, the main work of the special committees is to study, examine and draw up related motions. When it is not in session, they work under the direction of the NPC Standing Committee. Currently, there are eight permanent special committees, the Nationalities Committee, Law Committee, Financial and Economic Committee, Educational, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, Overseas Chinese Committee, Committee for Internal and Judicial Affairs and Committee on Environmental and Resource Protection.
The President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is the head of the State, as well as the supreme representative of China both internally and externally. The state presidency is an independent State apparatus, and a component part of China's State organization.
According to international practice, Chinese president, like most State heads in the world, has the power to promulgate statutes and holds supreme diplomatic and ceremonial rights.
Under the current Constitution, the President has the power to promulgate the statutes adopted by the NPC; appoint and remove members of the State Council; confer State medals and titles of honor in line with the decision of the NPC and its Standing Committee; issue orders for special pardons; proclaim martial law; declare a state of war and issue orders of mobilization; accept letters of credential offered by foreign diplomatic representatives on behalf of the People's Republic of China; appoint and recall China's diplomatic envoys stationed abroad and ratify and abrogate treaties and important agreements signed with foreign States.
China's system of the head of State is a system of collective leadership. The President of the State is subordinate to the NPC, and directly receives instructions from supreme State power organs. The Constitution regulates that Chinese citizens, who have reached the age of 45 and have the right to vote and to stand for election, can be a candidate for the presidency. However, they must be nominated by the NPC.
Successive Presidents of China include
Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Li Xiannian and Yang Shangkun.
The current President of China: Jiang
Zemin and the Vice-President: Hu Jintao.
The State Council
The State Council of the People's Republic of China, namely the Central People's Government, is the highest executive organ of state power, as well as the highest organ of state administration .
The State Council is composed of the premier, vice-premiers, State councilors, ministers in charge of ministries or commissions, the auditor-general and the secretary-general, The premier of the State Council is nominated by the President, reviewed by the NPC, and appointed and removed by the president. Other members of the State Council are nominated by the premier, decided by the NPC or its Standing Committee, and appointed and removed by the president. In the State Council, the term of office is five years, and incumbents can not be re-appointed after two successive terms.
The State Council follows the system of Premier responsibility in work while various ministries and commissions under the State Council follow the system of ministerial responsibility. In dealing with foreign affairs, State councilors, entrusted by the premier of the State, can conduct important activities on behalf of the premier. The auditor-general is in charge of the work of auditing bodies, auditing and supervising the State financial situation. The secretary-general, under the premier, is responsible for the daily work of the State Council.
The State Council is responsible for carrying out the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party, and the regulations and laws adopted by the NPC, as well as the affairs such as China's internal politics, diplomacy, national defense, finance, economy, culture, and education.
The State Council exercises several functions and powers:
The power of administrative legislation: In accordance with the Constitution and the statutes, to enact, adopt and repeal administrative rules and regulations.
The power to submit proposals: To submit proposals to the NPC and its Standing Committee.
The power of administrative leadership: To exercise unified leadership over the work of various State ministries and commissions, and the work of local administrative organs at different levels. To direct all other administrative work across the nation.
The power of economic administration: To draw up plans for economic and social development. To organize, coordinate and administer the social production and economic development.
The power of diplomatic administration: To conduct foreign affairs and to conclude treaties and agreements with foreign states and submit suggestions and proposals to the NPC and its Standing Committee on major issues of foreign affairs.
The power of social administration: To direct and administer affairs of social life and culture, including the power to declare the martial law.
Other power: To direct and administer affairs conferred by the NPC and its Standing Committee.
Current Premier of the State
Council: Zhu Rongji
Current Vice-Premiers of the State Council :
Li
Lanqing, Qian Qichen, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao
State Councilors: Chi Haotian, Luo Gan, Wu Yi
(female ), Simayi Aimaiti, Wang Zhongyu
Secretary General of the State Council: Wang Zhongyu.
For general information about the goverment agencies and their directors, please click HERE.
The Central Military Commission
The Central Military Commission is the supreme military leading organ of the People's Republic of China. It directs and commands the national armed forces.
According to the Constitution, the national armed forces are commanded by the State Central Military Commission, while the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party exists concurrently. Therefore, a distinguished characteristic of Chinese military leadership has been formed. The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party and the Central Military Commission of the State are the leading organs of the nation's armed forces. This characteristic results from the experiences of "the Party leading the army," and "the People's Army belongs to the People," which was obtained through bloody struggles by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.
This not only embodies the Chinese Communist Party's absolute leadership of the army, but also clearly regulates the position of military forces in the State system. In order to be advantageous to the unified leadership, the members of the State Central Military Commission are also members of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission, two organs with one leading body.
The Chairman of the Central Military Commission is elected by the NPC, and the selection of other members are decided by the NPC and its Standing Committee after nominated by the Chairman. The State Central Military Commission follows the system of Chairman responsibility in work, while the Chairman is responsible for the NPC, and has the right to make the final decision on affairs within its functions and powers.
Under the leadership of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese army has been reformed, streamlined and reorganized. Now a 3-million strong armed force is heading towards normalization and modernization, making China's military an important strength in safeguarding national sovereignty, territory integrity and world peace.
On January 28, 1996, the State Council and the Central Military Commission jointly released a proclamation, announcing that, according to the mission endowed by the Constitution, and the regulation that Chinese Central Government should be responsible for Hong Kong's defense, prescribed in the Basic Law of the Projected Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and in order to safeguard China's unification and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, a garrison of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), to be stationed in Hong Kong has been formed. From July 1, 1997, the Chinese Central Government had resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong, the troops, ground, naval and air forces, under the command of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China, entered and stations there. The troops perform the mission of Hong Kong's defense, and will not interfere in local affairs. The government of the Special Administrative Region and the troops will be run separately under the varying systems of administration and the military and will not command or interfere with each other. The officers and soldiers can speak Cantonese and English.
The current Chairman of the Central
Military Commission: Jiang Zemin
The vice-Chairmen: Zhang
Wannian and Chi Haotian
The members of Central
Military Commission: Fu Quanyou, Yu Yongbo, Wang Ke and Wang
Ruilin
(Newly Updated in April 1998)
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