CHINA’S POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM

Part Four

　　VI. The Multiparty Cooperation System and

　　the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference

　　The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a patriotic united front organization, an important institution for multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and a major way China promotes socialist democracy.

　　The democratic parties are an important sector of the CPPCC. Members of these parties take a large percentage of the members of the CPPCC committees at all levels and their standing committees and their leaders. They also make up a considerable proportion of the members and leaders of the subcommittees CPPCC national committees and members of the executive organs of CPPCC committees. When the First Session of the Tenth National Committee of the CPPCC was held in March 2003, for instance, 1,343 members of the democratic parties and personages without party affiliation served as members of the CPPCC National Committee, accounting for 60 percent of the total; of them 195 served as members of the standing committee, accounting for 65.2 percent of the total, and 13 were vice chairpersons of the CPPCC National Committee, accounting for 54.2 percent of all vice chairpersons. Altogether, 336,000 democratic party members and personages without party affiliation served as members of CPPCC provincial, city and county committees. In the name of their respective parties, members of the democratic parties express their ideas at meetings of CPPCC committees, and their rights to conduct inspection tours, submit proposals, register complaints, report on social conditions and popular sentiment, and participate in investigations and inspections are fully respected and guaranteed. The major roles of CPPCC committee members from democratic parties are as follows:

　　– Participating actively in political consultation. The democratic parties make full use of the consultative means provided by the CPPCC to conduct discussions and air their views and suggestions on national and local policies and principles, as well as significant issues relating to political, economic, cultural and social activities, on CPPCC work participated in and shared by the democratic parties, and on major CPPCC internal affairs and patriotic united front work. Every New Year’s Day and during the annual plenary sessions of the CPPCC National Committee, major CPC Central Committee leaders discuss state affairs with the democratic parties. All CPPCC committee members, including those from the democratic parties, attend major sessions of the people’s congresses as observers to discuss major state issues and air their views and suggestions on important issues relating to major state policies and principles and people’s livelihood. The continuously enriched content of the meetings of the standing committees of CPPCC committees, of the chairperson’s councils, of secretaries-general and of subcommittees has created favorable conditions for democratic parties to participate more widely in the work of political consultation. In recent years, democratic parties have taken an active part in special consultative conferences focusing on major topics of economic and social development held by the CPPCC and government departments concerned. For instance, in 2006 they participated in special conferences on further promoting the strategy for the large-scale development of the western region and implementing the National Program for Mid- and Long-Term Scientific and Technological Development, during which they pooled their wisdom, voiced their opinions extensively, and gave substantial support to the government’s work in the related areas.

　　– Exercising democratic oversight. The democratic parties exercise their oversight role on the implementation of the Constitution, laws and regulations as well as major guiding principles and policies, and the work of state organs and their functionaries through CPPCC inspections, speeches at CPPCC meetings or in other ways. CPPCC committee members from the democratic parties also exercise democratic oversight by participating in investigations and inspections organized by CPC committees and relevant government departments, or as special supervisors of judicial organs and government departments. From 1997 through 2006, members of the central committees of the democratic parties delivered 370 speeches, including written speeches, at meetings of the CPPCC National Committee, addressing significant issues relating to reform, development and social stability, such as accelerating the upgrading of industrial structure, promoting the development of the circular economy, paying due attention to the management of disasters and the establishment of an emergency response system, safeguarding and guaranteeing the legitimate rights of rural migrant workers, improving the social security system, strengthening cultural development in rural areas, securing investment in education, especially elementary education, work hard to promote privately run schools, accelerating the development of the public health system, promoting reunification of the motherland and opposing secession, and developing economic and trade exchanges cross the Taiwan Straits. Commenting freely on state affairs at CPPCC conferences, which constitute a large platform, their speeches represent the pooling of the wisdom of their parties, and many of their views and suggestions have been adopted.

　　– Thoroughly participating in the deliberation and administration of state affairs. CPPCC committee members from the democratic parties have conducted investigations and research into key issues in China’s political, economic, cultural and social activities, as well as problems of common concern to the people. Reporting social conditions and public sentiment, they have made a large number of comments and suggestions to the CPC and state organs by way of investigation reports, motions and proposals, or in other ways. From 1990 to 2006, more than 2,400 proposals were raised by the democratic parties and their CPPCC National Committee members at sessions of the CPPCC National Committee, dealing with such issues as the early legislation of an anti-secession law, tax reform in rural areas, working hard to create a sound environment for the development of the non-public economy, establishing a oversight mechanism for social security funds and setting up a social security system in rural China. Many of these proposals have either been adopted and implemented, or given rise to the enactment of relevant laws, or provided important reference for Party and government policy making.

　　VII. The Multiparty Cooperation System and the Modernization Drive

　　The democratic parties persevere in promoting development as the first priority of their concerted struggle. Focusing on the country’s central tasks, they earnestly perform the functions of participating in the deliberation and administration of state affairs and exercising democratic oversight, and actively promote socialist economic, political, cultural and social development.

　　– Carrying out thorough investigation and research, and actively making comments and suggestions. The democratic parties actively participate in the formulation and implementation of state policies. They carry out investigations and studies on important issues of overall, strategic and perspective importance in the country’s political, economic and social activities, and then make constructive proposals. In recent years, they have successively carried out investigations and surveys on such issues as the Three Gorges Project, the protection of arable land, the resumption of the direct links of mail, transport and trade across the Taiwan Straits, the large-scale development of the western region, the rise of the central region, the revitalization of northeast China and other old industrial bases, the building of a new socialist countryside, the development of the regions along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the development of state-level comprehensive and coordinated reform pilot zones, the implementation of the sustainable development strategy, and the formulation and implementation of the 11th Five-Year Plan. Their proposals regarding these issues for the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have been highly valued, and many of them been accepted. The local committees of the democratic parties have also conducted investigations and studies on local economic and social development; some areas have adopted the effective working method in which “the CPC committee commissions the democratic parties to conduct studies on certain topics and make proposals; if the proposals are adopted by the government, the related departments will carry them out.” In this way, the role of the democratic parties as policy and intellectual consultants has been efficiently brought into play.

　　– Alleviating poverty through development and promoting public welfare undertakings. With the advantage of a high concentration of talented people, the democratic parties actively promote the country’s economic and social development and the balanced development between rural and urban areas. They also work hard to promote and implement the program of intellectual support for border areas, the Guangcai Program and the Warmth Project for the benefit of the poor, as well as some public welfare undertakings, such as vocational training, setting up schools, natural disaster relief and donations, and poverty alleviation. All these endeavors have produced good economic and social effects. Many democratic party members worked in the forefront of the fight against SARS in 2003. Since the Warmth Project was initiated by the democratic parties over ten years ago, it has sponsored free training courses in 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, and benefit one million farmers and more than 300,000 unemployed and handicapped people. The Siyuan Project, which calls on democratic party members to serve society, has received donations totaling some 31.65 million yuan since its launch in 2005. In 2006, the central committees of the democratic parties organized leaders of related departments and specialists in 1,270 investigations on intellectual support for the border areas and poverty alleviation, made 144 policy suggestions concerning the development of poverty-stricken areas, helped establish 101 projects for poverty alleviation, introduced nearly 500 million yuan in project funds and donations, trained 25,000 people in different skills, and established 210 Hope primary schools. All this has won high praise from the general public.

　　– Reporting social conditions and public sentiment to government authorities and safeguarding stability and unity. The democratic parties make full use of their important role as coordinators and problem solvers to do a good job of reporting social conditions and public sentiment to government authorities and to help CPC committees and governments at all levels in scientific and democratic decision making. They not only conduct investigations and research on some major, difficult and topical problems that have drawn wide attention from the public, but also hold forums to solve these problems, and make proposals on how to improve and solve them. These problems include the uneven distribution of incomes, the gap between the rich and poor, the establishment and improvement of a medical insurance system, inadequate medical service, reform of state-owned enterprises, loss of state-owned assets, the production and sales of fake, shoddy and pirated products, building up social credibility, urban housing shortages, soaring housing prices, safeguarding fairness and justice, and help for the poor. The democratic parties work hard to promote democratic oversight, and actively participate in the inspection of anti-corruption, finance and taxation, pricing and environmental protection work, and the overall improvement of public security organized by CPC committees and governments at all levels. On the principle of treating each other with all sincerity, they conduct thorough investigations and analyses, and candidly point out, without reserve, all problems they know existing in CPC committees and governments, thus continuing to enhance the quality and level of their oversight work. Moreover, they report issues relating to the people’s interests after looking deep into these issues and going down to the primary level, and strengthen the ideological guide for the democratic party members and the ordinary people they are in contact with, to smooth communications, answer complaints and eliminate elements that affect social stability. By doing so, they play a positive role in promoting social harmony.

　　– Strengthening foreign ties and engaging in exchanges and contacts. By making full use of their rich resources of contacts, the democratic parties make active efforts to expand their connections with our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese and international friends to spur the exchanges, cooperation and visits in the fields of the economy, science and technology, culture, health, and sports, and to bring into China foreign capital, technology, expertise and management experience. In addition, they help and support qualified enterprises to “go global” by utilizing both domestic and international markets and resources, so that these enterprises can better participate in international economic and technological cooperation and competition. Meanwhile, the scale, scope and content of exchanges continue to expand, and international ties are being strengthened through various forms of exchanges, such as academic communications, and paying and hosting visits.

　　While uniting and working with the democratic parties, the CPC has also established close cooperation with personages without party affiliation. These personages – having emerged in the historical circumstances of the Chinese revolution – refer to those who, most being intellectuals, are not affiliated with any political party but have considerable influence on account of their positive contributions to society. An important force in China’s political life, a constituent part of the multiparty cooperation system and a major sector of the CPPCC, they have played a significant role through all the stages of China’s revolution, construction and reform. Personages without party affiliation are invited to all democratic consultation meetings and talks with democratic party members convened by the CPC Central Committee. For decades, these people have, with the overall public interest in mind, earnestly performed their functions of participation in the deliberation and administration of state affairs, and democratic oversight, conducted in-depth investigations and research, and put forward many important comments and suggestions to the CPC and the government. The CPC supports their positive role in people’s congresses, governments, CPPCC committees and judicial organs at all levels.

　　A large number of outstanding people have appeared from among the ranks of the members of democratic parties and personages without party affiliation, among whom 7,142 have won national or international commendation and/or awards. One good example is Wang Xuan, former vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Jiu San Society and inventor of the computerized laser typesetting system for Chinese characters. Another is Yuan Longping, an outstanding man without party affiliation. Known as the “Father of Hybrid Rice,” Yuan has made great contributions to helping China to be self-sufficient in food supply with his high-yield hybrid rice. The members of the democratic parties and personages without party affiliation are an important force in developing advanced productive forces, promoting socialist democratic politics and advanced socialist culture, and building a harmonious socialist society. They are playing an irreplaceable role in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and in accelerating socialist modernization.

　　Conclusion

　　China’s multiparty cooperation system has had a glorious history of 58 years. Experience shows that as a basic political system of China, the multiparty cooperation system is historically inevitable, greatly innovative and tremendously superior.

　　At present, the Chinese people are striving with confidence to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, as well as a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and modern socialist country. Pursuing and improving the multiparty cooperation system is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of the productive forces, realizing the overall progress of society, better achieving and developing the people’s democracy, facilitating socialist political civilization, expediting the development of socialist culture and socialist ethical progress, maintaining political stability and social stability and unity in the country, and boosting the building of a harmonious socialist society.

　　As China’s political restructuring continues and its socialist democratic politics develops, its multiparty cooperation system will continue to develop. In order to uphold and improve this basic political system, we must unswervingly follow the path of political development with Chinese characteristics. In addition, we must actively learn from the useful fruits of the political civilization of humankind without mechanically copying other countries’ political party systems. The multiparty cooperation system created and developed by the CPC and the democratic parties will continue to be consolidated and improved and play a more and more important role in the great cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.