Encyclopedia
- This article is about the politics, government, and economy of the People's Republic of China. For the people, history, culture, and geography of China, please see China.
The
People's Republic of China , is a country in
East Asia. The PRC has a coastline of 14,500 kilometres , and borders
Vietnam,
Laos,
Myanmar,
India,
Bhutan,
Nepal,
Pakistan,
Afghanistan,
Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan,
Russia,
Mongolia, and
North Korea. Its
capital is
Beijing.
The
Communist Party of China has led the PRC under a
one-party system since the country's establishment in 1949. Despite this, nearly half of the PRC's economy has been privatized in the past three decades under "Socialism with Chinese characteristics." During the 1980s, these
economic reforms helped lift millions of people out of poverty, bringing the poverty rate down to 12% from 33% of the population. However, due to this
mixing of market and planned economies, the PRC is faced with a number of problems associated with each, including unemployment and an increasing rural/urban income gap. Despite with shortcomings, greater prosperity has led to growing Chinese influence in global
economic, political,
military,
scientific,
technological, and
cultural affairs.
At over 3.7 million square miles , the PRC is the
third or fourth largest country by area. It is also the world's most populous nation, with over 1.3 billion people.
The PRC is the world's fourth largest economy and represents China as a permanent member of the
UN Security Council and
APEC. China is the third largest exporter and importer in the world. Due to its large and stable population, its growing economy and
military spending and capabilities, the PRC is often considered an
emerging superpower.
In an ongoing dispute, the PRC
claims sovereignty over Taiwan and some nearby islands, which have been controlled by the
Republic of China since 1945. The PRC asserts the Republic of China to be an illegitimate and supplanted entity and administratively categorizes
Taiwan as a province of the PRC. The ROC does not recognize these claims, administering itself as a sovereign country with a democratically elected government and presidency. The term "
mainland China" is sometimes used to denote the area under the PRC's rule, but usually excludes the two Special Administrative Regions,
Hong Kong and
Macau.
History
The
Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the
Communist Party of China in control of the
mainland, and the
Kuomintang retreating to
Taiwan and some outlying islands of
Fujian. On October 1, 1949
Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China, declaring "the Chinese people have stood up."
Following a series of dramatic economic failures, Mao stepped down from his position as chairman in 1959, with
Liu Shaoqi, elected by the National People's Congress, as successor. Mao still had a huge influence over the Party, but was removed from day-to-day management of economic affairs, which came under the control of a more moderate leadership consisting of
Liu Shaoqi,
Deng Xiaoping, and others who initiated economic reforms.
In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the
Cultural Revolution, which is viewed by many analysts and historians as an attempt to purge the moderate leadership and strike-back at Mao's rivals by mobilizing the population in support of his thought. Mao's sympathizers argued it as an experiment in direct
democracy and a genuine attempt at fighting
corruption and other negative influences within Chinese society. However, Mao's
personality cult at the time and the hierarchical structure of the "Red Guard," as well as the economic reconstruction needed after these events, tend to contradict this interpretation. Extreme disorder followed in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, but premier
Zhou Enlai mediated its destructive impacts and helped the moderate forces regain influence.
After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the
Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrested power from Mao's anointed successor
Hua Guofeng. Although
Deng never became the head of the Party or State himself, his influence within the Party led the country to economic reforms, exemplified by one of his favorite sayings: "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over people's personal lives and the
communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land leases, which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. This turn of events marked China's transition from a planned economy to a
mixed economy. The PRC adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982.
Despite market reforms, the Communist Party of China remains in sole control, requiring the registration and supervision of all civic organizations. The CPC suppresses groups that it claims are threats to social stability and national unity, such as Falun Gong and the separatist movement in
Tibet. Supporters of these policies claim that they safeguard stability in a society that was torn apart by class differences and rivalries, has no tradition of civil participation, and limited rule of law. Opponents claim that these policies severely curtail
human rights and that they have resulted in a police state, creating an atmosphere of fear and ignorance.
In 1989 the death of the pro-reform official, Hu Yaobang, helped to spark the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and others campaigned for democratic reform and freedom. The protests were soon put down on June 4 when
PLA troops entered and forcibly cleared the square, resulting in hundreds of casualties. This event brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the PRC government. The June 4th incident has been a taboo subject within the government, though the Party did defend its actions by saying that it was necessary for the continued stability and economic development of the country.
President
Jiang Zemin and Premier
Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of
Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen China in the 1990s, bringing unprecedented wealth and international standing to the country. Under Jiang Zemin's ten years of administration, China pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual GDP growth rate of 11.2%. The country formally joined the
WTO in 2001.
Although China needs economic growth to spur its development, the government has begun to worry that rapid economic growth could negatively impact the country's resources and environment. Another concern is that many people are not benefiting from China's economic miracle. As a result, the PRC, under current President
Hu Jintao and Premier
Wen Jiabao, have initiated policies to address these issues, but the outcome remains to be seen.
Government and politics
While the PRC is regarded as a
communist state by many political scientists, it is also arguably the wealthiest of those that remain. But attempts to characterize the nature of China's political structure into a single, simple category are typically seen as lacking sufficient depth to be satisfactory. A major reason for this is that for much of China's history, the state had been ruled by some form of centralized imperial monarchy, which was followed by a chaotic succession of largely authoritarian
Chinese Nationalist governments as well as warlord-held administrations since the last few years of the
Qing dynasty in 1912. Although the PRC government has been variously described as authoritarian,
communist, and
socialist, it appears China is slowly becoming
capitalist in its economic system. However, heavy restrictions remain in some areas, most notably on the internet and in
the press.
The country is mainly run by the
Communist Party of China , but there are other political parties in the PRC, called "democratic parties", which participate in the People's Political Consultative Conference but mostly serve to endorse CPC policies. While there have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town levels, and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the party retains effective control over governmental appointments. This is because, in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by default in most electorates. The CPC has been enforcing its rule by clamping down on political dissidents while simultaneously attempting to reduce dissent by improving the economy and allowing public expression of personal grievances so long as they are not organized. Current political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the government leadership. The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because there are no consistently contested national elections. Also, private conversations and anecdotal information often reveal conflicting views. However, according to a survey conducted in Hong Kong, where a relatively high level of freedom is enjoyed, the current CPC leaders have received substantial votes of support when residents were asked to rank their favourite Chinese leaders from the mainland and Taiwan.
Political divisions
The People's Republic of China has administrative control over 22 provinces ; the government of the PRC considers
Táiwan to be its 23
rd province. . Apart from provinces, there are 5 Autonomous regions containing several minority groups, 4 municipalities , and 2 Special Administrative Regions , which enjoy considerable autonomy.
The 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities can be collectively referred to as "
mainland China", a term which usually excludes Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
The following are a list of administrative divisions of areas under the control of the People's Republic of China.
Provinces(?)
Autonomous regions(???)
Municipalities(???)
Special Administrative Regions(?????)*
Foreign relations
The PRC maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the world. In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative for "China" in the
United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council. It is considered a founding member of the UN, though the PRC was not in control of China at the time. . The PRC was also a former member and leader of the
Non-Aligned Movement.
Under the One-China policy, the PRC has made it a precondition to establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges its claim to
Taiwan and sever any official ties with the
Republic of China government. The government actively opposes foreign travels by former and present Taiwanese officials, such as
Lee Teng-hui and
Chen Shui-bian, and other politically controversial figures, such as
Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama of
Tibet.
China has been playing an increasing role in calling for free trade areas and security pacts amongst its Asia-Pacific neighbors. In 2004, China proposed an entirely new
East Asia Summit framework as a forum for regional security issues that pointedly excluded the United States. The EAS, which includes
ASEAN Plus Three,
India,
Australia and
New Zealand, held its inaugural summit in 2005. China is also a founding member of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization , with
Russia and the
Central Asian republics.
Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's peaceful rise. However, conflicts with foreign countries have occurred at various times in its recent history, particularly with the
United States; e.g., the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in
Belgrade during the
Kosovo conflict in May 1999 and the
U.S.-China spy plane incident in April 2001. Also, its foreign relations with many other Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989, sometimes referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or June 4th Incident. The relationship between
China and Japan has been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its war-time past to the satisfaction of the PRC, e.g.
revisionist comments made by prominent Japanese officials, and insufficient attention paid to the
Nanjing Massacre and other
atrocities committed during
World War II in Japanese history textbooks. Another point of conflict between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government officials to the
Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines thousands of World War II war criminals, including 14 Class A convicts.
The PRC is in a number of international territorial disputes. China's territorial disputes have led to several localized wars in the last 50 years, including the
Sino-Indian War in 1962, the
Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 and the
Sino-Vietnam War in 1979. In 2001, the PRC and Russia signed the
Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which paved the way in 2004 for Russia to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing
Sino-Russian border dispute. Other territorial disputes include islands in the
East and
South China Seas, and undefined or disputed borders with
India,
Tajikstan and
North Korea.
Population policy
With a population of over 1.3 billion, the PRC is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict family planning policy. The government's goal is
one child per family, with exceptions for ethnic minorities and flexibility in rural areas, where a family can have a second child if the first is a girl or physically disabled. The government's goal is to stabilize population growth early in the 21st century, though some current projections estimate a population of anywhere ranging from 1.4 billion to 1.6 billion by 2025.
The policy is resisted, particularly in rural areas, because of the need for
agricultural labour and a traditional preference for boys. Families who breach the policy often lie during the census. Official government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but allegations of coercion continue as local officials, who are faced with penalties for failing to curb population growth, may resort to forced abortion or sterilization, or manipulation of census figures.
The decreasing reliability of PRC population statistics since family planning began in the late 1970s has made evaluating the effectiveness of the policy difficult. Estimates by Chinese demographers of the
average number of children for a Chinese woman vary from 1.5 to 2.0. The government is particularly concerned with the large imbalance in the
sex ratio at birth, apparently the result of a combination of traditional preference for boys, family planning pressure, and the wide availability of
ultrasound, which led to its ban for the purpose of sex-selective abortion.
Human rights
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees
freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial,
freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and property rights. However,
censorship 
