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The Political Institutions of Modern China pp 285–317Cite as

The Government of “Democratic Centralism”: Political Institutions under the Constitution of 1954

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Abstract

“Democratic centralism” is the characteristic of the government system of all socialist countries, which practice centralism on the basis of democracy, and democracy under central guidance. The people’s authority is vested in the people’s congresses, which elect and supervise the people’s councils on the same levels for the execution and administration of the policies and programs decided by the congresses. In Communist China, the plenary session of the CPPCC functioned as the temporary National People’s Congress during the transitional period of 1949–1954. On the local level, the all-circles representative conferences exercised certain powers and functions of the local people’s congresses. With the promulgation of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China in 1954, the people’s congresses became the supreme authority on both national and local levels.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queens College, City University of New York, USA

    William L. Tung (Professor of Political Science)

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  1. William L. Tung
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© 1964 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Tung, W.L. (1964). The Government of “Democratic Centralism”: Political Institutions under the Constitution of 1954. In: The Political Institutions of Modern China. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1011-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1011-0_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-015-0403-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-1011-0

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