Subscribe to HRIC Updates and HRIC Daily Brief; Visit Our YouTube Channel; ... Human Rights in China. It is the current Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. However, the first constitutional document was only published in 1908, and the first constitutional document with legal force (the "Nineteen Covenants") was not implemented until 1911, after the eruption of the Xinhai Revolution, which led to the demise of the Qing empire the next year. Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Full text after amendment on March 14, 2004) (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress and promulgated for implementation by the Announcement of the National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 The Constitution of the People's Republic of China CHAPTER I. [1], Mao died in 1976, and the Gang of Four who had dominated Chinese politics were driven out of power by October 1976. Article 1The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The 1975 Constitution also saw a significant shift in tone compared to the 1954 Constitution, and saw the insertion of a significant number of ideological sloganeering provisions, including the claim that the nation was guided by "Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought". The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state. An essay or paper on The 1982 Chinese Constitution. Dynastic China adopted a constitutional system oscillating between a feudal distribution of power and a centralistic autocracy. This convention has continued to this day. China (People’s Republic of) 1982 (rev. [1] These culminated in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a period in which the normal operation of government virtually ceased. It was amended on Apr 12, 1988 and in 1993. The Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens were greatly expanded, and elevated to Chapter Two, ahead of the provisions for the structure of the government. The same faction, however, eventually adopted a policy of transitioning towards constitutionalism. The State protects the lawful rights … In 1957, the Anti-Rightist Movement marked the beginning of a series of political movements and purges during which the Constitution's protections against Party interference in the judiciary largely failed to be respected. On the one hand, the new Constitution in many places maintained the ideological tone of the 1975 Constitution, such as in Article 16 ("State officials must diligently study Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Zedong Thought, serve the people whole-heartedly ...") and Article 19 ("The fundamental role of the Armed Forces is: [...] defending against destabilisation and invasion from Socio-Imperialism, Imperialism, and their running dogs"). The first People's Government, elected in 1949, included a significant number of representatives from parties other than the Communist Party. Finally, a hierarchy of courts headed by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (which would investigate crimes by the government) formed the judicial system.[1]. CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (1982) Introduction The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has had four constitutions, promulgated in 1954, 1975, 1978, and 1982. The Constitution reiterates its faith in Marxism-Leninism and Maoism but … The Republic of China government progressively lost control of mainland China in the late 1940s to early 1950s, but the Constitution of the Republic of China, with amendments, is still the organic law of the government in Taiwan. The draft of 1982 Constitution of China was prepared by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China after prolonged nationwide discussions spread over a span of 2 years. After the end of the conference, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 October 1949. The socialist system is the basic system of the People's Republic of China. In addition, changing Constitutional conventions have led to significant changes in the structure of the Chinese government in the absence of changes in the text of the Constitution. The Constitutional history of the People's Republic of China describes the evolution of its Constitutional system. Most of these, especially those authored by the Kuomintang, purported to reflect Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People and Western norms. It could be amended by the National People's Congress (Article 27(1)) by a special two-thirds majority (Article 29) without recourse to a referendum or other such mechanism. The 1954 Constitution included a preamble and 108 articles organised into four chapters. The following is the complete text of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, as adopted on December 4, 1982. Specifically, article 46 of the Chinese Constitution states as follows: It defines ownership of land in China In this way, the centres of power were unified. However, the Chinese government functioned more or less as envisaged for only a short time. On 24 December 1952, a resolution was moved by Premier Zhou Enlai on behalf of the Communist Party of China at the 43rd meeting of the first CPPCC Standing Committee to draft the new, permanent, Constitution. The system of government set up under the 1982 Constitution has undergone some changes, largely due to the evolution of Constitutional conventions rather than textual amendments. As part of the Deng faction's political reform agenda, a fourth Constitution was promulgated on 4 December 1982. The 1954 Constitution was intended to be a transitional constitution, to be revised after China developed into a socialist economy.[1]. All nationalities in the People's Republic of China are equal. Despite the separation made between the party and the government by the 1982 constitution, the Communist Party of China (CPC) constitutes full involvement in the working of the government. The drafting process was dominated by the Communist Party, and was almost exclusively restricted to the Politburo. 18-26 (English version); (3) Hu Sheng, " On the Revision of the Constitution," Beijing Review 25:18 (3 May 1982) The 1982 Constitution reflects Deng Xiaoping's determination to lay a lasting institutional foundation for domestic stability and modernization. In December 1978, the third plenary meeting of the 11th Communist Party Central Committee began a series of reviews and reforms that confirmed Deng Xiaoping as the new paramount leader of China, with reform-minded leaders supported by Deng filling the top echelon of government. During this period, most government bodies around the country ceased operation; various levels of people's governments were replaced by Revolutionary Committees. In June, the Communist Party organised a "Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference" (CPPCC) to prepare for the establishment of a "New Democracy" regime to replace the Kuomintang-dominated Republic of China government. The current version, adopted on December 4, 1982 by the Fifth National People’s Congress of the PRC, has since been amended four times, in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. The State Council and its Standing Committee, by contrast, are made responsible for … The Chinese text was retrieved from the China.com.cn Web site on May 31, 2013. The 1982 Chinese Constitution appears on the surface to be enforceable in the courts. The posts of President and Vice President(which were abolished in the 1975 and 1978 constitutions) are re-e… Such was the arrangement until 1989. However, Chinese constitution has undergone four re-enactments, and there were numerous contradictions and breaks among different constitutions. … As a result, the 1982 Constitution returned the government structure to broadly that set up in 1954, with the Presidency restored. This volume presents an overview of the evolution of the current Chinese Constitution (1982) and the characteristics of constitutional studies since 1978. Formal duties of the President as Head of State were to be performed by the Chairman of the National People's Congress (who was, at the time, Zhu De). The President, as nominal head of state, would be a symbolic role with little substantive power. After two intervening versions enacted in 1975 and 1978, the current Constitution was promulgated in 1982. It vests all national legislative power in the hands of the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee. The current compilation dates from 11 March 2018. The 1982 Chinese Constitution appears on the surface to be enforceable in the courts. In March 1954, the draft Constitution was passed to the CPPCC and discussed in a national education campaign in the spring and summer of 1954. It specified a government structure remarkably similar to the current system. The people of all nationalities, all state … The people of all nationalities in China have ⋆ The Constitution • Constitution.com Constitution of the People’s Republic of China Adopted on December 4, 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China," 21 April 1982, Ta Kung Pao, 28 April People's Congress Standing Committee on 22 April 1982," Ta Kung Pao 29 April 1982, p. 3 (Chinese version), and Beijing Review 25:19 (10 May 1982), pp. Among the provisions of the Common Program were those guaranteeing protection of private property (Article 3), "uniting" the bourgeoisie (Article 13), and assisting private enterprise (Article 30). Historically, the 1982 Constitution needs to be placed in the context of the history of Chinese constitutionalism that begins with the Common Program and dealt with accordingly. In a reaction against the conflict between the independent power centres, at the expiration of Deng's term, the new General Secretary, Jiang Zemin, also became Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and later took on the position of the President as well. 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Constitution of the People's Republic of China: Publisher: National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities: Publication Date: 4 December 1982: Country It contained 60 sections organised into four Chapters. The state upholds the uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system. 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Current Full Text) Simplified Chinese (407.31 KB) Traditional Chinese (616.77 KB) Get Involved. Like the subsequent versions of the Constitution, the 1954 Constitution was not entrenched. The 1982 Constitution was born in a political environment where the past, including Mao's "errors" and almost all of the Communist Party's policies from 1949, were relatively objectively re-examined, and the country's future, including the pursuit of market economic reforms, was being openly debated. Under the 1975 Constitution, the office of the President (officially translated as "Chairman" during this period) was abolished, leaving Mao, as the Chairman of the Communist Party, as the sole power centre. As drafted, the 1982 Constitution contemplated that the power of the state would be distributed amongst the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the Premier of the State Council, and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. The first Constitution of the People's Republic of China was promulgated in 1954. It defines ownership of land in China The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. The highest organ of government was the legislature, the National People's Congress. Chapter Two of the 1954 Constitution set up a system of government composed of six structural parts. (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People’s Congress and promulgated by the Announcement of the National People’s Congress on December 4, 1982; amended in accordance with the Amendment to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the First Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress on April 12, 1988, the Amendment to the Constitution of the … An essay or paper on The 1982 Chinese Constitution. The first CPPCC served in effect as a Constitutional Convention. There were significant differences between each of these versions, and the 1982 Constitution has subsequently been amended several times. In 1949, the Chinese Civil War was turning decisively in favour of the Communist Party of China. (Full text after amendment on March 14, 2004), (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress and promulgated for implementation by the Announcement of the National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, Amended in accordance with the Amendments to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China adopted respectively at the First Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on April 12, 1988, the First Session of the Eighth National People's Congress on March 29, 1993, the Second Session of the Ninth National People's Congress on March 15, 1999 and the Second Session of the Tenth National People's Congress on March 14, 2004), Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Chapter II The Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens, Section 2 The President of the People's Republic of China, Section 4 The Central Military Commission, Section 5 The Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments at Various Levels, Section 6 The Organs of Self-Government of National Autonomous Areas, Section 7 The People's Courts and the People's Procuratorates, Chapter IV The National Flag, the National Anthem, the National Emblem and the Capital. 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