AP Comparative Government China

cadre

a group of influential politicians capable of forming or leading an expanded organization

Central Committee

340 members that meet together annually for a week; carry on the business of the National Party Congress between sessions, although their policymaking powers are limited; meetings are called plenums

Central Military Commission

represents the military in china's government; head plays an important role in policymaking

chiang kai-shek

former nationalist leader of china who fled to taiwan after moa zedung took over

collectivism

the theory and practice of the ownership of land and the means of production by the people of the state

Chinese Communist Party

CCP which was founded in 1921 and came to power in 1949 and continues to be the ruling party of china

confucianism

a code of conduct developed by confucius, which emphasized obligations of the people toward each other and toward their state

cultural revolution

a program launched by mao zedung to renew loyalty to communism and purge china of those disloyal to mao

danwei

control maintained through this system, all chinese citizens have a lifetime affiliation with a specific industrial, agricultural, or bureaucratic nit that dictated all aspects of their lives, including housing, health care, and other social benefits

decentralization

the spread of power away from the center to local branches or governments

democratic centralism

decisions were made under central leadership to serve those interests

deng xiaoping theory

a practical mix of authoritarian political control and economic privatization; socialist planning and capitalist free market

dual role

vertical supervision of the next higher level of government and horizontal supervision of the CCP at the same level

dynastic cycles

the circle of change the chinese dynasties went through; establishing power, successful rule, decline, collapse, rise of a new dynasty

egalitarianism

a belief in the equality of all people

ethic of struggle

one of mao's principles in the cultural revolution

factionalism

party strife and intrigue; infighting, dissension

fang-shou

a letting-go, tightening up cycle in the chinese political and economic system

floating population

rural migrants seeking job opportunities in cities

foreign devils

the nickname the boxers gave to foreigners from western developed countries, mostly in europe

four modernizations

deng xiaoping's plan to increase industrialization, modernize agriculture, improve military, develop technology and science

free market socialism

socialist market economy with chinese characteristics is the official title of the economic system since the reforms of deng xiaoping and consists of a mixture of state-owned enterprises with an open-market economy

gang of four

jiang qing, zhang chunqiao, yao wenyuan, and wang hongwen, who were arrested and blamed for the faults of the cultural revolution

guanxi

a chinese term meaning "connections" or "relationships" and describes personal ties between individuals based on such things as common birthplace or mutual acquaintances; important factor in china's political and economic life

great leap forward

economic and social plan used in china from 1958 to 1961 which aimed to use china's last population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society

han chinese

ethnic group native to china, make up about 92 percent of the population

hegemony

the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others

household responsibility system

the system put into practice in china beginning in the early 1980s in which the major decisions about agricultural production are made by individual farm families based on the profit motive rather than by a people's commune or the government

iron rice bowl

mao's promise of cradle to grave health care, work, and retirement security that has largely disappeared under reform and opening

long march

a 6000-mile, year-long trek of maoand his followers to escape the non-communist guomindang; symbol of communist heroism

mandate of heaven

a political theory of ancient china in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source

maoism

distinctly chinese version of communism: inequality resisted, centered on own philosophy, belief in strength of peasants

mass line

a method of leadership that seeks to learn from the masses and immerse the political leadership in the concerns and conditions of the masses, developed by mao zedong during the chinese revolution

mass mobilization

an effort to turn the sheer numbers of the population into an asset; resulted in better motivation, harder work, and less unemployment

middle kingdom

refers to china because the people believed that their land stood between heaven and earth

National Party Congress

body of over 2,000 delegates of the CCP chosen primarily from congresses on lower levels; meets every 5 years to rubberstamp decisions by party leaders; main power is to elect members of the central committee

nomenklatura

the process of filing influential jobs in the state, society, or the economy with people approved and chosen by the CCP

parallel hierarchies

the CCP, the state or government, and the People's Liberation Army

People's Liberation Army

the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the people's republic of china

People's National Congress

top of the government hierarchy where state authority is formally vested; subject to party authority; chooses the president and the vice president of china

plenums

the meetings of the Central Committee of the CCP

politboro

the most important organization within the CCP consisting of two dozen or so leaders in china which approves all major policy and personnel changes

standing committee

7 members chosen from the politboro which are mostly technocrats

Special Economic Zones

SEZs specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign business and investment

state corporatism

a political system in which the state requires all members of a particular economic sector to join an officially designated interest group

technocrats

highly educated bureaucrats who make decisions based on their perceptions of technical ideas rather than political ones

Townships and Village Enterprises

TVEs rural factories and businesses that are run by local government and private entrepreneurs

two china's

china and taiwan

hu jintao

current leader of china

hu yaobang

former head of CCP during deng xiaoping; radical reformer

jiang zemin

person who assumed leadership of china after deng xiaoping's death

li peng

former premier and chair of the NPC; the most prominant leader of conservatives

a new socialist countryside

wen jiabao's pledge to narrow the rich-poor gap and to channel more wealth to the villagers and rural migrant workers of china

non governmental organizations

independent groups that influence business through lobbying, publicity, and pressure tactics

one country, two systems

china's policy of blending capitalism and some western freedoms with chinese communism

patron client system

a system that gives political support in exchange for political and economic favors

autonomous regions

provinces that have been granted a certain degree of political and cultural autonomy, or freedom from centralized authority by the government

3rd generation leader

jiang zemin

4th generation leader

current hu-wen administration

private business

chinese category created in 1988 under the control of the NPC

rule of law

law that applies to all citizens and those who govern

state corporatism

a political system in which the state requires all members of a particular economic sector to join an officially designated interest group

sun yat-sen

chinese nationalist revolutionary, founder and leader of the guomindang until his death who attempted to create a liberal democratic political movement in china

wen jiabao

china's current premier and head of government

youth league

a youth movement of the people's republic of china for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by CCP

zhao ziyang

right hand men of deng xiaoping who helped to reform the economy

zhongguo

referring to the group of states in the central plain, the middle kingdom