Comp Gov - People's Republic of China

the mass line

the people were able to lead (people at the bottom could pitch suggestions directly to the CCP leaders at the top)

Mao Zedong Thought

political beliefs inspired by Mao (also known as Maoism)

socialism

in a socialist regime, the state plays a leading role in organizing the economy, and most business firms are publicly owned

centrally planned economy

central authority (ex. CCP) makes all economic decisions

collectivization

abolishment of private ownership

state-owned enterprises (SOEs)

companies in which a majority of ownership control is held by the government

Iron Rice Bowl

a feature of China’s socialist economy during the Maoist era that provided guarantees of lifetime employment, income, and basic cradle-to-grave benefits to most urban and rural workers

hukou

household registration which ties a person to a certain location, if people move, they lose CCP support

Great Leap Forward

Mao’s attempt to speed up China’s development rapidly, but backfired and resulted in a massive famine that killed over 40 million people

Cultural Revolution

Mao’s ideological crusade designed to jolt China back toward his view of communism

totalitarianism

a political system in which the state attempts to exercise total control over all aspects of public and private life

socialist market economy

the term used by the government of China to refer to the country’s current economic system

household responsibility system

system under which the village owns the farmland, but has the local government contract the land out to individual families, which take full charge of the production and marketing of crops

One-Child Policy

attempt to stop population growth, each family could only have one child

Tiananmen Square protests

pro-democracy protests occured in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and were brutally suppressed by the CCP

floating population

millions of people moving from rural to urban environments (after dismantling the Iron Rice Bowl)

collective decision making

decisions are made by the group, not by the individual

technocrats

career-minded bureaucrats who administer public policy according to a technical rather than a political rationale

developmental state

a nation-state in which the government carries out policies that effectively promote national economic growth

socialist democracy & village elections

the term used by the CCP to describe the political system of the PRC. the official view is that this type of system, under the leadership of the Communist Party, provides democracy for the overwhelming majority of people and suppresses only the enemies of the people

General Secretary

the formal title of the head of the CCP

Standing Committee

a subgroup of the Politburo, with less than a dozen members. the most powerful political organization in China

Politburo

the committee made up of the top two dozen or so leaders of the CCP

Central Committee

the top 350 or so leaders of the CCP. meets annually for about two weeks and carries on the business of the National Party Congress when it is not in session

National Party Congress

consists of about 2,100 delegates from the CCP who meet every five years to endorse policies that have been already approved by smaller ruling bodies within the CCP

Central Military Commission

the most important military organization in the PRC, headed by the general secretary, who is the commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army

Party Organizational Department (cadres & nomenklatura)

decides who is allowed to fill the important CCP positions

People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

the combined armed forces of the PRC which includes land, sea, air, and strategic missile forces

National People’s Congress

the legislature of the PRC. it is under the control of the CCP and is not an independent branch of government

State Council

the cabinet of the government of the PRC headed by the premier

mass organizations

organizations in a communist party-state that represent the interests of a particular social group, such as workers or women but which are controlled by the communist party

state corporatism

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

guanxi

a Chinese term that means “connections” or “relationships” and describes personal ties between individuals based on such things as common birthplace or mutual acquaintances