AP Comparative Government: China Comprehensive Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the political structures, party institutions, societal cleavages, demographics, and economic policies of the People's Republic of China.

Democratic Centralism

The organizational principle in China where government decision-making and efficiency are strictly prioritized around what serves the interests of the Communist Party.

Dual Executive

China's executive division of power consisting of a Head of State (the President) and a Head of Government (the Premier).

National People's Congress (NPC)

China's unicameral national legislature consisting of nearly 3,000 delegates elected for five-year terms by local assemblies, serving primarily to legitimize party decisions.

Rubber Stamp Legislature

A term describing the National People's Congress because it lacks independent legislative power and routinely approves all policy decisions and nominations mandated by the Communist Party.

Rule by Law

A judicial system where the legal apparatus is used as a mechanism to enforce state and party control over citizens, prosecutors, and courts, distinct from an impartial Rule of Law.

Nomenklatura

The patronage appointment system borrowed from the Soviet Union by which the CCP recruits, screens, and promotes loyal members to significant political and bureaucratic offices.

Guanxi

A Chinese term referring to a network of personal ties, relationships, and connections based on shared background or acquaintances, frequently used to navigate bureaucratic red tape.

Parallel Hierarchy

The structural design where CCP positions run parallel to government positions, with party officials simultaneously holding corresponding state offices and exercising actual authority.

Politburo Standing Committee

The elite seven-member council at the pinnacle of the CCP that meets in secret and serves as the ultimate center of policymaking and political power in China.

Politburo

A 25-member policy-making body of the CCP chosen from the Central Committee that dictates government policies to advance Communist Party objectives.

Central Committee

A gathering of approximately 350 CCP members (205 full and 171 alternate members) that convenes annually for about a week and formally elects the Politburo.

National Party Congress

A massive body of over 2,000 delegates that convenes once every five years to symbolize party unity and formally select members of the Central Committee.

General Secretary

The supreme administrative leader of the Chinese Communist Party, who concurrently holds the state position of President and serves as Commander-in-Chief.

Rice Roots Democracy

Direct, secret-ballot elections permitted exclusively at the local village level to choose village committee leaders, representing limited democratic practice in rural China.

Satellite Parties

Eight minor political parties allowed to exist in China that must accept the permanent leadership of the CCP, creating an appearance of multi-party diversity without real political competition.

Princelings

An influential aristocratic faction within the CCP composed of the children and relatives of prominent early communist revolutionaries and leaders from Mao's era, including Xi Jinping.

Great Firewall (Golden Shield)

China's nationwide digital censorship and internet surveillance apparatus that restricts public access to foreign websites and regulates social media communication.

GONGOs

Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations created, funded, and monitored by the Chinese state (e.g., the Confucius Institute) to guide civic and social initiatives.

Red Capitalists

Private business entrepreneurs and corporate executives in China who are granted membership within the Chinese Communist Party.

Xinhua

The official state news agency of the government of the People's Republic of China.

People's Daily

The official state-run newspaper operated by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Cancer Villages

Rural Chinese communities characterized by extraordinarily high cancer rates due to unrestrained industrial pollution, toxic dumping, and contaminated water supplies.

Floating Populations

Millions of rural migrant laborers who move from the inland provinces to eastern coastal urban centers in search of employment without formal urban household registration.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Designated coastal areas introduced in the late 20th century that offer free-market incentives, tax relief, and trade flexibility to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

One Child Policy

A population-control policy introduced in 1979 restricting families to a single birth to curb demographic growth, which caused significant gender imbalances before being phased out by 2015.

Autonomous Regions

Five provincial-level divisions (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang) designated with nominal self-governance rights for ethnic minority groups, yet strictly supervised by Beijing.

Dalai Lama

The spiritual and traditional leader of Tibetan Buddhism who established a government-in-exile in 1959 following Chinese military action in Tibet.

Uyghurs

A predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority population residing primarily in Xinjiang, subjected to intensive state surveillance, facial tracking, and re-education facilities.