In News:
- Chinese President Xi Jinping secured a record breaking third term as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CCP).
What’s in today’s article:
- Elections in China (Structure, about CCP, election of President)
- News Summary (Amendments to the CCP’s constitution)
Elections in China:
- Elections in China occur under a single-party political system. This party is known as the Communist Party of China (CPC).
- The CPC is a cadre-based party and only the members take part in the election process to choose its leader or the President of China.
- The election is held during the Congress.
- Representatives are elected to the National People’s Congress (NPC). With 2,300 representatives, it is the largest legislature in the world.
- The delegates are indirectly elected every five years to represent 35 electoral units –
- 31 provincial administrative regions in mainland China, and
- the Chinese military, as well as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
About CPC:
- The CPC has a cadre base of over 9 crore forming the bottom of the pyramidal organisational structure of the party.
- It is the second largest political party in the world, after India’s Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).
- The CPC politburo and politburo standing committee are two of the most powerful decision-making bodies of the party.
How is the Chinese President elected?
- Every five years, the CCP convenes its national party congress to set major policies and select top leaders.
- During this time, members choose the Central Committee, which comprises around 370 members.
- The Central Committee also selects the Politburo, which has 25 members.
- In turn, the Politburo chooses the Politburo Standing Committee through secretive, backroom negotiations.
- The Standing Committee functions as the epicentre of the CCP’s power and leadership. Its membership has ranged from five to nine people.
- The Standing Committee elects a general secretary of the CPC who also becomes the President of China.
News Summary:
- Chinese President Xi Jinping created history by becoming the first leader of the ruling Communist Party after party founder Mao Zedong to get re-elected for an unprecedented third term in power.
- President Xi Jinping was elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party for 3rd five-year tenure by the new seven-member Standing Committee.
- The national party congress had passed an amendment to the CCP’s constitution reinforcing Xi Jinping’s “core” status with the directive that all party members have the “obligation” to follow his directives and doctrines to the “core”.
- Another amendment called for “carrying forward our fighting spirit and building up our fighting ability”, referring to China’s more assertive diplomacy under Xi Jinping.
- The amended Constitution also calls for “resolutely opposing and deterring separatists seeking Taiwan independence”.
- The Congress also appointed a new team of anti-corruption wing of the party called the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which directly functions under Xi Jinping.
