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Politics in China > Quiz #2 > Flashcards

Quiz #2 Flashcards

1
Q

Why Institutionalization?

A

 Routinized and predictable political and policymaking process
were deemed indispensable to China’s modernization
 Mao’s policies had led to chaos and economic underdevelopment
 Guard against concentration of political power

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2
Q

Indicators of institutionalization

A

 Regular meetings for party congress and the Central
Committee
 A routine of consultation, review, and revision by organs
and constituencies for policymaking
 Restoration of organizational discipline in the party,
government, and military
 Establish rules for leadership turnover and succession

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3
Q

Institutionalization of Leadership Succession

A

 Incorporated fixed term limits for top state posts in 1982
 Mandatory retirement ages for various level within the state
hierarchy
 Since the 1997,
members of the
Politburo who reach the age of
68 must retire by the end of their terms
 The deliberate and
prepared succession of members in the
Politburo

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4
Q

The ranking of CCP elites in the Central Committee (CC) took place took place when and in what organization?

A

Roughly once every five years at the National Party Congress (NOT the National People’s Congress)

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5
Q

The ranking of CCP elites is highly coordinated by the…

A

Politburo Standing Committee

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6
Q

T/F: Starting at the 12th Party Congress in 1952, the CCP delegates receive ballots with
more names than there were seats in the Central Committee.

A

False: 1982

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7
Q

Candidates were accepted into the CC in the order of what?

A

Their vote totals. (Alternate members of the CC were also elected in this way)

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8
Q

The elected CC members then vote the members of the…

A

Politburo, the PSC, and
the party secretary general into office.

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9
Q

Voting in Party Congress

A

 Party delegates received strict
voting instructions.
 Potential candidates are
selected by leadership groups
 The selected candidates then
underwent a vetting procedure
carried out by the Central
Organization Department

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10
Q

The general party secretary was only “___ ___ ____”

A
  • “first among equals”
    - Reinforce collective decision making
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11
Q

The evolving composition of the Politburo Standing Committee…

A

 Moved from military to regional representation
 More emphasis on competence and expertise
 The average age of the Standing Committee drops to meet the age
limitation requirement
 From 72 in 1982 to
63 in 1997 then 60 in
2000, thus allowing a normal politburo
tenure of two five-year terms before
retirement

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12
Q

Behavioral Implications of PSC Members: Collective Leadership System

A

 A balancing act of organizational constituency to sustain collective
leadership decision
 Politburo members often represent expertise in different functional areas
facilitate effective and rational decision making
 Every member on the standing committee counts
 The collective leadership system inevitably generates factional politics

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13
Q

Behavioral Implications of PSC Members: Intra-party Political Competition

A

 Factional politics exist within the CCP, even though the party
does not admit it
 A patron-clientelist relationship within the faction
 Faction formation changes from time to time
 Faction organization is often informal

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14
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: The limited nature of power does what?

A

 cultivates a code of civility that mitigate political conflict

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15
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: What do factions try and do to weaken rivals?

A

discredit opposition faction members

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16
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: The immediate concern of faction is to…

A

protect its own base instead of ridding the other factions

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17
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: The defensive orientation encourages factions to…

A

unite against the emergence of strong
leaders

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18
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: T/F - Faction alliances shift over time.

A

True (today’s enemies may be tomorrow’s friends)

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19
Q

Characteristics of Factional Politics: Decisions without consensus …

A

could almost never be enforced

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20
Q

How did general party secretary Jiang Zemin rise to power?

A

Succeeded Zhao Ziyang after the June 4 student movement,1989

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21
Q

What were the political and economic environments like under general party secretary Jiang Zemin?

A

Political instability was witnessed inside and outside of China, and economic reform faced significant headwind in the early 1990s

22
Q

General Party Secretary, Jiang Zemin: What were the overriding concerns? What were the major party initiatives?

A
  • Maintaining political stability
  • “Three represents”
23
Q

General Party Secretary, Jiang Zemin: Elite politics

A
  • The erosion of authority
  • Fragmented authoritarianism at work
24
Q

General Party Secretary, Hu Jintao: Rise to power

A

Succeeded Jiang, first peaceful (normal) transition in PRC since 1949

25
Q

General Party Secretary, Hu Jintao: political and economic environments

A

Relatively stable but social unrests were on the rise. Explosive economic growth began in China

26
Q

General Party Secretary, Hu Jintao: The overriding concerns

A

Maintaining political stability and the status quo

27
Q

General Party Secretary, Hu Jintao: Major policy initiatives

A

“Scientific Outlook on Development” and “Harmonious Society”

28
Q

General Party Secretary, Hu Jintao: Elite politics

A

 Further erosion of authority, as Hu’s power was largely constrained
 The rise of bureaucrats

29
Q

General Party Secretary, Xi Jinping: Rise to power

A

Succeeded Hu, second peaceful (normal) transition in PRC since 1949

30
Q

General Party Secretary, Xi Jinping: Political and economic environment

A

Intensified elite struggle and economic slowdown

31
Q

General Party Secretary, Xi Jinping: The overriding concerns

A

Maintaining CCP’s monopoly power over the Chinese society

32
Q

General Party Secretary, Xi Jinping: Major policy initiatives

A

“Chinese dream” and the anti-corruption campaign

33
Q

General Party Secretary, Xi Jinping: Elite politics

A

Power consolidation and the departure from the “collective leadership” norm

34
Q

Case Study: The downfall of Bo Xilai

A

 Son of the Bo Yibo, one of the eight powerful elders during the 1980s
 Party Secretary of Chongqing (2007.11.30 – 2012.3.15)
 Initiated mass anticorruption campaigns during early period of his tenure
(“fighting the black” or Dahei “
打黑 “)
 The chief of Chongqing Police bureau entered the U.S. consulate in
Chengdu (2012.2.6)
 Removed from the party secretary position in Chongqing (2012.3.15)
 Removed from the CCP Central Committee and Politburo, and was under
the investigation by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission
(2012.4.10)
 Denouncement from the Central Committee and under the investigation
by the People‘s Procuratorate (2012.9.28)
 Prosecuted by the Jinan Prefecture People‘s Procuratorate in Jinan’s Court.
Was sentenced to life in prison. (2013.7.25 – 2013.9.22)
 Appealed to the High Court in Shandong Province, and was rejected.
(2013.10.25)

35
Q

What were the norms established in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Party Congresses

A

 Leaders reaching the age of 68 or older in 2017 would retire from the Politburo and other top party organs
 Five of seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee
 Six of 18 regular members of the Politburo will retire.
 At least four of 11 members of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) will retire
 Successors to the General Party Secretary and Premier will be named

36
Q

How was the 19th Party Congress in 2017 a departure from the norms set in recent developments?

A

 Xi’s anti-corruption campaigns have led to the downfall of several candidates to these top
positions
 Some discussion by party media about the retirement age is only a “recommendation”

37
Q

Outcomes of the 19th Party Congress in 2017. Did the institutionalization of elite succession
continue?

A

Sort of…
 Followed the age limitation rule
 But did not name the successors

38
Q

The outcomes of the 20th Party Congress in 2022. Did the institutionalization of elite succession continue?

A

No
 Did not follow the age limitation rule (Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Zhang Youxia)
 Xi Jinping secured the third term as the General Party Secretary
 Did not name the successors

39
Q

Why is institutionalization of Elite Politics Hard to Sustain?

A

The dilemma of balancing political power among
political elites
 The need for a strong leader, but not too strong that refuses power sharing
Sustain the equilibrium of power sharing among political elites is extremely challenging

40
Q

The Local Party Standing Committee…

A

Consists of 5~9 members (sometimes up to 11)
 Party secretary (first among equal)
 Government executive
 Head of the party organization department
 Chair of local people’s congress
 Chair of local People’s Political Consultative Assembly
 Propaganda department chief
 Deputy party secretaries and deputy government executive

41
Q

What are some informal sources of power?

A

Factional ties
 With higher-level government and/or party officials
Mobilization capacity of human and financial
resources
 Peers in the standing committee
 Political support from local bureaucracies

42
Q

Motivations of Cadre responsibility
system (CRS)

A

 Improve government efficiency
 Allow higher-level governments to monitor and control lower-level agents

43
Q

Reforms to improve cadre responsibility system:

A
  • An attempt to use the performance of public officials as the key
    metrics in the cadre management system
     The primary principle: quantification of performance
  • Passed national regulations on the evaluation of civil servants in 1993
     Led by the CCP Organization Department
     A scoring system, ranked among cadres at the same administrative level
     Work achievement should account for 60% to 70% and political integrity, competence and diligence should together account for 30% to 40%of the evaluation
     Specific performance criteria, such as industrial output, output of township- and
    village-run enterprises, taxes and profits remitted
44
Q

The Performance Contract

A
  • Different departments design various contracts
  • The contents of performance contracts vary between areas and over time,
    reflecting the priorities not only of the central but also of local authorities
  • The CCP continues to rely on quantitative targets
  • Performance targets are internally ranked
     Soft target
    - Usually targets that are hard to quantify
     Hard target
    - Example: Tax revenues
     Priority target with veto power
    - Family planning
    - Local stability
45
Q

Incentive structure 2: The Career Prospects

A
  • Promotion and rotation are the common tactics to control local cadres
     Promotion within and across gov. and party apparatus
     Rotation (i.e., transfer)
    - Across different administrative level and different geographical locations
    - Rotation also reinforces control by the higher-level government
  • Race for promotion
     A top-down appointment system
    - The decision mostly rests with the Party Standing Committee
     “Icing on the cake”
    - Voting among peers and the “masses”
    - Government executives and bureau heads requires up-and-down votes by local people’s
    congress
46
Q

What is the key criteria for promotion

A
  • Factional ties
     Strength of factional bosses at the top
  • Competence
     Cadre responsibility system
     Soft target
     Hard target
     Priority target with veto power
47
Q

What were the two incentive structures?

A

1) Cadre system
2) The Career Prospect

48
Q

What are some other criteria for promotion?

A

1) Age requirement for promotion
 The necessity of rejuvenation and the promotion of youth and
restricting the promotion of aging officials
 Avoid the unregulated and disorderly promotion
2) Local experience
 Rotation in appointment
 Term limits
- Cadres (i.e., party secretary and government executive) are supposed
to fulfill at least a 5-year term in each position, and no more than two terms
 Note that few served in the full term, especially for positions below
provincial-level

49
Q

Solutions to the “Age Dilemma”

A

1) The Communist
Youth League route
 CYL: The “army reserve” for
the CCP
 After serving in the CYL,
cadres are required to
undergo reassignment to
regular government and party
positions under strict—and
low—maximum age limitations
 The rise of the “CYL Clique”
2) Temporary transferred duty
 Cadres being assigned by their original unit (dispatching unit) to a
different, external unit (receiving unit)
 Majority of the temporary transfer assignments are limited to one year
 A “gold-plated” opportunity
3) Non-regulation promotion
 “Non-regulation” here refers to promotion of cadres outside pre-defined
regulatory criteria. That is, an ad hoc quota for…
 Age, ethnicity, educational experience, gender and so on.
 The promotion through open selection
 “Open selection” refers to promotion earned through success in examination
or interviews where the field is thrown open for application by any eligible
cadre.
 In general, the highest rank where open selection is permitted is Bureau
Director.

50
Q

Cadre Promotion: Opportunities? Constraints?

A

Opportunities
- Factional ties
- Job performance (e.g., fulfilling various targets)
Constraints
- Political competitions (inter-faction and intra-faction)
- Age
- Tenure uncertainty

51
Q

Consequences of post-1980 cadre management re-forms:

A

1) The one-level down appointment system
2) The end of mass campaigns as the tool
for policy implementation
3) The cadre responsibility system

Politics in China (2 decks)

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