--Song Luzheng, Commentator & Research Fellow of the Spring & Autumn Research Institute

Abstract

Since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, China has relentlessly carried out political and institutional reforms by meeting the demand of the times and drawing lessons from past mistakes. Now a new model of power transition, supervision and checks and balances with Chinese characteristics has come into shape. The "Lifetime Rule of One Man" has now given way to "Collective Leadership with a Limited Mandate". You might get a clearer picture if you make comparisons between this unique Chinese system with that of the West, plagued by economic woes, and the Arab world, shaken by revolution: The West changes its leaders and ruling parties regularly; China changes its leaders regularly but not the ruling party; the Arab societies neither change their leaders nor ruling parties. Judging from the modern standpoint, the Chinese model has outperformed the other two models because both flexibility and continuity are required should a political system function well. The Western system has flexibility but lacks in continuity; major changes often take place with the incorporation of new governments. The Arab world has continuity but lacks in flexibility which has led to rigid regimes.

The Chinese system today has been shaped by its own politics, culture, traditions and social evolution during a long period of time. For several thousand years, the central political task in China was the nationwide selection of officials. In ancient times, the classic paradigm for the transfer of the highest power was the Crown Abdication System. In modern times, the scope of national selection has been extended to top leaders, while the system of the transfer of the highest power in China now has the merits of the ancient Crown Abdication System; but it has overcome the limitations of the ancient Crown Abdication System which features lifetime rule. Now, the power transfer system features: one-party leadership (integration of the party and political machines), national selection, long-time cultivation, assumption of office in non-birth-place regions, age restrictions, competitive elections of the legislative and executive bodies and regular changes in government. In this system, "One-party leadership, national selection, long-time cultivation, and assumption of office in non-birth-place regions" has inherited the traditional Chinese political culture; "age restriction" is a unique creation by China; "competitive elections of the legislative and executive bodies and regular changes in government" are the lessons learned from the West.

This model has basically given play to the advantages of both the Western and Arab systems and has also allowed the Chinese system to overcome the weaknesses of both the Western and Arab systems. One-party leadership means China can avoid the risk of agency and formulate a long-term development strategy. National selection and long-time cultivation ensure that the most knowledgeable citizens are chosen for office without a high level of cost. These practices can avoid not only the political inaction of a democracy but also the greed of humanity. Regular government change can breathe new life into the nation and avoid the emergence of dictators.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)