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5 - The NPC in the political system
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 March 2010
Summary
For much of its first generation, the NPC operated in an inhospitable environment enfeebled by an ineffectual structure. External pressures and internal constraints circumscribed legislative development and ultimately caused legislative decline. This chapter draws on both Chinese and western legislative theory to assess the consequences of decline on four activities commonly associated with legislatures – law making, supervision, representation, and regime support. By determining what the NPC contributed to the political system, I summarize the findings to this point and establish a baseline against which post-Mao changes can be measured.
Law making and influence over policy
In theory, legislatures legislate. Nelson Polsby writes: “legislative activity at its core refers to a process of law making, to a pattern of actions which regularly results in the promulgation of general rules having application to some specified population.” Students of nonwestern legislatures have long known, however, that many legislatures seldom make rules and often are excluded from important political decisions. With several notable exceptions, the influence of legislatures pales before that of executives. Popular assemblies generally pass executive proposals with minimal change or opposition; few regularly make political decisions or allocate values.
The NPC from 1954 to 1976 was not among these few. Deputies “did not enjoy and exercise the right to decide on laws.” Laws were infrequently submitted and less frequently amended. Before convening, NPC and NPCSC members did not know what proposals they would see, and at the end, they could do little more than raise their hands in agreement.
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- Reform without LiberalizationChina's National People's Congress and the Politics of Institutional Change, pp. 74 - 88Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1990