China's National People's Congress: Reform and its Limits

Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 343-74, August 1988

32 Pages Posted: 18 Apr 2008

See all articles by Kevin J. O'Brien

Kevin J. O'Brien

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science

Abstract

Prior to 1976, legislatures did not play a significant role in Chinese politics. More recently, however, efforts have been made to revamp the Chinese legislative system and strengthen its centerpiece, the National People's Congress. This paper assesses the evolving role of the NPC by analyzing the legislative reform debates of 1979-1982 and by evaluating the pattern of changes accepted and rejected. The analysis shows that four long-standing obstacles to legislative development (manipulated elections, large size, perfunctory plenary sessions, and weak committees) have yet to be fully overcome. However, reforms in personnel selection, procedures, and committee structure are enabling the NPC to play a larger consultative and rationalizing role in the political system.

Keywords: China, legislatures, National People's Congress, elections, committees, size, bicameral

JEL Classification: K40, O54, P30

Suggested Citation

O'Brien, Kevin J., China's National People's Congress: Reform and its Limits. Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 343-74, August 1988, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1121855

Kevin J. O'Brien (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science ( email )

210 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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