The Discourse of Political Constitutionalism in Contemporary China

Abstract

The discourse of “political constitutionalism” that emerged in China a few years ago is of considerable scholarly value, and is likely to have impact on the development of Chinese constitutional thought in the longer term. This article discusses the discourse of political constitutionalism in contemporary China by introducing and commenting on the scholarship of Professor Gao Quanxi, the leading theorist of political constitutionalism in China today. The article begins by providing readers with some basic information about modern Chinese constitutional history and the constitutional systems that are in force in mainland China (the People’s Republic of China) and Taiwan (the Republic of China) today. The article then describes the main features of Gao Quanxi’s studies on political constitutionalism. The article concludes by reflecting and commenting on Gao’s scholarship.

Keywords: China, constitution, constitutionalism, political constitutionalism, judicial constitutionalism