| Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Front cover of the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国共产党章程 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國共産黨章程 | ||||||
| |||||||
TheConstitution of the Chinese Communist Party has 55 articles and its contents describe the program of the party, as well as its organizational structure and party symbolism.
TheChinese Communist Party (CCP)'s 1945 constitution describedMao Zedong Thought as the party's working compass.[1]: 23 It also discusses democracy in the context ofNew Democracy.[1]: 22
The constitution adopted during April 1969 at the CCP's9th National Congress namedLin Biao as Mao Zedong's "close comrade in arms and successor".[2]: 142
The constitution currently in force was adopted at the CCP's12th National Congress in September 1982. In accordance with the changing situation and tasks, revisions were made in some of the articles at the13th National Congress in November 1987 and in the General Program and some of the articles at the14th National Congress in October 1992, and a few revisions were made in the General Program at the16th National Congress of the CCP in November 2002.[citation needed] The constitution can be amended once every five years.[3]
The 1992 revision of the constitution noted the importance of policy experimentation, incorporating language that the CCP "must boldly experiment with new methods, ... review new experience and solve new problems, and enrich and developMarxism in practice."[4]: 65
The CCP's 16th National Congress in November 2002 included the incorporation of theThree Represents.[5] The CCP's18th National Congress in November 2012, saw the inclusion of the concept ofecological civilization.[6]: 1 The CCP's19th National Congress in October 2017 ratified amendments including the incorporation ofXi Jinping Thought.[7]Xi Jinping thus became the first leader sinceDeng Xiaoping to append his name into party ideology; the change also led to many international media outlets calling Xi the "most powerful leader since Mao."[7] TheBelt and Road Initiative was also added to the party constitution.[8][9]: 58
The CCP's20th National Congress in October 2022 saw several amendments to the party constitution. Additions included opposition toTaiwan independence,[10] developing a "fighting spirit" and strengthening fighting ability, as well as additions of goals related to Xi, including gradually achievingcommon prosperity, promotingChinese-style modernization and developing a "broader, fuller and more robust"whole-process people's democracy.[10] The status of Xi and the CCP were further strengthened with the amendments, with the amended constitution naming the CCP as the "supreme political leadership force".[10] TheTwo Upholds was added, thereby cementing the "core" status of Xi Jinping.[11]
The constitution states thatMarxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought are the party's official ideology.[3] The constitution emphasizes the party's role in promotingsocialist democracy, in developing and strengthening asocialist legal system, and in consolidating public resolve to carry out the modernization program.[12]
The constitution states that the interests of the people and the party are paramount over the interests of party members.[13]: 112 The constitution states that in emergencies and urgent situations, members are encouraged to contribute to special funds (as in the case of the special fund for the2008 Sichuan earthquake).[13]: 111–112
Since 1945, the party's constitution has defined the party's view ofdemocratic centralism as "centralism based on democracy and democracy under centralized leadership."[1]: 23 Academic Jean-Pierre Cabestan writes that this approach defines and limits democracy within the party, indicating that central leadership prevails over the rights of party members to challenge leadership.[1]: 23
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. China: A Country Study.Federal Research Division. July 1987.
