Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

The first Plenum of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 1949

The Conference dated prior to the existence of the People's Republic of China. During negotiations between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang in 1945, the two parties agreed to open multiparty talks on post-World War II political reforms via a Political Consultative Conference. This was included in the Double Tenth Agreement. This agreement was implemented by the National Government of the Republic of China, who organized the first Political Consultative Assembly from January 10–31, 1946. Representatives of the Kuomintang, CCP, Chinese Youth Party, and China Democratic League, as well as independent delegates, attended the conference in Chongqing.

In 1949, with the CCP having gained control of most of mainland China, they organized a "new" Political Consultative Conference in September, inviting delegates from various friendly parties to attend and discuss the establishment of a new state.[2] This conference was then renamed the People's Political Consultative Conference. On September 29, 1949, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference unanimously adopted the Common Program as the basic political program for the country.[11]^: 25 The conference approved the new national anthem, flag, capital city, and state name, and elected the first government of the People's Republic of China.[2] In effect, the first People's Political Consultative Conference served as a constitutional convention.

From 1949 to 1954, the conference became the de facto legislature of the PRC. In 1954, the Constitution transferred this function to the National People's Congress.

During the Hundred Flowers Campaign between 1956 and 1957, Mao Zedong encouraged members of the CPPCC to speak about the shortcomings of the CCP. However, those who did faced severe repercussions such as heavy criticism and or incarnation in labor camps in the subsequent Anti-Rightist Campaign.[2]

The CPPCC was effectively decimated during the Cultural Revolution. It was revived during the First Session of its 5th National Committee between 24 February to 8 March 1974, during which Deng Xiaoping was elected as its chairman.[2]

When plans for the Sanxia (Three Gorges) Dam were revived by the CCP during the emphasis on the Four Modernizations during the early period of Reform and Opening Up, the CPPCC became a center of opposition to the project.[12]^: 204 It convened panels of experts who recommended delaying the project.[12]^: 204

The CPPCC is the highest-ranking body in the united front system.[7] It is the "peak united front forum, bringing together CCP officials and Chinese elites."[13] According to Sinologist Peter Mattis, the CPPCC is "the one place where all the relevant actors inside and outside the party come together: party elders, intelligence officers, diplomats, propagandists, soldiers and political commissars, united front workers, academics, and businesspeople."[14] In practice, the CPPCC serves as "the place where messages are developed and distributed among party members and the non-party faithful who shape perceptions of the CCP and China."[14]

The CPPCC includes delegates from the CCP and its people's organizations, eight legally-permitted political parties subservient to the CCP, as well as nominally independent members or "friends".[15] It provides a "seat" for the non-communist parties and so-called "patriotic democrats."[15] The CPPCC also reserves seats for overseas delegates,[16] as well as delegates from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.[1]

The conception of the non-communist parties as part of a coalition rather than an opposition is expressed in the PRC's constitutional principle of "political consultation and multiparty cooperation."[15] This constitutional principle obliges the CCP to consult the others on all major policy issues.[15] Particularly since the 2000s, CPPCC members frequently petition the CCP Central Committee regarding socioeconomic, health, and environmental issues.[15]

According to state media Xinhua News Agency, it is an "organization in the patriotic united front of the Chinese people". It continues that the CPPCC is neither a body of state power nor a policymaking organ, but a platform for "various political parties, people's organizations, and people of all ethnic groups and from all sectors of society" to participate in state affairs.[18]

As a united front organ, the CPPCC works together with the CCP's United Front Work Department. According to Mattis, the CPPCC gathers the society's elite, while the UFWD "implements policy and handles the nuts and bolts of united front work". The UFWD oversees several people's organizations which constitute the membership of the CPPCC.[14]

Building of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

The National Committee CPPCC (Chinese: 中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Zhèngzhì Xiéshāng Huìyì Quánguó Wěiyuánhuì, shortened Chinese: 全国政协; pinyin: Quánguó Zhèngxié; lit. 'National PCC') is the national level organization that represents the CPPCC nationally and is made up of deputies coming from various sectors of society. Members of the National Committee are elected for five year terms, though this can be extended in exceptional circumstances by a two-thirds majority vote by all members of the Standing Committee.[19]

The National Committee holds plenary sessions annually, though a session can be called by the National Committee's Standing Committee if necessary.[19] The plenary sessions are generally held in March, around the same date as the annual session of the National People's Congress; together, these meetings are termed as the Two Sessions.[20] The plenary session makes amendments to the CPPCC charter, elects a Standing Committee, which handles the regular affairs of the body, and adopts resolutions on National Committee's "major working principles and tasks".[19] The Standing Committee is responsible for choosing the CPPCC's membership, implementing CPPCC's resolutions, and interpreting the CPPCC's charter.[19]

The National Committee is led by a chairman, currently Wang Huning, one of the highest-ranking offices in the country; since its establishment, all CPPCC chairpersons have been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP except during transition periods, being at least its 4th-ranking member.[14][21] The chairman is assisted by several vice chairpersons and a secretary-general, who heads the National Committee's General Office; together, they make up the Chairperson's Council, which handles the day-to-day affairs of the Standing Committee and meets on average of at least once a month.[14][19] The Council meetings coordinate work reports, review united front work, identify the issues to focus and highlight important ideological directions of the CCP.[14] It also presides over the preparatory meeting of the first plenary session of the next National Committee.[19]

The CCP and the aligned "democratic parties" participate in the National Committee. Besides political parties, NC-CPPCC has also delegates from various sectors of society in its ranks.[22] The parties and groups with delegates to the NC-CPPCC are as follows:[23]

In addition to the main National Committee, the CPPCC contains numerous regional committees at the provincial, prefecture, and county level.[19] According to an old post in CPPCC's website, there were 3,164 local CPPCC committees at every level by the end of 2006, containing around 615,164 members.[14] Like the National Committee, the regional committees serve for five years, have a chairperson, vice chairpersons and a secretary-general, convene plenary sessions at least once a year, and have a standing committee.[19] According to the CPPCC charter, the relationship between the National Committee and the local committees, as well as the relationship between the local committee and lower-level committees is "one of guidance".[25]

The following regional committees are modelled after the National Committee with identical composition of deputies elected to them and are each supervised by regional level Standing Committees:[2][19]

• CPPCC province-level committees
  • including regional committees of the autonomous regions and city committees of directly controlled municipal governments (Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Shanghai)
• CPPCC prefecture-level committees
  • including autonomous prefectural committees and city committees of sub-provincial and prefectural cities
• CPPCC county-level committees
  • including committees of autonomous counties and country-level cities

• Chinese Literature and History Press, the CPPCC's publishing house
• List of current members of CPPCC by sector

• Official website
• Official news website
• Official newspaper website