In China , politics functions within a communist state framework based on the system of people's congress under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the National People's Congress (NPC) functioning as the highest organ of state power and only branch of government per the principle of unified power . The CCP leads state activities by holding two-thirds of the seats in the NPC, and these party members are, in accordance with democratic centralism , responsible for implementing the policies adopted by the CCP Central Committee and the National Congress . The NPC has unlimited state power bar the limitations it sets on itself. By controlling the NPC, the CCP has complete state power. China's two special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau , are nominally autonomous from this system.
The Chinese political system is considered authoritarian .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] There are no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, all religious activity is controlled by the CCP, dissent is not permitted, and civil rights are curtailed.[ 7] [ 8] Direct elections occur only at the local level, not the national level, with all candidate nominations controlled by the CCP.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
The nature of the elections is highly constrained by the CCP's monopoly on power in China, censorship , and party control over elections.[ 15] [ 16] According to academic Rory Truex of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs , "the CCP tightly controls the nomination and election processes at every level in the people's congress system... the tiered, indirect electoral mechanism in the People's Congress system ensures that deputies at the highest levels face no semblance of electoral accountability to the Chinese citizenry."[ 17]
^ Truex, Rory (28 October 2016). Making Autocracy Work . Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978-1-107-17243-2 . Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Mattingly, Daniel C. (5 December 2019). The Art of Political Control in China . Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978-1-316-99791-8 . Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Tang, Wenfang (4 January 2016). Populist Authoritarianism: Chinese Political Culture and Regime Sustainability . Oxford University Press . ISBN 978-0-19-049081-2 . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Nathan, Andrew J.; Diamond, Larry ; Plattner, Marc F. (1 September 2013). Will China Democratize? . Johns Hopkins University Press . ISBN 978-1-4214-1244-3 . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Teets, Jessica C. (9 June 2014). Civil Society under Authoritarianism: The China Model . Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978-1-107-03875-2 . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Heurlin, Christopher (27 October 2016). Responsive Authoritarianism in China: Land, Protests, and Policy Making . Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978-1-108-10780-8 . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Economy, Elizabeth C. (25 October 2021). The World According to China . John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-5095-3751-8 . OCLC 1251737887 . Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022 .
^ "China: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report" . Freedom House . Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .
^ Gandhi, Jennifer; Lust-Okar, Ellen (1 June 2009). "Elections Under Authoritarianism" . Annual Review of Political Science . 12 (1): 403–422. doi :10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060106.095434 . ISSN 1094-2939 .
^ Geddes, Barbara; Wright, Joseph; Frantz, Erica (2018). How Dictatorships Work . Cambridge University Press . p. 141. doi :10.1017/9781316336182 . ISBN 978-1-316-33618-2 . S2CID 226899229 .
^ Landry, Pierre F.; Davis, Deborah; Wang, Shiru (1 June 2010). "Elections in Rural China: Competition Without Parties". Comparative Political Studies . 43 (6): 763–790. doi :10.1177/0010414009359392 . ISSN 0010-4140 . S2CID 43175132 .
^ Manion, Melanie (1 March 2017). " "Good Types" in Authoritarian Elections: The Selectoral Connection in Chinese Local Congresses". Comparative Political Studies . 50 (3): 362–394. doi :10.1177/0010414014537027 . ISSN 0010-4140 . S2CID 155166131 .
^ Lee, Ching Kwan; Zhang, Yonghong (1 May 2013). "The Power of Instability: Unraveling the Microfoundations of Bargained Authoritarianism in China". American Journal of Sociology . 118 (6): 1475–1508. doi :10.1086/670802 . ISSN 0002-9602 . S2CID 144559373 .
^ Wallace, Jeremy L. (2016). "Juking the Stats? Authoritarian Information Problems in China" . British Journal of Political Science . 46 (1): 11–29. doi :10.1017/S0007123414000106 . ISSN 0007-1234 . S2CID 154275103 .
^ Hernández, Javier C. (15 November 2016). " 'We Have a Fake Election': China Disrupts Local Campaigns" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021 .
^ "The West once dreamed of democracy taking root in rural China" . The Economist . 14 January 2021. ISSN 0013-0613 . Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021 .
^ Truex, Rory (28 October 2016). Making Autocracy Work . Cambridge University Press . pp. 52, 111. ISBN 978-1-107-17243-2 . Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021 .