How does the Chinese Communist Party govern the country?

Chapter 15

Democratic supervision refers to the implementation of the national constitution, laws and regulations, the implementation of major principles and policies, and the work of state organs and their staff through suggestions and criticisms.

As mentioned earlier, after the founding of New China, Mao Zedong opposed the automatic dissolution of some democratic parties. He said: "We consciously keep the democratic parties and let them have the opportunity to express their opinions... This is good for the party and the people. It is more beneficial to socialism." In 1956, the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China formally established the eight-character policy of "long-term coexistence and mutual supervision" for inter-party relations.

"Mutual supervision" is naturally two-way, but it is emphasized that "the first is to supervise the Communist Party."For this reason, Mao Zedong said: "Why should the democratic parties supervise the Communist Party? This is because a party needs to hear different voices just like a person. Everyone knows that the main supervisors of the Communist Party are the working people and the masses of party members. But It is more beneficial for us to have democratic parties." Deng Xiaoping further pointed out: "In China, who is qualified to make big mistakes? It is the Chinese Communist Party. Mistakes have the greatest impact. Therefore, our party should be particularly vigilant. … It is necessary to be supervised, and it is necessary to expand the democratic life of the party and the country.” “The so-called supervision comes from three aspects. First, it is the supervision of the party. . . . and non-partisan democrats.” “These non-party democrats can provide our party with a kind of supervision that party members alone cannot easily provide.”

After the reform and opening up, the eight-character policy of "long-term coexistence and mutual supervision" has developed into the sixteen-character policy of "long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, sincerity, and sharing weal and woe". In February 2005, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued "About Further Strengthening the Multiparty Cooperation and Political Consultative System under the Leadership of the Communist Party of China?"
"Opinions on the Construction of a Social Security System" clearly stated: "Because the Communist Party of China is in a leading and ruling position, it is more necessary to consciously accept the supervision of democratic parties." The main person in charge of the Party Committee of the Communist Party of China must hold regular meetings to listen to the opinions of the leaders of the democratic parties and people without party affiliation on the leadership team and its members; report the situation to the democratic parties and listen to their opinions on the construction of the party's work style and clean government and anti-corruption work every year; Establish and improve the system in the links of communication, communication, and feedback, timely report important situations and major issues, and smooth channels for democratic supervision; criticisms put forward by democratic parties must be carefully studied and given feedback in a timely manner.

In order to further broaden the democratic supervision channels of the democratic parties and play a better role, in accordance with the spirit of the "Opinions", in February 2006, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Ministry of Supervision and other departments jointly formulated the "Information on the Construction of the Party's Conduct and Clean Government and Anti-corruption Work to the Democratic Parties". "Implementation Opinions on Inviting Democratic Parties to Participate in the Special Inspection of Party Conduct and Clean Government Construction", informing the democratic parties of the content, form, and time of the party conduct and clean government construction and anti-corruption work, as well as inviting democratic parties to participate in the party conduct and clean government construction-related special inspection work The content, organization, requirements, etc. have been stipulated in detail; in September, seven departments including the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Supervision jointly formulated the "Opinions on Strengthening the Work of Special Contractors". Responsibilities, rights and obligations, and the improvement of the working system of special personnel have been clearly stipulated, which provides a guarantee for the special personnel among members of the democratic parties to fully play their roles. In November 2, the White Paper "China's Political Party System" published by the Information Office of the State Council pointed out more clearly that mutual supervision between the Communist Party of China and other democratic parties is conducive to strengthening the supervision function within the system and avoiding various disadvantages caused by lack of supervision.The democratic parties reflect and represent the specific interests and demands of the people they connect with, can reflect the opinions and suggestions of various aspects of society, and can provide a kind of supervision of more aspects than the supervision of the Communist Party of China itself, which is conducive to the decision-making of the ruling party. Scientific and democratized, more consciously resist and overcome bureaucracy and various passive corruption phenomena, strengthen and improve the work of the ruling party.

Regarding this approach, Shen Dawei, an expert on China in the United States, pointed out that "the Chinese Communist Party seems to have changed its view of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and non-Communist parties: it gradually no longer regards them as a tool of the United Front, and instead regards them as a tool in the system. It is a respectable negotiating partner in the world... All this is to build an extra-party supervision mechanism and improve the ruling ability of the Chinese Communist Party." This judgment is in line with reality.

There are various ways of democratic supervision.At present, it is generally implemented in various places that the secretary of the CPPCC Party Committee and the chairman of the CPPCC participate in the standing committee of the CPPCC at the same level, and the CPPCC members in the standing committee of the CPPCC attend the plenary meeting of the CPPCC at the same level. In some places, some CPPCC members attend the standing committee of the local people's government Or the practice of plenary meetings, CPPCC members listening to the "Government Work Report" has become a normal work.Hearing the opinions of members of the CPPCC face-to-face on major decisions and issues related to people's livelihood not only provides convenience and opportunities for members of the CPPCC to know the state and perform their duties, but also creates a carrier and form for the government to consciously accept the supervision of members of the CPPCC and all sectors of society.

Party committees and governments at all levels have also worked hard to create a relaxed atmosphere and implement channels for democratic supervision.In accordance with the requirements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, insist on reporting the situation to the democratic parties and listening to their opinions on the construction of the party's work style and clean government and anti-corruption work every year; continuously increase the work of special personnel, and 30 provinces and municipalities in the country except Tibet have launched special personnel Work, employing nearly 5 special personnel of various types.Some places invite democratic parties and people without party affiliation to participate in relevant special inspections, law enforcement supervision, and political and political review work carried out by the party committee and the government. and key government leaders.According to statistics, the special inspectors of the democratic parties also received more than 5 visits from the masses and handled more than 2 letters from the masses. The democratic supervision role of the democratic parties has been increasingly valued.

Courts and procuratorates at all levels also consciously accept democratic supervision from the CPPCC. In 2011, the Supreme People's Court informed the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference about the work of the court in a timely manner, visited and received 332 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and handled 136 proposals and other matters of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; strengthened communication with various democratic parties, federations of industry and commerce, and people without party affiliation , fully listen to opinions.

Correctly handle the relationship between independently exercising judicial power in accordance with the law and accepting supervision by public opinion, actively respond to social concerns, and maintain social fairness and justice. In 2011, the Supreme People's Procuratorate completed all 25 proposals put forward by members of the CPPCC National Committee and responded promptly.Implement the contact mechanism with the democratic parties, federations of industry and commerce, and people without party affiliation, timely report the situation of the procuratorial work, and sincerely listen to opinions.Pay attention to the role of people's supervisors, special prosecutors, and expert advisory committees in supervising law enforcement and handling cases, and participating in procuratorial decision-making. People's supervisors have supervised a total of 3192 cases of seven types of duty-related crimes.

Of course, it is not easy to truly exercise the power of democratic supervision. In March 2011, Cui Yongyuan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a well-known TV host, said at a panel discussion of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: "What is going on with our phone bill (mobile phone)? Which one should be charged and which should not be charged? Los Angeles, USA The mobile phone charging standard is 3 US dollars, and it is packaged for one year."

The next day, Cui Yongyuan saw criticism on the Internet.He immediately asked his friends in the United States to help him understand the standard of American mobile phone charges.He found that the so-called $9.9 long-distance call is to bind two mobile phones and a landline to jointly consume a card, not a "9 yuan 9 year package".

Cui Yongyuan said frankly that CPPCC members should not say wrong words at CPPCC meetings, "I apologize for not being rigorous."The public generally understands and supports Cui Yongyuan's explanation and his appreciation of supervisory power.

(End of this chapter)