How does the Chinese Communist Party govern the country?

Chapter 18

In July 2004, in order to observe the life of ordinary people in Tibet, members of the news media interview team went to the home of Solang Tsering in Jiawa Village, a suburb of Shigatse.The reporters unexpectedly discovered that this was a polyandrous family, and Sonam Tsering's three sons married a wife together.After further investigation, 7 households in this village of 77 households belong to polyandrous families.

According to the Marriage Law, China implements a "monogamy" marriage system, but in some remote rural areas of Tibet, the ancient "polyandry" or "polygamy" marriage phenomenon still exists.

In addition to the "special" marriage phenomenon, there are many "special" places in Tibet, such as: the weekly working hours of employees are 35 hours, which is 5 hours less than the national legal working hours; Traditional Tibetan festivals such as the Shoton Festival are also holidays in the autonomous region.

Such "specialness" is not illegal, but a manifestation of the "autonomy" of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy stipulates that, in addition to enjoying the power of the local state power organs, the people's congresses of ethnic autonomous areas have the right to formulate autonomous regulations and separate regulations in accordance with the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the local ethnic groups.The Legislative Law also stipulates that self-government regulations and separate regulations may make modifications to the provisions of laws and administrative regulations in accordance with the characteristics of local ethnic groups. In 1981, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region proceeded from the actual situation of the historical marriage customs of ethnic minorities in Tibet, and passed the "Regulations on the Implementation of the "Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China" in the Tibet Autonomous Region", which lowered the legal age of marriage for men and women stipulated in the Marriage Law by two years, and stipulated that For polyandry and polygamy marriages that have been formed before the implementation of the Modified Regulations, those who do not actively propose to dissolve the marriages are allowed to maintain.The legislative and administrative organs of the Tibet Autonomous Region have adjusted the weekly working hours and holidays in consideration of Tibet's special natural and geographical factors and fully respected Tibetan culture and traditional customs.

By the end of 2008, ethnic autonomous areas had enacted a total of 637 autonomous regulations, separate regulations, and modifications or supplements to relevant laws.

The legislative power and flexible power of autonomous areas are only one of the autonomy rights of ethnic autonomous areas.Democratic rights in China's ethnic autonomous areas are extensive and comprehensive.

The organs of self-government and the right of self-government are the core of China's ethnic regional autonomy system.The organs of self-government in ethnic autonomous areas are the people's congresses and people's governments of autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties.The Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy stipulates as many as 27 articles on the autonomy of the organs of self-government in ethnic autonomous areas, which are reflected in various aspects of politics, economy, and culture.

In addition to formulating self-government regulations and separate regulations, ethnic autonomous areas also independently manage the internal affairs of their own ethnic groups and regions according to law.The people of all ethnic groups in ethnic autonomous areas exercise the right to vote and to be elected as conferred by the Constitution and laws, and through the election of deputies to the people's congresses, form autonomous organs and exercise the democratic right to manage the internal affairs of their own ethnic groups and regions.At present, the standing committees of the people's congresses in China's 155 ethnic autonomous areas all have citizens of the ethnic groups exercising regional autonomy as directors or deputy directors, and the chairmen of autonomous regions, governors of autonomous prefectures, and county heads of autonomous counties are all citizens of ethnic minorities exercising regional autonomy.

At the same time, the ethnic minorities also exercise the right to manage state affairs by electing their own representatives to the National People's Congress.Since the first National People's Congress in 1954, the proportion of minority deputies in successive National People's Congresses has been higher than the proportion of minority population in the total population of the country in the same period.For example, in the No.11 National People's Congress, among the 2987 deputies, 411 were from ethnic minorities, accounting for 13.76% of the total number of deputies.Every ethnic minority has its own representatives, including ethnic minorities with extremely small populations.In Tibet, the Lhoba ethnic group, who have lived in the southern foothills of the Himalayas for generations, has a population of less than 3000 and has one deputy to the National People's Congress. No. Among the 1 members of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, 161 are from ethnic minorities, accounting for 25%.

The organs of self-government of ethnic autonomous areas rationally adjust the production relations and economic structure in accordance with the legal provisions and the actual situation of local economic development, and independently manage the enterprises and institutions affiliated to the local area.The organs of self-government of ethnic autonomous areas manage and protect the local natural resources in accordance with the law, and have the autonomy to manage local finances.Under the guidance of national plans or plans, the autonomous organs of ethnic autonomous areas independently formulate economic and social development plans, plans or goals and arrange local capital construction projects according to local conditions.Ethnic autonomous areas may open foreign trade ports in accordance with state regulations and with the approval of the State Council, and self-government agencies in ethnic autonomous areas enjoy preferential policies of the state in foreign economic and trade activities.

The autonomous organs of the ethnic autonomous areas shall, in accordance with the state's educational policies and in accordance with the provisions of the law, decide on the local educational planning, the establishment, educational system, school-running form, teaching content and enrollment methods of schools at all levels and types.The organs of self-government in ethnic autonomous areas independently develop national cultural industries such as literature, art, journalism, publishing, radio, film, television, etc. that have national forms and characteristics.The self-government organs of the ethnic autonomous areas organize and support relevant parties to collect, collate, translate and publish ethnic historical and cultural books, protect places of interest, precious cultural relics and other important historical and cultural heritage, and inherit and develop excellent ethnic traditional culture.

China's ethnic regional autonomy provides institutional guarantees for ethnic minorities to truly be the masters of their own country. In 1957, at a symposium on ethnic work held by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, Zhou Enlai pointed out: "Our system of regional ethnic autonomy proceeds from the reality of our country and establishes autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures, autonomous counties or ethnic townships according to the actual conditions of our country. All ethnic minorities, regardless of whether they live together or mixed together, can exercise real autonomy. This is conducive to the universal exercise of the right of self-government by ethnic minorities.”

(End of this chapter)