Studies On The Socialist Political Party System With Chinese Characteristics

Both the history and the reality of China have sufficiently proved the inevitability, originality, and superiority of the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, i.e., the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. However, the developmental trend of political parties in the world shows that multi-party systems of Western countries indicates an expanding tendency after the radical changes in the Soviet Union and East Europe. Meanwhile, Western hostile forces keep westernizing and disintegrating China and denouncing the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. They intensify their efforts in promoting their political party systems in China that they regard as a method to overthrow the ruling of the Communist Party of China (the CPC). For this reason, it is extremely necessary to study in depth the political advantages of China's political party system and learn reasonably and critically from other political party systems to further improve contemporary China's political party system and give full play to its functions for success in the fierce competition with multi-party systems and the consolidation of China's socialist nature. With such background and aim, this study analyses systematically and deeply the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics from the standpoint, viewpoint and methodologies of Marxism. Besides the Introduction, the main body of the thesis consists of five chapters. Their logical structure and basic content are as follows:Chapter One describes the formation process of the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. This chapter explains the reason why the formation is historically inevitable in terms of the evolution of modern and contemporary China's history and political party system. The multiparty cooperation system is a socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics that originated in the China's democratic revolution, took its shape at the time of the foundation of People's Republic of China and eventually was established after suffering setbacks in the China's social transformation. In the vast span of the formation of the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics, a multiparty system and a one-party system were once exercised in China in imitation of that of Western countries. The history proves that bland emulation of the multiparty systems of Western countries without consideration of China's basic conditions introduced by Sun Yat-sen will never succeed; and that one-party dictatorship implemented by Chiang Kai-shek will also end in failure as it goes against the law of historical development and the people's will. The development of modern China's politics calls for a brand new political party system that is well suited to China's conditions. The multiparty cooperation system established after the negation of the two above-mentioned kinds of system is a correct choice made by Chinese people on China's political development path and democratic mode on the basis of their experience and it has its historical inevitability. Firstly, the leadership established by the CPC provides the political prerequisite for the multiparty cooperation system. Secondly, the political orientation and the ultimate choice of the democratic parties provide the essential base for the multiparty cooperation system.Chapter Two represents the features of the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. The socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics that suits China's conditions is an important component of political party systems of the world. With splendid Chinese features, this initiative system reflects immanent logic and requirements of China's social development. Its features can be summarized into four "brand-news". The first is its brand new form of political party system, in that the multiparty cooperation system is different from both the two-party or multi-party competition systems of Western countries and the one-party system practiced in some other countries. Its connotation includes three closely-related but inseparable elements, that is the leadership of the CPC, the multiparty cooperation and political consultation. The second feature is its brand new mode of relationship among political parties. The socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics is based on the mode of leadership-cooperation with inter-party harmony as its remarkable characteristic that is different from both the competition mode and the dictatorship mode that are adopted by other countries. The third is its brand new mode of ruling and participating in state affairs provided by this system. The CPC is the ruling party in both the central level and the local level while the political parties in Western countries adopted "partial ruling" policies. China was lead and governed by a single party, the Communist Party of China, before the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee. However, after reform and opening up, the styles of governance of the CPC were shifted to scientific, democratic and law-based governance. The democratic parties as participating parties in socialism with Chinese characteristics are not forming a coalition government with the CPC that divides state power among parties and they are not out-party or opposition party, either. The fourth feature is its brand new democratic form. The multiparty cooperation system attaches great importance to negotiations and dialogues among the ruling party, participating parties and democratic personages. It is in nature a political party system with democratic consultation. The multiparty cooperation system is an important institutional resource for the development of consultative democracy with Chinese characteristics and it can be realized through political consultation, participating in and deliberating on state affairs and working cooperatively.Chapter Three is mainly about the political advantages of the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Further Strengthening the Building of the Multi-party Cooperation and Political Consultation System under the Leadership of the CPC issued in 2005 formulated criterions for assessing the five aspects of China's political system and political party system. This provides scientific base and powerful thought weapons for understanding correctly these advantages. From the very five aspects, this study analyses and demonstrates these advantages. The socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of the social productive forces, to maintaining advantages of socialism and bringing them into full play, to further fulfilling and developing the people's democracy, to maintaining political stability and boosting the construction of a harmonious society and to fulfilling and safeguarding the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.Chapter Four discusses the challenges that confront the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. As a result of globalization, the whole world becomes a complex but intricate organism and the influence of changes in a country is far beyond its own border. Similarly, the development of the political party system in a country is inevitably influenced by factors at home and abroad. Internationally, after the radical changes in the Soviet Union and East Europe, the momentum of expanding of multi-party systems of Western countries and especially the collapse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union pose great challenges to the CPC and the formation of modern China's political party system. Domestically, on one hand, social classes, changes of social strata and the trend of these changes not only have influence on paradigms of all members of society in aspects like political participation, interest pursuing and value-orientation, but also affect directly the formation of the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics; on the other hand, the problems of the system in itself constitute challenges, as well.Chapter Five provides tentative anti-measures to face the above challenges. Although the adoption of the multiparty cooperation system in China is historically inevitable and realistically superior, China's political party system faces severe challenges from the development at home and abroad. Under the new historical conditions, to rise to the challenges, new measures need to be energetically taken to give full play to the socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics and maintain vitality of China's political party system. Firstly, there should be correct understanding of and an correct attitude toward political party systems in the world. Learn actively from the useful fruits of the political civilization of Western political parties without mechanically copying Western multiparty systems in contemporary China. Secondly, social classes and changes of social strata should be taken into consideration. In addition, the organizational and streamlining function of China's political party system, and the function of political participating and expressing people's interests should be given full play, and the streamlining function of China's political party system in ideology should be strove for in the building of the system of socialist core values. Thirdly, China's political party system should be further improved. Three measures can be adopted: strengthen the construction of the ruling party and devote more efforts to strengthening the governance capability of the ruling Party; strengthen the construction of the participating party and make efforts to strengthening the capability of participating in state affairs; strengthen the construction of the mechanism of contemporary China's political party system.