Study On Parliamentarism In Modern China

This dissertation aims to establish a grand view for parlimentarism in process of modernization under the historical analysis on transplantation process of the institution and concerning theories. From its introduction and distortion in practice, parlimentarism finally ended in bankruptcy. As democracy, parlimentary politics offers it supports in organic, institutional and therotical ways; and those supports act as standards for constitutionalization. However, China initiates constitutionalization in the pursuit of national power under the context of modernization, which made tranditional political culture take control in the process and led it to a direction off the track of democracy. It is shown a complicated and frustrating course since its failure to establish a democractic nation on parliamentary basis, which turned out to a party-nation system under the rule of the Kuomingtang Party. The paper adopted a comparative sight to analyze the historical and cultural issue in the constitutional process of modern China. It is explored in six parts, whicn consists of introduction and five chapters.ChapterⅠis a summary of historical process since the parliamentarism was introduced into China under the rule of late Qing Dynasty. The spreading process was initiated by theoretical work of the scholars called offshore school, and impelled by reformers; while its systematic transplantation was carried out firstly in the constitutional reform in late Qing Dynasty. Qing Government wrote the first document called "constitution" in Chinese history under great pressure, it is the first time that parlimentarism got the chance to be institutionalization in China. This breakthrough had made the first contribution to transformation of political institutions.It came to the Republic of China after 1912, and in ChapterⅡthis paper would focus on this phase. Provisional Constitution was issued as the victorial fruit and confirmation of new government established in Revolution of 1911 had greatly boosted the course of transplantation of parliamentarism. Despite of its defects in text due to realistic reasons, Provisional Constitution designed a power-controlled structure for parlimentary democracy, including responsible government and independence judiciary. Although it was sabotaged by Yuan Shikai, this document had already set a frameword for political transformation.ChapterⅢmainly discusses the distortion and bankruptcy of the transplantation course under the rule of warlords. On textuary comparative research on Constitutional Draft made in Temple of Heaven and Provisional Constitution by Yuan Shikai, the warlords acted as the key characters during this phase made a unique and grotesque way to performe parlimentarism, which had completely artificialized it to an empty shell. Behinde the failure, it is the lack of basis for constitutionalization that led the course to an end.After reflecting the ups and downs, Sunzhong Shan revised his program for political transformation. To amend the flaws of parlimentarism and the mechanical understanding for western paradigm, he designed National Assembly as the sovereign organ to complete his constitutional theory. It is the combination of western paradigm and traditional culture of China, which consists of delegated democracy and direct democracy. However, it is tranditional culture underneath determines his theory, which remains the complex of absolutism. ChapterⅣanalyzes the theoretical basis for profound interpretations to the formation of party-nation system, and indicates it was the tranditional political culture that incapacitated National Assembly’s democractic performance.ChapterⅤreflects the general process of parlimentarism transplantation course in modern China. On this basis, it is necessary to establish constitutional institution in both delegated and direct democratic systems, and it is the participation of individual citizen consists of the core of the mechanism. Realization of democracy lies on systematic arrangements for autonomy, delegated and communicative ways, it is their harmonous co-operation that leading a scientific reform for People’s Congress of China and for its promotion in the course of constitutionalization.