On Liu Shaoqi's Influence Upon The Constitution Of 1954

As the first Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the Constitution of 1954 is an important milestone in the process of constitutional process. As an important leader of the party and state, Liu Shaoqi directly witnessed and joined in brewing, drafting, adoption and implementation all stages of the Constitution of 1954 and he produced a unique and important effect on it. Studying his activities and thinking which affect adopting, implementation and safeguarding the Constitution of 1954 is incredibly important.In the embryonic stage of the Constitution of 1954, Liu Shaoqi visited the Soviet Union twice and asked for advice of Stalin about adoption of constitution, and expressed the CPC Central Committee's initial idea that the Constitution would not be adopted temporarily at that stage. Liu Shaoqi conveyed the proposals of Stalin about making the Constitution which greatly contributed to the work of starting to adopt the Constitution of new China in advance.In the stage of drafting the Constitution of 1954, Liu Shaoqi chaired or attended the meeting of discussing on the draft of Constitution many times. In addition, he carefully made notes and modified on the draft of Constitution. His views and opinions were reasonable, and most of them had been agreed and accepted.In the initial implementation phase of the Constitution of 1954, Liu Shaoqi fulfilled it very hard in ideas and practical work. Firstly, he learned the spirit of the Constitution and abided by its principles; secondly, he served as the national leader positions and implemented national authority; thirdly, he stressed the independence of the judiciary and emphasized on the judicial fairness.After 1957, the Constitution of 1954 had been laid aside and ignored, and eventually become a dead letter. Liu encountered various wrongful and unjust treatments in his later years because of the flooding of "rule of man thinking" and the "great democracy" movement, but he still struggled for defending the dignity of the Constitution and his own basic rights.Liu Shaoqi's influence on the Constitution of 1954 reflects the hard-won achievements and tortuous development, and enlightens us to respect the content of the Constitution, propel the enforcement of Constitution, and maintain the authority of Constitution.