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34-508: The SPB oversees the national postal industry, national postal enterprises, and helps formulate relevant laws and regulations in these areas. Its responsibilities includes protecting state interests and consumer rights, the development of the national postal network and universal postal delivery services. The SPB used to have post bureaus in all the administrative divisions of the country which serve as public utility enterprises. But since 2007, these post services has been divided to China Post ,

68-463: A federal system, the Chinese constitution formally creates a unitary multi-national state. The preamble describes China as "a country with one of the longest histories in the world. The people of all of China's nationalities have jointly created a culture of grandeur and have a glorious revolutionary tradition." The preamble dates this revolutionary history as beginning in 1840. Article 1 of

102-635: A constitutional basis for China's status as a one-party state and formally rendering any competitive multi-party system unconstitutional. Xi "now has the distinction of being the first Chinese leader ever to have his theories enshrined in the constitution during his own lifetime." The leadership of the CCP is now constitutionally enshrined as the "defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics", and therefore it establishes one-party rule as an end-in-itself. Xi says: Party, government, military, civilian, and academic, north, south, east, west, and center,

136-461: A district of a city administers many communities or residential committees . Each of them has a residential committee to administer the dwellers of that neighborhood or community. Rural areas are organized into village committees or villager groups. A "village" in this case can either be a natural village, one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or a virtual village, which is a bureaucratic entity. Five cities formally on prefectural level have

170-827: A new anti-graft agency, extending the powers of the CCP's graft watchdog, adding Hu Jintao's Scientific Outlook on Development and Xi Jinping Thought to the Preamble of the Constitution, and removing term limits for both the President and Vice President, enabling Xi Jinping to remain president indefinitely. Xi is also the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party , the de facto top position in CCP ruling China without term limit. The concept of ecological civilization building

204-541: A party decision ratified by the National People's Congress. The right to strike was also dropped from the 1982 Constitution. The widespread expression of the four big rights during the student protests of late 1986 elicited the regime's strong censure because of their illegality. The official response cited Article 53 of the 1982 Constitution, which states that citizens must abide by the law and observe labor discipline and public order. Besides being illegal, practicing

238-481: A special status in regard to planning and budget. They are separately listed in the five-year and annual state plans on the same level as provinces and national ministries, making them economically independent of their provincial government. These cities specifically designated in the state plan (Chinese: 计划单列市 ) are Constitution of the People%27s Republic of China The Constitution of

272-1684: A state-owned enterprise. The agency is directed by a Director General and four Deputy Directors General. The agency is organized into the following departments. Postal service in Hong Kong and Macau are not handled by the State Bureau nor China Post but by separate entities: Administrative divisions of China Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China 's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there are five levels of local government;

306-413: A stereotype that corresponds to their inhabitants. The most recent administrative change have included the elevation of Hainan (1988) and Chongqing (1997) to provincial level status, and the creation of Hong Kong (1997) and Macau (1999) as Special administrative regions . Provincial level governments vary in details of organization: Prefectural level divisions or second-level divisions are

340-679: A two-term limit (10 years total) on all but the chair of the Central Military Commission . Much of the PRC Constitution is modeled after the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union , but there are some significant differences. For example, while the Soviet constitution contains an explicit right of secession , the Chinese constitution explicitly forbids secession. While the Soviet constitution formally creates

374-529: Is no government on this level. As of 2017 , China administers 33 provincial-level regions, 334 prefecture-level divisions, 2,862 county-level divisions, 41,034 township-level administrations, and 704,382 basic-level autonomies. Each of the levels (except "special administrative regions") corresponds to a level in the Civil Service of the People's Republic of China . This table summarizes the divisions of

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408-573: Is unconstitutional. However, in one case, after media outcry over the death of Sun Zhigang the State Council was forced to rescind regulations allowing police to detain persons without residency permits after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) made it clear that it would rule such regulations unconstitutional. The Open Constitution Initiative was an organization consisting of lawyers and academics in

442-488: The United States , the power of the central government was (with the exception of the military) not exercised through a parallel set of institutions until the early 1990s. The actual practical power of the provinces has created what some economists call " federalism with Chinese characteristics ". Most of the provinces , with the exception of those in the northeast , have boundaries which were established long ago in

476-506: The Yuan , Ming , and Qing dynasties. Sometimes provincial borders form cultural or geographical boundaries. This was an attempt by the imperial government to discourage separatism and warlordism through a divide and rule policy. Nevertheless, provinces have come to serve an important cultural role in China. People tend to be identified in terms of their native provinces, and each province has

510-484: The press , of assembly , of association, of procession, and of demonstration." In the 1978 constitution, these rights were guaranteed, but so were the right to strike and the "four big rights", often called the "four bigs": to speak out freely, air views fully, hold great debates, and write big-character posters . In February 1980, following the Democracy Wall period, the four bigs were abolished in response to

544-416: The 1982 Constitution. The 1982 State Constitution provided a legal basis for the broad changes in China's social and economic institutions and significantly revised government structure. The posts of President and Vice President (which were abolished in the 1975 and 1978 constitutions) are re-established in the 1982 Constitution. Prior to 1982 there were no term limits on key leadership posts. Deng imposed

578-508: The Chinese constitution are of great importance to the development of China [...] We will make serious efforts to carry them out in practice." The Constitution was amended on 11 March 2018, with 2,958 votes in favor, two against, and three abstentions. It includes an assortment of revisions that further cement the CCP's control and supremacy, including setting up the National Supervisory Commission, establishing

612-698: The Constitution describes China as "a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship " meaning that the system is based on an alliance of the working classes—in communist terminology, the workers and peasants—and is led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the vanguard of the working class. Elsewhere, the Constitution provides for a renewed and vital role for the groups that make up that basic alliance—the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , minor political parties, and people's organizations . Article 3 describes

646-900: The Cultural Revolution and restates CCP Chairman Mao Zedong 's contributions in accordance with a major historical reassessment produced in June 1981 at the Sixth Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People's Republic of China . There had been five major revisions by the National People's Congress (NPC) to

680-497: The Party leads everything. Though technically the "supreme legal authority" and "fundamental law of the state", the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a documented history of violating many of the constitution's provisions and censoring calls for greater adherence to it. The constitution stipulates that the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee have the power to review whether laws or activities violate

714-544: The People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China . It was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with five subsequent revisions . It is the fourth constitution in PRC history, superseding the 1954 constitution , the 1975 constitution , and the 1978 constitution . The first Constitution of the People's Republic of China was declared in 1954. The current Constitution

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748-421: The People's Republic of China provides for three levels: the provincial, the county level, and the township level. However, in practice, there are four levels of government: the provincial, the prefectural level, the county level, and the township level. Rural villages and urban communities are sometimes considered as the fifth level, however they are defined by the constitution as “basic level autonomies” and there

782-640: The People's Republic of China that advocated the rule of law and greater constitutional protections. It was shut down by the government on July 14, 2009. In early 2013, a movement developed among reformers in China based on enforcing the provisions of the constitution. In 2019, Ling Li of the University of Vienna and Wenzhang Zhou of Zhejiang University wrote that "the constitution appeals to [the CCP] because it does not provide solutions to fundamental issues of governance. Instead, such issues are kept out of

816-459: The area administered by the People's Republic of China as of June 2017 . The People's Republic of China (PRC) lays claims to 34 province-level divisions , including 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions and 1 claimed province. Provinces are theoretically subservient to the PRC central government, but in practice, provincial officials have large discretion with regard to economic policy. Unlike

850-483: The citizens shall not be violated" ) and human rights ( "the State respects and protects human rights" ). The government argued that this represented progress for Chinese democracy and was a sign from the CCP that they recognized the need to adapt to the booming Chinese economy, which had created a growing middle class who wanted private property protections. Chinese leader Hu Jintao said that "These amendments of

884-521: The constitution. Unlike many Western legal systems, courts do not have the power of judicial review and cannot invalidate a statute on the grounds that it violates the constitution. Since 2002, a special committee within the NPC called the Constitution and Law Committee has been responsible for constitutional review and enforcement. The committee has never explicitly ruled that a law or regulation

918-542: The election law passed in March 2010. The 1982 constitution included the birth planning policy known as the one-child policy . The National People's Congress amended Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution. Allow the emergence of the private sector and allow the transfer of the Land tenure. The Constitution was amended on 14 March 2004 to include guarantees regarding private property ( "legally obtained private property of

952-485: The four big rights offered the possibility of straying into criticism of the CCP, which was in fact what appeared in student wall posters. In a new era that strove for political stability and economic development, party leaders considered the four big rights politically destabilizing. Chinese citizens are prohibited from forming new political parties. Among the political rights granted by the constitution, all Chinese citizens have rights to elect and be elected. According to

986-619: The later promulgated election law, rural residents had only 1/4 vote power of townsmen (formerly 1/8). As Chinese citizens are categorized into rural resident and town resident, and the constitution has no stipulation of freedom of transference, those rural residents are restricted by the Hukou (registered permanent residence) and have fewer political, economic, and educational rights. This problem has largely been addressed with various and ongoing reforms of Hukou in 2007. The aforementioned ratio of vote power has been readjusted to 1:1 by an amendment to

1020-577: The provincial (province, autonomous region, municipality, and special administrative region), prefecture, county, township, and village. Since the 17th century, provincial boundaries in China have remained largely static. Major changes since then have been the reorganisation of provinces in the northeast after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and the formation of autonomous regions , based on Soviet ethnic policies. The provinces serve an important cultural role in China, as people tend to identify with their native province. The Constitution of

1054-437: The relationship between the central government and local governments: "The division of responsibility and power between the central and local government is governed under the unified leadership of the central government, while fully encouraging the principle of local government initiative and proactivity." Article 35 of the 1982 Constitution proclaims that "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech , of

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1088-872: The second level of the administrative structure. Most provinces are divided into only prefecture-level cities and contain no other second level administrative units. Of the 22 provinces and 5 autonomous regions, only 3 provinces ( Yunnan , Guizhou , Qinghai ) and 1 autonomous region ( Xinjiang ) have more than three second-level or prefectural-level divisions that are not prefecture-level cities. As of June 2020, there were 339 prefectural level divisions: As of August 18, 2015, there were 2,852 county-level divisions: The basic level autonomy serves as an organizational division (census, mail system) and does not have much importance in political representative power. Basic local divisions such as neighborhoods and communities are not informal, but have defined boundaries and elected heads (one per area): In urban areas, every subdistrict of

1122-417: Was also added to the Constitution. The amendments also add the phrases "Communist Party of China" and its "leadership" into the main body of the Constitution. Prior to the amendment, the CCP and its leadership were only mentioned in the preamble. Constitutional preambles are often not legally binding and as the legal applicability of the Chinese constitution is debated, the amendment may be seen as providing

1156-472: Was declared in 1982, after two intervening versions enacted in 1975 and 1978. There were significant differences between each of these versions, and the 1982 Constitution has subsequently been amended five times. The 1982 Constitution expunges almost all of the rhetoric associated with the Cultural Revolution incorporated in the 1978 version. In fact, the Constitution omits all references to

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