The political system established by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949 had its origins, in many respects, in the Chinese Soviet Republic of 1931–1934, based in southern Kiangsi province about 400 miles southwest of Shanghai. The Kiangsi period was important because it gave the Chinese Communists their first opportunity to govern an extensive area and a large population, and in so doing to develop methods of mass mobilization as well as new techniques for conducting party and government affairs. Kim explores the evolution of the Chinese Communist movement during the Kiangsi soviet period, especially its organizational concepts, behavioral patterns, and development techniques of "mass line" politics. He seeks answers to several questions: What notions of organization shaped the Kiangsi political system? Who formulated the policies? How were they implemented at the rice-roots level of government? By analyzing Mao Tse-tung's writings on organization and comparing them with those of other Chinese Communist theoreticians, he achieves fresh insights into Mao's approach to administration and bureaucratic organization. The distinct contribution of this book lies in its focus on such issues as how the Chinese Communist leaders viewed organizational problems within their movement, especially following the failure of the 1947 revolution; how they responded to these problems; and how they maintained a balance of power among the party, the government, and the Red Army while administering the expanding territorial base and managing complex organizations. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

On July 1st, 2007, Hong Kong celebrated the 10th anniversary of its return to the People’s Republic of China, but the past decade has been a bumpy ride for both the Hong Kong people and the central leaders in China. In fact, in 2003 Beijing had already succumbed to public pressure within the fairly short period of its rule by abruptly replacing its handpicked first Chief Executive with a British-groomed civil servant. This book examines the origin and evolution of Hong Kong’s political system, analyses the current contradictions in the system, and discusses how the system might develop in future. It focuses in particular on the office of Chief Executive in the context of Hong Kong’s transformation from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region in China. The dualistic structure of the Chief Executive’s office embodies a dilemma between two competing imperatives – Communist China’s imperative to retain a colonial political system where executive power is concentrated at the top; alongside the need to accommodate new, increasing demands for democratic representation within the territory. The Political Future of Hong Kong demonstrates how the British legacy left its imprint on Hong Kong’s political system. It analyses the strategies adopted by the Sovereign state as it attempted to cope with demands for representative government in the post-handover years, and the strains placed on Hong Kong’s political institutions by the uneasy relationship between central government and local forces of liberal autonomy. Kit Poon examines the possibility of the introduction of universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive, and considers how Hong Kong can secure a democratic future in the context of broader Beijing-Hong Kong relations.

Over the past several years, Mainland China has undertaken reforms in various domestic areas, including culture and society, education, the economy, and the Communist Party. In addition, since September 1982 Peking has begun to pursue an independent course in foreign relations. In this volume, based on the Thirteenth Sino-American Conference in Tai

A collection of essays split into 4 sections that cover methodology, ideology, Part and Politics and Foreign Affairs. Published in cooperation with the Institute of International Relations, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

How China's political model could prove to be a viable alternative to Western democracy Westerners tend to divide the political world into "good" democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes. But the Chinese political model does not fit neatly in either category. Over the past three decades, China has evolved a political system that can best be described as “political meritocracy.” The China Model seeks to understand the ideals and the reality of this unique political system. How do the ideals of political meritocracy set the standard for evaluating political progress (and regress) in China? How can China avoid the disadvantages of political meritocracy? And how can political meritocracy best be combined with democracy? Daniel Bell answers these questions and more. Opening with a critique of “one person, one vote” as a way of choosing top leaders, Bell argues that Chinese-style political meritocracy can help to remedy the key flaws of electoral democracy. He discusses the advantages and pitfalls of political meritocracy, distinguishes between different ways of combining meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has evolved a model of democratic meritocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable. Bell summarizes and evaluates the “China model”—meritocracy at the top, experimentation in the middle, and democracy at the bottom—and its implications for the rest of the world. A timely and original book that will stir up interest and debate, The China Model looks at a political system that not only has had a long history in China, but could prove to be the most important political development of the twenty-first century.