China - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 253

is a People's Consultative Conference representing various groups and is
sometimes compared to a senate. These two bodies meet for only 2 weeks
a year. he oicial role of the Congress and the Consultative Conference
is to pass legislation. In fact, all members of both chambers are under the
thumb of the Communist Party. This includes a handful of representa-
tives of eight tiny non-Communist political parties. Occasionally, however,
some independence sifts through, and on several occasions this has been on
environmental legislation. When in 1991 the People's Congress was asked
to authorize the Three Gorges Dam, 174 voted against and 664 abstained, 3
marking the greatest opposition ever encountered in the People's Congress.
President Xi Jinping, who is the head of state, is elected by the National
People's Congress to a 5-year term. The congress also appoints the
State Council that is chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, appointed in 2013.
The State Council oversees both the central government agencies (the
executive branch), and the 22 provinces. Its membership overlaps with the
Communist Party Central Committee.
The top party organ is the Politburo Standing Committee, consisting
of nine members selected from the Party Central Committee of 24 mem-
bers. In turn, they are appointed by the Party National Congress. While in
theory the People's Congress appoints the president and the State Council,
in fact they are named by the Politburo, that is, by the party. Thus, there
is a dual structure with a governmental National Congress and a Party
National Congress. The Central Military Commission is another top-level
body. Since the time of Mao, control of the People's Liberation Army
through this commission has been crucial. One might say it is even more
important now that the top figures are no longer army generals like Mao
and Deng. The dual party and governmental structure is found in each
province and down to the county level. At no level are there free elections
as in the West.
The concept of law is not the same as in the West. Until recent decades,
the People's Republic tended not to have laws in the Western style. Instead,
it relied on broad principles and policies. Even today, laws tend to be
highly general, with vague and hortatory language. Implementation is a
difficult problem. Decisions were based on policies, often unwritten, of the
government and of the Communist Party. In 1999 the People's Congress
amended the constitution to provide that laws would be taken more seri-
ously. The PRC has courts that superficially seem like those of Western
countries. There are trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme People's
Court. However, courts still are weak because rule of law is not adhered