Constitution Amendments

cctv.com 02-04-2004 11:29

China' s current Constitution was adopted in 1982 and has been amended three times. It is now undergoing the fourth and most inclusive revisions. What are the reasons behind the changes, and how are people responding to them?

The proposed amendments to the Chinese Constitution were discussed at the Third Plenum of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. After that they were submitted to the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People' s Congress for further discussion. In contrast to previous amendments, when the CPC Central Committee said it wanted to revise the Constitution this time, it proposed basic principles without forwarding a detailed draft. It also solicited suggestions from local Party committees and from people from all walks of life. Once the draft was agreed on, it was returned to localities and people from various sectors, to get their opinions.

The process of revising the Constitution is being closely followed both inside and outside China. What will be the result? And will all 14 proposed amendments be passed? The answer is a month away, with the Second Plenary Session of the 10th National people' s Congress in Beijing scheduled to make the decision.

New China' s first Constitution was formulated in 1954. Later, it was amended several times. The current Constitution was adopted in 1982. It has 138 articles in four chapters. It has been amended three times.

Xu Chongde, professor of Law of China Renmin University, said, "The 1982 Constitution has served us for 21 years with a number of revisions. However, the amendments did not change the Constitution, so much as revise part of the contents. The present Constitution includes 17 articles reflecting amendments in 1988, 1993 and 1999. The 2nd session of the 10th National People's Congress will be held this March. It will discuss and pass the proposed amendments to the Constitution."

The draft amendments cover the preamble and 14 articles. They will be the biggest changes yet to the 1982 Constitution. But the overall framework and basic content remains the same. The amendments cover those parts out of step with social reality today.

Xu also said, "One very important feature of the present Constitutional amendments is the process. The proposals came from the grassroots level to the Central Committee. This is different from the past; it is more democratic."

Mr. Xu Xianming is President of the China University of Political Science and Law. A renowned legal scholar, he has taken a close interest in the Constitutional process.

He said, "The most important changes in the proposed Constitutional amendments are the articles about the 'Three Represents' and human rights protection. In fact, articles concerning human rights account for many of the proposed amendments, from the preamble on down through the list. The articles, the structure and the contents of the present revision are the most extensive compared with the past amendments."

The first of the Central Committee's proposals was to incorporate the 'Three Represents' into the Constitution, establishing this theory as a guiding principle in the country's political and social life.

Mo Jihong, professor of Law of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "China has a Socialist Constitution. The most important characteristic of a socialist Constitution is to lay out the guiding principle of the nation in the preamble. The theory of the 'Three Represents' is the guiding principle of the CPC and China in the new era; it reflects the basic features of Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory in contemporary China. It shows the evolution of our guiding principles in line with the demands and features of the contemporary era. The “Three Represents” is being written into the Constitution in line with its nature as a socialist constitution. Personally I think this is an appropriate amendment for a socialist constitution."

China's reform and opening up had been continuing now for over two decades. In this time, drastic changes have taken place in all aspects of people's life. The rapid development of the private sector as well as improvements in living standards is among two of the biggest changes. The Constitution is the fundamental law governing the relationship between a nation and its citizens. Its role is to regulate this relationship in the interests of the entire nation and its development. Several of the proposed revisions include stipulations on the protection of the private sector and private property rights.

Xu said, "It's very practical to protect private property rights through Constitutional means. Why? Because with the deepening of reform and opening-up, people's incomes are increasing, many people are getting rich, and are accumulating property. This may be houses and cars, or it can mean businesses or factories. This property must be protected by law. The amendments should generate popular enthusiasm for socialist construction. So I think this is a very positive revision."

Protecting the rights of people's legal private property, is, in a way, a form of guaranteeing human rights. The proposed Constitutional amendments include an article on respecting and protecting human rights. Many experts see this as the most striking feature of the revisions.

Xu noted, "There are three important aspects to writing protection for human rights into the Constitution. Firstly, it announces the nation’s basic attitude toward human rights. Secondly, the amendment re-assesses the basic relationship between the nation and its citizens. A nation must base itself on its people's basic rights. Thirdly, it provides a general basis for china's administration of justice: that is, when the citizen’s rights are being infringed upon and there are no articles to resort to in law, you may refer to the general principle in the Constitution to expand these rights."

The proposed Constitutional amendments also include stipulations on compensation for the state annexation of residential housing, and they set up national social security institutions.

Editor:Zhang  Source: