The People's Congresses and Governance in China: Toward a Network Mode of Governance

321 Pages·2008·1.43 MB·English

by  Ming Xia

The People’s Congresses and
Governance in China
Two popular interpretations of China persist today. One is that of a decaying
Leninist hierarchy and the other of a likely democratizing nation destined
for liberal pluralism; this book, on the other hand, provides a balanced
assessment of China’s communist rule, its viability as well as its prospect of
democracy.
The People’s Congresses and Governance in China presents a complex but con-
vincing analysis of the transformation of governance in China. As the first
systemic and theoretical study of China’s provincial legislatures, it draws our
attention to one of the most promising growth points in China’s changing
constitutional order. Through in-depth and first-hand research, the author
provides a comprehensive explanation about why the provincial legislatures
have acquired institutional maturation and expanded power in the context of
Chinese transitional political economy. The book portrays an innovative
pattern of legislative development, sums up pragmatic local strategies for
market creation, and identifies multiple dynamics for promoting accounta-
bility and democracy. Based upon the case study of provincial legislatures,
the author reveals the formation of a new mode of governance in China’s
national politics: the network structure featuring institutional arrangements
and the mohe (co-operation through competition) pattern of interaction
abided by the major power players.

Adding the biggest legislative system to our understanding of representa-
tional institutions, this book will be of interest to parliamentary scholars and
parliamentarians who are concerned with the role of parliaments in transi-
tional politics and economies of both post-communist and developing coun-
tries. It will also appeal to students and researchers of Chinese politics,
governance, and Asian studies.
Ming Xia is Professor of Political Science at the City University of New
York, USA.
Library of legislative studies
Edited by Lord Philip Norton of Louth
University of Hull, UK
1 National Parliaments and the European Union
Edited by Philip Norton
2 The New Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe
Edited by David M. Olson and Philip Norton
3 Members of Parliament in Western Europe
Edited by Wolfgang C. Muller and Thomas Saalfield
4 The New Roles of Parliamentary Committees
Edited by Lawrence D. Longley and Roger H. Davidson
5 Conscience and Parliament
Edited by Philip Cowley
6 Parliaments and Governments in Western Europe
Edited by Philip Norton
7 Parliaments and Pressure Groups in Western Europe
Edited by Philip Norton

8 Parliaments in Asia
Edited by Philip Norton and Nizam Ahmed
9 The Uneasy Relationship between Parliamentary Members and
Leaders
Lawrence D. Longley and Reuven Yair Hazan
10 Delegation and Accountability in European Integration
Edited by Torbjorn Bergman and Erik Damgaard
11 Second Chambers
Edited by Nicholas Baldwin and Donald Shell
12 Parliaments and Citizens in Western Europe
Edited by Philip Norton
13 The Rise of the Norwegian Parliament
Edited by Hilmar Rommetvedt
14 The Unseen Hand
Edited by Rinus van Schendelen and Roger Scully
15 The Scottish Parliaments
Edited by David Arter
16 From Legislation to Legitimation
The role of the Portuguese Parliament
Edited by Cristina Leston-Bandeira
17 Cohesion and Discipline in Legislature
Edited by Reuven Y. Hazan
18 Southern European Parliaments in Democracy
Cristina Leston-Bandeira
19 Executive Leadership and Legislative Assemblies
Edited by Nicholas Baldwin
20 The Europeanisation of Parliamentary Democracy
Edited by Katrin Auel and Arthur Benz
21 Comparing and Classifying Legislatures
Edited by David Arter
22 The People’s Congresses and Governance in China

Toward a network mode of governance
Ming Xia

The People’s Congresses and
Governance in China
Toward a network mode of governance
Ming Xia
First published 2008
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library,2007.
“To purchaseyourown copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2008 Ming Xia
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-69526-7 Mas tere-bookISBN
ISBN 10: 0-415-34950-8 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0-203-69526-7 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-34950-5 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-69526-5 (ebk)
For Julia X., My Lovely Daughter
(cid:13485)(cid:10245)(cid:3911)(cid:3811)(cid:12493)(cid:2159)

Contents
List of figures x
List of tables xi
Preface and acknowledgments xiii
List of abbreviations xvii
Profile of provinces in China (2001) xix
1 Theme, theory, and the network approach 1
2 The institutionalization of the Provincial People’s
Congresses 25
3 Institutional linkages of the Provincial People’s
Congresses 67
4 Elections and the circulation of the political elite 101
5 Legislative process and consensual politics of local
legislation 150
6 State failure, market failure, and developmental
Provincial Peopl e’s Congresses 178
7 Political contestation and the PPC as power player 218
8 Legislatures and China’s democracy 247
Appendix 1: list of interviewees 272
Appendix 2: electronic resources for the People’s
Congresses 275
References 280
Index 296