Marching Towards Rule of Law: An Analysis of the Content on Legal and Judicial Construction in CCP National Congress Reports from 1982 to 2012

• Author: Zhao Can
• Pages: 170-185

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2013] MARCHING TOWARDS RULE OF LAW 170

MARCHING TOWARDS RULE OF LAW

—AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT ON LEGAL AND

JUDICIAL CONSTRUCTION IN CCP NATIONAL CONGRESS

REPORTS FROM 1982 TO 2012

ZHAO Can

I. INTRODUCTION

A

．

The CCPNC and its Report

The Chinese Communist Party’s National Congress (CCPNC) is

held every five years and convened by the Central Committee. This

year, the 18th CCPNC was held in Beijing from 8th to 14th November,

during which the so-called 5th generation of Chinese leadership was

elected to take the helm of the country for the next five to ten years.

Besides the election of the Central Committee, Politburo and the

Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), another important function and

power of the CCPNC is “to hear and examine the reports of the

Central Committee”1. At the beginning of each CCPNC, the General

Secretary of CCP will produce a political report that summarizes the

work conducted during the past five years, points out inadequacies

and underlying problems still to be resolved, and more importantly,

clarifies the guiding principles and priorities for the next five years

for the Party and the State. Though some of Chinese political jargons

in such reports might seem dry and repetitive in the eyes of

observers,2 the quinquennial modeled reports do play an important

role in Chinese political life.

B

．

A Reflection CCP guidelines and social needs

Formulation and expressions of CCP slogans can be a sensitive

and a regular means to signal delicate political messages3. Choosing

the proper words, then, is usually a lengthy process. In the same vein,

it usually takes about a year to complete the drafting of these reports.

For instance, the drafting process for the 18th CCPNC was launched

in January 2012 under the co-leadership of the outgoing general

secretary Hu Jintao and his successor Xi Jinping. The group had sent

1 Zhongguo Gongchandang Zhangcheng ( 中国共产党章程) [Chinese Communist Party

Constitution], News of the Communist Party of China,

http://CCP.people.com.cn/GB/64156/65682/4475127.html (last visited Dec. 10, 2012).

2 Qian Gang, “Watchwords: The Life of the Party”, China Media Project,

http://cmp.hku.hk/2012/09/10/26667/ (last visited Dec. 10, 2012)

3 Id.

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171 TSINGHUA CHINA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 5:169

hundreds of research groups to different sectors and localities to

conduct covert surveys and research in order to produce various

reports that were to be discussed first by the group leaders and

general secretary, then in the PSC, and later among other Politburo

members. The revised version would then be delivered to other party

organizations such the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), local party

groups, retired leaders, other democratic parties and non-partisans for

consultation before it was handed back to the drafting group for the

final rounds of revision. Even during the Congress session, the

drafting group still received feedback from discussion panels and

made relevant revisions until its final adoption in the very last closed

meeting.4

Considering their meticulous preparations and political

significance, these political reports can indeed shed light on the

historical background and tendencies of shifting political agendas in

China.

Given the lengthiness of these reports and the kaleidoscope of

policy areas covered by them, a general analysis would be useless in

pinning down key ideas or problems. However, a detailed study into

a specific policy area can help clarify its evolution and suggest the

future direction it may take.

C. Content on legal and judicial construction

Enormous amounts of literature have focused on the

socioeconomic developments of China since the Third Plenary

Session of the Seventh Congress of the Central Committee of the

CCP in 1978, when China adopted the “Opening-up and Reform

policy. However, in tandem with the economic boom, China has also

embarked on comprehensive legal (re)construction after the havoc of

Cultural Revolution in order to pave the road for economic

development. As the Reports have shown, legal/judicial reform is an

indispensable factor in Chinese political reform, and it has undergone

different phases that have assisted China’s reintegration into the

world. Previous research analyzing this reform has done so through

close readings of the Government Work Reports (政府工作报告)

delivered by the Premier in the annual National People’s Congress

(NPC) or the Annual Report of China’s Rule of Law Construction

(中国法治建设年度报告). However, the CCPNC Reports can offer

another perspective, perhaps more pertinent, because of the CCP’s

status as the ruling party. Therefore, an analysis of the contents

4 Dang De Shiba Da Baogao Dansheng Ji ( 党的十八大报告诞生记) [The Birth of 18th CCP

National Congress Report], Xinhua News,

http://news.xinhuanet.com/18CCPnc/2012-11/20/c_113739872.htm (last visited Dec. 10, 2012).