Chinese Political Reform and the Question of "Deputy Quality"

Abstract

An ongoing debate over criteria for selecting Chinese people's congress deputies casts doubt on the democratic credentials of many reformers. Archival materials and interviews with Chinese legislative leaders, deputies, and staff demonstrate a range of views on how to improve quality. Some respondents emphasize deputy educational attainment and bureaucratizing congresses while others emphasize social diversity and popularizing congresses. Democratic pressures for legislative reform often mask efforts by intellectuals and middle class elements to press group interests at the expense of workers and peasants. Doubts about political equality exist among many intellectual deputies who focus on improving to increase their representation in state affairs. But staff members and worker and peasant deputies often argue that the quality of China's population remains low and the less educated deserve representation, too.