Specialization without Autonomy: An Informational Approach to the Development of Permanent Committees in China’s National People’s Congress

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article attempts to discover whether the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s law-making body, is becoming more specialized and thereby losing its rubber-stamp image. The exploration of the composition of the NPC’s permanent committees demonstrates that specialization is indeed a discernible trend. More and more social elites have been co-opted onto them. The empirical results further attest to the usefulness of the information efficiency theory. Unfortunately, specialization has yet to give the Chinese legislature more autonomy. Only 30% of committee members are privileged to serve more than one five-year term. The influence of the Party-state core and the lack of membership stability have put additional restraints on the NPC’s autonomy.