The National People's Congress Oversight Power and the Role of the CCP

Abstract

The urbanization and the structural and institutional changes that have taken
 place in China in the past two decades have resulted in the collapse of the old
 system and the germination of a tremendous number of irregularities. To redress
 the malfeasance brought about by the new decentralization of economic resources,
 the People's Congresses (PCs) are taking the lead in another round of incremental
 political reforms. The combination of specialization and centralization of
 leadership has led to an augmentation of legislative oversight. Measures
 developed by the legislative institutions, such as pingyi (evaluation) and zhifa
 jiancha (inspection of implementation of laws), have enlivened a lethargic local
 political scene and given rise to the committee autonomy. These political reforms
 have transformed local politics forever, forcing the central government to follow
 suit. The urgent need for institutional mechanisms to counter the vices associated
 with socialist market reform has prompted the Party to turn its attention to the
 People's Congresses. Consequently, a Leninist party-state system has been
 transformed into a new system in which the Party is allied simultaneously with
 the executive and the legislative branches. A preliminary and limited balance of
 power is now emerging in which the Party is not totally immune. The newly
 accrued legislative powers have not only redefined the tenets of Party leadership,
 but also rewritten its relations with the executive branch. Although the PCs are
 still often barred from vital decision-making, new devices such as pingyi and zhifa
 jiancha are forcing some local officials to have second thoughts before straying
 too far from legal boundaries.