Formation and development of local government bodies of the People's Republic of China
The relevance of the study is primarily due to the fact that most of the aspects of the development of local government in China, despite a number of errors and Chinese specifics, do not cease to be of interest to many countries, and primarily the states of the post-Soviet space. In this regard, the author has attempted to analyze the formation and functioning of local government bodies in China. In the course of the research, the author established that local self-government in the PRC began to be built up as an institution in the early 1950s. and it was finally formed in the 2000s, despite the fact that communal traditions in the agricultural regions of China began to take shape during the time of the ruling Western Han dynasty. The most important reason why various aspects of Chinese local government attract the attention of domestic Sinologists is the annually increasing global role of the PRC in global political and economic processes. In this aggregate, it is quite obvious that the system of local government of the People's Republic of China is unique and effective, and the experience of the People's Republic of China in the formation and organization of the functioning of the local government system can be used by the Russian Federation in the process of optimizing local government.
Keywords: The Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the system of local self-government, local self-government bodies, state construction, administrative bodies, national autonomies, committees of urban and rural population, institutionalization.
In a constantly modernizing world, the issues of further rapid democratization of society are becoming inextricably linked with the problems of grassroots self-government and every year they begin to acquire more and more not only political, but also scientific relevance. In this regard, in modern conditions, active work continues in various countries of the world to reform and transform the systems of self-government. These phenomena are conditioned by the need to achieve the effectiveness and competitive advantage of all processes related to local government. In this regard, the concept of high-quality improvement of local government policy occupies one of the most important places in scientific research by scientists around the world.
However, during the development of globalization processes, the task of bringing local self-government into a single unified system is difficult to accomplish, since each country has its own specific features in this area, including historical, national and local traditions. At the same time, in order to improve the effectiveness of the activities of local authorities in individual States, it is quite possible to borrow certain elements of local government from other countries.
Undoubtedly, only progressive modernization of the country's economic sphere and qualitative improvement of the living standards of Russians can preserve and develop Russian statehood. It is possible to achieve this goal only by maximally involving various social strata of the population in this work and combining all necessary state efforts, which will certainly, in turn, require strengthening local governments. In this regard, it should be emphasized that the study of effective local government systems in foreign countries, including countries that have not only achieved unprecedented success in the field of economics, but also provided all the necessary conditions for the realization of human potential, such as, for example, China, is of significant importance in terms of methodological and methodological support for the activity under consideration The People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the People's Republic of China).
Some aspects of the local government system of the People's Republic of China have been studied in the works of domestic and foreign experts. In particular, L.M. Lysyakova conducted a comparative analysis of the development of local self-government in the PRC and the Russian Federation <1>. O.V. Sivintseva and S.R. Titova studied the problems associated with the formation and development of local self-government during the period of authoritarian reforms <2>. Y.A. Budegechieva considered various issues of local (village) self-government in the PRC <3>. L. Sun analyzed the process of developing the effectiveness of local government activities using the Chinese experience <4>. However, despite the availability of works devoted to the problems of local self-government in China, no special, comprehensive studies examining the genesis of local self-government in the PRC have been conducted before.
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<1> Lysyakova L.M. The development of institutions of self-government at the local level in the PRC in the 1980s - 90s: A comparative analysis of the Chinese and Russian experience: abstract of the dissertation of the Candidate of Political Sciences. M., 2000. 30 p.
<2> Sivintseva O.V., Titova S.R. Local self-government as an institution of public participation: development trajectories in Russia and China // Power. 2016. N 12. pp. 87-92.
<3> Budegechieva Yu.A. Village self-government in modern China: abstract of the thesis ... candidate of Historical Sciences. Irkutsk, 2011. 30 p.
<4> Sun L. Theoretical analysis of the process of developing the effectiveness of local government in countries with economies in transition (on the example of China) // Proceedings of the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance. 2013. N 4 (82). pp. 37-45.
It is important to note that at the beginning of the 20th century, one of the most revered political figures in China, Sun Yat-sen, who developed a general program of state-building in China, noted the importance and necessity during state-building of such a period of political guardianship, in which it is necessary to develop local self-government to the level of the county. And only after these processes are completed should the formation of democratic provincial assemblies begin <5>.
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<5> Melnikov A.P. The system of local government and self-government in China // Philosophy and social Sciences. 2008. N 3. P. 86.
The first local government bodies in China were established even before the emergence of the PRC, precisely at the time when the first stage of the Chinese civil war was underway (1927-1936). Then, focusing on the Soviet Union, China began to use its experience in party-state organization. Due to a number of objective circumstances, in 1934, the DAC ceased to exist <6>.
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<6> The modern history of China / A.V. Meliksetov, A.S. Mugruzin, K.V. Shevelev, etc.; glav. ed. M.I. Sladkovsky. M., 1983. p. 56.
The second period of the Chinese Civil War (1945 - 1949) was marked by the formation of the PRC in 1949. After that, local government bodies under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the CPC) began to be established almost throughout the Chinese territory. The main support for the new authorities was provided by the Chinese Armed Forces, which acted not only as organizers of the new government structures, but also supplied personnel from among the military personnel to the newly formed structures <7>.
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<7> Gudoshnikov L.M. Higher bodies of state power and public administration of the People's Republic of China. M., 1960. p. 13.
The first half of 1949 in the People's Republic of China was marked by the beginning of the formation of central and local government bodies formed within a single system. In December 1949, during the fourth meeting of the Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China, one of the first acts was adopted that determined the organization and functioning of provincial, city and county representative authorities. Gradually, a single vertical of government bodies is being built <9>. Adopted in 1954. The Constitution, the draft of which was approved by the first session of the National People's Congress on September 20, 1954, and the Law on the Organization of Local Assemblies of People's Representatives made it possible to delineate the competencies of state authorities and management.
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<8> Gudoshnikov L.M. Local public authorities and public administration of the People's Republic of China. M., 1958. P. 37.
<9> Kobets P.N. Genesis of public authorities and administration of the People's Republic of China // State power and local self-government. 2020. N 7. P. 53.
After the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the country changed its Constitution four times: in 1954, 1975, 1978 and 1982. The fourth, current Constitution of the People's Republic of China was amended in 1988, 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2018. In accordance with the 1954 Constitution, by 1957, the PRC was divided into 22 provinces. In the field of local government, grassroots administrative units were brought to a unified form, and division into volosts was introduced on a broad front. At the same time, the processes of the second changes in the administrative division of rural areas took place. In accordance with the new economic realities, the municipalities were strengthened. The division into counties remained, the restoration of the former counties was underway, and new ones were added, while a number of counties were merged into single ones <10>.
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<10> Constitutional law of foreign countries / Edited by M.V. Baglaya, Yu.I. Leibo, L.M. Entina. M.: Norm, 2004. pp. 636-639.
Along with these processes, the emergence of regions of national autonomies took place. In the early 1950s, their number began to increase sharply and reached 26 autonomous districts and 50 autonomous counties in 1957. In 1952, the Chinese government published a Program for the implementation of National Regional autonomy in the People's Republic of China, which defined, among other issues, such as the powers of self-government bodies in areas of national autonomy. Today, among the main normative legal acts regulating the legal status of national-territorial autonomies, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1982 should be mentioned. and the Law of the People's Republic of China "On National Territorial Autonomy" dated October 1, 1984. According to constitutional norms, in particular Section 6 of Article 122, self-government bodies of national territorial autonomies are allowed to develop and adopt local laws, manage local finances, organize local detachments protecting public order, use one or more commonly used languages and scripts, which are especially common in the national territory <11>.
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<11> Manko V.A. The main normative acts regulating the implementation of national-territorial autonomy in the People's Republic of China // Modern law. 2010. N 8. P. 147.
In November 1957, preparing to rebuild the management of a number of national economic sectors, implementing the second five-year plan, the Chinese authorities decided to significantly expand the rights of People's Committees. As a result, in 1958, about 80% of industrial enterprises and organizations that had previously been subordinate to industrial ministries were transferred to the sphere of local jurisdiction. At the same time, the State Council of the People's Republic of China adopted the most important normative legal acts that strengthened the role of self-government bodies in various spheres of public administration <12>.
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<12> Basic regulations on local government and public administration of the People's Republic of China: collection of documents. / edited by L.M. Gudoshnikov; per. E.P. Gavrilova. M.: Gosyurizdat, 1959. pp. 11-25.
In the late 1970s, the political prerequisites for the organization of the local government system of the People's Republic of China were finally formed, which were launched by global economic transformations. Committees of the rural and urban population were established, the organization of which was controlled by the political leadership of the country. The committees were assigned the role of intermediaries between party organizations and society. The reform of local self-government was not one of the priorities of the state leadership, it largely accompanied the economic transformation of the country and consolidated the long-established communal traditions of China. In this regard, there was no serious political dispute on this issue. The economic situation of the People's Republic of China at that time also favored the process of improving the local government system, since in the late 1970s China began to experience strong economic growth. Thus, the political and economic situation in the country at that time turned out to be more than favorable for the development of the local government system. In particular, the processes under consideration were successful due to the traditional communal way of life and the gradual liberalization of the country.
Currently, the legal basis for the activities of local government bodies of the People's Republic of China is Section 5 of Chapter 3 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China in 1982 and the Law of the People's Republic of China "On the Organization of Local Assemblies of People's Representatives and Local People's Governments" (1979, as amended in 1982, 1986, 1995 and 2004) <13>. Local government bodies consist of assemblies of people's representatives (hereinafter - the SNP) and their executive bodies - local people's governments. Among the main powers of local SNPs are control over compliance with and execution of legislative acts and decisions of higher SNPs, approval of plans and budget of territorial education, various reports, as well as other powers. Their activities, among other things, contribute to reducing corruption <14>.
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<13> China's legal construction.
<14> Sukharenko A.N., Truntsevsky Yu.V. Chinese experience in fighting corruption: state and trends // International public and private law. 2016. N 4. P. 41.
The grassroots structures of local self-government of the People's Republic of China are represented by committees of the rural and urban population at the place of residence, with the help of which the population is granted the right to exercise self-government. Public self-government in the People's Republic of China is presented as an essential element of reforming the political system <15>.
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<15> Galenovich Y.M. Chinese miracle or Chinese dead end? Moscow: Muravey, 2002. p. 58.
Thus, the local self-government bodies of the People's Republic of China have been preserved since the emergence of the People's Republic of China and have been constantly improved. All their activities were and continue to be public, and the public is allowed to participate in events on the annual reporting of officials, as well as citizens can evaluate their work and cancel a number of decisions with which they disagree. Local self-government in the People's Republic of China, which arose almost immediately after the formation of the country, has been reformed for seven decades, and nowadays the results of this activity are quite noticeable. They are expressed in good strategic planning, as well as in the use of advanced technologies in the development of local government.
