The rot at the top exposing deep flaws in China’s legislative system
The dismissal of 45 deputies to the National People’s Congress underscores the lack of transparency in the lawmaking body, analysts say
Every March, thousands of national lawmakers gather in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing to hear the premier report on the state of the nation, to review state plans, and to vote for state leaders if it happens to be an “election year”.
The National People’s Congress is China’s biggest political show, lasting two weeks and drawing legislators from all corners of the country.
The NPC is supposed to be a display of “democracy” but late on Tuesday state-run Xinhua announced that 45 members of the body, or about half of the deputies from Liaoning province, had bribed their way into the top legislature.
It is the biggest scandal to hit the Chinese legislative system since 1949 in terms of both the number and political level of the people involved. It also exposes the flaws of the people’s deputy system, which Beijing repeatedly claims is central to its model of “socialist democracy”.
Beijing clings to the people’s congress system under the Communist Party’s rule as its argument against Western, multi-party democracy and direct election of government leaders. It insists that the system suits the needs of its people and operates well.