Summary: Engels Semester 2

Read the summary and the most important questions on Engels semester 2

• Culture semester 2

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• 1 China is governed by ‘mass organizations’, the most important of which is the CCP. Give two other examples of mass organizations in China.

  Trade unions, a youth league, women's associations and writers' and other professional associations.

• The CCP and government bureaucracies are organized along territorial and functional lines. Explain what ‘territorial’ and ‘functional’ mean in this context.  

  The territorial organization is based on a number of administrative divisions, with both a CCP committee and a “people’s government” in charge of each. The functionally-based political organization is led on the government side by ministries and commissions under the state council and on the CCP side.

• What are the responsibilities of the National People’s Congress as compared with the State Council? 

  All National legislative power vests in the hands of the National People’s Congress and the State Council is made responsible for executing rather than enacting the laws. 

• What is the role of the Standing Committee of the State Council?

  They exercise major day-to-day decision-making authority, and its decision de facto have the force of law.

• In theory, the NPC is a powerful organ.  In reality, what is its actual role?

  Ratify (bekrachtigen) the decisions already made by State Council.

• If the Party’s Congress is not in session, as it usually isn’t, who is empowered to act in its place?

  The Central Committee.

• The functioning of the legal apparatus is not without its problems.  What are the two major obstacles?  

  - Shortage of qualified personnel.
  - Deeply ingrained perspectives that do not accord the law priority over the desires of political leaders.

• Deng Xiaoping once said: ‘Whether a cat is black or white makes no difference, as long as it catches mice it is a good cat.’ What did he want to point out?

  Proclaiming that socialism and capitalism need not to be antagonistic or mutually exclusive.

• Why is it strange that a condition like obesity is now so widespread in China? 

  Obesity was once rare in China. Cause: shortage of food, hard work and regular exercise. Now the economy has improved and wealth grows, and so do the people.

• What is the ‘little emperor’ phenomenon? 

  It was a result of the Chinese government’s declaration in 1979 of the “one child policy”. Single children are taken care by the parents and grandparents, becoming the centre of a small constellation.