1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2013) |
Constitution of the People's Republic of China | |
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Overview | |
Jurisdiction | People's Republic of China |
Ratified | September 20, 1954 |
System | Unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic |
Head of state | Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the Chairman of the People's Republic of China collectively |
Repealed | January 17, 1975 |
Full text | |
Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1954) at Wikisource |
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The 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China was adopted and enacted on September 20, 1954, through the first session of the
Introduction
This constitution was published based upon 2 documents: one is “The
On the eve of the
The 1954 Constitution was replaced in the midst of the Cultural Revolution by the 1975 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Books published in the PRC since the 1980s regarded it and the 1978 Constitution with "serious errors". In the 1954 Constitution, the Chairman (now translated as President) could convene Supreme State Conferences—emergency meetings. This Presidential right was never seen again in later promulgations of the Chinese constitution.
Summary of the constitution of 1954
The first chapter in the Constitution of 1954 includes 20 articles and it deals with the general issue of defining social and economic structure. In the first chapter, it gave the primary definition of “the nature of regime, the structure of ownership, people’s property rights and so on.”[3] Heavily considering the state of the country at the time, the first part of the constitution emphasized the equality between the Han nationality and the other fifty-five minority nationalities.
The second chapter consists of 64 articles; this part stipulated the relationship between “the national people’s congress (NPC), Chairman of China, State Council, and the local people’s congress, the local people’s councils” with “the Organs of self-government of National Autonomous Areas, the people’s courts and the people’s Procuratorates”.[4]
The third chapter indicates rights and duties of the country’s citizen. It guarantees the equality of each citizen and it prohibits racial discrimination and oppression. This chapter consists of 19 articles and it protects a citizen’s customs, habits and religious beliefs.[1]
The last chapter, which is the fourth chapter, stipulates the national flag, the national emblem and the capital of PRC.[4]
References
- ^ a b Houn, Franklin. "Communist China's New Constitution". Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Li, Hai-yu (2011). "The Political Stalinization of China: The Establishment of One-Party Constitutionalism, 1948-1954". Cold War Studies. 3 (2): 44. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b "中华人民共和国第一部宪法简介(1954年制定)". Archived from the original on April 4, 2004. Retrieved April 3, 2014.