总览
与许环森先生交流有感 A Walk Along Tianjin’s Eco-City 以包容心接受不同文化思维 到中国经商之路陡峭、崎岖、到处是墙 北京大学突击记 Attitude Matters 2010 回顾通商中国冬令营 我对中国高等教育的反思 Chinese Constitutionalism and Political Structure 给世界的一份中国情谊 The Increasing Economic Importance of Banks in China 关系与围墙 炽热的心 新加坡年轻人应有的自我定位 缘分 豆汁驴打滚那些事儿 2010冬游北京有感 Kudos to Hanban(汉办)Chinese Constitutionalism and Political Structure
Introduction
In preparation for the Business China Youth Chapter’s inaugural Winter Trip 2010, a pre-departure retreat was held on the 4-5th December 2010. We were honoured to have invited Professor Michael Dowdle as one of the speakers to share with us his views on Chinese Constitutionalism and Political Structure.
Professor Michael Dowdle has been a Visiting Associate Professor with National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law since 2008. He was formerly Chair in Globalization and Governance at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on comparative constitutionalism and comparative regulation. Prior to that, he held faculty positions at University of Washington School of Law, Qinghua University Law School, Hong Kong University, Australian National University and New York Institute of Law.
Professor Dowdle discussed pertinent issues ranging from the notion of a rule of law in China to the political structure of China. However, one topic stood out during the sharing session and this article will focus on one particular issue which was hotly debated during the session with Professor Dowdle - the meaning of constitutionalism in the context of China.
Drawing on the debate that ensued during the session as well as the author’s personal observations and reflections from Winter Trip 2010, this article hopes to present a fresh perspective on the current constitutional system in China using a comparative approach with the West (specifically England). Taking into account the constraints of the short article, the author hopes to shed light on why one ought to be sympathetic to China’s socialist ideal and the author also hopes to show that in many ways, given China’s current political structure, it indeed has very interesting constitutional potential.
The Meaning of Constitutionalism in China
The standard way of defining constitutionalism is to view it as a series of civil judicial liberties, separation of powers and limited government. This leads to the seemingly logical inference that China lacks the above and thus, lacks a cogent constitutional system. As expressed by Professor Dowdle as well as participants from the Business China Youth Chapter, this is an overtly simplistic conclusion to draw and reflects a lack of understanding of the political and constitutional system in China.
Instead, referring to the discussion with UIBE students during the Winter Trip and the viewpoints of Professor Dowdle, it seems myopic to focus only on political structures when it comes to evaluating and understanding China’s constitutional system and overall political climate. It is pertinent to take into account the historical development that has happened over the past few centuries and to take a broader perspective when it comes to understanding China.
From a comparative historical perspective, during the period 1170 – 1250 especially during 1215 ( which was the year Magna Carta was originally issued and also the year which saw the critical development of constitutionalism), Rule of Law was introduced into England. And at that point of time, none of the institutional features which we commonly associate with constitutionalism was in place. There was no clear separation of powers, no judges, no legislature, no judicial independence etc. Thus looking at England from this period, it is impossible to conclude that there is a constitution in place. However, with the benefit of hindsight and from a constitutional perspective, that period is still remembered as a critical period for the development of constitutionalism. What was important for England was not that there was constitutionalism in place yet but the fact that they have invented constitutionalism, which becomes part of the constitutional experience. However, this understanding can only come about if we take a broad view and look beyond mere political structures.
Similarly, drawing the discussion back to China, it can be argued that China (in terms of constitutional development) is in fact in a similar position as England in the 13th Century. Many commentators have criticized China’s political environment to be one that exist in a way that is ‘unconstitutional’ as of now, but it is important to discern that their critique comes from the perspective of measuring China with Western standards of constitutionalism (i.e. political structures and formal mechanism). Perhaps, if one takes a more sympathetic approach to understanding China’s socialist ideal, it will become apparent that in many ways, China has very interesting constitutional potential, as interesting as England had at the end of the 12th century.
Conclusion
Constitutionalism is an evolutionary phenomenon, and it often emerges at the time when nationalism sentiments are evoked. As articulated by a Chinese friend whom the author befriended during the Winter Trip, “我们中国正处于一个“国学热”的阶段”, this simple statement says much in itself and with such a strong growing idea of a Chinese identity and significant pride in their country’s progress, perhaps this is when we begin to see the assertion of Chinese nationalism. As China becomes more confident in itself, the world might very well see the emergence of more constitutional tropes and the rapid development of nationalism development within China.
In preparation for the Business China Youth Chapter’s inaugural Winter Trip 2010, a pre-departure retreat was held on the 4-5th December 2010. We were honoured to have invited Professor Michael Dowdle as one of the speakers to share with us his views on Chinese Constitutionalism and Political Structure.
Professor Michael Dowdle has been a Visiting Associate Professor with National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law since 2008. He was formerly Chair in Globalization and Governance at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on comparative constitutionalism and comparative regulation. Prior to that, he held faculty positions at University of Washington School of Law, Qinghua University Law School, Hong Kong University, Australian National University and New York Institute of Law.
Professor Dowdle discussed pertinent issues ranging from the notion of a rule of law in China to the political structure of China. However, one topic stood out during the sharing session and this article will focus on one particular issue which was hotly debated during the session with Professor Dowdle - the meaning of constitutionalism in the context of China.
Drawing on the debate that ensued during the session as well as the author’s personal observations and reflections from Winter Trip 2010, this article hopes to present a fresh perspective on the current constitutional system in China using a comparative approach with the West (specifically England). Taking into account the constraints of the short article, the author hopes to shed light on why one ought to be sympathetic to China’s socialist ideal and the author also hopes to show that in many ways, given China’s current political structure, it indeed has very interesting constitutional potential.
The Meaning of Constitutionalism in China
The standard way of defining constitutionalism is to view it as a series of civil judicial liberties, separation of powers and limited government. This leads to the seemingly logical inference that China lacks the above and thus, lacks a cogent constitutional system. As expressed by Professor Dowdle as well as participants from the Business China Youth Chapter, this is an overtly simplistic conclusion to draw and reflects a lack of understanding of the political and constitutional system in China.
Instead, referring to the discussion with UIBE students during the Winter Trip and the viewpoints of Professor Dowdle, it seems myopic to focus only on political structures when it comes to evaluating and understanding China’s constitutional system and overall political climate. It is pertinent to take into account the historical development that has happened over the past few centuries and to take a broader perspective when it comes to understanding China.
From a comparative historical perspective, during the period 1170 – 1250 especially during 1215 ( which was the year Magna Carta was originally issued and also the year which saw the critical development of constitutionalism), Rule of Law was introduced into England. And at that point of time, none of the institutional features which we commonly associate with constitutionalism was in place. There was no clear separation of powers, no judges, no legislature, no judicial independence etc. Thus looking at England from this period, it is impossible to conclude that there is a constitution in place. However, with the benefit of hindsight and from a constitutional perspective, that period is still remembered as a critical period for the development of constitutionalism. What was important for England was not that there was constitutionalism in place yet but the fact that they have invented constitutionalism, which becomes part of the constitutional experience. However, this understanding can only come about if we take a broad view and look beyond mere political structures.
Similarly, drawing the discussion back to China, it can be argued that China (in terms of constitutional development) is in fact in a similar position as England in the 13th Century. Many commentators have criticized China’s political environment to be one that exist in a way that is ‘unconstitutional’ as of now, but it is important to discern that their critique comes from the perspective of measuring China with Western standards of constitutionalism (i.e. political structures and formal mechanism). Perhaps, if one takes a more sympathetic approach to understanding China’s socialist ideal, it will become apparent that in many ways, China has very interesting constitutional potential, as interesting as England had at the end of the 12th century.
Conclusion
Constitutionalism is an evolutionary phenomenon, and it often emerges at the time when nationalism sentiments are evoked. As articulated by a Chinese friend whom the author befriended during the Winter Trip, “我们中国正处于一个“国学热”的阶段”, this simple statement says much in itself and with such a strong growing idea of a Chinese identity and significant pride in their country’s progress, perhaps this is when we begin to see the assertion of Chinese nationalism. As China becomes more confident in itself, the world might very well see the emergence of more constitutional tropes and the rapid development of nationalism development within China.