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Essay on Compare and Contrast American and Chinese
In order to understand American & Chinese culture, one must compare & contrast. Let’s take a look at the two country’s political process, education, marriage and family customs.
The structure of China’s government follows a Leninist model of one-party rule. Under the Leninist system, the mandate to govern originates not in elections but in the ruling party’s armed seizure of power. The claim to legitimacy rests on the ruling party’s assertion that it serves the interests of the people. In China, the ruling party is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which came to power in 1949 and established the People’s Republic of China.
The CCP dominates policy making and policy execution through its members in the government. Within the state (governmental) structure, the highest organ in theory is the legislature, called the National People’s Congress (NPC). In practice, however, the most powerful state organ is the cabinet, called the State Council, which is headed by the premier. The National People’s Congress has adopted hundreds of laws aimed at providing a more predictable environment for economic activity, and in the course of this work it has expanded its professional staff and its own authority. State-owned enterprises have gained considerable autonomy and some have been privatized, while a new sector of private and collective enterprises has developed largely independent of direct state control.
Local governments have gained greater authority to adapt national policy to local circumstances. They also have increased their shares of tax revenues at the expense of taxes remitted to the central government. In the midst of these changes, the CCP largely has withdrawn from managing the day-to-day details of government affairs, but it has continued to set major policy. Furthermore, through its members in the government, the CCP has restricted political activities that promote views contrary to the party’s objectives, in effect allowing no significant opposition to emerge......
