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Unused Powers
Citation for published version:
Ghai, Y & Woodman, S 2009, 'Unused Powers: Contestation over Autonomy Legislation in the PRC' Pacific
Affairs, vol 82, no. 1, pp. 29-46.
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Download date: 15. Oct. 2014
Unused Powers: Contestation over Autonomy Legislation in the PRC
Author(s): Yash Ghai and Sophia Woodman
Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 82, No. 1 (Spring, 2009), pp. 29-46
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
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Unusedpowers:contestation
overautonomylegislation
in thePRC
YashGhaiand SophiaWoodman1
Introduction
forautonomy
isa paradoxattheheartofcurrent
arrangements
anddistinctive
inthePRC.The mostimportant
forethnicminorities
ofNationalities
areasinChina'ssystem
toautonomous
powergranted
to
them
allows
minzu
zizhi)
(NRA,
modify
higherquyu
RegionalAutonomy
But thispoweris hardlyused,and has remained
levellawsand policies.2
form.
untilrecently,
uncodified
existingin lawonlyin veryrudimentary
these
to
exercise
have
autonomous
five
the
Efforts
(ARs)
powers
regions
by
overwhatthe law on
been repeatedlyblocked,a signof contestation
can and shouldmean.
autonomy
havethemostextensive
Whileautonomousareasshouldtheoretically
showsthat
inthePRC,ourresearch
ofanylocalities
levelofself-government
has actuallybeenpassedat the level of ARs3;
no significant
autonomy
legislation
levels
orcounty
beenenactedatprefectural
hasmainly
legislation
autonomy
and
laws
toimplement
policies.
higher-level
the "modification
Under the currentPRC legal framework,
power"
of
exercise
for
the
methods
of
two
is
one
autonomy.
principal
(biantongquan)4
areasto
The otheristheallocationofkeygovernment
postsinautonomous
in
of
the
should
Modification
members.
autonomy"
give "organs
minority
the area the powerto alterstatelawsand policiesto suit"thepolitical,
Itisthus
oftheparticular
characteristics"
economic,and cultural
minority.5
as conceivedofwithin
thenatureofautonomy
essentialto understanding
1 The
Researcher
ofHongKong'sDistinguished
Award,
giventoYashGhai,supported
University
ofthisarticle.
theresearchand writing
2
Discussion
YangXu,"Minzuzizhidifanglifaxuantiji biantongwentichutan LAPreliminary
on theChoiceofSubjectsforLegislationin AutonomousAreasand theProblemofModification],
no. 3, 2002,p. 5.
Manzuyanjin,
3 Autonomousareas in the PKL are estaDiisneaat tnreeaaministrauve
levels:autonomous
and autonomouscounties.
autonomousprefectures
regions(analogousto provinces),
4 Cai
[The EssenceoftheConstitution]
(Beijing:Faluchubanshe,2004),
Dingjian,Xianfajingjie
pp. 391-2.
^
_
5 Constitution
ofthePeople'sRepublicofChina,1982,Art.112andArt.116.
29
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
PacificAffairs:Volume82, No. 1 Spring2009
the Chinese system,and criticalto answeringthe question of whetherthe
areas couldexercise"genuineautonomy."6
minority
Westernacademic studiesmeasuringthepracticeofNRAagainstan ideal
typeof autonomyhave generallyfound it deficientin a number of key
althoughopinion differson whetherthisis an inevitableresultof
respects,7
theexistingframework,8
or due to thefailureto implementlawsthatprovide
forsignificant
In theliteratureon minoritiesin China,thelegal
autonomy.9
as it is
frameworkfor autonomyhas received relativelylittleattention,10
and
since
assumed
to
be
of
policy
politics
negligibleimportance
generally
areas.11
and hence the Party dominatein minority
But fromthe beginningof the reformera in thelate 1970s,law has been
a fieldofdebatewithinthePRC overwhatautonomymeans,witha significant
focusbeingthescope ofthelegislativepowersofautbnomousareas.To date,
however,no comprehensiveaccount of the existingframeworkfor these
This is partof a more generallack
powershas been publishedin English.12
formshave
of attentionin the literatureto waysin which administrative
other
As
in
in
PRC.13
the
and
identities
ethnic
claims
partsof
many
shaped
to say
the world,legal decentralizationin the PRC has been half-hearted,
which
suchas identifying
theleast.In fact,keyelementsofautonomysystems,
mattersare withinthe sphere of autonomyand whichare reservedforthe
6 Sincehis1988
statedthathe is notseeking
Strasbourg
speech,theDalai Lama hasrepeatedly
thePRC.See Baogang
within
with"genuineautonomy"
independenceforTibet,butwouldbe satisfied
forAutonomy,"
He and BarrySautman,"ThePoliticsoftheDalai Lama'sNewInitiative
Affairs,
Pacific
vol.78,no. 4 (2005), pp. 601-29.
7 See for
Rightsin China,"in StuartS.
exampleBarrySautman,"Legal Reformand Minority
(NewYork:MarcelDekker,2000),p. 73;Matthew
Moneyhon,
LegalPolicy
Nagel,ed.,Handbook
ofGlobal
vol.
ImwandPolicy
on China'sNewFrontier,"
fournal,
Asian-Pacific
"Controlling
Xinjiang:Autonomy
3, no. 4 (February
2002), pp. 10-11.
8 YashP. Ghai,
in
"Autonomy
Regimesin China:CopingwithEthnicand EconomicDiversity,"
States(Cambridge, New
Claimsin Multi-Ethnic
and Ethnicity:
Ghai, ed, Autonomy
Competing
Negotiating
York:CambridgeUniversity
Press,2000).
9
Colin P. Mackerras, Chinas Minorities:Integrationand Modernizationin the Twentieth
Century
Press,1994),pp. 15S-166,pp. 264-5.
(Oxford:OxfordUniversity
10 A fewnotable
Politics
in China
theZhuang:Ethnic
exceptionsare KatherineP. Kaup, Creating
(Boulder,CO: LynneRienner,2000), pp. 116-120;Chien-minChao, "The ProcedureforLocal
vol.
in MainlandChinaand legislationinNationalAutonomous
Areas,"IssuesandStudies,
Legislation
30, no. 9 (September1994), pp. 95-116; Binh G. Phan, "How Autonomousare the National
vol.32, no.
Autonomous
AreasofthePRC?An Analysis
ofDocumentsand Cases,"IssuesandStudies,
7, (July1996),pp. 83-108;BarrySautman,"EthnicLawand Minority
Rightsin China:Progressand
vol.21, no. 3 (July1999),pp. 283-314;and TheodoreC. Sorensenand
ImwandPolicy,
Constraints,"
David L. Philips, l^egalStandardsand Autonomy
OptionsforMinoritiesin China: theTibetanCase (Belfer
Harvard
CenterforScience and International
Affairs,
JohnF. KennedySchool of Government,
2004).
University,
11 See Colin Mackerras,ChinasEthnicMinorities
and Globalisation
(London and NewYork:
China(Seattleand
RoutledgeCurzon,2003), p. 26; StevanHarrell,WaysofBeingEthnicinSouthwest
London:University
ofWashington
Press,2001), p. 48.
12 The
is briefly
outlinedin Shi Wenzhengand Bu Xiaolin,"Legislationin
legal framework
NationalAutonomous
Areasin thePeople'sRepublicofChina,"inJanMichielOttoetal.,eds.,Law2000).
ofChina(The Hague: KluwerLawInternational,
Makingin thePeoplesRepublic
13 KatherinePalmer
Kaup, RegionalismversusEthnicnationalismin the PRC, I he China
172 (2002), pp. 863-884.
Quarterly
30
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Unusedpowers:contestation
overautonomy
in thePRC
legislation
areabsent.ButinChinaas elsewhere,
centralauthorities,
givingautonomy
however
vague,has made thelawa fieldforcontention
legalexpression,
overthemeaningofautonomy.
on Chinese-language
Thisarticleis basedlargely
sources,
documentary
official
sources
such
and
books
on
articles
law;
autonomy
scholarly
including
and theNPC website;and a
whitepapers,theNPC Gazette
as government
itoutlines
instruments.14
searchofrelevant
First,
regulatory
comprehensive
and
the
areas
of
autonomous
howthelegislative
powerto modify
powers
havebeen delineatedin the reformera. It thendescribesautonomous
powersofordinary
powersandcomparesthemwiththelegislative
legislative
useautonomous
areas
autonomous
at
how
it
looks
localities.
actually
Finally,
over
in
contention
lines
the
fault
some
of
the
and
powers, analyzes
legislative
themeaningofautonomy.
The powerto enact autonomylaw
is themostimportant
and singularregulations
regulations
Enactingautonomy
the
and protect
areassinceitservestoregulate
autonomy
powerofautonomous
exercise
autonomy
powers.15
oftheirother
Earlyin the reformperiod,thenparamountleader Deng Xiaoping
thePRC to "truly
committed
NRA,withthemanifestations
implementing"
ofminority
theextentto whichmembers
ofthisbeing,first,
groupshold
the
areas
in
autonomous
second,
and,
"strengthening
leadership
positions
on lawtocarry
fortheNRAsystem,
ofa legalframework
construction
relying
toautonomy."16
nationalities
oftherightofminority
outtheprotection
Atthe15thChineseCommunist
Party(CCP) Congressin 1997,NRAwas
to rulingaccordingto
commitment
as one aspectoftheParty's
mentioned
Affairs
Committee
NPC
the
to
law.17
(MAC),autonomy
Minority
According
the rightto
of
an
"is
implementing
importantexpression
legislation
and
of
a
and
to
law,
perfecting
upholding
requirement
according
autonomy
of
the
ofnationalities
thesystem
legislative
Descriptions
autonomy."18
regional
todefend
efforts
in
feature
areas
of
autonomous
Beijing's
prominently
powers
14 Thissearchwasconductedon <www.chinalawinfo.com>,
a websiterunbyBeijingUniversity
collectionofChineselawsand regulations.
themostcomprehensive
whichmaintains
15 Ao
Junde,"Minzuquyuzizhifazhongliangzhongbiantongquanzhijiande lianxihe qubien
Powerin the Law on
[The Connectionand DifferenceBetweenthe Two Typesof Modification
shehuikexueban),
minzudaxuexuebao(zhexue
Nationalities
RegionalAutonomy(LNRA)], Zhongyang
vol.32,no. 1 (2005), p. 21.
16 StateEthnicAffairs
Commission(SEAC), Zhongguo
dejiben
guanyuminzuwenti
gongchandang
and Policieson
BasicStandpoints
Party's
[ganbuduben][The ChineseCommunist
guandianhezhengce
theNationalities
Question(ReadingsforCadres)] (Beijing:Minzuchubanshe,2002), p. 160.
17 SEAC,
p. 163.
guanyuminzuwenti,
gongchandang
Zhongguo
18 NPC
Committee(MAC), "Quanguorendaminzuweiyuanhui
Affairs
guanyudijiujie
Minority
"
de daibiaotichude yi'anshenyi
jieguode baogao
jiaofushenyi
quanguorendadisancihuiyizhuxituan
[ReportfromtheNPC MACon theResultsofReviewofDelegateMotionsPassedon bythePresidium
31
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Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
itselffromitsinternational
Forexample,the2005WhitePaperon
critics.
forthe
in Chinagivesfigures
forEthnicMinorities
RegionalAutonomy
numberofpiecesoflegislation
passedin autonomousareas (butwithout
theadministrative
levelofenactment).19
specifying
had
Aspartoftherevival
in theDengera- autonomy
ofsocialist
legality
- the1982
been abolishedin all butnameduringtheCulturalRevolution
Constitution
containedmoreextensiveprovisionson NRA.Duringits
wasraised,as it
theidea thatChinashouldadopta federalsystem
drafting,
in 1954,butagain
had beenwhenthePRC'sfirst
constitution
wasdrafted
thiswas rejected.It was, however,agreed thatautonomyshould be
Ina departure
inwhichonlyautonomous
"extensive."20
from
the1954scheme,
areaswereaccordedlegislative
gavelocal
powers,the 1982 Constitution
The
at provincial
levelthepowerto enactlocal legislation.
governments
of the 1984 Law on NationalitiesRegionalAutonomy21
promulgation
on autonomy
and expandedon
theconstitutional
implemented
provisions
themin somekeyareas.Thislawwasrevisedin 2001,butthechangeswere
and generally
failedtorespondtoconcernsaboutthelack
minor,
relatively
ofclarity
on thenatureofautonomous
legislative
powers.22
Underthe1982Constitution,
then,autonomousareashavetwosetsof
in the
setis thepowersaccordedto local governments
powers.The first
enact
areas
to
PRC.23
The secondisspecifically
to
autonomous
only:
granted
and
state
laws
a local charterand to use autonomy
to
modify
legislation
areas
exercise
The
of
of
autonomous
may
policies.24 organs self-government
thelatterpowers,"within
as prescribed
thelimitsoftheirauthority
bythe
theLaw of thePeople'sRepublicof Chinaon Nationalities
Constitution,
and otherlaws"in orderto "implement
statelawsand
RegionalAutonomy
localsituation."25
The legislative
policiesin thelightoftheexisting
powers
ofautonomous
areasareoutlinedinArt.116:
oftheThirdSessionoftheNinthNPC forReview]
daibiaodahui
, 28 December2000,Quanguorenmin
no. 1 (2001), p. 69. LiketheothersixNPCspecialcommittees,
theMAC's
changwu
weiyuanhui
gongbao,
roleisto"examine,discussand drawup relevant
billsand draftresolutions,"
Art.70[2])
(Constitution,
but it has additionalpowersto "conductinvestigations
and makeproposalson howto strengthen
on theregulations
on autonomy
andsingular
[to]deliberate
unity
amongthenationalities;
regulations
submitted
to
bytheautonomousregionsto theNPCSC forapprovaland... reportitsdeliberations
theNPCSC" (1982 OrganicLawon theNPC,Art.37[5ii]).
19 StateCouncil.Information
Office,"RegionalAutonomyforEthnicMinoritiesin China,"
2005,SectionIII.2. Availableat:<http://www.china.ore.cn/e-white/20050301/index.htm>.
February
20 Cai,
Xianfa iingjie,p. 74.
21 Henceforth
LNRA.
Foran exampleofproposalsto improvethelaw,see "Decisionon amendingthePRC Lawon
Nationalities
minzuquyu
RegionalAutonomy(DraftProposal)"in Luo Tongdaet al., eds., Wanshan
theLawon Nationalities
[Researchon theIssueofPerfecting
zizhifa
wentiyanjiu
RegionalAutonomy]
(Chengdu:Sichuanrenminchubanshe,1997).
23 Constitution,
Chapter3, SectionV.
24 Constitution,
Chapter3, SectionVI.
* Art.115.
32
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Unused powers: contestation over autonomy legislation in the PRC
The people's congressesof national autonomousareas have thepowerto enact
regulationson theexerciseofautonomyand othersingularregulationsin thelight
of the political, economic and cultural characteristicsof the nationality or
nationalitiesin theareas concerned.The regulationson theexerciseofautonomy
and othersingular regulationsof autonomousregionsshall be submittedto the
forapprovalbefore
theygo
oftheNational Peoples Congress
Standing Committee
and countiesshall be submittedto
into effect.Those of autonomousprefectures
thestanding committees
of thepeoples congressesofprovincesor autonomous
and theyshall be reportedto the
regionsfor approval beforetheygo into effect,
oftheNational Peoples Congressfor therecord.
Standing Committee
The mainfocusofthisprovisionis on approvalprocedures,withminimal
guidance on thescope of autonomylegislation.It was not untilthe passage
of the 2000 LegislativeLaw thattheseparameterswerefurtherdelineated:
An autonomyregulationor singular regulationmay, in accordance with the
the
ofthelocal nationalities,makestipulationsmodifying
special characteristics
not
contravene
must
but
these
or
administrative
a
law
regulation,
provisionsof
thebasicprinciplesofthelaw or regulation,and modifications
maynotbe made
make specific
that
administrative
or
laws
other
or
the
LNRA,
regulations
of
provisionfor thenationalityautonomousareas.26
In addition,the LegislativeLaw states:"The Constitutionis the highest
no law,administrative
regulation,local regulation,autonomous
legalauthority;
or local rule maycontravene
or
administrative
singularregulation
regulation,
ofautonomyregulations
the
that
Italso specifies
theConstitution."27
provisions
law
or
a
or singularregulationsmodifyinghigher-level
regulationwillprevail
area.28
in the autonomous
The LNRAdoes notprovidefurther
guidanceon thescope ofautonomous
it
legislativepowers.However, clearlyindicatesthat the power to modify
should be used in accord withthe developmentalprioritiesof thestate:"...
ofnationalautonomousareas shall have the
The organsofself-government
power to adopt special policies and flexiblemeasuresin the lightof local
of these areas."29
conditions tospeedup theeconomicand culturaldevelopment
By contrast, local people's congresses (LPCs) of provinces and
are authorizedtoadopt
underthecentralgovernment
directly
municipalities
national
the
not
contravene
Constitution,
local regulations,
providedthesedo
Once
passed, the
laws, or State Council administrativeregulations.30
Similar
the
record."
"for
NPCSC
powers
regulationsare to be reportedto the
have been grantedunder specificState Council authorizationto the five
specialeconomiczones (SEZs) and to certainlargercities.Local regulations
26
27
28
29
30
Art.66(2).
Art.78, emphasis added.
Art.81.
Art.6(2) , emphasis added.
Art. 100.
33
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
of ordinaryprovincesand citiesmaybe made "in lightof the specific
but
conditions
areas"31
and actualneedsoftheirrespective
administrative
cannotmodify
nationallaws.
Thedifference
between
localandautonomous
powers
ordinary
legislative
isdisputed.
Ina 1986response
between
toa question
onwhatwasthedifference
localregulations
from
and autonomy/singular
an explanation
regulations,
theNPCLegislative
Affairs
a power
Commission
(LAC),whichwasexercising
ofinterpretation
thatisnotgranted
statedthatwhile
toitbytheConstitution,
were
in
different
the
of
whether
form,
they clearly
autonomy/singular
question
research."
werea typeof local regulations
regulations
required"further
much
Zhou
called
this
"unconstitutional."32
later,
Writing
response
Formsand procedures
Distinctformsare providedforautonomylegislation.The people's
ofautonomous
andcountieshavefourtypes
congresses
regions,
prefectures
ofinstrument
whichtheymayuseintheexerciseoftheirautonomy
powers:
autonomyregulations,singular regulations,modifyingrules and
rules.
supplementing
An autonomy
regulation(zizhitiaoli)is definedbyCai as "a regulation
autonomous
areathatdeals
ofa nationality
passedbythepeople'scongress
withbasicissuesrelating
to theautonomy
oftheautonomousarea and to
matters
ofgeneralconcernthere."33
A kindoflocalcharteror
important
constitution,
accordingto Ao and Wu,it is considered"a comprehensive
onautonomy"
inthearea
relations
between
nationalities
regulation
covering
. To a certainextent,
(butnotothersocialrelationships)
theyassert,itmay
evenregulaterelations
betweentheautonomous
areaand thehigher-level
stateorgans.34
, on theotherhand,whilecovering
tiaoli)
Singularregulations
(danxing
thesame potentialgroundas autonomyregulations,
onlydeal withone
instrument.35
a singular
However,
specificsubjectmatterin anyparticular
canbe usedtomodify
severallawsorregulations
atone time,and
regulation
is thusextensive
in itsscope,as comparedtomodifying
rules.36
31 Article64 of the
LegislativeLaw providesforlocal legislation to cover three typesof situations:
to implement a law or administrativeregulation; to cover mattersof local concern; and to cover
matterson which no national laws or regulationsyetexist.
32
Response fromthe NPC LAC to a queryon the difference,cited in Zhou Wei,"Minzu quyu zizhi
fajieshi anli shizheng wentiyanjiu" [Research on the question of actual interpretationof cases under
the LNRA] Xinan minzuxueyuanxuebao,zhexueshehuikexueban,vol. 23, no. 7, July2002, p. 152.
33 Cai,
Xianfajingjie,p. 392.
34 Ao
Junde and Wu Zongjin, eds., ZhongguominzuUfalilun yu shijian [Theory and Practice of
China Nationalities Legislation] (Beijing: Zhongguo minzhu yu fazhi chubanshe, 1998), pp. 394-5.
35 Ao and Wu,
ZhongguominzuUfa,p. 399; Cai, Xianfajingjie,p. 392.
36 Ao and
Wu, ZhongguominzuUfa,p. 402.
34
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Unusedpowers:contestation
overautonomy
in thePRC
legislation
rules(biantong
Autonomous
areaLPCscanalsoenactmodifying
guiding)
rules(buchong
.
rule
and supplementing
mayapplytoonlyone
guiding)Any
lawsandregulations
laworpolicydocument.37
higher-level
Theymaymodify
theCriminal
the
modification
thathaveexplicitly
including
delegated
power,
Law,the MarriageLaw,the GeneralPrinciplesof CivilLaw,the Civil
Procedure
Law,the
Law,theAdoptionLaw,theForests
Law,theInheritance
DiseasesLaw,and theNationalFlagLaw.38
of Communicable
Prevention
Twelvelawsenactedbetween1979and 1997includedprovisions
allowing
modification.39
and theLNRAgrantthepower
theConstitution
In termsofprocedure,
and
to enactautonomy
onlyto theLPCs,
regulations singularregulations
and notto theirStandingCommittees
(LPCSCs),eventhoughnationally
and in otherlocalitiesthelatteris themajorlaw-making
However,
organ.40
theLPCSC
inabouthalfofthecaseswherelawsdelegatethepowertomodify,
"basic
thepowertomodify
rules.Generally,
toenactmodifying
isauthorized
Lawand theCivilProcedureLaw)
laws"(suchas theCivilLaw,theCriminal
can onlybe exercisedbytheLPC.41
whichonlyneedsto be reportedto the
Unlikegenerallocallegislation,
and
NPCSC "fortherecord,"autonomy
singularregulations
regulations,
PC. In thecaseofthe
rulesrequireapprovalbya higher-level
modification
and
ARs,thisis the NPCSC; in the case of,theautonomousprefectures
an
authoritative
to
level.42
at
PCSC
is
the
this
counties,
According
provincial
bytheNPCLAC,theseorgansmustconsideriftheautonomy
interpretation
arealegislation
Theautonomous
,43
is"appropriate"
only
(shidang)
legislation
is silenton what
law
the
but
been
it
has
once
effect
into
approved,
goes
reflects
Theapproval
isnotgranted.44
shouldhappenifapproval
requirement
is allowed(kebiantong
modification
,
the principlethatwherever
yuanze)
the
is
that
view
Another
writes.45
Cai
is
approvalprocess
approval necessary,
ofthelegalsystem.46
is requiredtoensuretheuniformity
37 Ao and Wu,Zhongguo
minzuUfa,pp. 401-2.
38 Thislistis fromAo and Wu,Zhongguo
minzulija,p. 402.
39 Zhou Wei,"Minzuzizhidifangdanxingtiaolilifaquanyanjiu [Researchon the Legislative
Shehuikexue
Areasto EnactSingularRegulations],
PowerofAutonomous
yanjiu,no. 1 (1998), p. 75.
40 A recommendation
thattheLNRAbe amendedtoallowforLPCSCsin autonomousareasto
wasnotaccepted."Decisionon amendingtheLNRA,"p. 5.
enactsingularregulations
41 Zhou,"Minzuzizhidifang,p. 75.
42 LNRA,Art.19.Provincial-level
leveland thoseof
PCSCsincludethoseat autonomous-region
undertheStateCouncil.
directly
municipalities
43 NPC
Commission
(LAC), "Disizhang:
fagui,zizhitiaoli,danxingtiaoli,
difangxing
LegalAffairs
and [Administrative]
andSingularRegulations
Rules),Zhonghuarenmin
guizhang"(Local,Autonomy
Law ofthePRC), p. 11,at <http://www.npc.
gongheguolifafashiyi(ExplanationoftheLegislative
accessed24 April2006.
gov.cn/zgrdw/home/lmjndex.jsp?lmid=1137&dm=113723&pdmc=1137>,
44
Accordingto the NPC LAC,ifthelegislationis notapproved,it is returnedto thedralting
organforrevision.
45 Cai,
rulesenactedat
pp. 392-3.The 1980MarriageLawstatedthatmodification
Xianfajingjie,
tothe
2001amendments
ARlevelneedonlytobe reportedtotheNPCSC"fortherecord."Following
is required.
law,NPCSC approvalformodifications
46 NPC LAC,Difangxing
fagui,p. 11.
35
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Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
Inconsistencies
Butconflicts
oflawsareendemicintheChineselegalsystem.
and
betweenordinary
local lawspassedbyprovincial
congresses
people's
nationallegislationare common.47
Manylocalitiesenactimplementing
In practice
thateffectively
nationallawsandregulations.
regulations
modify
"noreview
theNPCSC"adoptsa policyofpassivereview"
oflocallegislation;
unlessthereis a complaint."48
The NPCSChasneverexerciseditspowerto
theproblem
Eveninthecaseofautonomy
repeallocallegislation.
legislation,
isnotthattheNPCSChasrefused
toapproveit,49
butthatithasbeenblocked
beforethatstage.
Some scholarsassertthatsinceit requiresNPCSC approval,autonomy
from
ARsshouldhavethesamestatus
as StateCouncilenactments
legislation
submitted
to theNPCSC forapprovaland passedbytheNPCSC. It thus
in a waythatlocal legislation
does not.
shouldbind nationalinstitutions
butthey
have
the
character
of
local
legislation,
"[Autonomy
regulations]
claimsQin.50As such
also have the characterof nationallegislation,"
is the
"itslegaleffect
is approvedbytheNPCSC,Zhou writes,
legislation
sameas thatoflawsenactedbytheNPCSC."51
The natureofthemodification
power
Whilesome legal scholarspresentit as the keyelementof autonomy
-powersundertheNRAsystem,
themodification
flimsy
powerhasa relatively
areastomodify
basis.
Ao
that
the
of
autonomous
and
Wu
assert
authority
legal
is based on provisions
and the LNRA,52but neither
of the Constitution
instrument
uses
term
in
relation
Chinesescholars
the
to
actually
legislation.
believethatmodification
is an inherentaspectof the powerto enact
in the
The onlyexplicitreference
to modification
autonomy
legislation.53
47 Zou
no.
Local LawswiththeCentralLegislation,"
ChinaPerspectives,
Keyuan,"Harmonizing
52 (March-April
2004), p. 49.
48 Zou,
Local Laws,"pp. 51-2.A committee
setup bytheNPCSCin2004toreview
"Harmonizing
localandadministrative
forcompliancewiththeConstitution
and thelawsdoesnotappear
regulations
to havemadeanyfundamental
changeto thissystem.
"
49 Mackerras
seemstoassumethattheNPCSChaspassedautonomy
legislation:[M]yexplorations
officials
and leaderssuggestthatitisactually
amongminority
veryunusualforthat[veto]tohappen.
Muchmorelikelyis thattheautonomousplacesnegotiatebeforehandwiththecentralauthorities
and makesurethatthelawis acceptableto thehigherlevelbeforeitis passedat thelower."Chinas
Ethnic
Minorities
and Globalisation,
p. 39.
50
Qin Naichang,"Lunzhidingzizhitiaolide kunnanji tuijinminzulifade xinsilu- yiguangxi
in enactingautonomyregulations
and new
zhuangzuzizhiquwei li" [Discussionof thedifficulties
- examplesfromthe GuangxiZhuangAutonomous
thoughtson promotingminority
legislation
minzuxueyuan
xuebao(zhexue
shehui
kexue
ban),no. 3 (1995), p. 6.
Region],Guangxi
51 Zhou,"Minzuzizhi
difang,"
p. 154.
52 Relevant
areConstitution
Art.115and LNRAArt.6(2). Ao andWu,Zhongguo
minzu
provisions
Ufa,pp. 408-9.
53 In relationto theConstitution:
Cai, Xianfajingjie,pp. 391-2.In relationto the LNRA, Ao,
"Minzuquyuzizhifa,"
pp. 19-21.Ao writesthatArt.19 of theLNRA (whichreplicatesConstitution
Art.116) "does notclearlyindicatemodification,
butmodification
is theintendedmeaningof the
stipulation,"
p. 19.
36
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Unusedpowers:contestation
overautonomy
in thePRC
legislation
LRNA is the provisionforautonomousareas to modifyhigher-level
if thesedo not "suitthe
"resolutions,
decisions,ordersor instructions"
Priorto theenactment
oftheLegislative
Lawin
ofthearea.54
conditions"
2000, whichincorporatedthe term"modifying
stipulation"(biantong
modification
oflawswastheprovisions
theonlysourceauthorizing
,55
guiding)
areas.
ofnationallawsthatdelegatesuchpowertoautonomous
The NPC
sourcesconceiveof thispowernarrowly.
Some authoritative
LAC hasstatedthatifa nationallawdoes notcontaina provision
allowing
a
ofsuchrulesis notpermitted.56
formodifying
However,
rules,enactment
to
rulesmakingalterations
havepassedimplementing
numberoflocalities
forsuchrules,and
oftheElectionLaw,whichprovides
otherlaws,including
Lawdoesnot
The Legislative
Procedure
theCriminal
Law,whichdoesnot.57
to casesofdelegatedpowers.A viewthatfitsbetterwith
limitmodification
is
is thatadvancedbyYang:modification
theidea of"extensive"
autonomy
allowedexceptwhenithasbeenexpressly
prohibited.58
Modification
thescopeofmodification.
Scholarshavesoughttoarticulate
of
the
limit
oflawsand regulations
application therelevant
maypartially
modification
ofpolicy,
case
In
the
it.59
to
additions
make
or
may
instrument,
mustcomply
modification
its
halt
to
far
as
so
Any
entirely.60
application
go
and cannot
of thenationallawsand policies61
withthe"spirit"(jingshen)
law.62
national
of
However,
the"generalprinciples"
contravene
yuanze)
(jiben
Ao
terms.
of
these
the
on
thereis no authoritative
meaning
interpretation
modification
of
extent
the
describe
to
andWuproposethefollowing
points
thathas"emergedfromlawand practice":
and theLNRAmaynotbe modified.
oftheConstitution
1. Provisions
make
issues,no further
laws
2. Where
provisionforminority
already
is allowed.
modification
is authorized
laws,thisshouldnotgo
3. Wheremodification
byparticular
and
"basic
their
principles spirit."
against
and thereshouldnotbe any,regarding
4. "Thereis no needforflexibility,
thatarealreadyinaccordwiththe
alllawsandadministrative
regulations
oftheminority
characteristics
cultural
and
economic
political,
'particular
in thatarea' and wherethereis alreadyno impedimentto their
in thatarea."63
implementation
54 Art.20.
Approvalfromtheissuingorganofthemodifiedpolicyis required.
55 Art.66(2).
56 Zhou,"Minzu
p. 153.
quyuzizhifa,"
57
Qin,uLunzhidingzizhiuaoli, pp. 9-10.
58
Yang, "Minzu zizhi," p. 6.
59 Ao and Wu,
ZhongguominzuUfa,pp. 401-2.
™ Thisis becauseno limitshavebeensetto thispowerin law.ao, Minzuquyuziznna, p. zu.
61 Cai,
Xianfajingjie,p. 391-2.
°" Lin, Constitutional
Law,p. lot. vsrK^ljv^, unangxmgiagui,p. i*, suuca uiai uic gcuciai
thesamething.
are essentially
and the"spirit"
principles"
63 Ao and Wu,Zhongguo
minzuUfa,pp. 410-11.
37
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PacificAffairs:Volume82, No, 1
-
Spring2009
Apartfromthe last point,these principleswere incorporatedinto the
LegislativeLaw in 2000, indicatingthatin some cases legal academics and
activists
havebeen successfulin advancingtheirvisionofautonomy.
minority
But the NPC LAC's interpretation
of thatlaw statesthatmodificationmay
be used when the provisionsof a law are "not entirelyappropriateto the
actual circumstances"of an autonomous area. National law, it says, is
addressedto thewholenation,and itis difficult
foritto "takecare of (zhaogu
dao) the particular circumstancesof autonomous areas, except where
made forthem,and in thatcase, theappropriate
provisionsare specifically
issueshave alreadybeen addressedbythe legislativeorgan.64
The exerciseof autonomylaw-making
powersin ARs
While the legal framework
outlined above is fairlycomprehensive,the
factthatkeyconcepts remainin dispute limitsits application.It is hardly
then,to findthatautonomousareas have made littleuse oftheir
surprising,
autonomypowersto enact legislation.As one observernotes:
A weak link in our countrys legislativesystemis thefact that,as comparedwith
legislativeorgans in otherareas, legislativeorgans in nationalityautonomous
areas have notbeenverydynamicin theirlegislativeactivities.This is especially
pronouncedin thepeoples congresses
ofsomeautonomouscountieswhichin some
cases have only enacted a single autonomyregulationin the course of many
years.65
None of the fiveARs has enacted an autonomyregulationor a singular
(When overallfiguresare givenforautonomylegislation,the
regulation.66
administrative
level of enactmentis usuallyunspecified.)In fact,the only
autonomylegislationpassed byARs has been a smallnumberof modifying
rulesunder delegated powersrelatingto lawsthatdid not requireNPCSC
approval.67 Thus in the reform era, theARs have not exercisedtheirpowersto
makeautonomylaws in anysignificant
way.According to Qin, a minorityscholar
fromGuangxi, this state of affairs"is not beneficial to the exercise of
autonomypowersbytheautonomousareas,and affectsthedevelopmentof
the economyand cultureof nationality
autonomousareas."68
64 NPC LAC,
Difangxing
fagui,p. 11-12.
b5
minzu
ofChineseLaw
ZhangXiaohui,Zhongguo
faliizaishaoshu
diqudeshishi[Implementation
in EthnicMinority
Areas](Yunnandaxue chubanshe,1994),quotedin Zhou,"Minzuzizhidifang,"
p. 76.
66 NPC LAC,
Difangxing
fagui,p. 1, statesthatas of 1998,none had enactedan autonomy
Nonehavebeenpassedsincethen.NPCMAC,"baogao,"28 December2000,p. 69,confirms
regulation.
thatas ofthatdate,no AR had passedanysingularregulation.
67
forlowerage ofmarriage),withsomeon
Mostlyon theMarriageLaw (generally
providing
theAdoptionI.aw.
m
Qin,uLunzhidingzizhitiaoli,"p. 2.
38
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Unusedpowers:
contestation
overautonomy
in thePRC
legislation
in Guangxi
to pass autonomyregulations
Qin's accountof the effort
of
these
started
this
into
Drafting
regulations
process.
uniqueinsight
provides
Autonomous
oftheGuangxi
thefounding
soonafter
(GZAR)
Region
Zhuang
19drafts.
Therehad
hadgonethrough
in 1958,andby1995,thedocument
inthe1950s,buttheworkbeganinearnestafterthe1984
beeninitialdrafts
withintheGZAR,
extensive
consultations
passageoftheLNRA.Following
totheCCP CentralCommittee.
draft
wassubmitted
in March1987the13th
senton thedraftto theNPC MAC69and the State
The CCP Secretariat
reflect
thedraftdid notsufficiendy
Council.Twoopinionsemerged:first,
ofGuangxi;and second,"therewasa ratherlarge
character
theparticular
and
StateCouncilministries
distancebetweentheopinionsoftherelevant
fact
that
their
the
ofGuangxi,
andtherequirements
commissions
reflecting
underthe
oftheLNRAwerenotinaccord."Finally,
ofthespirit
perceptions
March
was
18th
draft
the
NPC
of
the
1989,and
MAC,
by
completed
guidance
for
State
Council
to
the
submitted
was
the
revisions
afterfurther
MAC,
by
consultation.70
Bureausolicitedopinionson the
In 1991theStateCouncilLegalAffairs
and commissions.
itsministries
from
draftGZARAutonomy
Regulations
theirreactions
summarizes
no
fundamental
had
few"
Qin
objections.
"Very
of
Somemoreor lesscompletely
as follows.
rejectedaspects thedraftthat
thatpoliciesmust
allowedtheGZARto carryoutspecialpolicies,stressing
Someobjectedthatprovisions
"accordwithunifiednationalregulations."
thus
ofthedraftwerenotin accordwiththeirdepartmental
regulations,71
than
such
status
have
lower
should
the
that
autonomy
regulations
implying
as "local
to thedraftregulations
referred
Almostall responses
regulations.
regulations."72
The otherfourARswereapparently
waitingto see theoutcomeofthe
to get the
beforetrying
an
to
efforts
regulation
pass autonomy
Guangxi
Han
Chinese
of
the
dominance
In
Inner
theirs.73
to
centre approve
Mongolia,
chairmen
oftwosuccessive
theefforts
in theregionalPC thwarted
Mongol
inthe1980s,writes
ofthebodytopassautonomy
Drafting
Bulag.74
regulations
fortheTibetAutonomous
oftheautonomy
Region(TAR)began
regulations
oftheTARParty
in 1980undertheleadership
Committee,
accordingtoAo
of
discussion
rounds
several
underwent
The
draft
and Wu.
byitsStanding
of
the
"won
and
also
TAR
the
and
Committee
PCSC,
support" theNPCMAC
69 See note 18.
70
theZhuang,
pp. 117-18,also givesa brief
Qin,"Lunzhidingzizhitiaoli,"pp. 2-3.Kaup,Creating
to passtheregulations.
accountoftheeffort
71
documentsthatdo notnavetnestatusot law.
Guizhang,forexample,normative
72
Qin, "Lunzhidingzizhitiaoli,"pp. 7-8.
73 Personalcommunication.
74
Building,
UradynE. Bulag,"InnerMongolia:The Dialecticsof Colonizationand'Ethnicity
of
Frontiers
China'sMultiethnic
in MorrisRossabi,ed., Governing
(Seattleand London: University
Press,2004), pp. 94-5.
Washington
39
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
and "relevant
centralorgans."Therewerea numberofexercisessoliciting
on
the
draftat consultation
opinions
meetingsand thedocumentwent
totheState
15
drafts
wasneversubmitted
but
through
altogether, apparently
Council.75
Itscontents
included:
1. A preambleemphasizing
nationalunityand asserting
thattheTARwas
an indivisible
of
China.
part
2. ProvisionsthatmainlyTibetansshould constitutethe personnelof
autonomousorgans,but withappropriaterepresentation
of other
and emphasizing
theinterdependence
oftheminorities
and
minorities,
theHan.
3. Provisions
on self-government
including:
• exerciseofself-government
insetting
development
plans;
• a listofthespecialpoliciesand flexible
grantedbythe
arrangements
centretotheAR;
• reflection
ofcontemporary
market
changes,forexamplethesocialist
and
economy;
• a chapteron religionreflecting
itsimportance
forTibet.76
role in the exerciseof
Althoughit does not have a constitutional
autonomouslegislative
the
has thepower"todirect
State
Council
powers,
and administer
affairs
the
and to safeguardthe
nationalities
concerning
of
nationalities
and
the
equal rights minority
rightof autonomyof the
nationalautonomousareas."77
In effect,
writes
Qin,theNPCSChas ceded
itsapprovalpowerto "certainfunctional
at the centre,in
departments
the
economic
ministries"
because
this
isthewaythat
particular
management
thedivisionof interests
betweenlocal areasand thecentreare generally
dealtwith.78
Government
at thenationaland provincial
level
departments
arereluctant
todevolvepowersthatdirectly
affect
theireconomicinterests
toautonomous
areas,assertZhuandYu.79
YettheStateCouncilis nottheonlybarriertoARautonomy
legislation.
In practice
theCCP dominates
theprocessofdrafting
autonomy
legislation,
as hintedat above. Accordingto Qin, once drafting
of anyautonomy
iscompleted
atARlevel,thelocalParty
Committee
hastosubmit
regulation
itto theCCP CentralCommittee
forreview,
and thePartycentreconsults
variouspartieson thedraft.
hasbeenreachedwillthe
Onlywhenconsensus
75
76
77
78
79
Ao and Wu, ZhongguominzuUfa,p. 455.
Ao and Wu, ZhongguominzuUfa,pp. 455-6.
Constitution,Art.89(11).
Qin, "Lun zhiding zizhi tiaoli," p. 8.
The absence of autonomy regulations at AR level is attributedto this in Zhu Guobin and Yu
Lingyun, "Regional MinorityAutonomy in the PRC: A Preliminary Appraisal from a Historical
and GroupRights,vol. 7 (2000), pp. 54-5.
Perspective,"International
Journalon Minority
40
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
overautonomylegislationin thePRC
Unusedpowers:contestation
be submitted
to theARPC forenactment.80
autonomy
regulation
in 2001 has not resultedin any
of
the
LNRA
the
revision
Apparently
in the
in
deadlocked
situation
the
autonomy
legislation
regarding
change
ARs,sinceno suchlawshavebeen enactedsincethattime.Furthermore,
tosuchlegislation
identified
didnotaddresssomeofthebarriers
therevision
LNRA
be
retitled
that
the
activists.
and
scholars
minority
Proposals
bylegal
oflawsandthata sentence
a "basiclaw"toindicateitsstatusinthehierarchy
that"alllaws,administrative
be addedto thePreamblestating
regulations,
and this
withtheConstitution
and rulesmaynotconflict
localregulations
law"werenotadopted.81
lawsusingtheirautonomy
Althoughtheyhavenot passedsignificant
that
enact
to
their
used
ARs
have
the
generallocallegislation
powers
powers,
In somecases,thismaycovermatters
doesnotrequiresuchapproval.
bearing
An interesting
suchas language.82
on autonomy,
question(butone thatis
exceed
beyondthescopeofthisarticle)is towhatextenttheseregulations
ofnationalregulations.83
theprovisions
The subprovinciallevel
autonomous
atARlevel,manysub-provincial
tothesituation
In contrast
andsingular
areashaveenactedautonomy
By2003,
regulations.
regulations
and384
totheStateCouncil,a totalof133autonomy
regulations
according
Giventhe absenceof anysuch
had been enacted.84
singularregulations
thatallofthesewerepassed
fromtheARs,itisevident
originating
regulations
sourcestatesthatbythe
Another
entities.
and
county-level
byprefectural
areashadpassedautonomy
154autonomous
year2000,135ofthecountry's
been enacted.85
had
while
238
According
regulations
singular
regulations,
had
enacted
areas
of
autonomous
84
in
toa survey
1998,
percent
published
Most
so.
of
in
the
were
5
and
doing
process
percent
autonomy
regulations
of the singularregulations
appear to be enactedbya fewautonomous
and countieswithactivePCs.86
prefectures
80
Qin,ttLunzhidingzizhitiaoli,"p. 6.
81 The
bee Decisionon amending
proposednewtitlefortheLNRAwasminzuquyuzizhijibenfa.
level.
theLNRA,"p. 3. Thishigh-level
proposalwassupportedat centralleveland provincial
82
on theStudy,
Use,and Development
RegionRegulations
ExamplesaretheTibetAutonomous
of theTibetanLanguage(1987, amendedin 2002) and the XinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion
on Languageand Writing
(1993,amendedin 2002).
Regulations
83 Whenan unnamedautonomousregionsubmitted
a piece of legislationto the NFCSC tor
approval,it was sentback withthe advicethatthe regulationshouldbe passed as ordinarylocal
oflawinChina"[Zhongguo
conflicts
forresolving
accordingtoCai Dingjian,"Mechanisms
legislation,
of Constitutional
faluchongtude jiejue jizhi], paper presentedat conference,
Legal Perspectives
ofHong Kong,April2004,p. 2.
Review,
University
84 StateCouncil,RegionalAutonomy,
2005,SectionIII.2.
85 NPC MAC,
"baogao,"28 December2000,p. 69.
86 The
foundthat16 percentofautonomousareashad passed rathera lot ot singular
survey
and20 percentnoneatall."Appendix1:Analysis
while64 percenthadpassed"rather
few,"
regulations,
oftheLNRAand itsamendment"[Fulu:yi,minzuquyu
on implementation
ofsurvey
questionnaires
minzuquyuzizhifa,
zizhifashixingyuxiugaiwenjuanfenxi],in Luo, Wanshan
pp. 272-3.
41
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Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
to generalize
The numberofautonomy
meansitis difficult
regulations
in
"areusually
abouttheircontent.
to
1994,
Chao,
they
According
writing
of
LNRA.87
for
autonomous
the
This
is
counties,
likely
copies"
certainly
that
LAC
asserted
the
fact
that
a
NPC
1992
considering
explanation
not
make
rules"
that
of
autonomous
counties
should
"autonomy
regulations
LNRA.88
The
the
of
the
Constitution
and
the
willingness
gobeyond provisions
of provincial-level
PCSCs to pass themmaybe an indicationthatmost
arerelatively
uncontroversial.
autonomy
regulations
- allautonomous
setof25prefectural
The current
autonomy
regulations
- wereall
(APs)haveenactedthem,exceptthefiveinXinjiang
prefectures
been
a numberhavesubsequently
passedbetween1985and 1990,although
LNRA
the
of
from
revised.89
are
a
collection
They
provisions
generally
of
nationalpolicies,suchas on theprohibition
combinedwiththerelevant
reflect
also
on
the
Burma-China
border.90
and
human
They
drugs
trafficking
thegovernment
lineofthetimeperiodwhentheywerepassed.
and Party
Some AP-levelautonomyregulationsdo reflecta certaindegreeof
an exampleof
Prefecture
YanbianKoreanAutonomous
provides
autonomy.
- at leaston paper- ifan autonomous
area usesits
whatmaybe achieved
on
theborder
located
to
its
interests.
Strategically
legislative
power protect
areainthePRCtoenact
autonomous
withNorthKorea,Yanbianwasthefirst
These
in 1985,following
thepassageoftheLNRA.91
autonomy
regulations,
were
The
a modelforotherautonomy
thusprovided
regulations. regulations
in
revised
2003.
extensively
oftheLNRAandcentralpolicyon
Whiletheyincorporate
manyfeatures
theYanbianAutonomy
autonomousareas,92
Regulations
go beyondthe
have
entrenched
of
national
laws
and
For
provisions
policies. example,they
and amendment
statusin thelocallegalorder,inthattheirenactment
may
voteoftheYanbianPrefectural
witha two-thirds
onlybe effected
majority
reserve
a greaternumber
People'sCongress(PPC).93Also,theregulations
ofgovernment
oftheYanbian
for
that
the
Chairman
posts Koreans,
requiring
in the
PPCSCmustbe Korean,94
thatmorethanhalfoftheleadingofficials
87 Chien-min
Chao, "The ProcedureforLocal Legislation,"
p. 114.
88 Zhou,"Minzu
quyuzizhifa,"pp. 150-1.
w This listis based on the local
databasein the PekingUniversity
legal website,
regulations
availableat <www.chinalawinfo.com>.
90 A
wasreviewedforthispaper,includingthosefromLinxiaHui
sampleof such regulations
Autonomous
Prefecture
(AP), HongheHaniYiAP,YanbianKoreanAP,Dali Bai AP,Xishuangbanna
Tai AP,WestQinghaiMongolianTibetanAP,GannanTibetanAP and WenshanZhuangMiaoAP.
Yanbianchaoxianzuzizhizhouzizhitiaoli[YanbianKoreanAutonomous
Prefecture
Autonomy
Regulations],
passedbythethirdsessionoftheEighthYanbianKoreanAPPCon 24 April1985.
^ Itsmain
are theorganization
of theprefectural
PC, PCSC and thepeoples
subjectmatters
government;
managementof the economyand finances;and language,education,scienceand
and culture.
technology,
98 Art.12 in 1985 text,Art.11 in 2003 revisedversion.Such a
procedureappearsto be the
invention
oftheYanbianPPC.
M Art.13 in 1985text,Art.12 in 2003 revisedversion.
42
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Unusedpowers:contestation
overautonomy
in thePRC
legislation
and thatthehead or deputyhead ofthe
"may"be Koreans,95
government
courtinthearea) and
Intermediate
Prefectural
People'sCourt(thehighest
"should"be Koreans.96
Procuratorate
thePrefectural
enactedat prefectural
and countylevel,the
As forsingularregulations
to
indicate
that
theseareessentially
listsofsuchregulations97
available
appear
Since
units
at
thislevelof the
local
to
legislation.98
analogous general
to
enact
suchlegislation,
do
not
have
the
administrative
power
hierarchy
Some
are labelled
available
to
them.
the
ones
are
only
autonomy
powers
"measures"
or
measures"
(shishi
(banfa),
banfa) merely
"implementation
a higherinstrument
thatimplements
forregulatory
a designation
commonly
levelregulation.
passedat thislevelcovera rangeof
Singularregulations
of
the
use
languages,compulsoryeducation,ethnic
topics,including
natural
of
control,
resources,
education,
regulation
population
management
ofspecificlocal entities(suchas environmental
areas,historic
protection
ofland,urban
cities,tourism
sites), economicmanagement,
management
is
interests."99
and
and
order,
Interestingly,
religion
"rights
public
planning,
of
a
not
regulations.
apparently majorsubject singular
One mightexpectthatwheremodification
delegated,
powerisexplicitly
inexercising
areaswouldhavebeenmoreproactive
autonomous
legislative
notbeenthecase.Oftheninelawsthat
thishasapparently
power.However,
rulesby1998,suchruleshad onlybeenenacted
had authorized
modifying
tothree:theMarriage
Law,andtheElection
inrelation
Law,theInheritance
rules
Law.As mentionedabove,to dateARshaveonlypassedmodifying
68
of
a
total
Law.
the
Law
and
the
to
2003,
By
Adoption
Marriage
relating
autonomous
enacted
had
been
rules
and
by
modifying supplementing
areas.100
Conclusion:Whathope for"extensive"autonomy?
areimposedon thelegislative
controls
Linarguesthat"tighter
authority
and municipalities
of thefiveethnicminority
regionsthanon provinces
95 Art.16. The Constitution
be a member
and theLNRArequirethatthehead ofgovernment
thatthenumber
fromotherAPsspecify
oftheminority
Autonomy
regulations
autonomy.
exercising
in thepopulation.
ofleadershippostsfilledbyminorities
maybe greaterthantheirproportion
96 Art.25. The Dali Bai AP Autonomy
in Art.22
Regulations(1986,amendedin 2005) specify
thata memberoftheBaigroupshouldfillthepostofeithertheheadordeputyheadofthePrefectural
Procuratorate.
Intermediate
People'sCourtand thePrefectural
97 See for
minzuUfa,pp. 689-704,and thelists
examplethelistprovidedinAo and Wu,Zhongguo
and Autonomy
forTibetanareas in Sorensenand Philips,LegalStandards
Options,
AppendixA, pp.
79-100.
98 Anassessment
is beyondthescope ofthisarticle.
ofthecontentofthislegislation
99 Thisenumeration
minzuUfa,
is basedon thelistof topicsprovidedin Ao and Wu,Zhongguo
ofminors,
andcoverprotection
arefrom
Yanbian,
"management"
pp.400-1. Allthoseinthelastcategory
oftradeunionsin foreign-invested
and establishment
of"peasant[tax]burdens,"
enterprises.
100StateCouncil,
2005,SectionIII.2.
RegionalAutonomy,
43
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Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
In otherwords,thefive
underthe[CentralPeople'sGovernment].
directly
autonomous regionsenjoy less legislativeautonomythan ordinary
Thisiscertainly
trueas regards
autonomous
provinces."101
legislative
powers,
and goesagainsttheprinciples
whichclearly
outlinedin theConstitution,
indicatethattheautonomousareasare supposedto enjoymore
than
power
otherareas.102
Theworkofminority
scholars
andlegalacademics
whowrite
onautonomy
oflawto advancea visionof
law,as wellas theNPC MAC,use theterrain
"extensive"
autonomythatharksbackto thepromisesmade to minority
theseinvolveda certain
groupsin theearlyyearsof thePRC. Essentially,
withpre-existing
its
degreeofaccommodation
reaching
politicalstructures,
10S
"17-Point
of
1951.
largestextentin theSino-Tibetan
Agreement" May
Someactivist
cadresseektospurtheirco-ethnics
todefendthis
minority
versionofautonomy
thefailuretoexerciseautonomy
byattributing
powers
to a lackof awarenessamonglocal officials
of the rightstheseconfer.104
Anotherviewis that,as Yang putsit, "themostimportant
reasonwhy
autonomous
areashavenotbeenable properly
to exercisetheirlegislative
The
powersis thatsometheoretical
questionshavenotbeen resolved."105
NPC MACimplicitly
of
to
the
exercise
autonomy
acknowledges
opposition
a delegatemotioncallingforassistance
tobe
powers.In 2000,itsupported
to
ARs
to
enact
of
the
ARs
While
the
efforts
provided
autonomy
regulations.
" he relevant
themselves
wouldbe important,
theMACstated,
stateorgans
[T]
shouldalsoprovidethenecessary
assistance."106
of
extensive
use a tacticfamiliar
fromthefieldof
Proponents
autonomy
constitutional
lawinChina:whatistermed
byAnagnost
"prolepsis"
representing
as ifitalready
exists.107
Thusalthough
thedominant
forcesinthe
something
Chinesegovernment
resistefforts
to clarify
themeaningof keytermsin
law- evidentin theminimal
revisions
totheLNRAafteryearsof
autonomy
and
discussion
these
scholars
and
activists
articulate
proposals
meanings
ofthemodification
and
the
status
of
thatexpress
power
autonomy
legislation
a visionofautonomy
undera future
state.
constitutionally
governed
institutions
such
as
the
NPC
LAC
and
certain
State
Council
contrast,
By
ministries
seemtoviewautonomy
as outdatedand essentially
unnecessary
a challengeto theirpower.
and,in theformproposedbyactivist
scholars,
In their
theprincipal
taskof"nationality
work"
iseconomicdevelopment
view,
101 Lin, Constitutional
Law, p. 157.
102Zhou,"Minzuzizhi
difang,"pp. 77-8.
1U3I his
wasnullified
afterthe1959Uprisingand denouncedbytheDalai Lamaafter
agreement
he fledintoexile.
104
theZhuang,
Kaup,Creating
pp. 118-120.
105
Yang, "Minzu zizhi," p. 1.
106 NPC
MAC, "baogao," 28 December 2000, p. 69.
Ann Anagnost, Nationalpast-times:
and powerin modernChina (Durham,
narrative,representation,
NC: Duke University
Press,1997),p. 8.
44
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overautonomy
Unusedpowers:contestation
in thePRC
legislation
areasinaccordancewiththeHan "advanced"
model
of"backward"
minority
Thus
the
NPC
LAC
states
that
the
need
state.108
the
Chinese
established
by
has
on
whether
the
centre
"taken
care"
forautonomy
depends
legislation
of thisis thatthe
of theminority
of theinterests
regions.The corollary
it maybe used to
where
is
no
modification
needed,
except
longer
power
in the
ofautonomous
advancethe"modernization"
areas,as is emphasized
be
measures
thatspecialpoliciesandflexible
LNRA'srequirement
only used
tosupportstatepriorities.109
it is a policythatservedits
is history:
Fromthisperspective,
autonomy
thenewstateand nowhas
areas
into
of
peripheral
purpose incorporating
in keythink-tanks
littlemeaning.A fewresearchers
arguethat"collective
betweenthe stateand autonomousareas,and between
rule" (gongzhi,
thelatter)isnowa better
theHan,within
ethnicgroups,including
different
advocatesofa return
modelforethnicpoliciesthanautonomy.110
Similarly,
minorities
of
"barbarian"
"culturalization"
of
toChina'spre-modern
policies
serves
as
such
measures
that
autonomy
through
ethnicity
argue "politicizing"
tensions.111
ethnic
inflame
to
only
- theCCP- is
Debateovera keyfactor
autonomy
legislation
influencing
hasa keyrole
The
article.
for
this
used
in
sources
the
absent
Party
generally
andalllawsaresupposed
oflegislation,
thegeneraldirection
indetermining
As has oftenbeen pointedoutin theliterature,
CCP policies.112
to reflect
forautonomy,
limitson theprovisions
inherent
dominance
places
Party
leadersin
CCP
local
that
is
no
there
since,forexample,
requirement
the
indeed
and
of
members
be
areas
autonomous
opposite
minority
groups,
is oftenthecase.113
withdecentralization
ButCCPobstruction
maynotbe thepricomparisons
in
countries.114
in otherdeveloping
maybe
powers, particular,
Legislative
108
work
Accordingto formertop leaderJiangZemin:"Thereare twomaintasksin nationality
to standup and liberatethemselves
is to guidethepeople ofall nationalities
in NewChina:thefirst
of society;thesecond is to
of reforms
and choose the socialistroad throughthe implementation
ofsocialism,
outtheconstruction
ofallnationalities
carrying
through
promotethecommonprosperity
the minority
particularly
speedingup the economicand social developmentof all nationalities,
areas."SEAC,Zhongguo
and theminority
nationalities
p. 12.
guanyuminzuwenti,
gongchandang
109Art.6(2).
110See scholars
tian nationalist
in Xinjiang:
imperatives
Autonomy
quotedin GardnerBovingdon,
CenterPolicyStudies 11, 2004, pp. 45-6;and in Bulag,"Inner
East-West
and Uyghur
Discontent,
Mongolia,"p. 95.
111
in GuidingEthnicRelationsin theTwenty-first
Century:'DeRongMa, "A NewPerspective
vol.8, no. 3, October2007.
in China,"AsianEthnicity,
ofEthnicity
politicization'
112Fora detailedenumeration
ofwaysm whichtheCCP involvesitselfin the
of themultitude
legislativeprocess,see Qin Qianhongand Li Yuan, "The Influenceof the CCP on Legislating"
dui lifade yingxiang],
paperon filewiththeauthors.
[Zhongguogongchandang
113See Mackerras,China'sEthnicMinorities
and Globalization,
pp. 41-43,Harrell,Waysoj Being
Ethnic,
p. 77.
1" See, tor
ujueurruTuinuiiun
example, Y.r.L»naiana /\.j. Kegan, l neimw,rouncsana naminisiTaium
inPapuaNewGuinea(Boroko,Papua NewGuinea:NationalResearchInstitute),
pp. 192-4and p. 400.
45
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Volume
82, No. 1 - Spring2009
PacificAffairs:
common
underused.115
ofChinaconfirms
an observation
u[T]heexperience
in developingcountries:
to moststudiesof decentralization
whilecertain
taskshavebeenshifted
to lowerlevels,the
legalpowersand administrative
transfer
of
resources
and
corresponding
decision-making
poweris mostly
The
transfer
of
to
local
isoften
lacking. legal
law-making
powers
populations
or
Li
and
Otto.116
even
write
half-hearted,
incomplete
deceptive,"
In thecase ofChina,thecomparative
lessonsshouldnotbe overstated.
The efforts
ofARsto exercisetheirlegislative
powershavebeen thwarted.
are
Someoftheelements
considered
basicforautonomy
elsewhere
systems
absentin thePRC system.
withthelegislative
Also,thecontrast
outputof
local
areas
is
instructive:
there
has
been
effort
toensure
ordinary
hardly
any
thattheirlegislation
within
the
limits
set
out
for
and
a
it,
stays
hugevolume
ofregulations
hasbeenpassed.
The viewsadvancedbyminority
activists
and legalscholarsindicatethat
the currentlegal framework
not
be
with
may
inherently
incompatible
in
form.
an
some
The
of
"extensive"
"genuine
autonomy"
autonomy
promise
rootsto allow
makinguse ofa modification
powerdefinedbyitshistorical
fordifferent
couldpotentially
"systems"
providesomespace forrealselfthe
will.
government,
given necessary
political Yetbecauseofthelackoflegal
on
divisions
of opinionand interest
withinthe
clarity autonomy
powers,
Chinesestatewouldlikelycontinueto maketherealization
ofthatvision
evenifsucha changeofheartdidoccur.
difficult,
University
ofHongKong,HongKongand
2008
University
ofBritishColumbia,Canada, September
115See, for
example, Richard Simeon and ChristinaMurray,"Multi-SphereGovernance in South
Africa:An InterimAssessment,"Publius: TheJournalofFederalism,
vol. 31, no. 4 (2001), pp. 77-80. The
South Africanexample highlightsthe barrierscreated forprovincialautonomy by the dominance of
a strong,centralized party.116Yuwen Li and
Jan-MichelOtto, "Centraland Local Law-Making:StudyingChina's Experience,"
in Eduard B. Vermeer and Ingrid d'Hooghe, eds., China's Ugal Reformsand TheirPoliticalLimits
(Richmond, Surrey,UK: Curzon, 2002), p. 2.
46
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