# Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

* related portals: China, Law of China, Constitutional documents.
* sister projects: Wikipedia article, Wikidata item.
Adopted by the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 29, 1949. Source: Blaustein, Albert P., ed. (1962). Fundamental Legal Documents of Communist China. South Hackensack, New Jersey: Fred B. Rothman & Co. pp. 34–53.
THE COMMON PROGRAM OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE
—Adopted by the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's PCC on September 29th, 1949 in Peking.

## PREAMBLE

The great victories of the Chinese people's war of liberation and of the people's revolution have put an end to the era of the rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism in China. From the status of the oppressed, the Chinese people has attained that of the master in a new society and an ew state, and has replaced the Kuomintang's reactionary rule of feudal, comprador, fascist dictatorship with the Republic of the People's Democratic Dictatorship.
The Chinese People's Democratic Dictatorship is the state power of the people's democratic united front composed of the Chinese working class, peasantry, petty bourgeoisie, national bourgeoisie and other patriotic democratic elements, based on the alliance of workers and peasants and led by the working class. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, composed of the representatives of the Communist Party of China, of all democratic parties and groups and people's organizations, of all regions, of the People's Liberation Army, of all national minorities, overseas Chinese and other patriotic democratic elements, is the organisational form of the Chinese people's democratic united front.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, representing the will of the people of the whole country, proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic of China and is organizing the people's own central government. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference unanimously agrees that New Democracy, or the People's Democracy, shall be the political foundation for the national construction of the People's Republic of China. It has also adopted the following Common Program which should be jointly observed by all units participating in the Conference, by the people's government of all levels, and by the people of the whole country.

## CHAPTER I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

ARTICLE 1. The People's Republic of China is a New Democratic or a People's Democratic state. It carries out the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class, based on the alliance of workers and peasants, and uniting all democratic classes and all nationalities in China. It opposes imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and strives for independence, democracy, peace, unity, prosperity and strength of China.
ARTICLE 2. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China must undertake to wage the people's war of liberation to the very end, to liberate all the territory of China, and to achieve the unification of China.
ARTICLE 3. The People's Republic of China must abolish all the prerogatives of imperialist countries in China. It must confiscate bureaucratic capital and put it into the possession of the people's state. It must systematically transform the feudal and semi-feudal land ownership system into a system of peasant land ownership; it must protect the public property of the state and of the cooperatives and must protect the economic interests and private property of workers, peasants, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie. It must develop the people's economy of New Democracy and steadily transform the country from an agricultural into an industrial one.
ARTICLE 4. The people of the People's Republic of China shall have the right to elect and to be elected according to law.
ARTICLE 5. The people of the People's Republic of China shall have freedom of thought, speech, publication, assembly, association, correspondence, person, domicile, change of domicile, religious belief and the freedom of holding processions and demonstrations.
ARTICLE 6. The People's Republic of China shall abolish the feudal system which holds women in bondage. Women shall enjoy equal rights with men in political, economic, cultural, educational and social life. Freedom of marriage for men and women shall be put into effect.
ARTICLE 7. The People's Republic of China shall suppress all counter-revolutionary activities, severely punish all Kuomintang counter-revolutionary war criminals and other leading incorrigible counter-revolutionary elements who collaborate with imperialism, commit treason against the fatherland and oppose the cause of people's democracy. Feudal landlords, bureaucratic capitalists and reactionary elements in general, after they have been disarmed and have had their special powers abolished, shall, in addition, be deprived of their political rights in accordance with law for a necessary period. But, at the same time, they shall be given some means of livelihood and shall be compelled to reform themselves through labour so as to become new men. If they continue their counter-revolutionary activities they will be severely punished.
ARTICLE 8. It is the duty of every national of the People's Republic of China to defend the fatherland, to abide by the law, to observe labour discipline, to protect public property, to perform public and military service, and to pay taxes.
ARTICLE 9. All nationalities in the People's Republic of China shall have equal rights and duties.
ARTICLE 10. The armed forces of the People's Republic of China, namely, the People's Liberation Army, the people's public security forces and the people's police belong to the people. It is the task of these armed forces to defend the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of China, and to defend the revolutionary gains and all legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China shall endeavour to consolidate and strengthen the people's armed forces, so as to enable them to accomplish their tasks effectively.
ARTICLE 11. The People's Republic of China shall unite with all peace-loving and freedom-loving countries and peoples throughout the world, first of all, with the U.S.S.R., all Peoples' Democracies and all oppressed nations. It shall take its stand in the camp of international peace and democracy, to oppose imperialist aggression to defend lasting world peace.

## CHAPTER II. ORGANS OF STATE POWER

ARTICLE 12. The state power of the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. The people's congresses and the people's governments of all levels are the organs for the exercise of state power by the people. The people's congresses of all levels shall be popularly elected by universal franchise. The people's congresses of all levels shall elect the people's governments of their respective levels. The people's governments shall be the organs for exercising state power at their respective levels when the people's congresses of their respective levels are not in session.
The All-China People's Congress shall be the supreme organ of state power. The Central People's Government shall be the supreme organ for exercising state power when the All-China People's Congress is not in session.
ARTICLE 13. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is the organisational form of the people's democratic united front. It shall be composed of the representatives of the working class, the peasantry, members of the revolutionary armed forces, intellectuals, the petty bourgeoisie, he national bourgeoisie, national minorities, the overseas Chinese and other patriotic democratic elements.
Pending the convocation of the All-China People's Congress elected by universal franchise, the Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference shall exercise the functions and powers of the All-China People's Congress, enact the Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, elect the Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China and vest it with the authority to exercise state power.
After the convocation of the All-China People's Congress elected by universal franchise, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference may submit proposals on fundamental policies relating to national construction work and on other important measures to the All-China People's Congress or to the Central People's Government.
ARTICLE 14. In all places newly liberated by the People's Liberation Army, military control shall be exercised and the Kuomintang reactionary organs of state power shall be abolished. The Central People's Government or military and political organs at the front shall appoint personnel to organize Military Control Committees and local People's Governments. These shall lead the people in establishing revolutionary order and suppressing counter-revolutionary activities and, when conditions permit, shall convene All-Circles Representative Conferences.
Pending the convocation of the local people's congresses elected by universal franchise, the local All-Circles Representative Conferences shall gradually assume the functions and powers of the local people's congresses.
The duration of military control shall be determined by the Central People's Government according to the military and political conditions prevailing in the different localities.
In all places where military operations have completely ended, agrarian reform has been thoroughly carried out and people of all circles have been fully organized, elections based on universal franchise shall be held immediately for the purpose of convening local People's Congresses.
ARTICLE 15. The organs of state power at all levels shall practice democratic centralism. In doing this the main principles shall be: the People's Congresses shall be responsible and accountable to the people; the People's Government Councils shall be responsible and accountable to the People's Congresses. Within the People's Congresses and within the People's Government Councils, the minority shall abide by the decisions of the majority; the appointment of the People's Governments of each level shall be ratified by the People's Government of the higher level; the People's Governments of the lower levels shall obey the People's Governments of the higher levels and all local People's Governments throughout the country shall obey the Central People's Government.
ARTICLE 16. The jurisdiction of the Central People's Government and the local People's Governments shall be defined according to the nature of the various matters involved, and shall be prescribed by decrees of the Central People's Government Council so as to satisfy the requirements of both national unity and local expediency.
ARTICLE 17. All laws, decrees and judicial systems of the Kuomintang reactionary government which oppress the people shall be abolished. Laws and decrees protecting the people shall be enacted and the people's judicial system shall be established.
ARTICLE 18. All state organs of the People's Republic of China must enforce a revolutionary working-style, embodying honestly, simplicity and service to the people. They must severely punish corruption, forbid extravagance and oppose the bureaucratic working-style which alienates the masses of the people.
ARTICLE 19. People's supervisory organs shall be set up in the People's Governments of county and municipal level and above, to supervise the performance of duties by the state organs of various levels and by public functionaries of all types, and to propose that disciplinary action be taken against state organs and public functionaries who violate the law or are negligent in the performance of their duties.
The people or people's organisations shall have the right to file charges with the people's supervisory organs or people's judicial organs against any state organs or any public functionaries that violate the law or are negligent in the performance of their duties.

## CHAPTER III. MILITARY SYSTEM

ARTICLE 20. The People's Republic of China shall build up a unified army, the People's Liberation Army and people's public security forces, which shall be under the command of the People's Revolutionary Military Council of the Central People's Government; it shall institute unification of command, system, formation and discipline.
ARTICLE 21. The People's Liberation Army and the people's public security forces shall, in accordance with the principle of unity between the officers and the rank-and-file and between the army and the people, set up a system of political work and shall educate the commanders and rank-and-file of these forces in a revolutionary and patriotic spirit.
ARTICLE 22. The People's Republic of China shall strengthen its modernized army and shall establish an air force and a navy in order to consolidate national defence.
ARTICLE 23. The People's Republic of China shall put into effect the people's militia system to maintain local order and to lay the foundation for national mobilization. It shall make preparations to enforce a system of obligatory military service at the appropriate time.
ARTICLE 24. The armed forces of the People's Republic of China shall, during peace time, systematically take part in agricultural and industrial production in order to assist in national construction work, provided their military duties are not thereby hampered.
ARTICLE 25. Dependents of those who have given their lives for the revolution and of members of the revolutionary forces, who are in need, shall receive preferential treatment, from the state and from society. The people's government shall make appropriate arrangements for disabled or retired service men who have participated in the revolutionary war, providing them with the means of livelihood or with occupations.

## CHAPTER IV. ECONOMIC POLICY

ARTICLE 26. The basic principle for the economic construction of the People's Republic of China is to develop production and bring about a prosperous economy through the policies of taking into account both public and private interests, of benefitting both labour and capital, of mutual aid between the city and countryside, and circulation of goods between China and abroad. The state shall coordinate and regulate state-owned economy, co-operative economy, the individual economy of peasants and handicraftsmen, private capitalist economy and state capitalist economy, in their spheres of operations, supply of raw materials, marketing, labour conditions, technical equipment, policies of public and general finance, etc. In this way all components of the social economy can, under the leadership of the state-owned economy, carry out division and co-ordination of labour and play their respective parts in promoting the development of the social economy as a whole.
ARTICLE 27. Agrarian reform is the necessary condition for the development of the nation's productive power and for its industrialization. In all areas where agrarian reform has been carried out, the ownership of the land required by the peasants shall be protected. In areas where agrarian reform has not been carried out, the peasant masses must be set in motion to establish peasant organisations and to put into effect the policy of "land to the tiller" through such measures as the elimination of local bandits and despots, the reduction of rent and interest and the distribution of land.
ARTICLE 28. State-owned economy is of a Socialist nature. All enterprises relating to the economic life of the country and exercising a dominant influence over the people's livelihood shall be under the unified operation of the state. All state-owned resources and enterprises are the public property of all the people and are the main material basis on which the People's Republic will develop production and bring about a prosperous economy. They are the leading force of the entire social economy.
ARTICLE 29. Co-operative economy is of a semi-Socialist nature and is an important component of the people's economy as a whole. The People's Government shall foster its development and accord it preferential treatment.
ARTICLE 30. The People's Government shall encourage the active operation of all private economic enterprises beneficial to the national welfare and to the people's livelihood and shall assist in their development.
ARTICLE 31. The economy jointly operated by state and private capital is of a state-capitalist nature. Whenever necessary and possible, private capital shall be encouraged to develop in the direction of state-capitalism, in such ways as processing for state-owned enterprises and exploiting state-owned resources in the form of concessions.
ARTICLE 32. The system of worker's participation in the administration of production shall, for the present period, be established in state-owned enterprises. This means that factory administrative committees shall be set up under the leadership of the factory managers. In privately-owned enterprises, in order to carry out the principle of benefitting both labour and capital, collective contracts shall be signed by the trade union, representing the workers and employees, and the employer. For the present period, an eight to ten-hour day should in general be enforced in publicly and privately operated enterprises, but under special circumstances this matter may be dealt with at discretion. The people's governments shall fix minimum wages according to the conditions prevailing in various localities and trades. Labour insurance shall be gradually established. The special interests of juvenile and women workers shall be safeguarded. Inspection of industries and mines shall be carried out in order to improve their safety devices and sanitary facilities.
ARTICLE 33. The Central People's Government shall strive to draw up, as soon as possible, a general plan for rehabilitating and developing the main departments of the public and private economy of the entire country. It shall also fix the scope of the division and co-ordination of labour between the central and local governments in economic construction, and shall undertake centralized regulation of the inter-relationship between the economic departments of the central and local governments. Under the unified leadership of the Central People's Government, the various economic departments of the central and local governments should give full play to their creativeness and initiative.
ARTICLE 34. Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and animal-husbandry: In all areas where agrarian reform has been thoroughly carried out, the central task of the people's government shall be the organization of the peasants and of all manpower available for allocation to the development of agricultural production and secondary occupations. The People's Government shall also guide the peasants step by step, in the organization of various forms of mutual aid in labour and co-operation in production, according to the principle of willingness and mutual benefit. In newly-liberated areas, every step in agrarian reform shall be linked up with reviving and developing agricultural production.
The People's Government shall, in accordance with the state plan and the requirements of the people's livelihood, strive to restore the output of grain, industrial raw materials and export goods to the pre-war production level and to surpass it within the shortest possible time. Attention shall be paid to construction and repair of irrigation works, to prevention of floods and droughts, to restoration and development of animal husbandry, to increasing the supply of fertilizers, to improvement of farm implements and seeds, to prevention of pest damage and plant diseases, to relief work in the event of natural calamities, and to planned migration for land reclamation.
Forests shall be protected and forestation shall be developed according to plan.
Coastal fisheries shall be protected and the aquatic products industry shall be developed.
Livestock-raising shall be protected and developed, and preventive measures shall be taken against plague.
ARTICLE 35. Industry: In order to lay the foundation for the industrialization of the country, the central point of industrial work shall be the planned, systematic rehabilitation and development of heavy industry, such as mining, the iron and steel industry, power industry, machine-making industry, electrical industry and the main chemical industries, etc. At the same time, the production of the textile industry and other light industries beneficial to the national welfare and to the people's livelihood shall be restored and increased so as to meet the needs of the people's daily consumption.
ARTICLE 36. Communications: Railways and highways shall be swiftly restored and gradually extended. Rivers shall be dredged and water transportation expanded. Postal, telegraphic and telephone services shall be improved and developed. Various communications facilities shall be built up and civil aviation established step by step according to plan.
ARTICLE 37. Commerce: All legitimate public and private trade shall be protected. Control shall be exercised over foreign trade and the policy of protecting trade shall be adopted. Freedom of domestic trade shall be established under a unified economic state plan, but commercial speculation disturbing the market shall be strictly prohibited. State-owned trading organizations shall assume the responsibility of adjusting supply and demand, stabilizing commodity prices and assisting the people's co-operatives. The people's government shall adopt the measures necessary to encourage the people in saving, to facilitate remittances from overseas Chinese, and to channel into industry and other productive enterprises, all socially idle capital and commercial capital which is not beneficial to the national welfare and/or to the people's livelihood.
ARTICLE 38. Co-operatives: The broad masses of working people shall be encouraged and assisted to develop co-operatives according to the principle of willingness. Supply and marketing co-operatives, as well as consumers', credit, producers', and transport co-operatives shall be organized in towns and villages. Consumers' co-operatives shall first be organised in factories, institutions and schools.
ARTICLE 39. Currency and Banking: Financial enterprises shall be strictly controlled by the state. The right of issuing currency belongs to the state. The circulation of foreign currency within the country shall be prohibited. The buying and selling of foreign exchange, foreign currency, gold and silver shall be handled by the state banks. Private financial enterprises operating in accordance with the law shall be subjected to supervision and direction by the state. All who engage in financial speculation and undermine the financial enterprises of the state shall be subjected to severe punishment.
ARTICLE 40. Public finance: A budget and financial statement system shall be instituted. The spheres of financial administration of central and local governments shall be defined. Economizing and frugality shall be enforced. The budget shall be steadily balanced and capital accumulated for the country's production.
The tax policy of the state shall be based on the principle of ensuring supplies for the revolutionary war and taking into account the rehabilitation and development of production and the requirements of national construction. The tax system shall be simplified and equitable distribution of burden effected.

## CHAPTER V. CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY

ARTICLE 41. The culture and education of the People's Republic of China shall be New Democratic — national, scientific and popular. The main tasks of the People's Government in cultural and educational work shall be the raising of the cultural level of the people, the training of personnel for national construction work, the eradicating of feudal, compradore and fascist ideology and the developing of the ideology of service to the people.
ARTICLE 42. Love of the fatherland, love of the people, love of labour, love of science and care of public property shall be promoted as the public spirit of all nationals of the People's Republic of China.
ARTICLE 43. Efforts shall be made to develop the natural sciences in order to serve industrial, agricultural and national defence construction. Scientific discoveries and inventions shall be encouraged and rewarded and scientific knowledge shall be disseminated among the people.
ARTICLE 44. The application of a scientific-historical viewpoint to the study and interpretation of history, economics, politics, culture and international affairs shall be promoted. Outstanding works of social science shall be encouraged and rewarded.
ARTICLE 45. Literature and art shall be promoted to serve the people, to awaken their political consciousness, and to enhance their enthusiasm for labour. Outstanding works of literature and art shall be encouraged and rewarded. The people's drama and cinema shall be developed.
ARTICLE 46. The method of education of the People's Republic of China shall be the unification of theory and practice. The People's Government shall reform the old educational system, subject matter and teaching methods in a planned, systematic manner.
ARTICLE 47. In order to meet the extensive requirements of revolutionary and national construction work, universal education shall be carried out, secondary and higher education shall be strengthened, technical education shall be stressed, the education of workers during their spare time and that of cadres at their posts shall be strengthened, and revolutionary political education shall be accorded to both young and old-type intellectuals. All this is to be done in a planned and systematic manner.
ARTICLE 48. National physical culture shall be promoted. Public health and medical work shall be expanded and attention shall be paid to the protection of the health of mothers, infants and children.
ARTICLE 49. Freedom of reporting truthful news shall be safeguarded. The utilization of the press for slander, for undermining the interests of the state and the people and for provoking world war shall be prohibited. The people's radio and publication work shall be developed. Attention shall be paid to publishing popular books and journals beneficial to the people.

## CHAPTER VI. POLICY TOWARDS NATIONALITIES

ARTICLE 50. All nationalities within the boundaries of the People's Republic of China are equal. They shall establish unity and mutual aid among themselves, and shall oppose imperialism and their own public enemies, so that the People's Republic of China will become a big fraternal and co-operative family composed of all its nationalities. Greater Nationalism and chauvinism shall be opposed. Acts involving discrimination, oppression and splitting of the unity of the various nationalities shall be prohibited.
ARTICLE 51. Regional autonomy shall be exercised in areas where national minorities are concentrated and various kinds of autonomy organizations of the different nationalities shall be set up according to the size of the respective populations and regions. In places where different nationalities live together and in the autonomous areas of the national minorities, the different nationalities shall each have an appropriate number of representatives in the local organs of political power.
ARTICLE 52. All national minorities within the boundaries of the People's Republic of China shall have the right to join the People's Liberation Army and to organize local people's public security forces in accordance with the unified military system of the state.
ARTICLE 53. All national minorities shall have freedom to develop their dialects and languages, to preserve or reform their traditions, customs and religious beliefs. The People's Government shall assist the masses of the people of all national minorities to develop their political, economic, cultural and educational construction work.

## CHAPTER VII. FOREIGN POLICY

ARTICLE 54. The principle of the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China is protection of the independence, freedom, integrity of territory and sovereignty of the country, upholding of lasting international peace and friendly co-operation between the peoples of all countries, and opposition to the imperialist policy of aggression and war.
ARTICLE 55. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China shall examine the treaties and agreements concluded between the Kuomintang and foreign governments, and shall recognize, abrogate, revise or re-negotiate them according to their respective contents.
ARTICLE 56. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China may, on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territory and sovereignty, negotiate with foreign governments which have severed relations with the Kuomintang reactionary clique and which adopt a friendly attitude towards the People's Republic of China, and may establish diplomatic relations with them.
ARTICLE 57. The People's Republic of China may restore and develop commercial relations with foreign governments and peoples on a basis of equality and mutual benefit.
ARTICLE 58. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China shall do its utmost to protect the proper rights and interests of Chinese residing abroad.
ARTICLE 59. The People's Government of the People's Republic of China protects law-abiding foreign nationals in China.
ARTICLE 60. The People's Republic of China shall accord the right of asylum to foreign nationals who seek refuge in China because they have been oppressed by their own governments for supporting the people's interests and taking part in the struggle for peace and democracy.
This work is in the public domain because it is exempted by Article 5 of Chinese copyright law. This exempts all Chinese government and judicial documents, and their official translations, from copyright. It also exempts simple factual information, and calendars, numerical tables, and other forms of general use and formulas.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse