76 ); the 1978 constitution is a text of the transitional period from Mao Zedong to
Deng Xiaoping’s paramountcy, which was a hybrid of its 1954 and 1975 precedents;
the 1982 constitution, contemporarily valid, launched the historic ‘reform and
opening’ era, and it is the basic law of China’s new market economy and innovative
political reform during the last thirty years.
The 1982 constitution has been amended four times – in 1988 , 1993 , 1999 and
- The 2004 constitutional change was much more crucial and far-reaching
than its predecessors. In the fourteen constitutional amendments approved
on 14 March 2004 by the tenth National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s
parliament, at its second session, a broad range of political, economic and social
issues were addressed. Several significant 2004 constitutional amendments are
listed below.
In the eighteenth constitutional amendment to the 1982 constitution of the PRC,
the new ideological discourse of ‘the important thought of “Three Represents”’ was
added. This provision and the nineteenth constitutional amendment, which
has incorporated ‘all builders of socialism’ into China’s leadership, cofounded
the 2000 s market-conducive policies of the Chinese authorities.
Against this background, it is no surprise that the twentieth, twenty-first and
twenty-second constitutional amendments all relate to the enhancement of
protecting private property. The twentieth amendment requires the state to
‘make compensation for the land expropriated or requisitioned’, regardless of
whether the state’s action is ‘in the public interest and in accordance with the
provisions of law’.^2 The twenty-first announces: ‘The State encourages, supports and
guides the development of the non-public sectors of the economy’.^3 The twenty-
second adds a provision that ‘citizens’ lawful private property is inviolable’.^4
The thirty-third constitutional amendment declares: ‘The State respects and
preserves human rights’.^5
The constitutional amendments also replace ‘imposition of martial law’ with
‘entering the state of emergency’.^6
The twenty-eighth constitutional amendment reads: ‘The President of the
People’s Republic of China, on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, engages
in activities involving State affairs and receives foreign diplomatic representatives’.
What is added is the phrase ‘engages in activities involving State affairs’.^7
The thirtieth constitutional amendment changed the term of local people’s
congresses.
8
(^2) The Twentieth Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.
(^3) The Twenty-First Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.
(^4) The Twenty-Second Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.
(^5) The Thirty-Third Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.
(^6) The twenty-sixth and the twenty-ninth Constitutional Amendments to the 1982 Constitution.
(^7) The Twenty-Eighth Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.
(^8) The Thirtieth Constitutional Amendment to the 1982 Constitution.