Central Advisory Commission

History

The commission was established after the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1982, and abolished in 1992. Its chairmen were Deng Xiaoping (1982–1987) and Chen Yun (1987–1992). Its membership was offered only to members of the Central Committee with forty years or more of service which made it an important forum for the Eight Elders to remain formally involved in politics. Directors and deputy directors were required to have first served in the Politburo or Politburo Standing Committee. Despite being supposedly advisory its power surpassed that of the Politburo Standing Committee and was nicknamed the "Sitting Committee" on account of the advanced age of its members.

Commentary

According to Yasheng Huang, the CAC served as a restraint on the leadership at the time by the Eight Elders and was, as an institution, "best positioned to check and balance a future dictator." Huang stated that its abolition paved the way for the rise of current CCP general secretary Xi Jinping.

References

References

1. "中央顧問委員會：特定歷史時期的獨特選擇". People's Network.
2. "中顾委第四次全会(1985年9月14日)". People's Network.
3. Hirata, Koji. (2024). "Making Mao's Steelworks: Industrial Manchuria and the Transnational Origins of Chinese Socialism". [[Cambridge University Press]].
4. Huang, Yasheng. (2023-08-29). "The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline". [[Yale University Press]].