Peng Lu
Abstract: Choosing individual private entrepreneurs to be members of the People’s Congress (PC) or the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is one of the most important mechanisms for “cooperative capitalism” in China. This paper aims to answer: First, what are the differences between factors for winning a seat at the PC and a seat at the CPPCC, respectively? Second, is there any difference between factors that have a significant impact on winning a seat in the county-township level and the prefecture-and-above level of the PC or CPPCC? Based on empirical findings, I have coined the term “wealthy-gentry politics” to conceptualize the fact that behaving as a member of the socially responsible “gentry” is playing an increasingly significant role in the higher level and in the PC compared to the lower level and the CPPCC, while economic wealth is just a threshold and party membership is not a guarantee.
Keyword: wealthy-gentry politics; private entrepreneurs; Chinese Parliament; political participation
Citation info:
Lu, Peng. 2014, “Wealthy-Gentry Politics: How are Capitalists in China Chosen for the “Houses”?”, Australian Journal of Political Sciences, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 157-173
Download Link: AJPS Wealthy gentry politics_Peng Lu
