Minority Suffrage Research

China is a multinational country with overwhelming majority of Han and55ethnic minority groups. Due to the limited number of minority population, it is necessary to make special systems in the democratic decision-making process characterized by majority voting in the national affairs so as to guarantee that the ethnic minority representatives can participate in the democratic decision-making system and that they can realize their various democratic rights. As we all know, carrying out the democratic system is the symbol of development and advancement of human society and the basic meaning of democracy is that the fundamental power belongs to people. Respecting individual value and esteem is the foundation of democratic theory. Everyone should by respected by the society and national power in that they are endowed with the right of autonomy of high degree and participate in the social administration. However, in the modern society, it is not necessary for everyone to participate in administration directly, so they must confer their right on the freely-elected delegates through whom the national affairs are made in the principle of majority voting and managed by law. But in this system some people are always at an unfavorable position and may be excluded, so in order to realize real social equity and justice, constitution should not only set the substantive boundary of protecting the minorities, but also champion that every ethnic minority member has the chance to participate and influence the politics. In our country, how to make sure every ethnic minority group can choose their representative and realize their participation in the national affairs is an very important problem.The period between1949and1954is the establishment of every system of New China. During this period, CCP pays special attention to the right to participate in public affairs for ethnic minority groups in leading people to set up the basic political systems of China and explores and practice based on the historical experience, which deserve us to conclude the favorable historical experiences. To study the establishment and exercise of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs in the beginning of the founding of the nation is good to learn the development process of the ethnic minorites' system to participate in public affairs in New China, to understand the important role of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs played in defending the fundamental interests of the country and minorities and to realize how we should perfect the safeguard mechanism of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs now.Opened in September1949, the First Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is a meeting of establishing New China. In this meeting,"Common Program of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference" is a constitution file and new CPPCC national committee is the beginning of the annual meeting of the system. The First Session of the National People's Congress in1954symbolized the establishment of the fundamental political system and in this meeting,"Constitution of the People's Republic of China" was passed and The first session of the National People's Congress and its standing committee was the highest organ of state power, which exercises power standing for people. At the same time, there is a change in the Second Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the respects of nature, power and composition. These three meetings played very important roles in Constitutional History of New China. Take the three conferences for example, the dissertation studied and analyzed the relevant laws and system prescribing and exercising the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs, the representatives' generating process, activities for participating the meeting and basic information. The dissertation can be divided into the following parts.The first part is the introduction. This part illustrated the object of study, the meaning of study, the method of the study and the expected goals.The second part is about the basic theory of the ethnic minorites'right to participate in public affairs. It illustrated two concepts of "the right to participate in public affairs" and "the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs", and stated the great significance of the safeguard of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs. In the beginning of new China, the main ways for the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs included the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), the National People's Congress(NPC) and the regional autonomy of minority nationalities. And the dissertation referred to the establishment and exercise status of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs in the systems of CPPCC and NPC.The third part is about the establishment of the ethnic minorites' right to participate in public affairs. From1921to1949, CCP took every measures to establish and protect the ethnic minority's right to participate in the national affairs and gathered colorful theoretical and practical experience. The two meetings symbolized the official establishment of the ethnic minority's right to participate in political life in the national region, which is of significance. One is the First Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is the Founding conference in the history of New China. Under the historical circumstance of the day, the elective way of the ethnic minority commission member was special in that they were not elected in the normal process, but chosen in the form of consultation and election under the leadership of CPC. The other is the First Session of the National People's Congress. The ethnic minorities' right to participate in public affairs was prescribed in the First Session of the National People's Congress, largely different from that in the First Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In the First Session of the National People's Congress, the ethnic minorities' right to participate in public affairs had already protected and directed by the law, regulations and documents. The way for the ethnic minority who exercising the right to participate in public affairs participating in the First Session of the National People's Congress was election. However, on account of the special situation in some minority areas, the ways to participation were different.The fourth part discussed the ethnic minority representatives' and committee members' activities of participating in the administration and discussion of state affairs in the First Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the First Session of the National People's Congress. This part studied and analyzed the composition and activities of participating in the administration and discussion of state affairs.The fifth part discussed the composition of the ethnic minority members in the Second Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the change of the way ethnic minorities participating in public affairs. There is a big difference between the first Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Second Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in function. At the same time, the election ways of the ethnic minority commission members in the two CPPCC meetings were different as well. The second CPPCC meeting had the new feature.The sixth part commented comprehensively on the ethnic minorities' activities of participating in the administration and discussion of state affairs in New China period. First of all, through the history, we can see the way of prescribing and exercising the ethnic minorities' right to participate in the public affairs in the CPC and CPPCC in the beginning of New China, was inheritance, development and innovation of the experience of the ethnic minority participating the representative organs in the late Qing period; furthermore, in the beginning of New China, the exercise of the ethnic minorities' right to participate in the public affairs is of great importance to safeguard national unity, realize national unity, establish new China and the system of regional national autonomy; finally, owing to the historical limitation, the ethnic minorities' right to participate in the public affairs existed deficiencies in terms of the degree of institutionalization, the universality of the representatives and the direction and support of the relevant theory.The conclusion part emphasized that protecting the ethnic minorities'right to participate in the public affairs is of great significance and we should reinforce the study of this topic, especially, we should combine the research methods of law, ethnology and history, broaden the research angle and enrich the contents of the history of Chinese culture and political system in order to serve the construction of socialist political civilization.