Politburo: People's Republic of China
Specialized Agency Background Guide

Positions and Roles of Selected Members of the Politburo and Subsidiary Organizations

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing: For the purposes of this specialized agency, the chair will act as the premier; however the premier will take no active part in the discussion, only monitoring it, and forcing parliamentary procedure. 

Minister of Health (and Vice-Premier): The Minister of Health is in charge of the Healthcare system of the country. 

Minister of National Defense (and State Councilor) Cao Gangchuan: The minister of National Defense will be in charge of the entire military of China; however major action cannot be taken without the consent of the Politburo. 

Minister of Public Security (and State Councilor) Zhou Yongkang: The minister of Public Security is in charge of the internal secret police, and supervises any internal issues, which require force to be resolved. 

Minister of State Security Xu Yongyue: The minister of State Security is the chief foreign intelligence officer  of the Chinese Politburo. 

Minister of the State Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense Zhang Yunchaun: This member is effectively the Politburo’s specialist in the use of chemical, biological, and chemical weapons, and advises the body on matters pertaining to these topics, and other matters relating to his title. 

Minister of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission Li Dek Su: This member is charged with maintaining the rights of ethnic minorities.  For the purposes of this simulation he is also the "party theologian”.  (See Joost or Mr. Rezelman for more explanation of him as the "theologian." 

All participants need to know their roles and responsibilities in the Chinese Politburo.  In addition, they should find out as much biographical information about their particular person as possible. 

Topic: Taiwan

In 1911, a revolution rocked China; it destroyed the millennia-old tradition of Chinese rule under an emperor.  Warlords seized power and struggled for the holdings of others.  Eventually by the early 1930’s two groups, the Nationalists and the Communists, had emerged.  By the time of World War II, they were the only two contenders for control of the country with the Nationalists holding a superior advantage.  The Communist movement was saved by the invasion of the Japanese.  The two sides united against the common enemy, using guerrilla tactics to deter the ever-pressing invaders.  As the Japanese retreated, both sides surged to claim the weapon deposits left by the Japanese.  Once again the battles went to the Nationalists who secured all but the northern reaches of the country.  They went so far as to set up the government and write a constitution.  However the Communists counterattacked in late 1948, and by 1949 had driven the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi), to the shore.  The Nationalists fled to Taiwan, and due to the Communists lack of a navy, they were not followed. 

Chiang Kai-Shek set up a government in Taiwan, which he ruled through martial law, which would last for over forty years.  Taiwan was recognized as the true government of China, and thus it was allowed in the UN and not the PRC.  Later the Taiwanese seat was returned to its rightful owner, the PRC.  However despite the dictatorial tendencies of its ruler, the West accepted the country and eventually recognized it due to its status as a rogue province of a communist state.  Foreign investments poured in, and the nation grew economically.  In an attempt to quell the Chinese fears of Western liberation of Taiwan from the oppressive communist regime, Nixon assured the Politburo that it was not America’s intention to aid Taiwanese independence.  Eventually foreign influence became so great, and the oppressed lower class became more aware of its position, and open democratic elections were held in 1992.  However, the first presidential elections were not held for another four years.  More recently, the newly elected president, who ran on a pro-independence movement, was shot. 

The election of a pro-independence president brings forth again the question of The People's Republic of China’s response to such an action. 

Topic: North Korea

China’s modern relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) can be traced to the Korean War.  In 1950 the Americans deployed troops in Korea and attacked the communist forces.  China responded “partly in support of another Communist state, partly out of concern for its own borders, but most of all due to the mistrust of Western powers, particularly the United States, resulting from Western domination of China” (The Dragon Strikes: China and the Korean War).  Although supplied with aid, North Korea remained distrustful of the Chinese.  However the Chinese continued to supply North Korea with aid and technology. 

Lately, China and several other major nations, the US, Russia, and Japan, as well as the two Korea, have held talks to promote peace and stability in the region, hopefully leading to the peaceful dismantling of the North Korean weapons program.  Another point at which only these tow countries remain at odds, is the North Korean claim that the Chinese are unfairly treating Korean refuges in China, while China denies that it holds any such persons. 

What should China’s stance in the peace talks be?  What should the official Chinese relation with North Korea be? 

Topic: Health Care

Healthcare has never been a priority of the Chinese leadership.  In fact, the Chinese system is such that it works not towards the betterment of the individual, instead towards the improvement of the nation.  Its healthcare system is such that only those who can afford the treatment will receive it.  The following statements prove this assertion; “Farmers, for example, only receive 15.9% for healthcare expenses from the government even though they comprise 80% of the population. The government spends approximately $130 for citizens living in cities, while farmers only receive $10.70” (China's healthcare is one of the lowest in the world).  Furthermore, not enough doctors practice their art to provide for the population.  Recently, the SARS outbreak has shown the inability for the Chinese healthcare system to deal with any sort of epidemic.  China’s healthcare system ranks below even the country of Iraq, and rests in the bottom quarter in terms of World Rankings according to the WHO.  Analysts point to a lack of funding as the primary deterrent on any sort of change. 

Should China reform the infrastructure of their healthcare system?  Is China ready to deal with another epidemic?  If more funding is needed, where should it come from? 

Topic: Communist Theory

“Workers of the World Unite”: the slogan was shouted for years by those leading revolutions under the banner of Marx’s ideas.  The vision of Marx saw a world in which all men were equal, where each person put in an equal share of labor, and each reaped an equal share of the toil of all; a world in which money was irrelevant.  However, this vision was slightly utopian, and so when Lenin put it to use, a few changes were made.  Mao, the first Chairman of the Chinese Politburo, adapted Lenin’s ideas but it still lay relatively close to the original ideologue.  However, the people grew lazy, for they saw not that from their sweat and toil a great nation would be built, instead a manner in which to receive free food.  Mao first used the concept of the Great Leap Forward, in an effort to increase the agricultural and industrial production of China simultaneously; however, without enough incentives the movement failed.  In order to counteract this atrocity, Mao rewarded those who worked hard with a small plot of land, and allowed mom and pop businesses to flourish.  This flourishing eventually led to the Special Trade Zones, in which capitalism was allowed to function however it wished. 

Looking at China today, it is a nation headed towards capitalism, though it claims to be communist.  It reaps in foreign investments to build its commerce run not by the state but individual entrepreneurs.  Despite the enormous economic benefits of such actions, has it undermined our power and authority as a communist state?  Has it made us a slave to the western markets?  Or is this the next step in the evolution of communism?