ABSTRACT
Conflict in the arena of political participation has centered around the degree to which China's political institutions should be autonomous from Party control, and the role that groups should play in the political process. Although post-Mao China has witnessed a general retreat by the Chinese Communist Party in the affairs of the government and the economy, the Party's new role has remained both ambiguous and controversial. Senior Party leaders have for the most part ended the practice of cadres simultaneously holding both government and Party posts, and have proscribed Party secretaries from interfering in the day-to-day running of government institutions and economic enterprises. The duties of Party secretaries in the new regime, however, have remained unclear. In addition, conflict has continued to surround elite-level attempts to institutionalize channels of participation. Should the Party be able to predetermine the results of elections? To what extent should the press be permitted to criticize Party officials?
