Download Governments in SE Asia

Governments in SE Asia
Country
Type of
Government
Who Votes
Role of
Religion
Constitutional
Monarchy
All citizens 20
years old or older
China
Communist Party
All citizens over
the age of 18
India
Democratic
Republic
All citizens over
the age of 18
No direct rule; the Elected
government is
parliament (the
considered secular Diet) and a prime
minister chosen by
the Diet members
Religion is not
National People’s
encouraged by the Congress with
Chinese
leaders chosen by
government
the congress
India is a secular
Elected
(favors no religion) parliament with a
government
prime minister
chosen from the
majority party
Japan
(largest parliamentary
democracy in the world)
Design of
Government
system is one in which the central government holds nearly all of the power.
In a unitary system. Local governments such as state or county systems may have some power at certain
times, but they are basically under the control of the central government. The central government has
the power to change the way state or county governments operate or abolish them altogether. Some
unitary governments have elected officials who, once elected, may make and enforce laws without
taking the opinions of those at lower levels of government into consideration.
A
In a
(area ruled by a king or emperor), the ruler and his advisors make most of the decisions.
This would be an example of a unitary government.
Some of the governments in SE Asia have unitary forms of government. The communist government of
the People’s Republic of China is an example of a unitary government. The PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA is a communist country. It is run as a one party dictatorship. The Chinese Revolution in 1949
brought the commuist to power under the leadership of COMMUNIST PARTY CHAIRMAN MAO TSETUNG. Power was in the hands of Mao and a small committee called the Political Bureau of the
Communist Party. The Chinese government had some control over almost every aspect of Chinese life.
People are put to work according to what the Party sees are the needs of the country. All children are
expected to attend school. This is an improvement for the very poorest of the Chinese people. Property
was taken from wealthy landowners and given to peasants who had no land before the revolution. When
the communists took over the government, rural farmers were organized into communities and told to
farm as the government saw they should. Chinese industries were organized and controlled by the
government as well. There was great suffering in the years following the revolution, and starvation was
widespread during some of the early years as officials tried to organize farming.
TODAY, the Chinese government is still run by the Chinese Communist Party, and the government
controls most aspects of Chinese life. THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS is elected every five
years by a vote of the Chinese people. Few candidates run for office without the approval of the Chinese
Communist Party. There are signs that China is gradually opening itself up to the rest of the world.
Demand of western good and interest in western culture have become a part of China’s daily life. The
Internet has made Chinese people aware of life outside of China. The Beijing Olympics gave the rest of
the world a look at China, including a look at how strong the government control is of most things in the
country.
The government of JAPAN also has unitary system of government. It is a constitutional monarchy (a
monarchy in which the powers of the ruler are restricted to those granted under the constitution or laws
of the nation). The Emperor of Japan is head of state and is a symbol of the country with no political
power. This means that he has ceremonial duties, but he does not take part in the day to day politics of
the country. The power in the Japanese government is in the hands of the Japanese DIET, a two house
legislature that is elected by the Japanese people. NOTE: Prior to WWII Japan was a monarchy. It was
ruled by a hereditary emporer named Hirohito. The people believed him descended from the Sun. He
was thought to be a god; few people in the country had ever seen him. After WWII, the US helped the
Japanese reorganize their government as a constitutional monarchy. In 1947, Japan adopted their first
constitution, creating a two house parliament. This constitution also includes a Bill of Rights. The
emperor of Japan remains in his position, but he has no political power. The constitution also states that
the emperor is no longer to be considered a god.
Unitary government system: People’s Republic of China, Japan, Vietnam
A
is a political system in which power is shared among different
levels of government. The states have some powers that the federal government does not have, such as
the right to collect property taxes and determine sales taxes. The national government also has some
powers that the state does not, such as the right to declare war and make treaties with foreign countries.
In SE Asia, INDIA is a good example of a federal form of government. The Indian National Congress is a
two house legislature made up of representatives elected from all across the country, who are chosen in a
general election in which all citizens 18 years of age or older are eligible to vote. Once the Indian
National Congress is elected, the majority political party then chooses someone to serve as prime
minister.