The Central Advisory Commission (CAC) was a body of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) that existed during the era of the

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

ship of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the CCP Central Committee; however, as the CAC was a select group of senior CCP leadership, it was often seen as having more authority unofficially than that body.

History

The commission was established after the

12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was convened from September 1–11, 1982. The path of modernization through socialism was laid out. 1,600 delegates and 160 alternate delegates represented the party's 39.65 million members. ...

in 1982, and abolished in 1992. Its chairmen were Deng Xiaoping (1982–1987) and

Chen Yun Chen Yun (13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a statesman of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. He was one of the most prominent leaders during the periods when China was governed by Mao Zedong and later by Deng Xia ...

(1987–1992). Its membership was offered only to members of the Central Committee with forty years or more of service which made it an important forum for the

Eight Elders The Eight Great Eminent Officials (), abbreviated as the Eight Elders (), were a group of elderly members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who held substantial power in the last two decades of the 20th century. In the English-speaking world, ...

to remain formally involved in politics. Directors and deputy directors were required to have first served in the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...

. Despite being supposedly advisory its power surpassed that of the Politburo Standing Committee and was nicknamed the "Sitting Committee" on account of the advanced age of its members.

Commentary

According to Yasheng Huang, the CAC served as a restraint on the leadership at the time by the Eight Elders and was, as an institution, "best positioned to check and balance a future dictator." Huang stated that its abolition paved the way for the rise of

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

.{{Rp, page=142

References

1982 establishments in China 1992 disestablishments in China History of the Chinese Communist Party Organization of the Chinese Communist Party Organizations disestablished in 1992 Organizations established in 1982 Political history of China

History

Commentary

See also

References