The 1975 Constitution of the People's Republic of China was a communist state constitution promulgated by the 4th National People's Congress. The offices of chairman and vice chairman were officially abolished under the constitution after almost seven years of functional non-existence since the purge of Liu Shaoqi.

History

After the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Liu Shaoqi, the state chairman appointed by the terms of the constitution, was imprisoned. After Liu Shaoqi was dismissed in 1968, the position of state chairman became vacant, and the original constitutional system fell to the wayside. In 1970, Mao Zedong proposed to abolish the position of state chairman, which was opposed by many leaders of the CCP, leaving the constitutional amendment deadlocked. In 1971, after the Lin Biao incident, the abolition of the state chairman became a foregone conclusion, and the work of constitutional amendment made some progress. On 17 January 1975, at the first session of the 4th National People's Congress, the second constitution was formally adopted, which abolished the positions of state chairman and vice chairman.

References

  • The Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1975)
  • The Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1975)