Central Advisory Commission (simplified Chinese: 中央顾问委员会; traditional Chinese: 中央顧問委員會; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Gùwèn Wěiyuánhuì) (CAC) was a body of the Communist Party of China that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party's Central Committee; however, as the CAC was a select group of senior Party members, it was often seen as having more authority unofficially than that body.
History
The Commission was established after the Twelfth People's Political Consultative Conference in 1982, and abolished in 1992. Its chairmen were Deng Xiaoping (1982–1987) and Chen Yun (1987–1992). Its membership was offered only to party members with forty years or more of service which made it almost synonymous with the Eight Elders. 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.