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The People's Republic of China (PRC) is formally a multi-party state under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in a United Front similar to the popular fronts of former Communist-era Eastern European countries such as the National Front of Democratic Germany.
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Under the one country, two systems scheme, the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which were previously colonies of European powers, operate under a different political system to the rest of the PRC. Currently, both Hong Kong and Macau possess multi-party systems.
Relationships with the Communist Party
In practice, only one political party, the CPC, holds effective power at the national level. Its dominance is such that China is effectively a one-party state. Eight minor parties also participate in the political system. However, they have limited power on a national level and are almost completely subservient to the CPC; they must accept the "leading role" of the CPC as a condition of being allowed to exist. The PRC political system allows for the participation of some non-communist party members and minor parties in the National People's Congress (NPC), but they are vetted by the CPC.
Although opposition parties are not formally banned in mainland China (the PRC), the CPC maintains control over the political system in several ways.
Firstly, only the people's congresses up to the county level are subject to direct popular vote. Above the county level, one people's congress appoints the members of the next higher congress. This means that although independent members can theoretically, and occasionally in practice, get elected to the lowest level of congress, it is impossible for them to organize to the point where they can elect members to the next higher people's congress without the approval of the CPC or to exercise oversight over executive positions at the lowest level in the hierarchy. This lack of effective power also discourages outsiders from contesting the people's congress elections even at the lowest level.
Second, although PRC law has no formal provision for banning a non-religious organization, it also has no provision which would give non-CPC political parties any corporate status. This means that a hypothetical opposition party would have no legal means to collect funds or own property in the name of the party. More importantly, PRC law also has a wide range of offenses which can and have been used against the leaders of efforts to form an opposition party such as the China Democracy Party and against members of organizations that the CPC sees as threatening its power. These include the crimes of subversion, sedition, and releasing state secrets. Moreover, the control that the Party has over the legislative and judicial processes means that the Party can author legislation that targets a particular group.
Thirdly, Article 1 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China defines socialism as "the basic system" of the country, and explicitly forbids "sabotage of the socialist system by any individual or organization."
Suppressed parties
The following parties have been and are actively suppressed in the People's Republic of China. Due to censorship and suppression, they most likely have their headquarters outside the Chinese mainland.