The Discourse of Political Constitutionalism in Contemporary China: Gao Quanxi’s Studies on China’s Political Constitution

The discourse on “political constitutionalism” that emerged in China several years ago is of considerable scholarly value and is likely to have an impact on the development of Chinese constitutional thought over the longer term. This article discusses the discourse on political constitutionalism in contemporary China by introducing and commenting on the scholarship of Professor Gao Quanxi, the leading theorist of political constitutionalism in China today. The article begins by providing readers with some basic history about modern Chinese constitutionalism and the constitutional systems that are in force in mainland China (the People’s Republic of China) and Taiwan (the Republic of China) today. The article then describes the main features of Gao Quanxi’s studies on political constitutionalism. The article concludes by reflecting and commenting on Gao’s scholarship