1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China

The 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China was promulgated by the 1st National People's Congress meeting in Beijing on September 20, 1954, apparently unanimously in favour.

The 1954 Constitution bears striking similarity with the current (1982) constitution. It included the Presidency, the NPC, the State Council, the courts and the procurates, and defined national identities such as the national flag, emblem and the capital.

In the 1954 Constitution, the President of the People's Republic of China (PRC) could convene Supreme National Meetings -- emergency meetings. This Presidential right was never seen again in later promulgations of the Chinese constitution.

On the eve of the Cultural Revolution, Liu Shaoqi, then the PRC President, fell victim to the Constitution itself. Although constitutionally Liu could not be removed, the force of the dawning Cultural Revolution was too great, and Liu had to leave the Presidency behind.

The 1954 Constitution was replaced in the midst of the Cultural Revolution by the 1975 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Books published in the PRC regarded the 1975 and 1978 promulgations of the Constitutions as ones with "serious errors".