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13. With these powers are also included certain
democratic controls which Dr. Sun Yat-sen borrowed from
the West and the United States. These are the rights
of election, initiative, referendum and recall. By
mans of initiative a process apparently borrowed from the Swiss Constitution, a given number of voters may,
on petition, require the legislature to frame a
statute of a cortain kind and submit it to popular
vote, or
a certain number of voters may draw up a law in detail and demand a vote upon it. By referendum, again borrowed from the Swiss, is meant the power by
which a proposed law or constitutional amendment is
submitted to popular voto and becomes law if ratificd
by the required majority. By recall is meant the with-
drawal of a Deputy by his constituents if these are
dissatisfied with him.
14. Apart from the factors mentioned above, the
most prominent features in the new Constitution are:
1) the equality of all persons and racial groups (Chapter I); (2) the guarantee of personal liberties
and rights before the law (Chapter II); (3) the establishment of local self-government (Chapter X); and (4) the establishment of universal suffrage
(Chapter XII). A point which has also evoked interest
is that respect for the Charter of the United Nations
is laid down as forming a basis of China's foreign
policy (article 141).
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