CO129-619-1 Parliamentary delegation to China 1-9-1947 - 23-12-1947 — Page 99

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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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