The First National People’s Congress

It was held in Beijing from September 15 to September 28, 1954. The total number of delegates was 1,226 (including 147 female delegates and 177 delegates from ethnic minorities). The Chairman of the Central People's Government, Mao Zedong delivered the opening speech. The Congress heard the "Report on the Draft Constitution of the People's Republic of China" by Liu Shaoqi, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee of the PRC, and the "Report on the Work of the Government" by Zhou Enlai, the Premier of the State Council of the Central People's Government. The “Report on the Work of the Government” proposed: "The fundamental aim of our great people's revolution is to liberate the productive forces of our country from the oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, and eventually, from the shackles of capitalism and the limitations of small-scale production. That will make it possible for the economy to advance rapidly and according to plan along the road to socialism, thus improving the people’s material welfare and cultural life and strengthening the nation’s independence and security." The Congress formulated and promulgated the “Constitution of the People's Republic of China”, the first constitution of the people in the history of China. The Congress also adopted the "Resolution on the Report on the Work of the Government", the "Organic Law of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China", the "Organic Law of the State Council of the People's Republic of China", the "Organic Law of the Courts of the People's Republic of China", the "Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates of the People's Republic of China", the "Organic Law of the People's Congresses and Local People's Committees at Various Levels of the People's Republic of China", and the "Resolution on the Continuance of the Laws and Decrees in Force in the People's Republic of China". The Congress elected Mao Zedong as the Chairman and Zhu De as the Vice President of the People's Republic of China; Liu Shaoqi was elected as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress; Dong Biwu was elected as the President of the Supreme People's Court and Zhang Dingcheng was elected as the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Based on the nomination of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, the Congress decided that Zhou Enlai would be the Premier of the State Council. According to the nomination of Zhou Enlai, it was decided to appoint Chen Yun, Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Deng Xiaoping, Deng Zihui, He Long, Chen Yi, Wulanfu, Li Fuchun and Li Xiannian as the Vice Premier of the State Council.

The convening of the Congress marked the formal establishment of the People's Congress system as the fundamental political system of New China. From the dictatorship of the reactionary rulers to the democracy of the people to the socialist democracy, the democratic system for which the Chinese people had long struggled under the leadership of the CPC had been established on a more solid foundation. This was a great change in China's political system.