The Bylaws of the Association of Chinese Political Studies (USA)

The Bylaws of the Association of Chinese Political Studies were approvedby the vote of members on June 11, 2004 with amendments most recentlyapproved by members present at the general membership businessmeeting on September 21, 2012.

I.Mission:

The Association of Chinese Political Studies (ACPS) is a non-profit,non-political organization for scholarly and professional activities.It is registered as such in the State of Kansas, United States. Themission of ACPS is to promote Chinese political studies among theacademic communities in the United States and the rest of the world.The ACPS is affiliated with the American Political ScienceAssociation and the International Studies Association.

II.Main Activities:

The ACPS holds annual meetings in which the participants present theresults of their scholarly research on Chinese politics and society.It also sponsors panels for the annual meetings of the AmericanPolitical Science Association and international conferences withpartner institutions. The ACPS publishes scholarly books,newsletters, and a refereed academic journal called the Journal ofChinese Political Science. It also collaborates with other academicorganizations to sponsor a variety of scholarly activities.

III.Organization:

Boardof Directors: The Board of Directors is the decision making body of theorganization. It consists of seven members, including the presidentwho is also the chair of the board, the president-elect, thetreasurer, and four other directors. Besides performing theirspecific duties, the directors also advise the president in his/hermanagement of the organization and interpret the Bylaws of ACPS. Thedirectors are all volunteers and shall receive no financialcompensation for their services.

Those members present at an ACPS annual meeting elect the directors througha single majority vote. Any regular member of the ACPS can nominatean individual as a candidate for director. Self-nominations are alsoacceptable. The directors can be reelected. Any board director may bedismissed by 2/3 votes of participants at the next annual meeting.

President: The president serves a non-consecutive two-year term. The presidentis responsible for the general well-being of ACPS and supervises theroutine operations of the organization, including fund raising. Oneof the major responsibilities of the president is to organize theACPS annual meeting as well as other conferences and workshops.

President-Elect: The president-elect shall assist the president in managing theoperation of the ACPS The president-elect automatically becomes thepresident at the end of the current president’s term or in theevent that the president resigns before the end of his/her tenure. Inthe event that the president-elect resigns, the president can callfor an election at the next annual meeting.

Treasurer: The treasurer is appointed by the president among the Board ofDirectors with the approval of the board. The treasurer helps thepresident in his/her handling of ACPS financial matters. Thetreasurer is required to report the financial situation of theorganization to participants at the annual meetings or to the Boardof Directors upon request.

Journalof Chinese Political Science: The Board of Directors shall appoint during the annual meeting of theAssociation, the editor of the Journal of Chinese Political Science(JCPS) for a renewable 4-year term. The Board of Directors candismiss the editors for gross misconduct or incompetence with a 2/3rdvote of the entire board. If a vacancy occurs during the editor'sterm, the associate editor shall become the editor, and a newassociate editor shall be appointed. Under no circumstances shall theJCPS become independent of the ACPS.

Newsletter: The President shall appoint an editor who will periodically publish aNewsletter to convey ACPS news and membership information.

IV.Membership:

Regular: Any scholars and students of Chinese politics regardless of sex,religion, ethnicity, color, or sexual orientation are eligible forACPS membership. Regular members pay annual dues as determined by theBoard of Directors. Privileges for regular members includecomplimentary access to the electronic version of Journal of ChinesePolitical Science and possible support to attend ACPS meetings. Onlyregular members have the right to vote and to run for positions inthe ACPS governing body. A regular member has the right to ask for afinancial report and the explanation of ACPS expenses.

Institutional: Any academic institution with a focus on Chinese political studiescan become an institutional member subject to the approval of theBoard of Directors

IV.Amendment:

Amendmentsof the bylaws can be proposed by regular members and must be approvedby 2/3 votes of regular members present at the ACPS annual meetings.