Share Africa's rich heritage and cultures expressed through music, song, dance, and movement and

win great prizes!

Find out more

Kung fu (term)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is specifically about the term "kung fu". For the martial arts commonly known as "kung
fu" or "wushu", see Chinese martial arts. For other uses, see Kung fu (disambiguation).
Kung fu
Chinese

[show]Transcriptions

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see
question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
Part of a series on
Chinese martial arts (Wushu)

Styles of Chinese martial arts

List of Chinese martial arts

Terms[show]
Wushu in the world
Historical locations[show]

Wushu athletes/practitioners
Legendary figures[show]
Historical individuals[show]
Modern celebrities[show]
Wushu influence
Related[show]

Kung fu/Kungfu or Gung fu/Gongfu ( i/kfu/ or /kfu/; , Pinyin: gngfu) is a

Chinese term referring to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to
complete. In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard
work and practice, not necessarily martial arts. The Chinese literal equivalent of "Chinese martial
art" would be zhnggu wsh.[1]
It is only in the late twentieth century, that this term was used in relation to Chinese martial arts by
the Chinese community.[2] In the Western popular culture, the term "Kung fu" is often erroneously
used as an umbrella term when specifically referring to Chinese martial arts.[3] The Oxford English
Dictionary defines the term "kung-fu" as "a primarily unarmed Chinese martial art resembling
karate."[4] This illustrates how the meaning of this term has been changed in English. The origin of
this change can be attributed to the misunderstanding or mistranslation of the term through movie
subtitles or dubbing.[2]

Etymology
In Chinese, gngfu () is a compound of two words, combining (gng) meaning "work",
"achievement", or "merit", and (f) which is alternately treated as being a word for "man" or as a
particle or nominal suffix with diverse meanings (the same character is used to write both). A literal
rendering of the first interpretation would be "achievement of man", while the second is often
described as "work and time/effort". Its connotation is that of an accomplishment arrived at by great
effort of time and energy. In Mandarin, when two "first tone" words such as gng and f are
combined, the second word often takes a neutral tone, in this case forming gngfu. The word is also
sometimes written as , this version often being used for more general, non-martial arts usages
of the term.[5]
Originally, practicing Kung Fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts.[6] Instead, it
referred to the process of one's training - the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning
and the perfection of one's skills - rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence
achieved through long practice in any endeavor.[5] This meaning can be traced to classical writings,
especially those of Neo-Confucianism, which emphasize the importance of effort in education.[7]
In the colloquial, one can say that a person's kung fu is good in cooking, or that someone has kung
fu in calligraphy; saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which
they have worked hard to develop. The colloquial use of the term has thus returned to the original
literal meaning. Someone with "bad kung fu" simply has not put enough time and effort into
training, or seems to lack the motivation to do so. Kung fu is also a name used for the elaborate
Fujian tea ceremony (kung fu cha).

However, the phrase (kung fu wu shu) does exist in Chinese and could be (loosely)
translated as 'the skills of the martial arts'.

See also
Neigong
Qigong
Chinese philosophy

References
1.
"Dictionary". Dictionary.com. 2010-03-10.
Lorge, Peter (2012). Chinese Martial Arts From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521878814.
Yang, Jwing-Ming. (1989). The root of Chinese Chi kung: the secrets of Chi kung training.
Yang's Martial Arts Association. ISBN 0-940871-07-6.
"Dictionary". Oxford Dictionaries Online. 2011-02-26.
"Kung-fu (Gongfu) Tea", July 20, 2011
article on kung fu

7. Angle, Stephen (2009). Sagehood: the contemporary significance of neo-Confucian

philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-19-538514-4.
[show]

Chinese martial arts

Categories:
Chinese martial arts terminology
Chinese martial arts
Cantonese words and phrases

1. Navigation menu
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions

 Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item

 Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

In other projects
Wikimedia Commons

Languages


Asturianu
Azrbaycanca

Catal
etina
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Espaol
Esperanto
Euskara

Franais
Frysk
Galego

Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia

Lietuvi
Magyar

 Malti
Bahasa Melayu

Nederlands

Norsk bokml
Norsk nynorsk
Piemontis
Polski

Shqip
Simple English
Slovenina
Slovenina
Soomaaliga
/ srpski
Basa Sunda
Suomi
Svenska

Trke

Ting Vit

Edit links
This page was last modified on 6 December 2016, at 06:14.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional
terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view

Politics of Tunisia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to article) may be compromised
due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly
available information. (March 2012)
Tunisia

This article is part of a series on the

politics and government of
Tunisia
Constitution[show]
Executive[show]
Legislature[show]
Judiciary[show]
Elections[show]
Administrative divisions[show]
Foreign relations
Other countries
Atlas

Tunisian Chamber of Deputies.

The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential
representative democratic republic,[1] with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as
head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law.
Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto one-party state, with politics dominated by
the secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former Presidents Habib Bourgiba and
then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. However, in 2011 a national uprising led to the ousting of the
President and the dismantling of the RCD, paving the way for a multi-party democracy. October
2014 saw the first democratic parliamentary elections since the 2011 revolution, resulting in a win
by the secularist Nidaa Tounes party with 85 seats in the 217-member assembly.[2]
Tunisia is a member of the Arab League, the African Union and the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation. It maintains close relations with the United States, France and the European Union,
with which it entered an Association Agreement in 1995.[3] Tunisias favorable relations with the
United States and the European Union were earned following years of successful economic
cooperation in the private sector and infrastructure modernization.[4]

Contents
1 Structure of government
1.1 Executive branch
1.2 Legislative branch
1.3 Judicial branch
2 Political parties and elections
2.1 2009 national elections
2.2 2011 Constituent Assembly election
2.3 2014 parliamentary elections
3 Politics and society
3.1 Women's equality
3.2 Revolution
3.2.1 Ben Ali regime
3.2.2 20102011 revolution
3.3 Media
4 Administrative divisions

5 International organization participation

6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Structure of government
Tunisia is a representative democracy with an executive president, a legislature and judiciary. The
military is neutral and does not play any role in national politics.

Executive branch
See also: Cabinet of Tunisia
In Tunisia, the President is elected for five-year terms. He appoints a Prime Minister and cabinet,
who play a strong role in the execution of policy. Regional governors and local administrators also
are appointed by the central government. Mayors and municipal councils are elected.

Legislative branch
Tunisia's legislative branch consists of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, with 217
seats. The first elections for the Assembly of the Representative of the People occurred on 26
October 2014.
Before 2011 revolution the parliament was bicameral. The lower house of the bicameral Parliament
was the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia (Majlis al-Nuwaab), which had 214 seats. Members were
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. At least 25% of the seats in the House of Deputies
were reserved for the opposition. More than 27% of the members of the Chamber of Deputies were
women. The Lower House played a growing role as an arena for debate on national policy
especially as it hosted representatives from six opposition parties. Opposition members often voted
against bills or abstain. Because of the comfortable majority enjoyed by the governing party, bills
usually passed with only minor changes.[5]
The upper house was the Chamber of Advisors, which included 112 members including
representatives of governorates (provinces), professional organizations and national figures. 41
members were appointed by the Head of state while the remainder were elected by their peers.
About 15% of the members of the Chamber of advisors were women.[6]

Judicial branch
The Tunisian legal system is based on French civil law system and Islamic law[1]; some judicial
review of legislative acts takes place in the Supreme Court in joint session. The judiciary is
independent, although the judicial council is chaired by the head of state.

Political parties and elections

For other political parties, see List of political parties in Tunisia. An overview on elections and
election results is included in Elections in Tunisia.

Since 1987 Tunisia has reformed its political system several times, abolishing life-term presidencies
and opening up the parliament to opposition parties. The number of new political parties and
associations has increased since the beginning of Ben Ali's presidency in 1987. Shortly before the
revolution of 2011 there were eight recognized national parties, six of which held national
legislative seats. President Ben Ali's party, known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD),
commanded majorities in local, regional, and national elections. Although the party was renamed
(in President Bourguibas days it was the Socialist Destourian Party), its policies were still
considered to be largely secular and conservative. However, the Tunisian Revolution in 2011 saw its
removal from power.

2009 national elections

Main article: Tunisian general election, 2009
The Tunisian national elections of 2009, overseen by the Interior Ministry and held on October 25,
2009, elected candidates for president and legislative offices. During the campaign, speeches by
candidates were aired on Tunisian radio and television stations.[7] Participation was 89% of
resident citizens and 90% of citizens living abroad. In the presidential vote, Ben Ali soundly
defeated his challengers, Mohamed Bouchiha (PUP), Ahmed Inoubli (UDU) and Ahmed Ibrahim
(Ettajdid Movement) for a fifth term in office. His 89% of the vote was slightly lower than in the
2004 election.[8] In the parliamentary elections, the RCD received 84% of the vote for 161
constituency seats. The MDS won 16 seats under the proportional representation system, followed
by the PUP with 12 seats. 59 women were elected to legislative seats.[9]
The election was criticized by opposition parties and some international observers for limitations
placed on non-incumbents. In one instance, the Ettajdid party's weekly publication, Ettarik al-Jadid,
was seized by authorities for violating campaign communications laws.[10] Meanwhile, a
delegation from the African Union Commission praised the election for taking place with "calm and
serenity"[11] Prior to the 2009 election, Tunisia amended its constitution to allow more candidates
to run for president, allowing the top official from each political party to compete for the presidency
regardless of whether they held seats in parliament.[12]

2011 Constituent Assembly election

Main article: Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011
Following the 20102011 protests and the vacation of the Presidency by President Ben Ali,
elections for a Constituent Assembly were held on 23 October 2011. Results were announced on 25
October 2011 with the center-right and moderately Islamist Ennahda winning a plurality with 37%
of the vote.[13]

2014 parliamentary elections

Main article: Tunisian parliamentary election, 2014
Parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia on 26 October 2014. Results were announced on 27
October 2014 with secularist Nidaa Tounes winning a plurality with 38% of the vote.[14]

Politics and society

See also: History of modern Tunisia

Women's equality
Women hold 23% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, outpacing the percentage of women
serving in the U.S. Congress, which stands at 17% in the 111th Congress. More than one-fifth of the
seats in both chambers of parliament are held by women, an exceptionally high level in the Arab
world.[15]
Tunisia is the only country in the Arab world where polygamy is forbidden by law. This is part of a
provision in the countrys Code of Personal Status which was introduced by President Bourguiba in
1956.[16][17]

Revolution
Ben Ali regime
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was criticized for the low levels of democracy and freedom of
expression in the country by Amnesty International and various other organizations.[18][19] which
documented restrictions of basic human rights and obstruction of human rights organizations. The
Economist's 2008 Democracy Index ranked Tunisia 141 out of 167 countries studied and 143 out of
173 regarding freedom of the press.[20] Later in his rule repression became more brutal, corruption
more visible and the economy more stagnant.[21]
20102011 revolution
Main article: 20102011 Tunisian Revolution
The Jasmine Revolution overthrew President Ben Ali in 2011 -- marking the beginning of the Arab
Spring.
On 14 January 2011, president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi
Arabia, ending 23 years in power,[22][23] following the most dramatic wave of social and political
unrest in Tunisia in three decades.[24][25] Street protests and civil disobedience[26][27] against
high unemployment, food inflation, corruption,[28][29] a lack of political freedoms like freedom of
speech[30] and poor living conditions, were sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi
on 17 December 2010[31][32][33]
A Constituent Assembly was elected on 23 October 2011, and a new constitution was adopted on 26
January 2014. It was passed on 10 February 2014[34]

Media
Under the Ben Ali regime, freedom of the press was officially guaranteed, but the press was highly
restricted, as was a substantial amount of web content. Journalists were often obstructed from
reporting on controversial events.[35] Prior to the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia practiced internet
censorship against popular websites such as YouTube. In 2010 Reporters Without Borders included
Tunisia in the country list of Enemies of the Internet".[36] However, Despite this, Tunisia hosted

the second half of the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society in 2005,
[37] which endorsed the freedom of the internet as a platform for political participation and human
rights protection. By 2010, Tunisia had more than 3.5 million regular internet users and 1.6 million
Facebook users[38] and hundreds of internet cafes, known as publinet.
Five private radio stations have been established, including Mosaique FM, Express FM, Shems FM
[39] and private television stations such as Hannibal TV and Nessma TV.[40]

Administrative divisions
Main article: Governorates of Tunisia
Tunisia is divided into 24 governorates:

Ariana Governorate (Aryanah)

Bja Governorate (Bajah)
Ben Arous Governorate (Bin 'Arus)
Bizerte Governorate (Banzart)
Gabs Governorate (Qabis)
Gafsa Governorate (Qafsah)
Jendouba Governorate (Jundubah)
Kairouan Governorate (Al Qayrawan)
Kasserine Governorate (Al Qasrayn)
Kebili Governorate (Qibili)
Kef Governorate (Al Kaf)
Mahdia Governorate (Al Mahdiyah)

Manouba Governorate (Manubah)

Medenine Governorate (Madanin)
Monastir Governorate (Al Munastir)
Nabeul Governorate (Nabul)
Sfax Governorate (Safaqis)
Sidi Bouzid Governorate (Sidi Bu Zayd)
Siliana Governorate (Silyanah)
Sousse Governorate (Sousse)
Tataouine Governorate (Tatawin)
Tozeur Governorate (Tawzar)
Tunis Governorate (Tunis)
Zaghouan Governorate (Zaghwan)

International organization participation

Tunisia is a participant in the following international organizations:
ABEDA
ACCT
AfDB

AFESD
AMF
AMU
AU
BSEC (observer)
ENP
FAO
G-77
IAEA
IBRD
ICAO
ICC
ICFTU
ICRM
IDA
IDB
IFAD
IFC
IFRCS
IHO
ILO
IMF
IMO
Interpol
IOC
IOM
ISO
ITU
LAS
MICAH
MONUC
NAM
OAPEC
OAS (observer)
OIC
OPCW
OSCE (partner)
UN
UNCTAD
UNESCO

UNHCR
UNIDO
UNMEE
UNMIK
UPU
WCO
WFTU
WHO
WIPO
WMO
WToO
WTO

See also
Tunisia Monitoring Group
Sihem Bensedrine

References
1.
Choudhry, Sujit; Stacey, Richard (2014) "Semi-presidential government in Tunisia and
Egypt". International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved 7 January
2016.
"Secularist Nidaa Tounes party wins Tunisia election" BBC, 2014
European Union Association Agreement, Ministry of Development and International
Cooperation, 2009.
"Tunisian Partnership with Europe" Defense Technical Information Center, 2004
The Council of Deputies, Republic of Tunisia.
Chamber of Advisers
Tunisian candidates kick off campaigns, Magharebia.com, 2009.
Results of presidential elections, TunisiaOnline.com, 25 October 2004.
"Final Results for the 2009 Legislative Elections" Republic of Tunisia: National
Observatory of Presidential and Legislative Elections, 2009
"Tunisia: Elections in an Atmosphere of Repression" Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights
Watch, 2009
"AU: October 25th Tunisian Elections Held in Calm and Serenity" Tunisia Online News,
2009
"Tunisia's Image Belies Poll Control" BBC News, Rana Jawad, 2009
"Final Results of Tunisian Elections Announced". Tunisia Live. 14 November 2011.
Retrieved 25 February 2012.

 "Secular party takes lead in Tunisia elections". Al Jazeera. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 25
27 October 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
"Tunisia: Majlis Al-Nuwab (Chamber of Deputies)-October 2009". Inter-Parliamentary
Union. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
Donini, Valentina M. (April 17, 2009). "Polygamy and Family Law". Reset Doc. Association
Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
"Polygamy and Family Law" , Valentina M. Donini, Friday, 17 April 2009
"World Media Comment on President Ben Ali's Speech". Zawya. Agence Tunis Afrique
Presse. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved
August 14, 2015.
"Tunisia: Open Letter, Strong Concern..." Amnesty International, 2010
"The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy 2008" The Economist, 2008
Gasiorowski, Mark (2017). The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North
Africa. Westview Press. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
Davies, Wyre (15 December 2010). "Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out".
BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
"Uprising in Tunisia: People Power topples Ben Ali regime". Indybay. 16 January 2011.
Retrieved 26 January 2011.
"Tunisia's Protest Wave: Where It Comes From and What It Means for Ben Ali | The Middle
East Channel". Mideast.foreignpolicy.com. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
Borger, Julian (29 December 2010). "Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst
unrest in a decade". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
Tunisian parliamentary speaker becomes acting president: officials Ahramonline 2011-01-15
"Tunisia swears in interim leader". al Jazeera. 2011-01-15. Archived from the original on
2011-01-15. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
"A Snapshot of Corruption in Tunisia". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 7
February 2014.
Spencer, Richard (13 January 2011). "Tunisia riots: Reform or be overthrown, US tells Arab
states amid fresh riots". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
Ryan, Yasmine. "Tunisia's bitter cyberwar". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
Tunisia suicide protester Mohammed Bouazizi dies, BBC, 5 January 2011.
Fahim, Kareem (21 January 2011). "Slap to a Man's Pride Set Off Tumult in Tunisia". The
New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
Worth, Robert F. (21 January 2011). "How a Single Match Can Ignite a Revolution". The
New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
Tunisie : la nouvelle Constitution entre en vigueur , La Libre Belgique, February 10
2014.
"Profile on Tunisian Media", Open Net Initiative, 2009
"RWB Issues Enemies of the Internet List" PBS, 2010
"Second Phase of WSIS: Tunisia 2005" WSIS, 2005
Facebook bigger than newspapers? So what?, Spot On, May 25th, 2010.
"Shems FM hits Tunisia airwaves" Houda Trabelsi, October 5, 2010

40."Television TV in Tunisia" TunisPro

External links

Government of Tunisia (English)

2008 Human Rights Practices: Tunisia from U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor
Tunisia Human Rights from Amnesty International
Tunisia Government at DMOZ
[hide]

Politics of Africa
Sovereign states

Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
The Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast (Cte d'Ivoire)
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi

States with limited

recognition

Dependencies and
other territories

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Somaliland

Categories:
Politics of Tunisia

Navigation menu

Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account

Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
So Tom and Prncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberana (Spain)

Madeira (Portugal)
Mayotte / Runion (France)
Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
Western Sahara

 Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

In other projects
Wikimedia Commons

Languages

Deutsch
Espaol
Franais
Italiano

Romn
Yorb
Edit links
This page was last modified on 1 January 2017, at 00:46.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional
terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view