BEIJING, Dec. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "There is no fixed
model of democracy," China said in
an official document published on Saturday detailing its democratic
endeavors, and whether a country is democratic "should be
acknowledged by the international community, not arbitrarily
decided by a few self-appointed judges."
Democracy, the white paper titled "China: Democracy That Works" said, is "an
ideal" that has always been cherished by the Communist Party of
China (CPC) and the Chinese
people.
"Over the past hundred years, the Party has led the people in
realizing people's democracy in China. The Chinese people now truly hold in
their hands their own future and that of society and the country,"
the paper read.
China has termed its
system "whole-process people's democracy," after
President Xi Jinping proposed the concept two years ago in the city
of Shanghai. That principle
legitimates the people's participation in day-to-day political
activities at all levels, combining democratic elections, political
consultation, decision-making and oversight.
The people's status as masters of the country is the essence of
people's democracy, said the document released by China's State Council Information Office.
'China's democracy has
concrete, pragmatic practices'
"In China, the standard practice is to hear people's voices, act
on their needs, and pool their ideas and strength," the document
said.
According to official data, China has held 12 direct elections to people's
congresses at the township level and 11 direct elections to those
at the county level, with a current participation rate of about 90
percent, since the initiation of reform and opening up.
Democratic consultation is a special feature of democracy in
China. The Chinese people widely
exercise their right to vote in elections and undertake extensive
deliberations before major decisions are made.
The paper also stressed that the abuse of power for personal
gain is eradicated by sound and effective democratic
oversight.
Supervision of power extends across every area and into every
corner, it said.
China's own model of
democracy
Instead of just simply copying others' democratic models,
China takes its "national
conditions and realities" into consideration and manifests its own
truth.
"China draws on each and every
political achievement of other countries, but does not imitate any
of their models of democracy," the document said. "The model that
suits best is always the most appropriate."
Whole-process people's democracy stands in line with the
country's distinctive features, reflecting at the same time
"humanity's universal desire for democracy."
Humanity's quest for and experiments with greater democracy will
never end, the paper said.
The true barrier to democracy lies not in different models of
democracy, but in arrogance, prejudice and hostility towards other
countries' attempts to explore their own paths to democracy, and in
assumed superiority and the determination to impose one's own model
of democracy on others, it added.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-12-04/China-issues-white-paper-on-its-democracy-15IaQ4prtq8/index.html