Editorial by People’s Daily
Democracy is a common value of humanity and an ideal that has always been cherished by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people, said a white paper issued by China’s State Council Information Office on Dec. 4.
The white paper, titled “China: Democracy That Works,” summarized the notable results China has achieved in advancing democracy and elaborated on the concepts, institutions, practices, and global significance of the whole-process people’s democracy in China. It is considered an important document that systematically expounds on China’s view of democracy.
The people’s status as masters of the country is the essence of people’s democracy. Since its founding in 1921, the Party has taken the wellbeing of the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its abiding goals. It has made continuous efforts to ensure the people’s status as masters of the country.
Over the past century, the CPC has led the Chinese people in undertaking great and momentous struggles. Freed from bullying, oppression, and subjugation, the Chinese people have become the masters of the country, the society, and their own fate, while people’s democracy has developed constantly.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, with a deeper understanding of China’s path to democracy and the political system, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has developed whole-process people’s democracy as a key concept and striven to translate it and relevant democratic values into effective institutions and concrete actions.
Today, the light of democracy has illuminated China’s entire territory. In practice, the principle of the people being masters of the country is manifested in the Party’s governance policies and measures, in all aspects of the work of Party and state organs at all levels, and in the efforts to meet the people’s expectation for a better life. The Chinese people have greater confidence in China’s democracy and are looking forward to a bright future.
People’s democracy in China is a type of whole-process democracy, as pointed out by Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
Whole-process people’s democracy is a creation of the CPC in leading the people to pursue, develop and realize democracy, embodying the Party’s innovation in advancing China’s democratic theories, systems, and practices.
Whole-process people’s democracy involves complete institutional procedures. These well-coordinated and comprehensive institutional procedures serve to put into place diverse, open, and well-organized democratic channels to ensure that the Party’s policies and the state will are integrated with the people’s aspirations and that the people are masters of the country.
Whole-process people’s democracy in China has been thoroughly tested through broad participation. It is a combination of electoral democracy and consultative democracy and is applied through a combination of elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight, serving to represent the people’s will better, protect their rights, and fully unleash their potential to create.
China’s whole-process people’s democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people’s democracy with the will of the state. It is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. It is a true democracy that works.
Whole-process people’s democracy has distinctive Chinese characteristics; it also exemplifies common values and contributes China’s ideas and solutions to the political progress of humanity.
There is always scope for improving the system of democracy. Humanity’s quest for and experiments with greater democracy will never end.
China has achieved considerable progress in developing democracy; to meet the new modernization requirements and the people’s new expectations for democracy, China still needs to make further improvements. On the path toward comprehensive socialist modernization, the CPC will continue to uphold people’s democracy, embrace the people-centered development philosophy, promote whole-process people’s democracy, ensure the sound development of democracy, and pursue well-rounded human development and shared prosperity for everyone.
The world is undergoing changes unseen in a century. It can anticipate hopes and opportunities as well as risks and challenges. All paths to democracy chosen by the people themselves deserve proper respect. Countries should pursue peaceful development, safeguard fairness and justice, increase democracy and freedom, and improve the people’s wellbeing. This is the only way to build synergy among all civilizations to seek a better future.
In the richly diverse world, democracy comes in many forms. China’s democracy is thriving alongside other countries’ in the garden of civilizations.
The Chinese people are willing to work together with all other peoples worldwide to carry forward the common values of humanity–peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. In a spirit of mutual respect and following the principle of seeking common ground while setting aside differences, they will add new elements to the world’s political structure and advance toward a global community of shared future together.
