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Democracy: To Be or Not To Be

To be a democracy or not to be a democracy. That is the question. According to China’s leadership—definitely be a democracy. If you find this confusing, just wait… it becomes even more so.

Although in 2014, President Xi Jinping made it crystal clear that democracy is not for China, and that the US should stop trying to impose its system on other nations, a month after Biden called for a summit of democracies, President Xi vocally repeated his new stance – that China is a democracy—an all-of-society or whole-process democracy. He said the West does not have a monopoly on the definition of democracy. In October 2021, addressing a central conference of the People’s Congress, he asked, “How is democracy defined? What makes a system democratic or not? Is China’s political system democratic?” His answer—China’s application of democratic principles follows a “whole-process people’s democracy.” Democracy was seen as a popular concept, so if redefined, it could apply to other systems.

To help us understand the Chinese definition of democracy, there was a seminar this summer called, “Whole-Process People’s Democracy and Its World Significance.” Both China’s version of democracy and the “world significance” part were expounded upon by Zhang Shuhua (张树华), Director of the Institute of Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); Dean of the School of Government, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS).

Zhang explained that regarding governance, “results are more important than electoral processes, and elections mean little if people are not satisfied with the performance of the leaders they elect.” He said what truly matters are results—such as economic growth, public opinion, and rising standards of living. China’s economic growth is the worst it’s been in decades. According to Zhang, the KPIs of democracy are economic growth and an improved standard of living. Yet for the first time in 40yrs, there are people throughout China speaking about how life for their children is harder than it was or even is for them – at least they have jobs. The parents who made sacrifices to ensure that their children went to college are particularly distraught. And public opinion? The fact that this dissatisfaction barely registers on social media is less a result of the facts and more of the well known power and impact of Chinese censorship.

Zhang contends that China’s misunderstood democracy is superior to other democracies because of its “people-centered” approach. In his talk, after outlining the failures of Western-style democracy, which certainly has major flaws, Zhang says that “after years of investigation and research, we believe that Chinese-style democracy is genuine [democracy]. Unlike in the West, Chinese-style democracy can be seen [看得见的] and felt [可感知的]. It is infused with the essence of everyday life [烟火气的].” With all due respect, Western democracy is seen, felt, and infused with the essence of everyday life—at least in the US and Israel, where my democracy experience is centered.

According to Zhang, an important determinant of the quality of China’s democracy is public opinion. He notes a Harvard Kennedy School study from 2020 that says that since the start of the survey in 2003, “Chinese citizen satisfaction with the government has increased virtually across the board. From the impact of broad national policies to the conduct of local town officials, Chinese citizens rate the government as more capable and effective than ever before.” The over 90% satisfaction and support ratings of the Communist Party of China and its government would make most governments jealous.

He then says that “Chinese democracy means that the people are the masters of their own house [人民当家作主].” So Chinese have more autonomy and freedom than in Western-style democracies? Zhang adds that in other countries, the people have been “democratised,” only to become bystanders [看客], pawns [棋子], and mere spectators [观众] in their countries. But in China, “democracy’s chief characteristic is politics by, rule by, and continuous involvement of the people [人民政治、人民之治、人民永远在场].” However, he does not explain how this actually happens—what are the systems or processes that give the people such broad and deep involvement? In other words, where in China can this be ‘seen and felt’? It has been well publicized that there is a sharp decline in job availability for youth. It is also widely known that the government’s effort to encourage consumption has repeatedly failed due to the lack of a national social safety net.  Concerns regarding elderly care and health costs have led citizens to save money instead of spend, motivated by their awareness that they cannot count on state-support.

One proof of the quality of China’s democracy, according to Zhang, is Beijing’s public service hotline for the people of the city. He calls it “a symbol of the Chinese government’s responsiveness,” and explains that “it shows that the government addresses people’s worries, listens to their opinions, and understands their feelings.” Perhaps this is comparable to writing to one’s congressperson, albeit without the related voting factor.

China is redefining democracy and according to that definition, sees itself as a democracy. Zhang notes that the proof that Chinese democracy works is that the people of China feel well-governed and satisfied with their lives. This brings us back to the realities on the ground, the increasing difficulties for Chinese households to make ends meet and the Harvard study that includes “data pointing to specific areas in which citizen satisfaction could decline in today’s era of slowing economic growth.”

Carice Witte is the Founder and Executive Director of SIGNAL Group.

Cover photo by   Huang Jingwen— Xinhua