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People’s democracy is the lifeblood of socialism. Socialism is an undertaking for the people. Had the people not exercised their right of running the country, had their initiative, enthusiasm and creativity not been fully mobilized, socialism would not be successful. Without democracy, there would have been no socialism nor socialist modernization, let alone the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Democracy is a political ideal human beings have pursued for a long time. In ancient China, the traditional thought of“people as the base” contains some elements of democracy. The Book of Documents states, “People are the base of the country;when the base is stable, there is peace in the country.” Mencius noted, “The people come first, the country second, the emperor third.” All the benevolent emperors in Chinese history were aware of the power of the people. Tang Emperor Taizong said,“The emperor is the boat and the people are the water; water can sink or float the boat.” When the emperor was kind to the people, the people were kind to him in return.
We can trace Western democracy to classical Athens. The basic feature of Athenian democracy was that the citizens ruled the country; they participated in politics and held the country’s highest power. There was relative equality in the citizenry and no one was above the law. The height of Athenian political democracy happened in the fifth century BC, when Pericles was the general; it is called the Golden Age of Athens.
But there were shortcomings in Athenian democracy. Only a minority of the people were free. People were divided into four categories in the political system of ancient Greece: slaves, women, non-citizen freepersons, and citizens. Free citizens only comprised about a tenth of the total population. The majority of the population were slaves; they were “tools that speak,” with no freedom or the right to political participation.
Western capitalists opposed feudal monarchy and theocracy in the modern era and advocated for freedom, equality, and human rights; they emphasized that the individual had inalienable rights which were protected by law. Capitalist countries of Western Europe instituted political mechanisms such as separation of powers, parliamentarism, universal suffrage, and bi-party or multi-party system to protect these rights. These mechanisms protected the interests of the bourgeoisie, raised the level of freedom in the society, and promoted social progress.
Excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone has the right to liberty, property, security of person, and resistance against oppression. Everyone has the freedom of speech, belief, writing, and publishing. All are equal before the law. No action is allowed to override the law.
Western thought of freedom and democracy influenced China’s historical progress through the revolutions which sought to overthrow imperial rule. The Xinhai Revolution is one such example. China needed to enlighten the people and to save itself from the occupiers. Western powers always regarded China as a vassal, but Marxism set down a path to reason and salvation for the Chinese people. The People’s Republic was established in 1949; socialist reforms were completed in 1953 and public ownership of the means of production was adopted; the first version of the Constitution was published in 1954 and the People’s Congress was established. From this time on but especially since Reform and Opening Up, the CPC has led the Chinese people to practice socialist democracy which has shown extraordinary vitality.
The core of socialist democracy is to let the people run the country. To achieve this, the people must have a say in the governance of the country and the society. This is the essence of socialist democracy, guaranteeing it is the broadest and most genuine democracy.
In China, all the powers belong to the people. China’s Constitution stipulates that the PRC is “a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants”. This is a clear description of the PRC’s political nature. The People’s Congress underpins China’s basic political system; it is the channel through which the Chinese people control and execute their political power. Deputies voted by the people form the People’s Congresses at various levels and exercise the state power on behalf of the people. The administrative, judicial, and procuratorial organizations execute their powers to manage state affairs and maintain social order. The people’s deputies solicit people’s opinions and reflect them by drafting resolutions; they also supervise the legislative, administrative, and judicial organizations by making inquiries.
Before making important decisions, the CPC listens to the opinions and suggestions of the various segments of the society and consult with other political parties. Another basic political mechanism is the multi-party cooperation and consultation led by the CPC; this is also an important channel for political participation by the various segments of the society. The CPC is the ruling party, and the other parties have the legal rights for political participation and consultation. They participate in the deliberation on the important policies and candidates for state leaders, in the administration of state affairs, and in developing and enforcing the policies, laws and regulations. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is an important organization of multi-party cooperation; it fulfills such functions as political consultation, democratic oversight and participation in state affairs, with a focus placed on the two topics of solidarity and democracy.
The basic democratic system has improved steadily; there are more channels for political participation on the national and social levels. People can make self-directed efforts to manage, serve, educate, and supervise community governance, public affairs, and social welfare; this is an important way for the people to directly exercise their democratic rights. As the society develops rapidly, democracy at the urban and rural communities throughout the country have continuously expanded. Community-level democracy in urban and rural areas, the system of workers’ congresses and other mechanisms have been gradually explored and improved. The channels for political participation and the concrete forms of democracy have become more diverse.
There would have been no socialism without democracy. The goal of socialist democracy is to let the people run the country. Socialism is an undertaking for the people to participate and to realize their own interests. Had the people not exercised their right of running the country, had their initiative, enthusiasm and creativity not fully mobilized, socialism would not be successful. As a core socialist value, democracy promotes social development and realizes social stability. As masters of their own destiny, the Chinese people can express their opinions fully, be active and creative in building socialism, make democratic decisions correctly and scientifically, resolve internal contradictions, promote social stability, and maintain solidary and stable governance.
Every country has its own cultural tradition and method of governance. China has given shape to its own democratic system during the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. China’s Constitution stipulates that citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote or stand for election regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, profession, family background, religion, level of education, property, or period of residency unless they are deprived of political rights according to law. The right to vote and to stand for election is a citizen’s basic political right, a path for him or her to participate in national governance, organize political power, and realize democracy. Exercising this right is an important sign of citizens participating in managing state and social affairs.
The Chinese people have as much freedom as they need. The multitude of Chinese travelers over the world proves this point. China’s Constitution stipulates that the Chinese people have the freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration. Political participation and freedom of expression are the major ways of exercising people’s legal rights.
Chinese citizens have the right to make criticisms, accusations, appeals, claims to government organizations and employees. The 41st Article of China’s Constitution stipulates that “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state organ or functionary. Citizens have the right to make to relevant state organs complaints and charges against, or exposures of, violation of the law or dereliction of duty by any state organ or functionary; but fabrication or distortion of facts with the intention of libel or frame-up is prohibited. In case of complaints, charges or exposures made by citizens, the state organ concerned must deal with them in a responsible manner after ascertaining the facts. No one may suppress such complaints, charges and exposures, or retaliate against the citizens making them.” There are many ways for citizens to exercise their right to make suggestions to government organizations or supervise government functions. For instance, to make their opinions known, they can contact their deputy to the People’s Congress, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the Standing Committee of the Local People’s Congress; appeal or give feedback to relevant department by mail, email, telephone, or visiting the government agency receiving such complaints; supervise government functions by public media such as radio, television and print. In this way, they can exercise their fundamental rights and fulfill their sacred duties.
Eight political parties in China
Apart from the CPC, the ruling party, there are eight political parties. They are China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiusan Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-government League. Most of them were founded during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the national liberation war. They support the political leadership of the CPC, a historical choice made after the long years of cooperation between them. They all answered the CPC’s call on May 1, 1948 on holding a new political consultative conference and attended the CPPCC session held in 1949. Cooperations between the CPC and the other political parties are based on the principle of “long-term coexistence and mutual supervision, treating each other with full sincerity and sharing weal or woe.”
Of course, democracy has to be orderly. Order protects democracy. When we discuss national affairs, engage in political affairs, or exercise the right of suggestion and supervision, our action must be in conformance with the law. For instance, in exercising the right of supervision, our claim must be based on fact and reflect the actual situation. In reporting or suing a government organization or employee, we cannot resort to fabrication or distortion of fact or use illegal methods such as mob violence or big-character posters.
Democracy is the only way to avoid the cycle of rise and fall
On the eve of China’s victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1945, Huang Yanpei and other democratic personages paid a visit to Yan’an. Huang told Mao Zedong straightforwardly, “I’m in my sixties now. In my life, I’ve seen too much of short-lived prosperity, not to mention what I’ve heard about. So many people, families, groups, places, and even states have been governed by the cycle. People generally devoted all their energy at the beginning of an undertaking, possibly because they had a tough time and had to work hard to get through it. But when things got better, they began to slacken. In some cases, people lost their motivation little by little. Once laziness ran rampant, it was difficult to remedy. In other cases, the territory of a state expanded either naturally or because of human exploits. When it became too large for the limited number of managers, the situation got complicated and people’s ability of controlling it naturally weakened. Very often in history, idle governance resulted in shift of power; when a man in power died, his decrees were abolished; and those who pursued fame received humility instead. In a word, no one was immune to the cycle of rise and fall.” He also noted, “I’ve known about you Communists. You want to find a way to avoid this cycle of rise and fall.” Mao answered gravely, “We’ve already found a new way to get out of the cycle. The way is democracy. The government won’t relax only when it is under the people’s supervision. Only when everyone takes his responsibility, the adoption or abolition of policies won’t fully depend upon those in power.”The Chinese government began its exploration of a new democratic system when the People’s Republic of China was founded.