The colorful tapestry of democracy at work

As the annual two sessions opens in Beijing, the nation will be treated to a ritual that has become as perennial and as predictable as the Spring Festival travel rush.

Because of their ornate, multicolored clothing, many of those in attendance belonging to China’s 55 ethnic minorities will be given a starring, or at least a co-starring role in the saturated media coverage that the event will attract.

And who could object to that? After all, a splash of color and a touch of pageantry add a dose of down-to-earth humanity and interest to proceedings that some might perceive as a little too lofty, dry and garbed in bureaucratic beige.

Another thing you can be certain of as the two sessions begins is the way it will be depicted in the Western media. Like an ornithologist looking out for the first migrating birds of spring, my eyes are keenly peeled for the first use of that “rubber stamp parliament” cliche beloved by Western journalists when the two sessions season arrives every year. It may seem benign enough, but it speaks volumes about how China is sneeringly perceived by many Western politicians and media outlets, not to mention the public they feed.

Many cannot get their heads around the fact that in this world, democracy comes in many colors and flavors — and it need not be served with apple pie.

China has rather broad shoulders, of course, and is used to this, but it is helpful to try to understand what makes the Western mind tick when it comes to sizing up and dealing with the country.

Take for example the current spat that has the Chinese multinational technology company Huawei at loggerheads with at least three governments — those of the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Huawei is being blocked from certain business activities in these countries, and the line put out is that it is for “national security reasons”.

However, could it be that rather than nefarious motives for “infiltrating” these countries on the lookout for state secrets, the latest incarnation of the Chinese boogeyman is motivated by just one thing, and one that is much more down-to-earth: the desire to make money?

One of the refrains often heard as an explanation for China’s economic prowess is that it has cheated, hacked and stolen its way to success. At the root of this claim is a nauseating stereotype: “We Westerners are the only ones who can come up with bright, new ideas, so if the Chinese have anything that looks faintly innovative, they must have stolen the idea from us.”

We are only too accustomed to the quadrennial round of China bashing that has become a staple of the United States presidential campaign, when candidates, bereft of much that differentiates themselves from one another, try to outdo each other on who will “take the hardest line against Beijing”.

There has been a lot of handwringing in the past year or two about a crisis in Western democracy. If such a crisis exists, could one reason be that the public in Western countries have begun to see such demonizing for what it is: a cheap alternative to coming up with policies that really benefit people?

Doing that demands a serious grassroots commitment to people and a desire to see them and their families prosper. Over the course of the two sessions this week and next, thousands of delegates will talk about issues close to their hearts and eventually produce a series of proposals aimed at carrying the country forward.

That may all be a little too dry for Western observers who relish the combative nature of a type of politics that is long on showmanship and short on delivering results, the latter of which there can be no clearer illustration than the 83 million people in rural China pulled out of poverty over the past six years.

So, forget this nonsense of a rubber stamp and be amazed over the next few days as you watch this huge exercise in grassroots democracy unfold. And while you’re at it, enjoy that fabulous display of ethnic attire too.