China Delivers its View on Democracy
China's State Council Information Office published a white paper on China's democracy on December 4, emphasizing that democracy can differ between countries and be used to solve the people's problems.
The white paper titled “China: Democracy That Works” begins with saying that “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.”
Over the past hundred years, the CPC, the white paper said, “has led the people in realizing people's democracy in China, and the Chinese people now truly hold in their hands their own future and that of society and the country.”
The paper notes that the people being the masters of the country is the essence of people's democracy and the CPC 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.”
The paper continues: “Democracy... rooted in history, culture and tradition, takes diverse forms and develops along the paths chosen by different peoples based on their exploration and innovation.”
Therefore, China believes whether a country is democratic should be judged by its people, not by “a handful of outsiders” or “a few self-appointed judges.”
“Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick and examining diverse political structures in monochrome are in themselves undemocratic,” reads the paper.
The white paper was published ahead of the US'S “Summit for Democracy” that was held on December 9 and 10. Initiated by US President Joe Biden in August, the US invited representatives from over 100 countries and regions, including Chinese Taiwan, to talk about fighting authoritarianism. The Chinese mainland was not invited to participate.
Chinese diplomats expressed China's opposition to the summit many times, accusing the US of “misrepresenting and desecrating democracy” by provoking the confrontation in ideologies, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said at a press conference on November 26.
“No one single democracy is a panacea, and it is the biggest nondemocracy for the US to intend to be the judge of democracy,” Zhao said at another press conference on November 30.
On December 5, one day after the white paper was issued, the MFA released a report on democracy in the US, listing an array of defects of Us-style democracy and the harm of the US exporting its democracy.
“The United States' system of democracy is derived from its own practices. This system is unique, not universally applicable, and it is far from perfect,” said the report. “However, over the years, the US, despite the structural flaws and problematic practice of its democratic system, has claimed itself as the ‘model of democracy.' It has incessantly interfered in other countries' internal affairs and waged wars under the guise of ‘democracy.'”