Cheng Tongshun: Improve the Institutional System of Whole-process People's Democracy

Focusing on the development of whole-process people’s democracy requires adhering to the major principle of "persisting in taking institutional building as the main line" for further comprehensively deepening reform. The Decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee ^[1] proposed the reform task of "improving the institutional system of whole-process people’s democracy." This reform task profoundly demonstrates that the development of whole-process people’s democracy carries higher requirements for institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization. The scope of related institutional building is becoming more extensive, the inter-linkages are getting tighter, and the systemic characteristics are becoming more distinct. To deeply study and implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, we must persist in using the institutional system to guarantee and develop whole-process people’s democracy, ensuring that the advantages of the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics are better transformed into governance efficacy.

Through long-term efforts, our country has constructed an institutional system that includes the People's Congress system as the fundamental political system; the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the system of primary-level self-governance ^[2] as basic political systems; as well as important political systems including the electoral system, the system of Special Administrative Regions, the legislative system, and the organizational system of state institutions. This institutional system has given the "gold content" ^[3] of our whole-process people's democracy more substance. Relying on this institutional system, whole-process people’s democracy has realized the unity of process-oriented democracy and results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy and substantive democracy, direct democracy and indirect democracy, and people’s democracy and the will of the state. It has achieved unity among all parties on the basis of shared ideology, shared interests, and shared goals, effectively guaranteeing the development of the Party and state undertakings, the happiness and well-being of the people, social harmony and stability, and the long-term peace and stability of the country, thereby promoting national governance to escape the "historical cycle" of rise and fall ^[4].

At the same time, we must soberly recognize that compared with the higher requirements of further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization, and compared with the expectations of the masses, there are still areas where the institutional system of whole-process people’s democracy is not fully adapted. The current and upcoming period is the critical period for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Faced with a severe and complex international environment and arduous, heavy tasks of domestic reform, development, and stability, there is an urgent need to fully mobilize the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of all the people to meet difficulties head-on and overcome challenges. Therefore, we must further improve the institutional system of whole-process people’s democracy to continuously increase and expand our advantages and characteristics, better pooling strength and consensus for Chinese-path modernization. This requires both starting from the overall situation to resolutely implement the top-level design of institutional building, and rooting efforts in the details to reflect the effectiveness of institutional building in guaranteeing the people’s right to extensive, continuous, and in-depth participation in daily political life. We must strive to let the masses truly feel that the principal status of the people is fully respected and that the people’s status as masters of the country is fully manifested in every vote and every consultation.

We must unswervingly follow the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics and persist in the Party’s core leadership role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties. We must unswervingly uphold and advance with the times to improve our country’s fundamental, basic, and important political systems. We must coordinate the advancement of various reform tasks necessary for improving the institutional system of whole-process people’s democracy, such as strengthening the building of institutions for the people to be masters of the country, improving mechanisms for consultative democracy, refining primary-level democratic systems, and perfecting the great United Front ^[5] work pattern. We must enrich democratic forms at all levels and further raise the levels of institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of whole-process people’s democracy. In particular, we must persist in, improve, and operate well the system of People's Congresses—a fundamental political institutional arrangement that integrates the Party's leadership, the people's status as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country. We must earnestly build the people’s congresses and their standing committees at all levels into political organs that consciously uphold the leadership of the CPC, state power organs that guarantee the people’s status as masters of the country, working organs that comprehensively shoulder the various duties entrusted by the Constitution and laws, and representative organs that always maintain close ties with the masses. We should fully leverage the important role of the People's Congress system as a critical institutional carrier in realizing whole-process people's democracy, continuously consolidating and developing a political situation characterized by vitality, stability, and unity.

Improving the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy should focus on expanding the people's orderly political participation, effectively enhancing the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security as masters of the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Democracy is not an ornament, not for decoration; it is used to solve the problems the people need to solve." A major reason why voter turnout in some countries remains stagnant or even continues to decline is that many people have lost trust and confidence in their own country's democracy. They see election games driven by money politics where most people are merely "extras" (crowd actors)—favored only when votes are being solicited but neglected after the election, with the problems people care about often remaining unresolved. In contrast, whole-process people’s democracy, through institutional innovations such as "Deputies’ Homes," deputy liaison stations, and primary-level legislative contact points, continuously broadens the channels for the masses to participate, express themselves, and exercise supervision. It actively utilizes 5G, the Internet, and other technological means to make participation more convenient, fast, efficient, and orderly, making democracy more responsive and demonstrating significant advantages in solving the urgent, difficult, and anxious problems ^[6] of the masses. To improve the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy, we must continue to "strengthen the long boards" (leverage strengths) and promote our advantages, using the institutional system to guarantee the people's participation in national and social governance. This ensures that specific democratic practices at all levels and in all aspects become important means of helping the masses solve their own problems, continuously strengthening the people's confidence and resolve in following the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics.