Zhang Shuhua: "The People" is Prominently Engraved on the Banner of Whole-Process People's Democracy
The annual Two Sessions [1] represent a major event in our country’s political life and a vivid manifestation of whole-process people’s democracy. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC that whole-process people’s democracy is the defining feature of socialist democracy; it is the most extensive, true, and effective form of democracy. As a major synthesis of Chinese democratic theory and practice, whole-process people’s democracy also provides a Chinese answer to the "chaos of the West" and the "confusion surrounding democracy."
The alienation of Western-style democracy exacerbates global political dilemmas
In the thirty-odd years since the end of the Cold War, the term "democracy" has been wantonly abused by Western politicians and media elites. They have churned out one term after another—from the "democracy as a panacea" theory and "instant democracy" to "democratic peace theory," "democratic alliances," and the "arc of liberal values"—while promoting arguments such as the "end of history" and the "universalism of liberal democracy." These have created a massive amount of ideological smog and academic bubbles internationally, becoming one of the theoretical roots of global instability in recent years.
In this process, the United States has taken the lead in continuously instrumentalizing and weaponizing democracy. Today, however, American politics itself is mired in crisis. The US Capitol riot in early 2021 fully exposed the chaos of American-style democracy and pushed political polarization, power struggles, and interest-group conflicts to the extreme, deeply fracturing the political elite and the social masses. During this period, the American political establishment, media, and intelligence communities attacked one another; checks and balances turned into decision-making chaos and mutual obstruction; and party competition devolved into mutual vetoes. The American "beacon of democracy" has fallen into an unprecedented democratic predicament and political quagmire. This has also caused some of America's allies across the Atlantic to lose heart, unable to hide their disappointment with the American model.
The impact of populist waves, combined with inherent genetic flaws, has shaken the foundations of Western-style democracy represented by the United States. The "City upon a Hill," once the pride of Americans, is now suffering a backlash from "democracy" and is infected with a political virus. People see that the Western democratic model—marked by one person, one vote, multi-party competition, and the separation of powers—has degenerated, manifesting political maladies such as overdrawn freedom, money politics, electoral manipulation, and veto-driven confrontation. The alienation and degeneration of Western-style democracy are recognized as the primary political roots of the current systemic crisis in Western society.
The laws governing the development of world politics demonstrate profoundly that democracy is historical and developmental. No country in the world can claim a position of supreme arrogance or turn democracy into a tool to wantonly suppress others. Democracy is evolving and diverse; no country can monopolize or occupy it, labeling or fossilizing democracy into "viral software" to be forcibly exported abroad.
Developing democracy must rely closely on the people
The world has witnessed the failure of Western-style democracy, the sickness of Western society, and the bankruptcy of exported democracy. Faced with the chaos and crises of the Western model, more international observers are beginning to reflect on its problems, seeking to see through the myth of American democracy and leap out of the Western political trap. Increasing numbers of insightful people are shifting the focus of democratic comparative narratives toward practical results and political efficacy, paying closer attention to the quality of democracy.
Democracy is not an arena for electoral competition; developing democracy must rely closely on the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the people are our Party's greatest source of confidence in governing. As the saying goes, "He who can use the strength of the multitude is invincible under heaven; he who can use the wisdom of the multitude is unafraid of even the sages." [2] Socialist democracy is a democracy that safeguards the fundamental interests of the people. Adhering to whole-process people’s democracy makes it even more possible to aggregate the wisdom and strength of the people into the cause of the Party and the people.
As the defining feature of socialist democracy, whole-process people’s democracy is built on a "view of the people" that prioritizes the people and is people-centered. It profoundly reflects the political connotations and value orientations of the New Era, highlighting the essential core and political character of guarding the people's hearts, gathering their will, pooling their wisdom, and benefiting their livelihoods.
Whole-process people’s democracy is integrated with the mass line—the Party's lifeline. The people-centered stance and the principle of "people first" are distinct manifestations of the New Era’s view of the people and the value pursuit of the mass line. A correct view of democracy with the people as the subject is an inheritance and development of the Marxist view of democracy. Precisely for this reason, the view of the people, the view of democracy, and the mass line are of the same lineage and are interconnected.
Contemporary China's view of democracy is a brand-new democratic concept in today's world. People's democracy is a brand-new democratic form and a great political creation of the Chinese people. Contemporary China adheres to a correct view of democracy, overcoming the defects of Western-style democracy through a new type of high-quality, comprehensive development. It resolves the paradoxes of Western-style democratization, bypasses the traps of Western democratic and human rights discourse, promotes a shift in the global political agenda, expands the new path of Chinese-path modernization, and creates a new form of human political civilization.
The foundation of whole-process people’s democracy lies with the people
In the New Era, Chinese Communists uphold the sentiment of "I will stay selfless for the sake of the people" [3] and the determination to "serve the people and shoulder the responsibilities that must be shouldered." As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, we must "never break from the masses; share their joys and sorrows, and share the salt of life together, whether it be plenty or scarce." [4] Behind the great leap of China's New Era from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong, "the people" serve as the logical starting point for historical achievements and the value starting point for historical transformations.
Whether democracy is true or false depends on its foundation in the people. If citizens only have the right to vote but no right to broad participation—if they are only awakened when voting and go into hibernation immediately after—such a democracy is inefficient, hollowed-out, and formalistic. Today, Western-style democracy has degenerated into a "market for votes, a theater for elections, a showground for politicians, and a casino for parties." Western politicians often only have "votes and voters" in their eyes; where are "the people"? In China, the Party’s foundation, lifeblood, and strength are in the people. The development of whole-process people’s democracy proceeds from the fundamental needs of all the people and takes the safeguarding of the people's fundamental interests as its point of departure.
Only by broadly pooling the wisdom of the people and conforming to their will can we achieve democratic and scientific decision-making. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "The people's support is the greatest politics; it determines the success or failure of our cause." Chinese Communists are adept at "consulting the people about government, their needs, and their suggestions" [5]. For more than a decade, they have broadly listened to the opinions and suggestions of the masses in top-level design, respected the pioneering spirit of the masses in social governance, allowed the innovative and creative vitality of hundreds of millions of people to flow fully in the tide of promoting high-quality development, and embodied the people’s will, protected their rights, and stimulated their creative vitality in the construction of whole-process people’s democracy. The process of hundreds of millions of people writing epics stroke by stroke and achieving great feats with one heart and mind is the best footnote to this.
Whether democracy is good or not depends most on people’s livelihoods. The "people's attribute" of Chinese democracy is not ethereal or empty; it is concrete, visible, and tangible. In the hearts of the Chinese people, promoting livelihoods is democracy, developing people's rights is democracy, guarding the people's hearts is democracy, easing their worries is democracy, listening to their will is democracy, and pooling their wisdom is democracy. After solving the problem of absolute poverty—a challenge for thousands of years—through the battle against poverty, Chinese Communists are now leading the Chinese people toward common prosperity by promoting high-quality development, optimizing public services, and working hard to alleviate the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" problems of the masses. [6]
The level of democracy is measured by public opinion. Whole-process people’s democracy essentially embodies the interests and sovereignty of the people, and the evaluation of a democratic system should be based on whether the people are satisfied. The Communist Party of China has always regarded the mass line as the Party's lifeline and fundamental work line. The development of democracy adheres to the satisfaction of the masses as its pointer, rather than "putting on a coat, looking in the mirror, or putting on a show," [7] and certainly not for the sake of matching other countries in form to please foreigners. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "I will surely attend to what the people worry about; I will surely act on what the people aspire to." Chinese Communists know well that what the Chinese people want is good governance, living and working in peace and contentment, and national prosperity with social stability.
Chinese democracy is high-efficiency, high-quality democracy. Governing a country has its constants, and benefiting the people is the fundamental. "Democracy is not an ornament, not for display; it is meant to solve the problems that the people need to solve." Chinese Communists in the New Era "take how many good and practical things have been done for the people as an important criterion for examining political performance," fully respecting the people's principal status and pioneering spirit. They take the people as their teachers and deeply root the growth of political wisdom and the enhancement of governance capabilities in the creative practices of the people, ensuring that insights from all sides can be applied to the governance of the country.
Carrying forward the spirit of democracy means giving full play to the effectiveness of people’s oversight. People’s oversight is a classic concept proposed by Chinese Communists during the "Yaodong Dialogue" [8]; it is an inherent part of the principle of "relying on the people for everything." To continuously improve the Party's conduct and government style, maintain the health of Party and state organs, prevent the recurrence of bureaucratic symptoms, and improve governance efficiency, it is crucial to improve the system of people’s oversight and give full play to its effectiveness.
In a broad sense, oversight by the People's Congresses, democratic oversight, mass oversight, and public opinion oversight together constitute a complete people’s oversight system. Together with discipline inspection and supervision, they form a comprehensive and effective oversight system with Chinese socialist characteristics. This system manages both people and affairs; it involves both case investigation and the promotion of proper work style; it supervises both government work and policy implementation; and it executes the will of the Central Committee while reflecting the wishes of the people. People’s oversight is an essential part of whole-process people’s democracy, characterized by wide coverage, low cost, and high efficiency. It is also an important direction and practical path for promoting whole-process people’s democracy.
In short, the development of democracy must adapt to a country's basic national conditions, serve the needs of the people, be practiced by the people, and be tested by the people. China’s brand-new view of democracy and its path toward it—by adhering to a people-centered approach—breaks through the previous developmental models and logical frameworks of Western-style democracy. This has greatly advanced the process of political development and provided a solid political guarantee and a surging source of power for the comprehensive and coordinated development of Chinese society.