Communist reform broadens democracy

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-18 00:00

However, timing of pushing democracy and institutional arrangements must be carefully chosen, said the 48-year-old Yu, who are visiting professor to both Duke University, the United States and Free University of Berlin, Germany.

"It requires wisdom of both politicians and common people to gain the biggest benefit from democracy at the lowest political and social costs," Yu said.

Prof. Yang Guangbin, director of the Comparative Politics Institute at the Renmin University of China, said, "Every country has its uniqueness to develop democracy based on their own history, culture and real conditions."

"It's quite harmful to oversimplify unique processes of different democracies to certain modes," Yang said. "Even Western democracies have survived agonizing processes."

And Yang said he believes a Chinese-style democracy is emerging.

The discussions in the Party School and other think tanks on how the CPC can expand democracy are backed by central authorities.

In the process of deepening political restructuring, the CPC also tries to develop itself to a cover-all political organization, by diversifying the Party membership.

The Party amended its Constitution in 2002, opening its door to private businessmen, who used to be regarded as symbol of capitalism and excluded from the vanguard team of the Chinese working class.

Improving "intra-Party democracy" is the ultimate approach to developing people's democracy and promoting social harmony, said Tian Peiyan, a senior theorist at the CPC Central Committee Policy Research Office.

"Intra-Party democracy" is largely realized by expansion of Party members' rights, more open election and a fair cadre nomination mechanism.

As one remarkable signal, the loss margin in the election of delegates to the 17th CPC National Congress was raised to 15 percent from 10 percent five years ago.

At lower levels, the electoral margin quota for provincial Party congresses ranges from 15 percent to 30 percent, almost tripling that of the past.

In his report, Hu also vowed the Party will intensify its efforts to "prevent arbitrary decision-making by an individual or a minority of people."

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