Chinese democracy: Proof in the pudding

The collective West has long had an entrenched ideological prejudice against China's governance system, questioning the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China as the country's ruling party. The West is biased against China because, as some in the West claim, China does not follow a liberal democratic political system and hold multiparty elections. Yet China's National People's Congress, the country's top decision-making body, continues to shine by making extraordinary achievements to meet the rising needs and aspirations of the Chinese people, while propelling the country's development to new heights.

An apt example of the Chinese political system's success is the eradication of absolute poverty from the country — China lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty in a little over four decades. That China succeeded in eradicating extreme poverty 10 years ahead of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda's target speaks volumes of the Party's determination to serve the people.

The high public approval rating of 93 percent enjoyed by the Chinese government, according to a study, is proof that the West's labeling of the NPC as a "rubber stamp" is nothing but a prejudicial propaganda spin. The findings of the study, titled "Understanding CCP Resilience: Surveying Chinese Public Opinion Through Time", were released by Edward Cunningham of ASH Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, in July 2020.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the NPC's inception. The participatory nature of people's involvement in Chinese governance — from the election of deputies to various tiers of people's congresses to policy formulation based on, among other things, the aspirations of the people and the post-policy enactment monitoring of legislation implementation — signifies the entire process is indeed truly people-centric. That's what makes China's whole-process people's democracy unique.

In essence, whole-process people's democracy is a consequentialist model of political decision-making, which should be judged based on how well the government is able to pursue high-quality development, and improve people's livelihoods and living standards, rather than being driven by the dictates of the multiparty electoral system. This is in stark contrast to the limited electoral role played by the electorate, who are by and large marginalized in policy formulation in the practice of Western liberal democracy.

The West has consistently been critical of "single party rule". Models of governance inconsistent with its multiparty electoral template are simply disdained as "authoritarian". In this context, the West has found in China a favorite punching bag.

Yet Western ideologues rarely realize that "majority rule", cherished by liberal democrats, in most cases, hardly leaves any room to accommodate minority views. Plainly put, it's a game of "winner takes all" — a golden rule of liberal democracy that dominates the game. Worse, the tyranny of majority prevails in many cases.

From the perspective of Western democracy, a multiparty system is a prerequisite for having a system of check and balance. But this is no monopoly of the West. A multiparty check-and-balance system does exist in China's NPC, but more in the form of advisers and consultative partners, than confrontational adversaries, to the ruling CPC. It is this element of inclusive consultation which is lacking in Western democracy.

Parallel to this, the quality of China's statecraft speaks volumes of its model of governance. Common sense tells us that an "autocratic administration" run by a "rubber stamp-like legislature", as claimed by the West, can never achieve remarkable feats such as transforming an impoverished agrarian society into an economic superpower.

If China were indeed an authoritarian and mediocre economy, it wouldn't have been labeled as a "systemic challenger" threatening the US' primacy on multiple fronts by the collective West. Nor would the US-led West have endeavored to hobble China at all costs.

Intriguingly, while Washington is intensifying its extra-territorial intervention through long arm jurisdiction, notably through brutal "regime change" in the name of promoting "democracy" in other countries, its spiraling debt continues to soar alongside an ever-escalating plethora of social ills at home. Yet in its hubris, the US Congress continues to resort to rhetoric on issues beyond American shores, contributing zilch to mitigating hotspot issues. Not to mention the array of laws that the US Congress has passed targeting China.

In contrast, year after year, the annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference never fail to catch global attention from friends and foes alike as they chart the course of the nation's statecraft.

Seventy years on, the NPC is still thriving with its vigour and relevance. The cacophony created by the various doom-sayers' theories targeting China may continue to make ripples in the international media from time to time. But the endgame of all this is China's unstoppable rise.

After all, proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The author is president of Malaysia-based Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily. 

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