China fully committed to democracy

Dong Yunhu, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, delivered a speech at the fourth Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday. Text below:

I am very glad to have this opportunity to attend the fourth Bali Democracy Forum. Today, state leaders and experts from different countries gather together at Bali, the beautiful "Flower Island," to share experiences and exchange views of developing democracy, and explore ways to promote the democratic development of our own countries. It carries great significance in this era, when the world focuses its attention on Asia and is generally optimistic about the prospects for its development. First of all, I would like to express my heart-felt thanks to the Indonesian government for its kind invitation and thoughtful arrangements, and extend my warm congratulations to the success of this forum.

Democracy is a significant achievement during the progress of human society and an important symbol of modern civilization. It is not only the common pursuit of people all over the world, but also the important goal of the revolution, construction, reform and development of China. For more than 100 years in modern times, the Chinese people had indomitably fought against imperialism and feudal autocracy to achieve national liberation and democracy for the people. In 1949, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese people won a great victory in the New Democracy Revolution, founded the People's Republic of China and realized their rights as masters of the country. After the founding of New China, the Chinese government and its people went through all kinds of hardships and setbacks to explore ways to build and develop socialist democracy in such a big oriental country, at the time poor and underdeveloped. Since the reform and opening up, the Chinese government and its people, based on the country's unique situations, have unswervingly advanced reforms in both its economic and political structure. Continuously improving the democratic system and enriching the forms of democracy, we have actively promoted democracy in the country's political and social life. We expanded citizens' orderly political participation and successfully blazed a path of development for socialist political democracy with Chinese characteristics. We have infused vigorous vitality for China's peaceful rise.

China's political democracy, adhering to the universal value and the basic principles of democracy, has distinct Chinese characteristics.

First, China's democracy is the people's democracy, that is, people are masters of the country. The essence of China's socialist democracy is that the people are masters of the country. According to the Constitution, all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. The National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at various levels are the organs through which the people exercise state power. Having a unicameral legislature the National People's Congress China did not adopt the system with the separation of three branches or a two-chamber parliament democracy. The National People's Congress is the highest organ of state power. All administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs of the state are created by the people's congresses to which they are responsible and by which they are supervised. The people's congresses exercise the powers of legislation, supervision, appointment and removal of officials, and make decisions on major issues; the administrative organs are responsible for implementing laws, resolutions and decisions adopted by the people's congresses, and courts and procuratorates, in accordance with the laws, exercise the judicial and procuratorial power independently and respectively. The National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at various levels are constituted through democratic elections. They are responsible to the people and subject to their supervision. Deputies to the people's congresses at the county and township level are directly elected by their constituencies; deputies to the people's congresses above the county level are elected by the people's congresses at the next lower level. Deputies to the people's congresses at various levels come from different ethnic groups, industries, social strata and parties. They hence have a broad representation of the society. In practice, it has been proven that the people's congress system is China's fundamental political system to ensure the people's position as masters of the country.

Second, China's democracy is to implement the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. In addition to the CPC, there are eight other political parties in China: Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for Promoting Democracy, Chinese Farmers and Workers Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Party, Jiu San Society and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League. The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC is a political party system with distinct Chinese characteristics, which was established and has been developed during the long-time cooperation between the CPC and eight other democratic parties in the course of the Chinese revolution, construction and reform. It's different from both the two-party or multi-party competition system and the one-party system practiced in some countries. Its salient characteristics are: multi-party cooperation under the leadership of the CPC, with the CPC holding power and the democratic parties participating fully in state affairs. The eight democratic parties are close friends of the CPC. They unite and cooperate with the latter in their participation in state affairs, instead of being opposition parties or out-of-power parties. The CPC takes a leading role in the country's political principle, political orientation, and major policies and programs. These democratic parties participate in the exercise of state power, the consultation in fundamental state policies and the choice of state leaders, the administration of state affairs, and the formulation and implementation of state policies, laws and regulations. They also exercise democratic supervision over the work of the party in power and the state organs through diversified channels and means. As a basic political system with people's democracy, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC is not adversarial or competitive like the one in Western countries, but collaborative and consultative. It can achieve wide political participation of the democratic parties, mass organizations and people of all walks of life, and promote the scientific and democratic decision-making of the party in power and the governments at all levels. Moreover, it can avoid both the problem of insufficient supervision common under one party rule, and political chaos and a lack of stability and unity that may be caused by the disputes and strife among several parties.