Letters | Chinese democracy is good enough and Hong Kong should not want to copy the West

Hong Kong Basic Law

Letters

Published: 7:20am, 7 Jun 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

I would like to point out that there are two types of democracies in the world – Western electoral democracy and Chinese mass democracy. I know the Westerners prefer to believe that China’s dictatorship is not based on the people’s will, but I disagree entirely with this viewpoint.

I think democracy is not based on individualism or the ballot box. Democracy is based on majority rule and minority rights. It can be expressed collectively. China’s democracy is based on historical consensus and centralised authority.

In traditional China, the emperor ruled through the mandate of Heaven. This meant that he was responsible for serving his people. This formed the foundation of the Chinese mass democracy. It has deep roots in the past because the emperor saw himself as a servant of the people.

The Westerners might say democracy and dictatorship are exact opposites. I don’t think this is true. In 1949, Mao Zedong declared China’s independence, ending a century of foreign invasion and humiliation. The people stood right behind him and the Communist Party established itself as the premier power in the country. Three decades later, China launched its economic modernisation drive to industrialise and enrich the nation. Again, the people stood right behind the party.

02:02

Hong Kong ‘Lady Liberty’ protest statue goes on display

The Hong Kong activists say China should be a Western electoral democracy. I see no reason for their position. Chinese mass democracy is fine.

Most likely the activists are unaware of Chinese history. This is partly due to an educational system that largely ignores the imperial past. It is also because they are steeped in everyday politics and care little about the past.

They are accustomed to calling China a dictatorship, and while this label is correct, it overlooks the popularity of the Communist Party. Most Chinese support the party, and it is wrong to think that China will eventually evolve into a Western nation.

David K. So, New Jersey

The planet needs fewer people, not more

I read with some astonishment the article by Yi Fuxian on June 4 (“Unborn babies a hidden cost of global pandemic”). Mr Yi posits that Covid-19 may cause a decline in fertility rates of 0.1 per cent next year, leading to 6 million fewer babies being born worldwide. This he describes as “a massive economic and human cost”.

The major cause of almost every problem we have on our planet is that there are far too many people. Climate change, pollution, mass poverty, the pillaging and despoiling of the seas, the mass extinction of our flora and fauna and quite simply the vast overcrowding of our cities and tourist spots are all a result of massive overpopulation.

Mr Yi goes on to say that China could “lose” as many as 880,000 babies. I really cannot see that in a country with 1.4 billion people this would cause many sleepless nights in Beijing.

Trevor Hughes, Pok Fu Lam

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