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China’s Communist Party
OpinionLetters

Letters | Why the Chinese Communist Party’s rule could be seen as democratic

  • Readers discuss the Communist Party’s governance model, what influences the decision to move out of Hong Kong, and the link between sugar consumption and climate change

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A visitor walks in front of pictures of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on November 23. Photo: EPA-EFE
Letters

I argue that there are two types of democracy: electoral democracy found in the West, and collective democracy found in other nations. Westerners believe that democracy always means individualism, but I challenge this assumption. I contend that democracy can be achieved through collective action. People can work together towards building a relationship with the government.

The Chinese Communist Party is the country’s sole governing authority. It does not compete with other parties. It holds the monopoly on power. How can it be democratic? Because the majority of the Chinese support the party. These are not the middle-class intellectuals that the West likes to honour. Instead they are the worker-peasant majority that forms the backbone of the entire country.

If the majority supports the dictatorship, then could that dictatorship be seen as democratic? Let’s examine the record of the Communist Party. First, the Chinese people wanted political unity to develop the country and to expel foreign imperialists. The party declared China’s independence in 1949 under the leadership of Mao Zedong, responding to the wishes of the people.

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To enrich the nation, the party embarked on a programme of industrialisation. Starting around 1980, the party opened China to Western investment, and an economic boom resulted. China became a moderately wealthy nation over the next four decades. Again, the party responded to the people’s wishes. It led the industrialisation effort, and it permitted the accumulation of private wealth.

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How forty years of reform and opening up have transformed China

How forty years of reform and opening up have transformed China
Next, the people grew concerned about the high levels of corruption and pollution, both side effects of the industrialisation. The party began prosecuting corrupt officials, and it began adopting measures to curb pollution. Again, the party responded to popular concerns and curbed the excesses of the industrialisation programme.
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