Official in China Says Western-Style Democracy Won’t Take Root There

Li Fei, deputy director of the legislative affairs commission of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, stressed already high tensions between China and Western nations like the U.S. in a recent interview. As Edward Wong of the New York Times writes in a Saturday article, Mr. Li's statements come in spite of recent statements by other officials saying "in public and in the Chinese news media that the country is moving toward democracy, implying that some form of a Western-style political system could take root." However, sometimes officials say directly that China will not have a Western-style democracy. Mr. Li said that "different countries have different election rules and a socialist China won’t follow Western election campaigns." He also said that a country's wealth is a prerequisite for Western-democracy: “Western-style elections, however, are a game for the rich,” he said. “They are affected by the resources and funding that a candidate can utilize. Those who manage to win elections are easily in the shoes of their parties or sponsors and become spokespersons for the minority.” 

National People’s Congress

These sentiments betray a disregard for the voice of the population being expressed through direct elections, undermining citizen-state relations in the Comparative Government viewpoint. Mr. Li said that the priority should be on improving the current style of elections, not expanding the use of direct election. Yet, the current system of elections in China is nothing more than a nominal process. Many critics of China from the West say that people at the local level are given no choice but the Communist Party. I thought it was very interesting that Mr. Li made such blunt comments; however it is not the first time as Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, said in March 2009 that China would never "copy" Western countries and have a multiparty democracy. 


Li Fei's interview was originally published online by China Daily. Read it here.


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Wen announces staggering decrease in military budget growth rate

According to a March 5 article from from The Economist, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced at the first day of the annual National People's Congress a mere 7.5% increase in military spending, down from 17.8% last year. Amid tensions due to recent arms sales to Taiwan by American manufacturers, this figure was quite unexpected, as most analysts were expecting an increase well above 10%. In fact, the Chinese government has not offered such a low increase in the military budget in the past 20 years. The rest of the world is left to ponder this sudden double take in the Chinese military budget: perhaps the government expects difficult times, despite China's relative success in the recession, perhaps the government sincerely is attempting to ameliorate its menacing image as a military threat. Pentagon analysts assert that China's military accounts have traditionally shortchanged the number of yuan spent on the military budget. For example, last year China declared a budget of $60 billion, while American estimates range from $105 to $150 billion. However, this year's shockingly low increase should not be cast aside. China could have easily declared a increase of as high as 20%, further reinforcing strained relations with neighboring countries such as Taiwan. The new figure also demonstrates a new air of caution that Beijing has taken in response to tell-tale signs of a possible housing crisis and the wearing off of stimulus cash. Either way, the reduced military estimate bodes well for foreign powers looking for a friendlier relationship with China.

This shift in economic measures demonstrates China's increasing insecurity about its future economic performance. Although China boasts a economic growth rate of 8+%, as Prime Minister Wen was only too quick to point out in his two hour speech, this withdrawal in military spending indicates that Chinese leaders are taking greater measures to preserve this economic prosperity by cutting down in the annual military fiscal increase. The lower rate of increase also shines a light on China's efforts to improve international relations. International figures have obviously had some effect on China's image, and Chinese leaders are clearly willing to work on their common perception as a major military threat. The question of legitimacy also arises when discussing whether these figures will be upheld, as in the past China's military estimates are much lower than their actual value. The Economist calls the Chinese budgets "opaque," emphasizing the lack of transparency when declaring military spending, calling the authenticity of the figures cited by the National People's Congress into question.



Photo source: Remko Tanis, http://www.flickr.com/photos/remkotanis/4408321612/



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