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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Repression

In a recent Economist article titled "What are they afraid of?", the author delved into the topic of China's repressive policies.

The article compares China's political history to its current status. A decade ago, it was thought that China was being forced to integrate with the rest of the world, now the forces causing this seem to be far weaker than was once thought.

Recently, China has been passing long jail sentences for most human-rights activists. The large protest movements in China are mainly related to ethnic tensions. The struggles of the past seem to have been repressed effectively. There is little uprising in China's cities, however, and academic by the name of Liu Xiaobo "was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December,""the heaviest-know penalty imposed on any activist for 'inciting subversion' since such a crime was written into law in 1997."

There was worry about the world economic recession causing frustration among those in China, and possibly causing dissent, but their economy actually grew 8.7%. Also, there is a change of power expected in the next few years, but other than some attempts to gain support for promotions, there has been little evidence of any sort of struggle.

It appears to some that all of the expected transitions are still going as planned, even if they are happening in a slightly different manner than expected, such as the vice president not getting a military post thought to be part of his training to take over for the president. The next leaders are expected to maintain the current situation in China. The political analyst Russell Leigh Moses believe that the question within China's government is "'how much more authoritarian show we be?' not 'how do we embark on a Western-style democracy?'"

Even though punishments have been getting tougher recently, they are not unusual. It follows China's pattern of allowing some free thought, but punishing "those seen as straying too far."

China's leadership is still showing signs of trouble even though the country is doing well. There have been speeches and actions that suggest the current stability is difficult to hold constant. Many feel that the economic advancement and stimulus that seem to be making the country strong and quelling decent will not endure. These same people feel that growth and reform are coming too slowly to allow the status quo to be maintained. "A combination of fast-rising prices and low growth might indeed be enough to send protesters on to the streets."

The current status of repression in China has a massive impact on its ability to become free, the government's legitimacy, and the citizens daily lives. If the citizens are prevented from speaking out against the government, or at least speaking out too much, they will never solver many of their problems. Also, the chances for positive political change are reduced.

The jittery nature of China's political elites also hints at a weakness that could be devastating to them and the world. If it comes from a shaky economy, it could mean a potential collapse that will devastate the world. If it comes from problems with authority, it could mean the destruction of the regime and a loss of all legitimacy.

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