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White paper on political democracy (full text)
(china.org.cn)
Updated: 2005-10-19 11:01
In building socialist political democracy, China has always adhered to the
basic principle that the Marxist theory of democracy be combined with the
reality of China, borrowed from the useful achievements of the political
civilization of mankind, including Western democracy, and assimilated the
democratic elements of China's traditional culture and institutional
civilization. Therefore, China's socialist political democracy shows distinctive
Chinese characteristics.
- China's democracy is a people's democracy under the leadership of the CPC.
Without the Communist Party there would be no New China. Nor would there be
people's democracy. This is a fact that has been borne out by history. The
Chinese people won the right to be masters of the state only after many years of
arduous struggle under the leadership of the CPC. The democratic political
system in China was established by the Chinese people led by the CPC. The
development and improvement of this system are also carried out under the CPC's
leadership. The leadership of CPC is a fundamental guarantee for the Chinese
people to be masters in managing the affairs of their own country.
- China's democracy is a democracy in which the overwhelming majority of the
people act as masters of state affairs. That the people are the masters is the
quintessence of China's socialist democracy. In China, the publicly owned sector
of the economy is the economic foundation of China's socialist system. In the
primary stage of socialism, the state persists in the basic economic system with
public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership
developing side by side and the distribution system in which to each according
to his work is predominant while other forms of distribution exist side by side.
This ensures, from the perspective of economic foundation, that China's
democracy will not be manipulated by capital; it is not a democracy for a small
number of people, but one for the overwhelming majority of the people. In China,
people enjoying the democratic rights include everyone who has not been deprived
of political rights by law.
- China's democracy is a democracy guaranteed by the people's democratic
dictatorship. Under the people's democratic dictatorship, on the one hand,
democracy of the widest scope is practiced among the people, human rights are
respected and ensured, and state power is in the hands of the people and serves
the interests of the people. On the other, criminal activities, such as sabotage
of the socialist system, endangering state security and public security,
infringement on citizens' rights of the person or their democratic rights,
embezzlement, bribery and dereliction of duty, are penalized according to law so
as to safeguard the fundamental interests of the broad masses.
- China's democracy is a democracy with democratic centralism as the basic
organizational principle and mode of operation. Democratic centralism is the
fundamental principle of organization and leadership of state power in China.
When democratic centralism is practiced, it requires that we give full play to
democracy and discuss matters of concern collectively, so that people's wishes
and demands are fully expressed and reflected. Then, all the correct opinions
are pooled, and decisions are made collectively so that the people's wishes and
demands are realized and met. The practice of democratic centralism also
requires that "the majority be respected while the minority is protected." We
are against the anarchic call for "democracy for all," and against anybody
placing his own will above that of the collective.
II. The CPC Led the People to Become Masters of the State
The CPC's leading status was established gradually in the protracted struggle
and practice of the Chinese people in pursuing national independence, prosperity
and a happy life. It was a choice made by history and by the people. The Chinese
revolution, construction and reform have demonstrated to the world that it was
the CPC that led the Chinese people to find the correct road to win national
independence and liberation. It was the CPC that led the Chinese people to find
the correct road to build China into a prosperous, democratic and civilized
modern country. It is precisely because of this historical reason that the CPC's
leading status is clearly described in the Constitution of the People's Republic
of China.
Today, the CPC's leadership and rule in China is an objective requirement of
the country's development and progress.
- The CPC's leadership and rule is needed for promoting socialist
modernization and realizing great national rejuvenation. It has been the
aspiration and dream for the Chinese people to rid their country of its poor and
backward outlook, and realize modernization and national rejuvenation over the
past 100 years. Under the leadership of the CPC, after making a range of
explorations and efforts over the past 56 years since the founding of New China,
China has cast off its former state of abject poverty. Productivity has grown
rapidly, overall national strength has increased greatly and people's life has
improved markedly. China's international status has been elevated, and its
international influence is increasing day by day. Especially in the 26 years
since the initiation of the reform and opening-up policies, China has created an
economic miracle - its GDP has been increasing at an average annual rate of 9.4
percent, and the general living standard of the 1.3 billion Chinese people has,
in general, reached the moderately well-off level. It is the unswerving choice
of the Chinese people to march toward the goal of prosperous, democratic,
civilized socialist modernization under the leadership of the CPC.
- The CPC's leadership and rule is needed for safeguarding China's
unification and keeping Chinese society harmonious and stable. History has
proved time and again that, without the unification of the country and social
stability, there will be no prosperity for the country, and the people will not
be able to live and work in peace and contentment. Foreign invasions, warlord
rampages and political turmoil brought disaster after disaster to contemporary
China. That period of history left an indelible impression on the memory of the
Chinese people. The unification and stability of China is a blessing for the
Chinese people. It is also in keeping with the interests of the people of all
other countries in the world. To safeguard the country's unification and social
stability has always been a matter of paramount importance at which the people
of all ethnic groups in China are most concerned. The CPC is the faithful
representative of the fundamental interests of the Chinese people of all ethnic
groups. Guided by scientific theories, with the support of nearly 3,500,000
Party organizations and 69,600,000 Party members and based on its rich
experience in exercising state power and its capability in controlling the
overall situation, the CPC has been planning as a whole social and economic
development and making efforts to build a harmonious socialist society to
safeguard the country's unification as well as social harmony and stability.
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