Connotations of whole-process people’s democracy
Consultation meeting on the refuse classification system held by a residential committee in Beijing Photo: CFP
President Xi Jinping has underlined continuously enhancing whole-process people’s democracy. Xi pointed out that in practice, the principle of the people being masters of the country is manifested in the Party’s governance policies and measures, in all aspects of the work of Party and state organs at all levels, and in the efforts to meet the people’s expectation for a better life.
The whole-process people’s democracy enriches and develops the Marxist concept of democracy, and manifests the unique strength of the development of socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics.
True democracy
The whole-process people’s democracy is a more advanced democratic philosophy. The whole-process people’s democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people’s democracy with the will of the state. It is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. It is a true democracy that works.
The whole-process people’s democracy is a more sound form of democracy. The whole-process people’s democracy in China has a complete institutional system, mainly including the system of people’s congresses, and the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation. These systems fully ensure the dominant position of the people in the country. The whole-process people’s democracy runs through the whole process of investigation and consultation before decision-making, supervision and coordination in implementation, and democratic evaluation of implementation results. The people participate in democratic activities in accordance with relevant regulations and procedures, and fully express their wishes, demands, opinions, and suggestions by means of voting and negotiation. The whole-process people’s democracy is based on an all-round democratic system, overcomes the temporal and regional constraints of the people’s participation in democratic activities, enriches forms of expression, upholds people’s right to stay informed about, participate in, express views on, and oversee Party and government operations, and truly makes the people masters of the country.
Political advancement
The whole-process people’s democracy has a clear value orientation. First, the status of people as masters of the country is the essence and core of China’s democracy. The whole-process people’s democracy is designed to better realize the running of the country by the people, under new historical conditions. The report to the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out: “the very purpose of developing socialist democracy is to give full expression to the will of the people, protect their rights and interests, spark their creativity, and provide systemic and institutional guarantees to ensure the people run the country.”
Second, developing the whole-process people’s democracy better realizes the people’s aspiration for a better life. The whole-process people’s democracy constantly meets the needs of the people.
Third, we must develop the whole-process people’s democracy and concentrate on building a modern socialist country in all respects. Building a modern socialist country in all respects requires the solidarity and joint efforts of all the Chinese people. Developing the whole-process people’s democracy can pool the wisdom and strength of the people to the greatest extent, fully mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of the people, and form a strong joint force for building a modern socialist country.
The fundamental political guarantee of the whole-process people’s democracy is the Party leadership. Clear facts have proven that only by adhering to the Party leadership can we realize the organic unity of the content and form of the whole-process people’s democracy. Only by adhering to the Party leadership can the people gain strength, can the people’s democracy have a clear value goal, and can the democratic activities maintain a normal and orderly state. The Party leadership is the fundamental political guarantee for upholding and developing the whole-process people’s democracy, and it is also the key to the political advancement of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Dong Weiwei is an associate professor from the School of Marxism at Northwest Normal University.
Edited by ZHAO YUAN