Democracy in China
The Qing dynasty's defeats in the Opium Wars compelled a segment of Chinese politicians and intellectuals to rethink their notion of cultural and political superiority.
[1] Democracy entered the Chinese consciousness because it was the form of government used in the West, potentially responsible for its industrial, economic and military advancements.
The first use of mínzhǔ that deviated from the two above interpretions was found in William Alexander Parsons Martin's seminal 1863 translated book, Wànguó Gōngfǎ (萬國公法; "Elements of International Law").
[20] On the other hand, given that republicanism and democracy were completely foreign to the Chinese under monarchical Qing rule, authors often employed the "people's lord" meaning (genitive-noun-phrase interpretation) analogously.
An 1896 issue of Shíwùbào (時務報; "Current-Affairs News") even used the specific phrase xuánjǔ Mínzhǔ (選舉民主; 'elected People's Lord') in reference to an American election.
[18][22][d] In his 1877 translation of Du contrat social entitled Min'yakuron (民約論), Hattori Toku (服部徳) used minshu seiji (民主政治, lit.
In a 1916 issue of the magazine Chūō Kōron, the Taishō political scientist Sakuzō Yoshino distinguished the two senses of the English loanword demokurashī (デモクラシー): he associated minshu shugi (民主主義, lit.
Although the victorious Xinhai Revolution and the founding of the "Republic of China" (中華民國; Zhōnghuá Mínguó; 'Middle Huá People's Country')[f] seemed to show promise at first, Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore constitutional monarchy and the subsequent turmoil proved that it was the duplicity of the constitutional monarchists that helped realize the revolutionaries' gònghé aspirations (democratic republicanism), which turned out to be merely nominal and illusory.
Constitutional monarchists, such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, viewed mínzhǔ as dangerous, prone to chaos, and may result in the tyranny of a strongman "people's lord."
[17] In his 1918 speech entitled Shùmín de Shènglì (庶民的勝利; 'Victory of the Common People'), CCP founder Li Dazhao used the phrase mínzhǔ zhǔyì (民主主義; 'democratic principle') previously popularized by the Japanese near the end of the 19th century.
After escaping to Japan, Liang Qichao translated and commented on the works of Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Hume, Bentham and many other western political philosophers.
He published his essays in a series of journals that found a warm audience among Chinese intelligentsia hungering for an explanation of why China, once a formidable empire, was now on the verge of being dismembered by foreign powers.
[citation needed] Liang's great rival was Sun Yat-sen who argued that democracy would be impossible as long as the Qing monarchy still existed.
[24]: 53 This framing of democracy (minquanzhuyi) differs from the typical Western view, being based in Liang's interpretation of General will, which prioritizes the power of the group over individual freedoms.
Requirements were strict; only those that passed the imperial exams, worked in government or military, or owned 5000 yuan of property may vote or run for office.
[citation needed] Nationalism (Mínzú) Democracy (Mínquán) Socialism (Mínshēng) After the 1911 Revolution provincial assemblies provided legitimacy to the rebels by declaring their independence from the Qing Empire.
[30]: 321 In the article The Democratic Movement within the Army, written during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Zedong discussed the Red Army's political work and stated, "Through the democratic movement under centralized leadership, we were able to achieve a high degree of political unity, improve lives, and improve military technology and tactics, which are our three main purposes.
[32]: 61–62 In the concept of New Democracy, the working class and the communist party are the dominant part of a coalition which includes progressive intellectuals and bourgeois patriotic democrats.
[33]: 150 Led by a communist party, a New Democracy allows for limited development of national capitalism as part of the effort to replace foreign imperialism and domestic feudalism.
The Charter said China remains the only large world power to still retain an authoritarian system that so infringes on human rights, and "This situation must change!
[42] However, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said in 2011 that "we have made a solemn declaration that we will not employ a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation", having said similar remarks during his career.
[49] According to Xi, Chinese history after the fall of the Qing dynasty demonstrates that Western political systems do not fit China's national circumstances.
[47]: 43 Xi states, "China had experimented with constitutional monarchy, imperial restoration, parliamentary politics, multi-partisan arrangement, presidential system, and others.
[50] In 2017 and 2018 sessions respectively, the party and state constitutions were amended to include Xi Jinping Thought, described as the next stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
[33]: 150 [31][57] The CPPCC is an institutional component of the CCP's people's democracy and united front strategy, which provides a "seat" for the eight small legally-permitted parties and independent nonparty "friends.
[58] Such institutional mechanisms for addressing the interests of new elites while also taking into account disadvantaged groups have been described by academics as "administrative absorption of society" or "democracy in governance.
[60]: 6–7 In this view, policy under democratic systems as largely restricted to ad hoc interventions which leaves social development vulnerable to blind market forces and the short-term policy interventions available under democratic systems are not equipped to address long-term issues such as environmental degradation, dysfunction in capital markets, or population change.
The one country, two systems principle allows Hong Kong to enjoy high autonomy in all areas besides foreign relations and defence, which are responsibilities of the central government.
In 1984, British and Chinese officials held discussions regarding indirect elections to the LegCo, but more comprehensive reforms were forestalled by Beijing until the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
While the number of elected seats has increased, a 2014 NPCSC proposal for direct voting for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017 as long as the candidates are nominated by a committee was feared by critics to be too favourable to Beijing.
