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How does whole-process people's democracy work?

Explains how China's whole-process people's democracy works, highlighting its unique political system and democratic practices.

Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.

Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.

Key Takeaways

  • China practices a unique form of democracy involving multiple parties under CPC leadership.
  • Democracy's success is judged by tangible benefits like economic growth and social justice.
  • Citizen participation occurs through various channels, including political parties and commerce chambers.
  • China rejects external imposition of political systems and advocates mutual respect among nations.
  • The whole-process people's democracy is central to China's governance and modernization goals.

What the video covers

  • China's democracy is characterized by the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) alongside eight other democratic parties and the All-China Chamber of Commerce.
  • The concept of democracy in China focuses on practical benefits for the people, such as economic growth, poverty reduction, and social harmony.
  • The speaker, Victor Gao, clarifies misconceptions about China's political system and emphasizes that democracy is not monopolized by any country.
  • China's political system encourages participation from CPC members, members of other democratic parties, businesspeople, and unaffiliated citizens.
  • The CPC consults widely with other parties and social groups before making decisions, ensuring a coordinated and synergistic governance approach.
  • Victor Gao shares his personal experience contributing policy recommendations through this democratic process.
  • China's democracy is described as a 'whole-process people's democracy,' which means people run the country through multiple channels and stages.
  • The video stresses that no country should impose its political system on others, and China will not accept such impositions.
  • The 20th Party Congress report emphasizes advancing this unique democratic model and achieving modernization and national revitalization.
  • The ultimate measure of democracy in China is whether it works effectively for the fundamental interests of the Chinese people.

Answers

Questions about this video

What is whole-process people's democracy in China?

Whole-process people's democracy in China refers to a governance system where the Communist Party leads alongside eight other democratic parties and various social groups, ensuring people participate in decision-making throughout multiple stages and channels.

How does China ensure citizen participation in its political system?

Citizens participate through membership in the Communist Party, the eight other democratic parties, the All-China Chamber of Commerce, or as unaffiliated individuals, all of whom can offer suggestions and recommendations that are consulted by the CPC before decisions are made.

Does China accept foreign political systems or impose its own on others?

China does not impose its political system on other countries and strongly opposes any foreign imposition of political systems on itself, advocating for mutual respect and understanding of different national development paths.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:00
Speaker A
[Music] Foreign literally means rule by the people. How does democracy work in China? I'm Victor Dao, Chair Professor of Suture University and Chairman of Yale Law School Association of China. I'm here to share with you my observations and personal experiences on China's democracy.
00:33
Speaker A
Hello, welcome to China Talk. I'm Victor Gao. The 20th Party Congress of the CPC just concluded with great success and has generated a profound impact for China and the world for the coming five years and beyond. In the month of October, mostly regarding
00:52
Speaker A
the 20th Party Congress, I did more than 100 interviews with TV, radio, and print media, both with Chinese news agencies and BBC, Bloomberg, and many other international agencies. Some foreign news agencies even called me a spokesperson of the Communist
01:12
Speaker A
Party of China, which is not true. In reality, I'm not a CPC member. I'm a member of a Democratic party of China. You may believe that there are only members of the CPC in China, which has more than 96
01:28
Speaker A
million members. The reality is that other than the CPC, there are eight Democratic parties in China, all predating the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Understanding this actually helps you understand the democratic system in China with Chinese characteristics.
01:51
Speaker A
One of the catchy phrases in the report of the 20th Party Congress, if you pay attention, is democracy, which appears 49 times in the Chinese version of the report. Chinese democracy may raise your eyebrows. Over the years, especially
02:09
Speaker A
during the 20th Party Congress, I have been asked about what is China's political system. Is it a democracy? Some Western countries allege that China is absolutely not a democracy. Some even use words like totalitarianism or authoritarianism or state capitalism, etc.,
02:30
Speaker A
to vilify China. You may know I spent four years at Yale studying the U.S. Constitution, law, and the U.S. legal and political systems, as well as comparative politics and political economy. On many occasions, I feel kind of compelled to help you
02:51
Speaker A
to understand the real situation in China, especially in comparison with other countries and other systems. First of all, philosophically speaking, no country in the world has a monopoly of democracy, and no country has any justification in holding itself out as
03:14
Speaker A
if it had the perfect form of democracy. Democracy needs to work, and the only litmus test of democracy is whether it can generate real benefits for the people. You know for sure that over the past 10 years, between 2012 and 2022,
03:33
Speaker A
China's economy doubled in size. By now, China is the second largest economy in the world and the largest economy measured by purchasing power parity. If anyone believes that China could have achieved the complete and profound economic transformation over the past
03:53
Speaker A
four decades, completely eliminating abject poverty and creating the largest number of internet and smartphone users in the world, with more than 150 million people in China traveling throughout the world every year without democracy, without the Chinese people actively participating in the decision
04:16
Speaker A
making process, something must be wrong with your analysis and conclusions. As far as China is concerned, we believe that the democratic system in China works. We believe that practice is the only litmus test of truth, and the only
04:35
Speaker A
test of whether a political system works for the people is to see whether it leads to greater wealth, greater social justice, and greater harmony with the environment, or as we say in China, greater harmony under the heaven. You may want to know how do the Chinese
04:55
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people do it? The first thing to know is that while the CPC in China is the ruling party, we also have eight Democratic parties and the All-China Chamber of Commerce, composed of private entrepreneurs and very large groups of people without
05:14
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political affiliations. If you imagine China as a car, then all the wheels or the cars are aligned in the same direction, moving forward in synchronization and coordination with each other, whereas in some other countries, without commenting on the
05:32
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substance of their political systems, of course, using the same example of a car, the wheels seem to be lined up in opposite directions, resulting not in synergy or coordination and greater results but inefficiency, incompetence, a lack of achievements, and
05:53
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no fundamental benefits for the people. In China, everyone is encouraged to do more for the country and to offer ideas, suggestions, and recommendations for improvement. If you are a Communist Party member, you have a well-structured process to make
06:11
Speaker A
your voice known within the system. If you are not a Communist Party member, don't worry. You can join one of the eight Democratic parties. If you have your own business, as tens of thousands of people in China do,
06:27
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you can join the All-China Chamber of Commerce. If you do not belong to any political party and do not have your own business, you can make your voice known as an unaffiliated person. It is important to note that the CPC at
06:44
Speaker A
all levels actively consults with the eight Democratic parties and people in all walks of life in China before making important decisions. In my case, over the years as a Democratic party member, I've been consulted on numerous occasions regarding the draft report to the
07:06
Speaker A
government and many government initiatives, mostly in the drafting stage. I have submitted numerous policy recommendations through this dynamic and interactive whole process of people's democracy in China, covering matters involving China's reform and opening to the outside world. In many respects, I've
07:30
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done this with my background as a lawyer, a banker, a private equity professional, a professor, but most importantly as a patriot eager to do my bit to contribute to China's democratic progress and achievements. Some of my recommendations have been
07:48
Speaker A
reviewed and accepted at the very highest level in the political system in China. For example, on February the 19th, 2020, in the darkest days of the pandemic in China, I recommended to the Chinese government to conduct a national mourning
08:06
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on April the 4th, 2020, to honor those who passed away in China because of the COVID-19 infections. Sure, many others shared my concern. As it turned out, the national mourning was indeed conducted on April the 4th, 2020,
08:26
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exactly as I had proposed. I'm sure many people in China in all walks of life, either within the CPC system or without, are doing exactly what I've been doing over the years for China's modernization and for achieving the Chinese dream.
08:48
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Allow me to emphasize that every country in the world has its own right to choose its own path of development. No country has any right to impose its political system onto other countries. As for China, China will not impose its
09:06
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system onto other countries. On the other hand, China will never allow any country to impose its system on China. Why? Because first of all, it will not work for China, and secondly, the Chinese people will not have it.
09:24
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In the world of today, the difference is the diversities and the unique characteristics of different countries should be our strength and should make mankind stronger. As for China, China is different from many other countries, especially from the Western countries.
09:42
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However, this should unite us rather than divide us. This should require us to promote mutual respect and understanding. I believe that everyone will agree that as far as China is concerned, ultimately the only thing that matters is whether
10:02
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the democracy with Chinese characteristics works for the fundamental interest of the Chinese people. I'm sure other countries anywhere in the world prefer to have their own systems and want to see their systems work. The 20th Party Congress report
10:23
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emphasized the utmost importance of advancing whole process people's democracy and ensuring that the people run the country. China practices socialism with Chinese characteristics. All power of the state in China belongs to the people. People's democracy is the lifeblood of socialism
10:47
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with Chinese characteristics, and it is integral to our efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects. Only by enabling the people to
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sustainability of growth and development of the Chinese people the 20th party Congress is a rededication to this fundamental belief and a re-commitment to achieving comprehensive modernization of the Chinese people and achieving the dream of revitalization of the Chinese nation
11:31
Speaker A
in the coming decades thank you very much
Topics:China democracywhole-process people's democracyCommunist Party of ChinaChinese political system20th Party CongressVictor GaoChinese democracy characteristicsChinese governancepolitical participation ChinaChinese modernization

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