The notion of Chinese democracy is not the same as that in the West. The 
political system in China is more about consensus building within a greater 
voice rather than the protracted bargaining to arrive at decisions common in 
the West.

The country's application of democratic principles follows an approach Chinese 
President Xi Jinping has termed "whole-process people's democracy." The concept 
was put forward about two years ago, during Xi's visit to a civic center in 
Shanghai. 

Based on people's congress system, the "whole-process people's democracy" 
enables the Chinese people to broadly and continuously participate in the 
day-to-day political activities at all levels, including democratic elections, 
political consultation, decision-making and oversight.  

The story of Chinese lawmaker Liu Li gives a glimpse into how China's 
whole-process democracy operates.

A foot masseuse's way up to China's top legislature

Liu, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) China's top 
legislature, has fought her way to the influential position from the 
grassroots. 

She was born in a poor rural family in Yingshang, a small county in east 
China's Anhui Province. She quit school at the age of 14 and worked to support 
the education of her four siblings. 

After leaving home penniless, she went to Wuhan in central China's Hubei 
Province to work as a waitress and nanny before finding a job as an apprentice 
in a foot massage center in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province. 

Her humble background didn't stop her charitable giving. Liu dropped out of 
school, but she didn't want others to be like her. From 2006 to 2010, she 
sponsored over 100 students.    

Liu's goodwill made her a national celebrity. She was called "the most 
beautiful foot masseuse in China" and later became a representative for migrant 
workers and the rural population in China's top legislative body. 

In 2012, Liu was elected as a deputy to the local legislature in Xiamen and 
became an NPC deputy in 2013. A year later, she moved back to Anhui, where she 
runs a foot massage parlor and a community center for seniors. She was elected 
as a deputy for the 13th NPC.

'Democracy is not for decoration' 

Unlike legislators in the West who make a career of politics, China's NPC 
deputies, like Liu, work part-time, and many of them are ordinary citizens from 
all walks of life, including farmers, factory workers, craftsmen, and even 
street cleaners. 

At the annual full session, NPC deputies review and vote on important legal 
documents and personnel changes, including electing China's president and vice 
president every five years and submitting motions and proposals. 

Liu's proposals have focused on disadvantaged groups, such as the elderly, 
children and migrant workers. In 2018, Liu proposed establishing local 
"one-stop" help centers to investigate child sexual abuse cases to the NPC. Her 
proposal was addressed by the NPC and measures were adopted. 

Prosecution authorities in Anhui's Dingyuan County took the lead and set up a 
juvenile legal education center to handle such cases and minimize the negative 
impact on children during investigations. Now, there are 15 such centers in the 
province. 

Liu's suggestions originated from close contact with local communities. When 
the NPC is not in session, she visits fellow migrant workers' homes and 
collects their opinions online. She also listens to comments on society from 
her clients who come from all walks of life. 

Liu's story is only one example of how grassroots deputies respond to people's 
needs and how people's congresses contribute to China's "whole-process 
democracy." As Xi observed, "Democracy is not an ornament to be used for 
decoration; it is to be used to solve the problems that the people want to 
solve."

There are five levels of people's congresses. The deputies are elected by their 
respective constituencies, either directly or indirectly. NPC deputies are 
elected by the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and 
municipalities. At the lower levels of township and county, deputies to 
people's congresses are elected directly by voters, accounting for a majority 
of deputies at all levels. They elect deputies to people's congresses of 
cities, who in turn elect deputies at the provincial level.

In 2019, there were a total of 2.67 million deputies of people's congresses of 
all levels, including 590,000 at the county-level, and 1.94 million at the 
township level. Deputies at the two levels accounted for 95 percent of the 
total number.

"If the people are awakened only for voting but enter a dormant period soon 
after, if they are given a song and dance during campaigning but have no say 
after the election, or if they are favored during canvassing but are left out 
in the cold after the election, such a democracy is not a true democracy," Xi 
has said.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-10-24/A-glimpse-of-China-s-whole-process-democracy--14BX3wxFJCg/index.html 



SOURCE:CGTN