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Slow but steady road to grassroots democracy

By Fu Dalin (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-22 07:42

According to a recent report by the Administration of Civil Affairs in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, 724 of the city's 780 neighborhood committees were elected by local residents directly during the latest reshuffle of local neighborhood committees.

The rate of direct election is 92.8 percent, which is an obvious jump from 47 percent, the figure for the last reshuffle to the grassroots organization of urban residents' self-governance in 2005.

Therefore, it is not an overstatement to say that Shenzhen has taken a leap forward in its grassroots democracy.

The high rate of direct election is definitely a sign for Shenzhen's leading position across the country in fostering democracy. Beyond that, it could offer a perspective for practicing democracy more extensively across China.

As a political arrangement, democracy is "the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time", according to Sir Winston Churchill. In the description of Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, democracy is a situation in which the city affairs were decided finally by the citizens' congress through debate and vote.

Looking back on China's history of development of democracy, it did not follow the same path as most Western countries: democracy was nurtured and developed through numerous democratic movements. Instead, democracy started to take roots after a democratic system was established.

Therefore, the key to promoting democracy in China is to practice it extensively and in an orderly way among the public instead of only encouraging public discussion or debate in the street or in the square in the hope of nurturing the idea about democracy among the public.

Democratic practice would enhance public knowledge and awareness about democracy in an incremental manner, which would serve as the perpetual drive for installing the rule of law and political democracy in the country.

There is a wide variety of platforms on which people could practice democracy, like the school students' competition for the job of class monitor, an online BBS on which Internet users could express their opinions or even a TV contest for singers or dancers depending on public votes.

But the best and the most formal means for us to practice democracy is direct election. In the process of direct election, people feel the essence of democracy, realize the benefits of democracy, learn the techniques of democratic practices and grow into modern citizens with a clear idea about democracy in a modern society.

Direct election offers common citizens the opportunity of using their democratic right and encourages them to participate in political life. Holding a vote in one's hand would evoke his sense of responsibility as a citizen.

A common citizen might have difficulty influencing the State affairs directly, but now he has a say in deciding the affairs in his own community.

While it is premature to have a general election for all, direct elections to grassroots self-governance organizations for urban and rural residents serve as an opportunity for citizens to fulfill their democratic rights and for the communities to cultivate a democratic tradition.

More or less, the sense of accomplishment gained from direct elections could serve as an incentive for citizens to get more involved in political life, which, in turn, is a valuable condition for further promotion of democracy.

Direct election to neighborhood committees is an occasion for people to know and follow the techniques and principles of democracy. It is proven that an integrated part of democracy is the whole set of technical details and procedures during election and one of the most important values of modern democracy lies in the details of carrying it out.

Therefore, public knowledge about the process, besides the public enthusiasm, is indispensable to develop democracy.

One never learns to swim if he keeps clear of water. During the direct election at the grassroots level, the public acquires these skills of safeguarding democracy through their personal experiences.

After the citizens realize the joy from fair participation, they naturally learn to respect the procedure. And such a realization is decisive in nurturing a tradition for democracy.

Of course, the spirit and basic rules of democracy are everywhere to be seen in a modern citizen's daily life. And election is only a primary step for installing democracy. It is impossible to have a substantial democracy without democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision.

Therefore, while applauding Shenzhen's progress in grassroots democracy, we should also note that a scheme guaranteeing other aspects of democracy is needed to ensure the public opinion expressed through direct election is observed. And that would be the strongest support to direct election and democracy itself.

The author is a university lecturer based in Xi'an

(China Daily 07/22/2008 page8)