From the Readers

Democracy is not everything

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-03 15:40

Comment on "Thai dilemma of Western democracy" (China Daily  June 2)

The challenges China faces are definitely bigger than that of America. But it is not because of China's political system or the lack of freedom that you Westerners so like to portray.

Make a comparison between China and the USA. China has 1.3 billion people to look out for whereas the USA has only 300 million. Do your math and you see the difference.

Historically, China had gone through a bad patch, while the USA had it that much easier.

Related readings:  Small step forward  Democracy is not an end in itself  Where's true democracy?  Is democracy a failure in the US?

China was at most times the victim and oppressed, while the USA was the dominant country if not the aggressor.

China industrialized much later, while the USA was already developing and growing into a power.

Chinese people were still struggling, while Americans were living luxuriant lives, driving monster cars and developing WMDs.

China has made many advances especially during the past three decades, but the Americans has had its growth unhindered for a longer time.

China today is still a developing country with numerous tasks, while the USA is already developed and enjoyed the number one status in economics and in military strength.

However it is plain to see great changes taking place. The poor China is now the third economy and many of its people are out of poverty. Please note this position does not mean China is a developed nation. Far from it, because in real terms it is still a far cry from reality.

The USA today, on the other hand, is not doing that well with the financial crisis which does not seem to end or have an end in sight. America's war adventures draw heavily on their budget and the huge military budget is not helping ease American woes. Admit it or not, Americans are not having easy lives today and it is going to get worse if you take into account the major oil spill disaster. Already Obama is suggesting in definite terms that BP is going to pay for the disaster. Will that help? No BP can go bust if the spill cannot be contained and the oil continues to come out uncontrollably. Well America has always fought to dominate over oil matters and it seems America's thirst for oil has been answered, unfortunately in an unexpected manner.

Western democracies do have flaws, but it does not seem to work perfectly well for those countries now that you see it better. It definitely will not work for the other countries, not Asian countries. China may have a one party system but as long as it does its job it is good for China and for the others in Asia. Nepal surely would like to emulate the Chinese system. Others are having their doubts over Western democracy and they may want to have a system they can call their own.

Can we say: to each his own? To me there is nothing great about Western democracy. Maybe it is not the ideology, but the way it is promoted to the other countries. Still it will not work well for Asia.

HsunTze on China Daily website