A ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China is held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. (CHEN JIANLI/XINHUA)

BEIJING - A white paper released on Saturday has expounded on China's whole-process people's democracy under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The white paper, titled "China: Democracy That Works," was released by the State Council Information Office.

FULL TEXT: China: Democracy That Works

Democracy is a common value of humanity and an ideal that has always been cherished by the CPC and the Chinese people, according to the white paper.

Democracy is a common value of humanity and an ideal that has always been cherished by the CPC and the Chinese people, according to the white paper

Over the past hundred years, the Party has led the people in realizing people's democracy in China. The Chinese people now truly hold in their hands their own future and that of society and the country, reads the white paper.

The people's status as masters of the country is the essence of people's democracy, it added.

China's whole-process people's democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people's democracy with the will of the state, it reads.

It is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. It is a true democracy that works, the white paper reads.

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Whole-process people's democracy involves complete institutional procedures, the white paper said, adding that these well-coordinated and comprehensive institutional procedures serve to put into place diverse, open, and well-organized democratic channels to ensure that the Party's policies and the state will are integrated with the people's aspirations, and that the people are masters of the country.

Deputies to the 13th National People's Congress leave the Great Hall of the People after the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 11, 2021. (XINHUA)

The system of people's congresses, an organizational form of political power compatible with the governing system of the people's democratic dictatorship, is China's fundamental political system, and the ultimate approach and optimal solution to guaranteeing the people's status as masters of the country. It is also an important institutional support to whole-process people's democracy, according to the white paper.

China's regional ethnic autonomy is autonomy under the unified leadership of the state. Territorial integrity and national unification are preconditions and foundations for regional ethnic autonomy, which combines unification with autonomy and ethnic factors with regional factors, and are thoroughly suited to China's realities, the white paper reads.

No fixed model

Democracy is not a decorative ornament, but an instrument for addressing the issues that concern the people. Democracy is the right of the people in every country, rather than the prerogative of a few nations, according to the white paper.

Whether a country is democratic should be judged by its people, not dictated by a handful of outsiders. Whether a country is democratic should be acknowledged by the international community, not arbitrarily decided by a few self-appointed judges, it added.

China has created and developed whole-process people's democracy in line with its national conditions. This is a form of democracy with distinctive Chinese features which at the same time reflects humanity's universal desire for democracy, reads the white paper

There is no fixed model of democracy; it manifests itself in many forms. Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick and examining diverse political structures in monochrome are in themselves undemocratic.  

China did not duplicate Western models of democracy, but created its own.

China has created and developed whole-process people's democracy in line with its national conditions. This is a form of democracy with distinctive Chinese features which at the same time reflects humanity's universal desire for democracy, reads the white paper.

Whole-process people's democracy has fueled the development of the country and driven the revitalization of the nation. It has contributed a new model to the international political spectrum, according the white paper.

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China must devise the most suitable form of democracy in accordance with its characteristics and realities. This is a basic principle China adheres to for developing democracy.

To develop its democracy, China has always drawn wisdom and strength from its 5,000-year-old culture and fine traditions.

Humanity's quest for and experiments with greater democracy will never end, it said.

The true barrier to democracy lies not in different models of democracy, but in arrogance, prejudice and hostility towards other countries' attempts to explore their own paths to democracy, and in assumed superiority and the determination to impose one's own model of democracy on others, it added.  

Pragmatic practices

Whole-process people's democracy in China has concrete and pragmatic practices, and has been fully tested through wide participation, according to the white paper.

Whole-process people's democracy is a combination of electoral democracy and consultative democracy and is applied through a combination of elections, consultations, decision-making, management and oversight.

It covers the economic, political, cultural, social, eco-environmental and other fields, according to the white paper.

The Chinese people widely exercise their right to vote in elections and undertake extensive deliberations before major decisions are made. Democratic consultation is a special feature of democracy in China, according to the white paper

By exercising their right to vote in elections, the people elect those who represent their will to hold and exercise power. This is an important form of democracy in China, and a clear demonstration of the people's status as masters of the country, the white paper reads.