Independently seeking votes
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Global Times, July 4, 2011
The power of the electoral committee
"In our university, 400 people might seek a nomination but the electoral committee will select only four to six as candidates and three will be elected as deputies," explained Hu Jinguang, a law professor at Renmin University who specializes in constitutional law.
Occasionally a committee might ask registered voters for their input on whose name should go on the ballot, but the nomination process is not always so transparent said Hu. "The electoral committee has too much power in deciding candidates," he said.
Li also complained on his blog on June 18, that a company that has agreed to sponsor his son's tennis training was pressured into backing out of the promise because of his attempt to become a candidate for deputy. Some Web users doubt connection between the two.
Li said he wants to keep a low profile. "This is not performance art," he said adding that he will continue to "push for democracy and rule of law in China in a slow but persistent way. We're not here to challenge the system; we're here to do something for the public." He wants to reassure authorities that he and other grassroots candidates are not threats or troublemakers.
Technically, independent candidates don't exist in China's electoral system. They're considered "self-nominated" candidates explained Xinhua earlier this month quoting a report from the National People's Congress For Li this is a positive step forward. "At least they are responding and not pretending not to hear us," he said.
Raising voter awareness
"If some capable and enthusiastic independent candidates get elected and better represent the people, that would be a good thing for democracy," said Hu the Renmin University law professor.
Another lawyer, Huang Songhai, said celebrities who are running for nominations are helping voters better understand the workings of China's political system and their right to participate in it. "They will raise people's awareness of their legal right to vote and to be elected, which has been long ignored by many people, but the awakening of citizen awareness is a long journey," said Huang.
Huang served in the local people's congress in Poyang County, Jiangxi Province after winning election as an independent in 2007. He failed to achieve candidate status for this year's election after moving to a new constituency where he is not as well-known as the other candidates, he said, adding that he plans to run again in the future.
Huang believes he served the people well during his term as deputy to the local congress and partly because he wasn't always bucking the system. "I don't think one's views toward the current system should be connected to his or her position as a people's representative," Huang told the Global Times.
"The job of a people's representative is to serve the constituents," he said. "I don't believe most laobaixing (ordinary folk) are thinking about changing the political system."
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