The role of the two sessions in China's democracy
- By Wang Wen
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 5, 2014
As China unveils its national congress sessions, which consists of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) -- together known as the "Two Sessions," public opinions, especially those spread online, often bemoan what they call "a nominal form of democracy."
Such opinions may reflect voters' expectations for the NPC deputies and CPPCC members, but also come out of some people's worship of U.S. style democratic politics, because after all, debates on Capitol Hill, candidates' campaign speeches and splendid slogans are just impressing people with a sense of beauty, and perhaps only exist in form.
But the problem is that U.S. style democracy is collapsing, especially in the recent decade, following Color Revolutions, then the Arab Spring, and the most recent case, the Ukraine crisis. These events have shocked the world and reminded people that the ballot democracy does not work for all.
This is why those expressing opinions should calmly review how the Two Sessions will develop, because it is a time when thousands of the country's elite gather to deliberate issues that concern the national and social interest.
Two years ago, I participated in the drafting and preliminary research of some proposals to be handed to the CPPCC, during which I personally experienced the difficulty in performing a political consultation.
The recently disputable Yu'ebao, an online financial product, is a focus where pros and cons clash. A new financial regulation measure should balance financial stability while encouraging innovation, and this would mean a huge conflict of interest. The Two Sessions offer a platform where different opinions can clash.
Good political proposals must cover the interests of most people. Naturally, proposals only intended to benefit a small number of people will meet with criticism.
By contrast, decision making in U.S. politics seems more outright. I have observed the U.S. presidential election twice, and have visited Capitol Hill several times. Those trips left me with an impression that the ballot was "instrumentalized," because politics there was reduced to a "ballot majority."
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