Upholding and Developing Socialist Democratic Politics

2. the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has demonstrated its unique advantages

The path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics is conducive to giving play to the characteristics and advantages of the socialist system, developing people’s democracy, promoting economic and social development, safeguarding national unity, ethnic unity, people’s well-being and social harmony, and providing a strong political guarantee for the Party to unite and lead the people to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Demonstrate the superiority of socialism. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: “The socialist system with Chinese characteristics insists on organically combining the fundamental political system and basic political system with the basic economic system and various institutional mechanisms and other specific systems, insists on organically combining the democratic system at the national level with the grassroots democratic system, and insists on organically combining the party’s leadership, the people being masters of the country and governing the country according to law, which conforms to China’s national conditions, embodies the characteristics and advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is the fundamental institutional guarantee for China’s development and progress.“1 The development and improvement of the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has effectively ensured that the people enjoy broader and fuller rights and freedoms and ensured that the people have extensively participated in national and social governance; effectively regulated state political relations, enhanced national cohesion, and formed a stable and united political situation; effectively promoted the liberation and development of social productive forces, promoted various undertakings of modernization, and promoted the continuous improvement of the people’s quality of life and standards;

It has effectively safeguarded national independence and self-determination, safeguarded national sovereignty, security and development interests, safeguarded the well-being of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and fully demonstrated the superiority of socialism. Provide a fundamental guarantee for people’s democracy. Democracy is fundamentally a political institutional arrangement, involving major issues such as the state and the form of government. As early as 1940, Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out in “On New Democracy” that “without an appropriate form of political power organs, the state cannot be represented”,1 which also clarified the internal relationship between the state system determining the political system and the political system reflecting the state system. China’s Constitution stipulates: “The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants”, and “all power in the People’s Republic of China belongs to the people.“2 As far as the state system is concerned, socialist democracy is fundamentally different from any form of democracy in Chinese history. As far as the form of government is concerned, the Constitution stipulates that China implements the system of people’s congresses to ensure that the people are masters of their own country. This shows that socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics adheres to the people’s dominant position and protects the people’s rights in political, economic, cultural and social aspects in an institutionalized form. The people are guaranteed to exercise their rights to democratic election, democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision, and to administer state affairs, economic and cultural undertakings and social affairs in accordance with the law; It is guaranteed that state organs and their functionaries accept the people’s supervision and serve the people wholeheartedly; and that the state’s major policies and policies embody the will of the people, safeguard the people’s interests, and promote all-round human development. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “In carrying out socialist modernization, we aim to catch up with the developed capitalist countries economically, create a higher and more effective democracy politically than the capitalist countries, and bring up more and better qualified personnel than these countries.“3 Comrade Xi Jinping put forward the criteria of “eight cans"4 with keen political vision and profound theoretical thinking. Using such criteria to examine China’s political practice can provide a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of China’s political system: First, whether the country’s leadership can be changed in an orderly manner in accordance with the law. After the reform and opening up,

China has abolished the lifelong system of leading posts that actually exists, universally implemented the tenure system for leading cadres, and achieved an orderly replacement of the country’s leadership and leading cadres at all levels. Second, whether the entire people can manage state and social affairs and economic and cultural undertakings in accordance with the law. Our Constitution has special provisions to stipulate this, and at the same time has a fundamental political system, a basic political system and a variety of democratic mechanisms, effectively guaranteeing that the people enjoy a wide range of rights and freedoms and participate in national governance and social management. Third, whether the masses of the people can freely express their interests and demands. We have continuously expanded the orderly participation of citizens, and the content and forms of people’s mastery have become more and more extensive. Fourth, whether all sectors of society can effectively participate in the country’s political life. We have adhered to and developed the broadest patriotic united front, developed unique socialist consultative democracy, and effectively pooled forces from all sectors of society. Fifth, whether national decision-making can be scientific and democratic. We continuously enhance the transparency and participation in decision-making, strive to build a decision-making mechanism that understands public opinion, reflects public sentiment, concentrates people’s wisdom, and cherishes people’s strength, so as to ensure that decision-making conforms to the interests and aspirations of the people. Sixth, whether talents from all walks of life can enter the national leadership and management system through fair competition. We recruit a wide range of talented people and use systems and mechanisms to gather outstanding talents in various undertakings of the party and the state. Seventh, whether the ruling party can exercise leadership over state affairs in accordance with constitutional law. We adhere to the joint advancement of governing the country according to law, ruling according to law and administering according to law, and vigorously promoting the construction of a rule of law in China, with remarkable results. Eighth, whether the use of power can be effectively checked and supervised. We have established and improved a multi-level power supervision system, reformed the state supervision system, and ensured that Party and state organs and personnel, as well as all kinds of public power subjects, exercise their powers in accordance with legal authorities and procedures. All this clearly shows that the socialist democratic political system with Chinese characteristics plays a unique advantage and effectiveness in ensuring that the people are masters of their own country. The realization of democratic political forms is rich and varied, and we cannot stick to rigid models. Practice has fully proved that Chinese-style democracy works and works well in China. Strong self-improvement ability. The historical process of the Communist Party of China in promoting the construction of socialist democratic politics is a historical process of constantly gaining insight into the development trend of the times and actively conforming to the expectations of the people, a historical process of constantly deepening the reform of systems and mechanisms, stimulating the creative vitality of the whole society, and constantly improving the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and promoting the gradual deepening of the rule of law. Persisting in advancing with the times and upholding the right and bringing forth the new is a distinctive feature of China’s socialist democratic political construction. “Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics is a new thing and a good thing.

Of course, this does not mean that China’s political system is perfect and does not need to be improved and developed.1 The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that by the middle of this century, China should be built into a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country, which requires the comprehensive improvement of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilizations, and the comprehensive realization of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities. It is fully believed that the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics will inevitably achieve a new and higher level of leap.