THEME 2: AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE (Democracy in China) Michael Utama (2T06)

Democracy is incompatible and ill-suited for China. How far do you agree?

QUESTION ANALYSIS
FOCUS ASSUMPTION CRITERIA EVIDENCE STAND
THEME 2 MACRO Qn: The suitability of democracy in a Communist China + Benefits/Harms to China Democracy absolutely cannot work in China What does democracy entail? Western-style democracy or democracy with Chinese characteristics? What about alternatives to democracy? Benefits of adopting the western-styled parliamentary democracy Reasons why it is not compatible for Chinas political, historical, cultural conditions Largely agrees with the statement that at this point in time, a radicalized democratic revolution in China is not possible, given that the nation needs to focus on stabilizing economic reforms first before introducing any political reforms. However, we must also consider the alternatives to democracy e.g. consultative rule-of-law regimes, which can be dutifully considered in China today.

INTRODUCTION Define characteristics of Western-style democracy: regular and fair elections, universal suffrage, protection of human rights, majority rule. Overview: The pursuit of robust economic growth, Confucian culture of China, as well as political sensitivities in regions such as Tibet, XJ and Taiwan, all nullify the feasibility of democracy in China. Even though democracy can be used as a tool to rectify some of the challenges that the Chinese government faces, such as the pervasiveness of corruption in Chinese political structure, such benefits are often overrated. Instead of a full-fledge Western-style democracy, China should consider other alternatives such as consultative ruleof-law regime. TS1: Western-style democracy is indeed antithetical and incongruous to the current style of governance and leadership in China, because the nations pursuit of robust economic growth as a top priority in her national agenda simply does not permit any democratic reforms to transpire in China today at least not for now. China is only halfway through its industrial revolution, with over 50% of the population still living and working in the countryside. Given that the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rest in significant part on its ability to deliver robust economic growth and rising living standards rather than a popular mandate since economic modernization is viewed as the optimal remedy to Chinas backwardness which rendered the nation inferior and second-rate in an era of rapacious technological advancement China believes democracy will only impede growth and reforms. This is because premature introduction of democracy poses an imminent threat to the survival and legitimacy of the CCP, as citizens would be more inclined to vote capitalists who champion economic reforms into the government, which may conflict with the communist ethos of the Party as political interests are blurred and blemished with economic agenda. The fundamental reason why China has tended not to be democratic during economic take-off is that there is an inherent authoritarianism involved in an industrial revolution the need to concentrate societys resources on a single objective which, judging by history, people are prepared to tolerate because their own lives are dominated by the exigencies of economic survival and the desire to escape from poverty. A combination of fear of instability following the Tiananmen Crackdown in 1989, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and what are seen as the difficulties experienced by Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan as democracies have reinforced the view of the CCP that democracy is liable to represent a distraction from the main ambition of sustaining the countrys economic growth. Only if the circumstances are ripe and the economic modernization of China has matured and stabilized, can perhaps the prospect of democracy be dutifully considered in the long run. LB: Therefore, given how democracy is more likely to embroil a nation in considerable chaos and turmoil a risk that China is currently not willing to take as a conducive environment is required for optimal economic progress this Western ideology is indeed antagonistic to Chinas needs today. TS2: Moreover, the advocacy of Confucian values by the Hu administration in developing a harmonious society in China today negates the possibility of Democracy to be incompatible and unsuitable for the country, because the Confucian concept of harmony cannot deal with the conflicts that a democracy tends to give rise to which disrupts this placidity. The election process that takes place in modern liberal democracy directly opposes Confucian promotion of a harmonious society. During election campaigns, the issues most frequently discussed are the ones that are highly emotionally and politically charged. In contemporary U.S. elections, controversial issues like abortion, gay marriage, military engagement in the Middle East and universal health care are at the forefront of campaigns. Chinese Confucians consider these controversial issues to be cleavages within the fabric of social harmony. Western politicians rely on exploiting these social cleavages to garner support from voters. In Chinese culture, it would be improprietous for a politician to exploit these societal chasms to promote the personal goal of getting elected. Consequently the election process as it is known in the West is entirely inappropriate for the Chinese. However, one may rebut this view by highlighting the fact that democracy has succeeded in other Confucian societies like Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. This seems to suggest that although there are elements of Confucianism that may hinder the democratization of China, this does not mean that Confucianism renders democratization impossible. Nevertheless, one must also realize that
CJC Humanities Dept. 2012

THEME 2: AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE (Democracy in China) Michael Utama (2T06) China has experienced Confucianism in a more complete and doctrinaire form than Japan and South Korea, where it was a Chinese import and therefore never enjoyed quite the same degree of overweening influence as in China. As a result, it was easier for these countries to embrace democracy by, in effect, adding a new political layer to coexist along with the older Confucian traditions and practices. However, for China, Confucianism is so profoundly embedded in its culture and traditions that it is viewed more as a spiritual ideology which guides China progress towards a harmonious society, whereas democracy is perceived more as a recently imported foreign political weapon that cannot be advocated in tandem with the domestically conceived Confucianism a dogma that has existed in China for thousands of years. Even in the case of Taiwans transformation into a democratic nation, its success was attained at the expense of having the then-ruling party Kuomintang being voted off the government and exiled to China. Given the possibility of having its legitimacy eroded and power to rule forgone, the CCP is more likely than not reject the prospect of democratic ideals as it values its right to rule more. LB: As such, this incompatibility of democracy and Confucianism verifies the assertion that democracy is indeed incompatible and unsuitable in China today. TS3: Furthermore, democracy is viewed as a pedestal that politically sensitive regions like Xinjiang and Tibet may use to further amplify their secessionist desires and obstruct national unity a risk that the Chinese government is unwilling to make because the nations territorial sovereignty is being compromised. As such, democracy is largely incompatible and ill-suited in China today. As autonomous regions like Tibet and Xinjiang are augmented by Arabic and Persian terms which have been incorporated into their discourse for centuries to convey religious and cultural meanings that are divergent from that of the Han culture, the people of these regions have never seen themselves as being culturally or historically part of China. Rather, their affinity to China is only defined by the geographical boundaries that the Chinese government has demarcated. Thus, with a key characteristic of democracy being the protection of the citizens constitutional right and the allowance of free and fair elections, Tibet and Xinjiang may utilize democracy as an ideological tool to amplify and accentuate the regions vox populi, where the people wish to be reunited back with their Central Asian counterparts whom they reconcile their national loyalty with. This poses an immense dilemma for the Chinese government. On one hand they can never agree to the regions separatist demands, as this threatens the states sovereignty since these areas are assets to China that are significant in meeting her national needs, with Xinjiang holding a large oil field that provides important factor inputs to fuel Chinas economic growth, and Tibets rich cultural heritage embellishing the countrys tourism industry. However, on the other hand, the denial of the constitutional rights of these people will portray the CCP as a hypocritical governing body, because it lacks the genuine political will to adhere to the ethos of democracy that champions the rights and freedom of every citizen. Moreover, with many of Chinas neighbouring countries like Kyrgyzstan and India shedding the solitary beacon of democracy in Central Asia, such as Kyrgyzstan acting as the spark for Arab Spring 2011, the introduction of democracy into China will only intensify the situation further as these neighbouring countries will more likely pressurize China to grant the secessionist demands of Xinjiang and Tibet. These political ramifications will only exacerbate further as Taiwan too may be inveigled and enticed to seek independence as well, especially with a political structure that is already democratic which further inflames the situation. This is because the development of such events may provide the democratic superpower USA a leverage to vindicate its hegemonic expansion in the East Asian region to propagate democracy, depreciating Chinas influence within the region as she is increasingly inundated by the driving forces of democracy. All these further erode the territorial sovereignty and political legitimacy of the CCP. LB: Therefore, seeing how democracy poses a significant threat to Chinas national unity as it seen as a stepping stone for politically sensitive regions like Xinjiang and Tibet to augment their separatist demands, this Western ideology is thus largely unsuitable and incongruous for China today. TS4: Although one cannot deny the benefits of democracy that China may gain, such as its ability in mitigating the perennial problem of corruption that seems to attenuate the systemic weaknesses of Chinas political structure further, such benefits are often overrated and limited in their effects rendering democracy to still be largely unsuitable and antagonistic for China. In 2011, China was ranked 75th out of 179 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Given the pervasiveness of this challenge, which impedes effective governance in China, democracy may be seen as compatible and beneficial to help China eradicate this problem. Since democracy champions the rule of law, some critics have argued that this aids the Judiciary in China to be independent and free from affiliation with political party, self-regulating with its own standards that produces a higher quality legal system to protect the constitution and internal morality of the law, ensuring that laws and regulations can be effectively discharged. This thus allows the judges to be neutral and objective in cases that encapsulate political sensitivity, ensuring that they will not have the tendency to be bias towards Party officials and make unfair deliberations regarding corrupt officials. However, one must realize that although upholding the rule of law is a subset of democracy, it is not synonymous and analogous with democracy. In reality, there is no pressing need for China to conduct radical democratization reforms just for the sake of upholding the rule of law to eliminate corruption, because this can be done even without the prevalence of democracy. For instance, Singapore practices authoritarian democracy but she is still able to uphold the rule of law and remains as one of the most corrupt-free nations of the world, being ranked 5th out of 179 countries in the CPI. Moreover, the benefits of democracy in its ability to mitigate corruption are often largely exaggerated, because democracy and upholding the rule of law does not guarantee that a nation is corrupt-free and stable. Democracy may in fact exacerbate the situation further because there are always the rich who would provide money in exchange for government support, therefore once the officials are elected, the public officers will serve electors one hand, and money providers on the other resulting in democracy to propagate a circularity of corruption
CJC Humanities Dept. 2012

THEME 2: AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE (Democracy in China) Michael Utama (2T06) in the very system that has once nurtured government officials to be just and law-abiding. Greece for example, being often heralded as the fatherland of democracy, is ironically very corrupt as it is ranked 80th in the CPI which is shockingly even worse than Chinas corruption level. LB: Hence, given that the extent and degree of benefits of democracy is largely overrated, limited and one-sided, democracy is nevertheless still very much antithetical and unsuitable for China today. TS5: Instead of a full-fledge Western-style democracy, perhaps the establishment of a consultative rule-of-law regime a phrase coined by Peking University Professor Pan Wei, is a more suitable and compatible alternative for Chinas political system. It is possible to have political liberalization in China without Western democratization. The push for reforms from intellectuals in the country is stemmed from pragmatic concerns rather than democratic ideals. Socialeconomic problems for which democratization is deemed as an alternative solution may not be the most ideal and immediate solution, because democracy may propagate other problems such as the socio-economic polarization between the rich and the poor, as well as undermining the rule of law as leaders would pander to popular sentiment rather than making painful reforms for the long-term. Moreover, there is a tendency for many to confuse democratic idealism with non-ideological kind of technocratic pragmatism, as the political system in China today is one that focuses on improving its ability to solve problems rather on achieving political reforms for the sake of democratic ideals. Hence, the key focus for China is to transform itself from a hardcore Leninist revolutionary Party to a more pragmatic, systemmaintaining ruling party and to achieve that, the establishment of a consultative rule-of-law regime is a much better alternative to democracy. This is a dictatorship-style of governance that operates on responsiveness, bound by the law and in touch with its citizens aspirations. Unlike democracy where the process of voting and election may overthrow the incumbent power out of its seat, the consultative rule-of-law regime does not threaten the one-party rule. This is because its focus of maintaining an effective Judiciary system, whereby the interests of various groups and parties can be automatically represented and realized in an efficacious and virtuous governing apparatus, ensures that the CCP is taking care of the societys welfare thereby legitimizing its role and position as the rightful ruling power. LB: As such, the establishment of a consultative rule-of-law regime in China is a much better alternative to democracy because it is more compatible and adaptable to the current political landscape and interests of the country unlike democracy whose levels of suitability and compatibility are still largely irrelevant in China today. Conclusion Reiterates points + stand Democracy is not a one-size-fits-all ideology that can be retrofitted into any random political system. If democracy amounts to little more than an alien transplant, as has been the case in Iraq, where it was imposed via the barrel of an Anglo-American gun, then the cost of that imposition, for example in terms of resistance, alienation or ethnic conflict, is likely to turn out to be far higher than any benefits democracy initially promises to deliver. However, given a longer period of time, then democracy may be a desirable system for China only if the circumstances are ripe and if it can take serious root in a culture. This is because in an increasingly globalized world today, China needs to respond and adapt to the changing demands and work ethics of the international community, and given that many democratic revolutions such as the Arab Spring 2011 have been occurring in recent years, the prospect of democracy for China is very much possible. This point is further emphasized by Premier Wen Jiabao in March 2012, who said that such democratic changes may eventually be needed to prevent China's economy from faltering and to spread wealth more evenly. (A new CR)

CJC Humanities Dept. 2012