Editing Democracy in China (section)

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{{Redirect|Chinese democracy|the album by Guns N’ Roses|Chinese Democracy|democracy in the Republic of China|Elections in Taiwan}}
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[[File:Jasmine Revolution in China - Beijing 11 02 20 crowd 2.jpg|thumb|A large crowd of protesters, journalists, police and spectators gathered in front of a [[McDonald's]] restaurant in [[Wangfujing]], Beijing as part of the [[2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests]]]]
Ideological debate over '''democracy in China''' has existed in Chinese politics since the 19th century. Chinese scholars, thinkers, and policy-makers have debated about democracy, an idea which was first imported by Western colonial powers but which some argue also has connections to classic Chinese thinking. Starting in the mid-eighteenth century, many Chinese argued about how to deal with [[Western culture]]. Though Chinese [[Confucianism|Confucians]] were initially opposed to Western modes of thinking, it became clear that aspects of the West were appealing. [[Industrialisation|Industrialization]] gave the West an economic and military advantage. The [[Qing dynasty]]'s defeats in the [[Opium Wars]] compelled a segment of Chinese politicians and intellectuals to rethink their notion of cultural and political superiority.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ham|first=Chae-bong|date=2004|title=The Ironies of Confucianism|journal=Journal of Democracy|language=en|volume=15|issue=3|pages=93–107|doi=10.1353/jod.2004.0046|s2cid=56257227|issn=1086-3214}}</ref>

[[Democracy]] entered the Chinese consciousness because it was the [[form of government]] used in the West, potentially responsible for its industrial, economic and military advancements. A segment of Chinese scholars and politicians became persuaded that [[democratization]] and industrialization were imperative for a competitive China. In response, a number of scholars resisted the idea, saying democracy and [[Westernization]] had no place in traditional Chinese culture. [[Liang Shuming]]'s opinion was most popular, holding that democracy and traditional Chinese society were completely incompatible, hence China's only choice was either wholesale Westernization or complete rejection of the West.<ref>[[Alitto, Guy]]. "Eastern and Western Cultures." ''The Last Confucian: Liang Shu-ming and the Chinese Dilemma of Modernity''. Berkeley: University of California, 1979. 85.</ref> The debate centered on the philosophical compatibility of traditional Chinese Confucian beliefs and the technologies of the West.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keping |first=Yu |author-link=Yu Keping |url=https://archive.org/details/democracyisgoodt0000yuke |title=Democracy Is a Good Thing: Essays on Politics, Society, and Culture in Contemporary China |date=2009 |publisher=[[Brookings Institution Press]] |isbn=978-0-8157-2218-2 |pages=115–117 |jstor=10.7864/j.ctt6wph96}}</ref>

The [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) is not a [[liberal democracy|liberal]] or [[representative democracy]]. The [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) and the [[Chinese government]] state that China is a [[socialist democracy]] and a [[people's democratic dictatorship]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Bose |first=Arun |date=February 1995 |title=Mao Zedong and the People's Democratic Dictatorship |journal=[[China Report]] |language=en |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=67–85 |doi=10.1177/000944559503100104 |issn=0009-4455}}</ref> Under [[Xi Jinping]], China is also termed a [[whole-process people's democracy]].<ref name=":2.2">{{Cite book |last=Mattingly |first=Daniel C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjzADwAAQBAJ |title=The Art of Political Control in China |date=2019-12-05 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-99791-8 |language=en |access-date=17 July 2021 |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308185629/https://books.google.com/books?id=FjzADwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":02.2">{{Cite web |date=23 November 2021 |title=Whole-Process Democracy |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/whole-process-democracy/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813104659/https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/whole-process-democracy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many foreign and some domestic observers categorize China as an [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] [[one-party state]], with some saying it has shifted to [[Neoauthoritarianism (China)|neoauthoritarianism]].<ref name=":52">{{Cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=13 November 2017 |title=Behind the Scenes, Communist Strategist Presses China's Rise |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-wang-huning.html |access-date=17 December 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=23 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223081228/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-wang-huning.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some characterize it as a [[dictatorship]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heurlin |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4UwDQAAQBAJ |title=Responsive Authoritarianism in China: Land, Protests, and Policy Making |date=2016-10-27 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-10780-8 |language=en |access-date=8 November 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117143202/https://books.google.com/books?id=F4UwDQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[constitution of the People's Republic of China]] and the [[Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP constitution]] state that its form of government is "people's democratic dictatorship".<ref name=":5" /> The state constitution also holds that China is a one-party state that is governed by the CCP. This gives the CCP a total monopoly of political power. All [[Opposition (politics)|political opposition]] is illegal. Currently, there are [[List of political parties in China|eight minor political parties]] in China other than the CCP that are legal, but all have to accept CCP primacy to exist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Alan |date=10 September 2018 |title=Is China a democracy? A long (and better) answer |url=https://www.inkstonenews.com/china-translated/china-democracy/article/2163522 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124051/https://www.inkstonenews.com/china-translated/china-democracy/article/2163522 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |access-date=7 December 2018 |website=[[Inkstone News]]}}</ref> [[Freedom of speech]] and freedom of assembly are severely restricted by the government.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=China: Freedom on the Net 2022 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-net/2022 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=[[Freedom House]] |language=en |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123114002/https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-net/2022 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Citation |last= |title=China: Events of 2020 |date=2021-01-13 |work= |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/china-and-tibet |access-date=2022-12-16 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |language=en |archive-date=29 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729034121/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/china |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Censorship in China|Censorship]] is widespread and [[Protest and dissent in China|dissent]] is harshly punished in the country.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last1=Bradsher |first1=Keith |last2=Myers |first2=Steven Lee |date=2021-12-07 |title=Ahead of Biden's Democracy Summit, China Says: We're Also a Democracy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/world/asia/china-biden-democracy-summit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215211244/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/world/asia/china-biden-democracy-summit.html |archive-date=15 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-16 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>