China's Attacks on Democracy

While some countries favor a democratic system of ruling, other countries may take a more authoritarian approach. While we generally consider the latter to be detrimental to basic democratic principles and personal autonomy, few countries have taken such a drastic approach to undermine and eliminate democracy as China. Through numerous different approaches, the Chinese government has eradicated democratic behavior to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains in total control. 

The Chinese Communist Party has been the dominant party and political ideology since the People's Republic of China was first established in 1949 by Mao Zedong. The CCP has remained the dominant party, not by happenstance, but because of intentional efforts to eradicate any semblance of democracy. The first way in which democracy and autonomy have been stripped from Chinese citizens is through their election process. Chinese presidents and other important leaders do not come to power through national elections. Rather, they are elected by the Central Committee, made up of elected delegates from the Communist Party of China (CPC). This allows the decision-making power to remain within the CCP and ensure that the Chinese Communist Party continues to rule China. At the local level, Chinese citizens are able to elect officials democratically. While this appears to afford Chinese citizens direct participation in their government, it only serves to create a false sense of autonomy and individualism so that citizens will not question their lack of influence at the national level. 

The second way in which the Chinese government prevents democracy is through their control of the media, which further allows them to safeguard the CCP's rule. Despite having a Chinese constitution that grants citizens freedom of speech and press, the Chinese government censors and regulates the media, claiming that certain information endangers the country by exposing state secrets. Anything that the Chinese government believes could threaten their legitimacy is banned under the pretense that it is in order to protect national security. Other media censorship includes the Great Firewall, which bans certain websites, apps (social media, games, etc.), as well as jailing journalists and citizens who openly oppose the communist narrative presented by the CCP. Media censorship in China is a particularly potent threat to democracy as it prevents any access to opposing views and destroys the ability to think freely.              

Even more concerning than China’s more obvious attacks on democracy are the consequences for being perceived as dissenting by the Chinese government. Claiming a preemptive "re-education" for "potential terrorists," the Chinese government has imprisoned over a million Uyghurs, china's mostly Muslim minority, as well as other ethnic and religious minorities and those who vocalize their opposition to the CPC. Uyghur people are abducted from their homes and sent to concentration camps to be forcibly indoctrinated by Communist sentiment. While the Chinese government claims that this is being done to protect national security and reduce threats of terrorism, many others have likened it to a modern-day holocaust. Not only has this practice further eradicated any hope for democracy, but it has also violated the most basic and fundamental human rights. 

Ultimately, the Chinese election process, media censorship, and concentration camps are all ways in which the Communist Party of China dismantles systems of democracy in order to protect its position as the dominant party. The Chinese government has deliberately eliminated any democratic behavior in order to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party remains in total control. If continued to be left unchecked, these attacks on democracy will surely spread internationally to other countries not strong enough to challenge the rule of the CCP.

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china

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