Democracy and the Rule of Law Promote China’s Development

By LIU XIAOMEI

CHINAS modernization has been a historical pro- cess of continuous reform and development， exploring practices such as constitutional monarchy， democratic republic， and the Soviet mode. It has experienced twists and turns and ups and downs in drawing on foreign experience of reforms， finally arriving at “the socialist road with Chinese characteristics，” the mode of modernization that takes root in Chinese soil and is marked by the birth of Deng Xiaoping Theory.

More than 30 years since the commencement of Chinas reform and opening-up， Chinas GDP now ranks second worldwide， and its comprehensive national strength is totally different from the years prior to reform. Chinas reform and open- ing-up and the ensuing economic take-off are admired globally. However， economic development and reform need the support of political structure and the convoy of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore， the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made promoting “extensive， multi-level and institutionalized development of consultative democracy” a cornerstone of socialist democratic politics. At the Fourth Plenary Session， the CPC Central Committee decided to comprehensively promote the rule of law. The building of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects is now entering a decisive stage， and reform is approaching deep waters. Under such circumstances， rethinking the role of consultative democracy and the rule of law in Chinas reform， development and modernization of state governance is important in improving and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and promoting Chinas long-lasting stability and sustained development.

Chinas Development Engine

There is a traditional view in China that holds， “People are the foundation of a country. The country is stable only when the foundation is solid.” Another， modern nationalist state outlook proposes， “A country is formed by the people. Without people there is no country.”Whichever view people prescribe to， in China peoples understanding of the relations between a nation and its citizens is not simply reduced to either stateoriented or individual-oriented， but defined as the inter-relationship between individuals and their country， a harmonious relationship. Therefore， as long ago as the late Qing Dynasty （1644-1911） and the Republican period （1911-1949）， Chinese intellectuals and statesmen， in pursuit of national independence and prosperity， began to think about and practice democratic and political reform by unleashing “the power of the people.”

After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949， the masses became the principal body driving historical development， according to Marxist philosophy and socialism. The current Constitution declares， “All power belongs to the people.” It effectively guarantees that people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms， and allows public participation in state and social governance through basic political systems such as the peoples congress， political consultation， ethnic regional autonomy， and grassroots autonomy.

The democratic concept of “Development is for the people and relies on the people， people share the achievements of development” and the rights stipulated and guaranteed by the Constitution and laws have aroused the enthusiasm， initiative and creativity of the people， and unleashed their wisdom and abilities. Successful examples include the household contract responsibility system with remuneration linked to output， public nomination and direct election， democratic deliberation， participatory budget and public hearings.

If we say that the people are the engine of development， then democratic systems provide the fuel， and the rule of law provides a guarantee for democracy. Therefore， Chinas development relies on the resolve of the people to act as a principal body， to expand democracy and promote the rule of law.

Build Consensus through Consultative Democracy

Socialist democracy， which places the people at the head of a country， means that people can decide their affairs in daily social governance. Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics consists of two forms： One is “The people exercise their rights through elections and voting，” and the other is “Before major decisions are made， various sides conduct full consultation， and do their utmost to reach consensus on common problems.” In practice， consultative democracy has led to direct participation of the populace. It is a supplement to electoral democracy， and also expands the depth and breadth of democracy. It is conducive to seeking commonalities while reserving differences， building consensus and promoting harmonious social development. It has become the unique form and advantage of Chinas socialist democratic politics.

Following the deepening of reform and development of the market economy， the relations of social interests have become complicated and pluralistic. Outdated management modes such as command and repression can no longer suit the needs of modern governance. Therefore， some local governments and social organizations actively explore forms of consultative democracy， such as legislation consultation， expert consultation， soliciting opinions from the public， public hearings， democratic deliberation， citizens forums and participatory budgets， as well as community discussions and forums， public opinion information stations， and collective consultation on wages. Through the populaces participation in the process of governance， public policymaking has become more open and transparent， increasing its legality and effectiveness.

Taking the “democratic deliberation”and “participatory budget” of Wenling City in Zhejiang Province as an example， we can see how the government achieved results by first ensuring understanding and then building consensus through introducing and expanding public participation. This improved the performance of the government and was conducive to social stability and development in the region.

In June 1999， in order to strengthen and improve rural work through democratic modes， Songmen Town of Wenling City， Zhejiang Province set up the“Educational Forum on Modernized Agriculture and Rural Areas，” where local leaders and farmers could communicate face-to-face on certain specific public issues， creating a new form of consultative democracy – “democratic deliberation.”Since 2000， this dialogue mechanism has extended to more urban and rural residential communities， departments of the municipal government， non-public ownership enterprises and Communist Party organizations， winning good results and attracting extensive attention.

After democratic deliberations had been in practice for several years， the towns and townships of Wenling found that the budget was an issue of wide concern. Therefore， in July 2005， the peoples congress of Xinhe Town introduced democratic deliberation into the discussion， examination and approval of budgets， and created a “participatory budget” system， involving the public in the initial examination， review and approval of the budget draft by the peoples congress， and implementation and supervision of the budget. This“participatory budget” has promoted communication and interaction between the government and citizens， promoted consultative democracy， and strengthened supervision of the government by the peoples congress. More importantly， consensus has been reached through communication， debate and consultation in “participatory deliberation，” enhancing the responsiveness， pertinence and scientism of the public budget， and promoting social stability and development.

The merits of the “participatory budget” have been noted by local governments in Suzhou and some cities in Henan Province， which have adopted Wenlings method.

After nearly 20 years of practice and development， consultative democracy now has extensive coverage that continues to expand. But despite its rapid spread， on the whole the system is not mature and its effectiveness requires reinforcement.

This can be measured by its influence on policymaking. Public participation can be roughly divided into three types：（ 1 ） On site： Individuals participate in public activities but cannot influence policymaking； （ 2 ） Sub-participation： In the process of policymaking， individuals and policymakers influence each other but the decision-making rests with one party； and （ 3 ） Full participation： Both sides enjoy equal policymaking rights. In practice， consultative democracy in China manifests in four forms： the advisory-type， coordinative-type， public hearing-type， and policymaking-aimed. Among them， policymaking-aimed consultative democracy belongs to “full participation，” the main embodiment of direct democracy in grassroots autonomy. Public hearing-type consultative democracy belongs to “sub-participation，”that is， the populace participates in the process of policymaking， but the agenda and final decision-making are in the hands of the government.

At present， the public hearing-type consultative democracy is widely applied. However， such issues as whether a hearing should be conducted and how are not always decided strictly according to law. And the mechanism of amassing public opinions at hearings and collecting feedback afterwards is flawed， leading to low enthusiasm and feelings of powerlessness； thus， the effectiveness of public participation is poor. Therefore， it is necessary to guarantee the orderly development of consultative democracy through the rule of law to make sure that the results of consultation are incorporated into policymaking.

Guarantee Rights and Interests Through the Rule of Law

The rule of law can guarantee citizens right to know， right of participation， right of expression and right of supervision， promoting institutional construction of consultative democracy. Meanwhile， it can also promote social justice and guarantee human rights， laying a foundation for the development of democratic politics.

In the practice of consultative democracy we should sum up the positive experiences and tried-and-tested methods and sublimate them to institutional norms. This is an inevitable requirement in promoting sustained development of consultative democracy. For instance， in 2004 the CPC Wenling municipal committee promulgated a document entitled Certain Regulations Concerning “Democratic Deliberations.” It clearly stipulates the topics and procedures of various kinds of democratic deliberations at different levels， leading to their further institutionalization， normalization and routinization， and laying grounds for greater extension of the Wenling Mode.

In recent years， many provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions， such as Shanxi， Liaoning， Heilongjiang， Jiangsu， Anhui， Jiangxi， Shandong， Guangdong， Guangxi， Guizhou， Yunnan， Gansu， Qinghai， Tianjin， and Chongqing， have promulgated local statutes and regulations concerning procedural rules for decision-making on important issues， and hearing rules on administrative decision-making. They clarify regulations on the presentation of topics， the principal body of participation， discussion procedures， and opinion feedback， so promoting institutionalization of consultative democracy. Some provinces and cities， such as Guangdong， Gansu， Fujian， Hebei， and Shenyang， have also promulgated regulations on public participation in the making of local statutes regarding environmental protection and enterprise management to guarantee citizens political participation in an orderly way.

To build the rule of law China must coordinate the advancement of legislation， law enforcement， judicature， law popularization， and legal supervision. During the early years of reform and opening-up， the aim was to “have laws to abide by，” so legislation was the primary task in the construction of the rule of law. In 2011， the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics took shape， so the focus shifted from legislation to the implementation of the Constitution and laws. Correspondingly， the guaran- tee of human rights has also undergone a profound transition from legislative guarantee to judicatory guarantee.

As regards the judicatory guarantee of human rights， misjudged cases most impede judicial fairness. Therefore， perfecting the mechanism of prevention， correction， and responsibility-assigning of misjudged cases is the bottom line of judicial fairness. Among these， strictly carrying out the exclusionary rule of illegally obtained evidence， accurately defining the standard of proof in criminal cases， and implementing the principle of presumption of innocence reflect major progress in Chinas judicial guarantee of human rights. In judicial practice， significant changes have taken place in the correction of misjudged cases. In the past， the court normally wouldnt reopen a concluded case unless someone other than the accused confessed to the crime of an adjudged case or the allegedly killed victim turned out to be alive and made a new accusation. But in recent years several retrials were ordered based on unclear facts and insufficient evidence. In August 2014， after eight years of litigation， nine trials， four impositions of the death penalty， and six postponements， the “Nian Bin Murder Case” was handled by the Fujian Provincial High Court. After the hearing， the court ruled that Nian Bin be acquitted of a charge due to insufficient evidence. These changes show that Chinas criminal justice system is developing towards the rule of law orientation.

China has deepened judicial system reforms， perfecting the trial supervision procedure， the election and appointment of judges and procurators， the judicial supervision system， the letters and visits system concerning litigation and laws， as well as the legal aid system， and enhanced judicial independence and judicial transparency. These efforts will greatly promote justice and the judicial guarantee of human rights. Furthermore， progress in this area will provide new momentum and support for the development of democratic politics.