China: a democratic dictatorship?

When you hear people say "China" in our minds often resound concepts of: development, marketing, language and economy but we rarely remember words about: society, history, freedom of speech and politics. That is why I dedicate this article to talk strictly about these domains, as they have played a key role in building the China we know today. Speaking about her story, and if we start analyzing the Constitution of China, 1982, the first thing that should call our attention is in Article 1 of that document: "The Republic of China is a socialist state of people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the worker-peasant alliance. " It seems a kind of oxymoron the fact that a state is a dictatorship and democracy at the same time; China, however, unifies these concepts. And it is the fact that this union of antagonistic words, "democratic dictatorship", is a rhetoric to the Marxist-Leninist ideologies that Mao Zedong promulgated in Communist China in the 40's. It is understood that China is a dictatorship and there is only one party absolute, irrevocable and without opposition, the Communist Party of China, at the same time, it is a democracy because this same party represents the embodiment of the interests and needs of Chinese's people .In that sense, although there is only one party dictating the ongoing political, social and economic development, decisions and actions taken by top leaders of the party (the Politburo) reflect a wider range of collectivenesssigns of democracy. Article 3 of the Constitution, the same way, gives us glimpses of democratic principles, "Democratic centralism is practiced in state agencies of the Republic of China." The concept of "democratic centralism" refers to all processes , debates, and decisions carried out by the party and the government itself, and that they are discussed with respect, in which the results are collective and democratically accepted. No fractions of any kind. No overlapping of leaders. However, do not be fooled by the of words read in the Constitution of China. These were written within a Marxist-Leninist theory, which could lead to confusion. But if we analyze in depth and in an objective, impartial and rational manner, we realize that China is far from being a true democracy. A country where freedom of expression is suppressed, where bloggers and netizens are viewed with a critical eye, where the press is censored, and where there is no strong opposition party, is a country where democracy is questionable.

Having said that, the questions come to the surface: How long more Chinese people will be willing to tolerate these injustices? Will it be that the present decline of China's economy make the people rebel to party demanding more justice and greater wellbeing?Will the party allow such uprisings? Only the course of history will answer these intriguing questions.

Jose Adan Prego Degree in Political Science LSU