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China can launch democracy initiative, but more freedoms at home needed
A liberal China would definitely not embrace any Western political model. It could, however, become more capable of accommodating and accepting its people’s opinions, including dissenting views.
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A mobile phone displaying the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong, China, shows a list of episodes of popular United States cartoon series The Simpsons, with episode 12 of season 16, which depicts a scene of the Simpsons at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the site of a deadly 1989 crackdown against democracy protesters, missing from the list. (AFP/Peter Parks)
W
ith signs of rapprochement among China, the United States and Europe, Beijing is busy in a new global diplomatic effort to promote its own brand of multilateralism.
Though I disagree on many fronts with the policies of the Chinese Communist Party, I welcome such initiatives, though with some important caveats.
The Global Development Initiative and its twin, the Global Civilization Initiative, both represent an ambitious holistic policy framework. Setting apart the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which I am much wearier of, the former two could really bring positive developments, especially in the global South.
First, China has undoubtedly made a lot of progress in the field of development and poverty eradication and, at the same time, certainly the whole world would be richer if more Chinese traditions and culture were disseminated.
Yet why not add one more initiative? China could launch the Global Deliberative Democracy Initiative (GDDI).
As I have written previously, China is not a simple authoritarian regime but rather a much more complex political system with unique political features.
Authoritarianism is a key element but not the only one. Among other aspects, there is grassroots democracy which is basically a way, at least on paper, to collect people’s demands and needs, giving citizens locally some powers, including decision-making.
