Democracy is derived from two Greek words — demos meaning people, and kratos meaning rule. In the West, elections are held to decide which party and/or individual should lead the country. Which is a key element of Western democracy. And campaigns for state leadership and seats in parliaments dominates their politics.

In the early part of the last century, democracy was translated as “people-master” in Chinese. Thus democracy came to be interpreted as “people are the masters of the country”, and “to serve the people” became the central notion of China’s politics.

A slight inaccuracy in translation has made a world of difference.

The concept of “people-master” tallies with the traditional belief that “the most valuable are the people, next comes the state, and the least is the ruler” — a saying attributed to Mencius way back in 4th century BC.

The term “master” was especially attractive in a country where the majority of the people were oppressed and exploited. A new social order where people enjoyed equal rights thus became an appeal of the times. .

The Communist Party of China, on its founding in 1921, undertook the task of  founding the “New China” and making the people the masters of the country.

So eliminating the root cause of inequality was its first priority when it took power in 1949. To do so, it launched land redistribution, nationalized urban industries and enterprises, granted equal rights to women, and introduced programs to end illiteracy by creating education opportunities for all, especially the unprivileged.

In the absence of equality, advocating rights and liberty is like hitting the nail only to miss its head.

Besides, equality cannot be achieved by only enacting and implementing an equal rights law. Without economic independence, enjoying equal rights in political and social life would be like a pipedream for the underprivileged.

The CPC-led government is committed to improving people’s livelihoods, by taking measures to ensure employment, schooling, housing, medical care, and eldercare for the eligible and needy. The coverage of the programs is about 95 percent.

To be sure, China’s economic policy is tilted toward the less-advantaged and low-income people, rural areas and places with high concentration of ethnic minority groups. Also, the government has exempted farmers from paying agricultural tax.

China’s infrastructure, including the high-speed train network, is well known around the world. But what is little known is that paved roads, internet connectivity, and electricity have reached each and every village, connecting even the remotest and toughest mountainous terrains in Tibet.

To hear directly from the people, understand their needs, and engage them in national affairs, the CPC, in consultation with other political parties and prominent public figures, ushered in a new system: the people’s congress in 1954. Now there are people’s congresses at all four levels — national, provincial, municipal and township.

Like legislatures in other countries, the National People’s Congress makes laws and decides on key appointments. But it is drastically different from them in three ways.

First, deputies to the people’s congresses are representatives of the people in the true sense of the term. They are nominated and selected from all walks of life and represent all localities, and ethnic and age groups, with the seats distributed in proportion to the size of the sector they come from. As most of the deputies to the people’s congresses come from the grassroots and have direct contact with ordinary people, they know well the needs, and problems of the local people. And at every annual NPC session, they bring thousands of motions with them.  These proposals are the best-quality and true voice of the people.

An apt example is Shen Jilan, a female farmer who could barely read or write. She was elected to the first National People’s Congress in 1954 as a role model in her village. She raised the demand of all working women: “Equal pay for equal amount of work for both men and women.” Her proposal was accepted, made into law and included in the country’s Constitution. Shen was the only deputy to maintain her NPC seat for 13 consecutive terms till she died at the age of 91 in 2020.

Second, the NPC supervises the government in a constructive way. It sees to it that the government does the right things in the right way. The government, on its part, submits its work report and budget plan to the NPC at the latter’s annual session for review and approval.

The Government Work Report is meticulously drafted with contributions of hundreds of thousands of front-line managers, industrial leaders, professional experts, academics and other individuals. After the NPC approves the Government Work Report, it will be implemented with concerted efforts of the government, legislatures and all sectors of society.

The NPC also sends inspection teams from time to time to check on the progress of the plan work and then sends its feedback to the government. In short, the NPC doesn’t make things difficult for the government; instead, it lends it a helping hand. The NPC is not a rubber stamp as some people label it.

And third, the fundamental and long-term interests of the people define the functions of the NPC, and they are the cornerstone of consensus building. The people’s congress is not a battlefield for partisan gains, but a meeting place for people’s representatives from different backgrounds to decide what is best for the majority of the people. Debates are necessary, but should be healthy, and filibustering and confrontations are not part of the game.

Serving the fundamental and long-term interests of the people is what best manifests people-master-style democracy. It guides policymaking and strategic development. It also helps distinguish right from wrong, and noble from mean. Most importantly, it is the core value that summons all forces and resources of the nation to work together.

What are exactly the fundamental and long-term interests of the people?  The Chinese people have considered peace and stability, development and prosperity, unity and harmony, security and health of the people, and clean and beautiful environment to be the most important features of the nation. And it is those very features that the country is working to maintain and protect.

(The author is a research fellow on comparative political and cultural studies)