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* "Whole-process people's democracy is the defining feature of socialist democracy," said Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It is democracy in its broadest, most genuine, and most effective form."

* The thoughts and aspirations of over 1.4 billion people have been incorporated into the top-level design of national development through China's unique and distinctive whole-process people's democracy.

* The "two sessions" offer the world an important window to observe China's democracy.

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Seated in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Chinese national lawmaker Wang Yongcheng ran his fingers along raised dots of the Braille government work report as he listened to the document delivered by the premier.

Wang, who is visually impaired, was reviewing the report during the annual session of China's people's congress, which together with the political advisory body meeting is known as "two sessions." For this year's session, he submitted suggestions regarding retirement services for the disabled people.

The "two sessions" offer the world an important window to observe China's democracy. Thousands of deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) gathered in Beijing to discuss and plan for future development.

In a country with about one-fifth of the world's population, people are actively participating in democratic practices, ranging from state legislation to local matters.

Scenarios of democracy manifest in diverse ways. In tea lounges in east China's Fujian Province, people engage with lawmakers, expressing their opinions and contributing to decision-making processes. In another instance, thanks to a political advisor's diligent investigation, more than 230,000 ancient trees in central China's Hunan Province were granted legal protection.

"Whole-process people's democracy is the defining feature of socialist democracy," said Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It is democracy in its broadest, most genuine, and most effective form."

The thoughts and aspirations of over 1.4 billion people have been incorporated into the top-level design of national development through China's unique and distinctive whole-process people's democracy.

BROADEST REPRESENTATION

Wang Yongcheng, 57, is the first visually impaired deputy to the NPC since the establishment of the People's Republic of China 75 years ago. Fulfilling his duties as a national lawmaker since last year, Wang has been approached by many visually impaired people requesting him to voice their concerns.

Last year, Wang submitted four suggestions, one of which suggested publishing textbooks with large font sizes for low-vision students attending regular classes. He received Braille responses to the suggestions from the relevant government departments. "The blind community is 'seen' by more people," Wang said.

Mandated with state power by the Constitution, NPC deputies include Chinese leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and university presidents as well as couriers, farmers and welders, etc.

As the fundamental political system in China, the people's congress system entails that individuals can be elected as NPC deputies regardless of ethnic group, occupation, gender, or financial status. At no point has the "democracy for the few," as seen in some countries -- "democracy of the 1 percent, by the 1 percent, for the 1 percent" -- been seen in China.

In 1954, the people's congress system was officially established in China. Over the past 70 years, democracy in China has become even more vigorous.

By last year, China had over 2.77 million deputies to people's congresses at all levels nationwide. Every ethnic group in the country has its own deputies to the NPC and members of the CPPCC National Committee.

Liu Lei, a 40-year-old NPC deputy, has been championing the cause of the Hezhe ethnic group, which boasts a population of over 5,000 in China and mostly resides in the northernmost province of Heilongjiang.

This ethnic group previously relied on fishing and hunting but has now transitioned to selling traditional Hezhe fish-skin paintings on e-commerce platforms. During this year's "two sessions," Liu called for increasing support for industries in remote regions to provide better development opportunities for the group.

In Western countries such as the United States, it is rare to see a high representation of rural people, blue-collar workers and ethnic minority individuals at the highest level of state power, said columnist Iara Vidal of the Brazilian magazine Revista Forum, adding that diverse voices are heard and respected in China's annual "two sessions."

CHINESE DEMOCRACY NOT A SHOW

In the ancient town of Wufu, Liu Jizhang, a deputy to the municipal people's congress of Nanping in Fujian, regularly gathers suggestions from neighborhood residents. Following suggestions to improve the local landscape, flowers were promptly planted along footpaths.

"I push for immediate action on matters I can address. For those requiring further coordination, I direct them to relevant authorities and follow through," Liu said.

The town is well-acquainted with China's ancient people-centered philosophy. Confucian scholar Zhu Xi from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) lived and studied in Wufu for many years. He championed the philosophy that a nation is based on its people, and society is established for the benefit of its people.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has elevated the people-oriented philosophy to the core principle of "putting the people at the center" in national governance.

Liu Ting, an NPC deputy, has been focusing on issues related to an aging society over the past years. He has traveled to over 20 cities in China to explore how to use intelligent services to serve the aged population.

The environment and resource sector of the CPPCC National Committee, established last year, put forth over 160 proposals in 2023. Huang Miansong, a political advisor of this sector, surveyed multiple places focusing on rural development, and suggested orderly construction of rural environmental facilities during this year's session.

China has fostered a democratic framework that ensures the orderly and effective participation of its people in political affairs.

Venues and channels for consultation and discussion are available in various forms within neighborhoods. Online platforms ranging from forums to polls and surveys empower the people to contribute to policy discussions and the decision-making process.

At a legislation outreach in Shanghai's Hongqiao Subdistrict, boards are used to display the number of legislative discussions, but numbers are marked with magnets so they can be replaced easily, said Sheng Hong, an NPC deputy and a local community Party official. Over the past six months, nearly 100 suggestions submitted from the outreach have been adopted in national legislation including China's charity law and law on barrier-free environment creation.

Across the nation, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee has established 45 such grassroots outreaches. Provincial and municipal legislative commissions have also set up over 6,500 grassroots outreaches across China, ensuring that the voices of the people are heard.

Simon Lichtenberg, a Danish entrepreneur who has lived in Shanghai for over three decades, has participated in multiple legislative consultations. He said that improving the laws by making suggestions gives people a sense of fulfillment and achievement.

Chinese democracy is not a formality, nor a "one-time" show. Deputies to various levels of people's congresses are accountable to the public.

When taking a barrage of questions from voters several months ago, Wang Lihong, a deputy to a district congress in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, was sweating in the palms of his hands even in winter chill.

In response to the problem of chaotic parking in the community, he promised to run it over with the property management and seek solutions. That day, among the 100 voters who participated in the evaluation, 99 expressed satisfaction with his performance.

Carlos Martinez, a British author and political commentator, believes that in the Chinese system, the people always enjoy democratic rights in all stages, not just during elections.

DRIVING MODERNIZATION

During a trip to the countryside in Hunan Province, Lai Mingyong, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, found an ancient tree pummeled with iron nails serving as hangers for various items. Feeling the need to protect ages-old trees, Lai promptly submitted a proposal through the CPPCC Hunan Provincial Committee online platform.

Not long after, relevant trial schemes followed by regulations for ancient and renowned tree protection were implemented. Damaging such trees could now incur fines of up to 5,000 yuan (about 705 U.S. dollars).

"Chinese democracy has never been an ornament," Lai said.

Chinese people believe that the efficacy of democracy holds greater significance than its form. In China, democracy aims at pooling of wisdom to promote growth and prosperity.

At the "two sessions" in 2019, Dong Caiyun, an NPC deputy from the rural area of Jishishan County, highlighted the need for a local highway linking surrounding areas. Her voice was well heard.

Construction of a highway began later that year after the discussions. When a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Jishishan last December, the road that had just opened to traffic emerged as a lifeline linking the affected regions, facilitating the transportation of rescue forces and supplies.

During the "two sessions" last year, all proposals and suggestions submitted by NPC deputies were later reviewed, processed and given replies.

Every year, the government work report undergoes thorough deliberation by deputies before approval at the NPC annual session. Subsequently, the State Council will specify key tasks based on the report, assign responsibilities and establish deadlines for implementation.

Jose Luis Centella, president of the Communist Party of Spain, said that China has always fostered a democracy that sees wide participation from the people, involving them in national governance.

Democracy serves as a solid foundation for China's governance. A survey report released last year by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies revealed that respondents from 23 countries expressed an average approval rating of nearly 90 percent for China's governance capabilities.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized that developing a whole-process people's democracy is one of the essential requirements of Chinese modernization.

"When Chinese modernization offers a new option for human modernization, its unique perspective on democracy also becomes a new form of democracy," said Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association. "This is a significant contribution of China to the political civilization of humanity."

(Video reporters: Wu Yao, Feng Guorui, Xie Han, Hong Ling, Zhou Yang, Deng Min, James Asande, Duncan, Sun Nan and Ji Ben; Video editors: Zhang Li, Hui Peipei, Li Qin and Liu Yutian)

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China: Democracy that works - Xinhua

As the leader of a news organization and a student of politics for nearly four decades, I have been thinking a lot about democracy being on the ballot and how to cover 2024 up and down the ticket.

We are about to be awash in a tsunami of false equivalence, truth distortion and partisan spin, and it is our job at The Indy to help you pierce all of this to understand the stakes and the reality. Nevada is not just a critical state in the presidential race, one of a half-dozen or so that will determine the next president, but we could decide control of the Senate and House and we will determine if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is rendered irrelevant by a Democratic supermajority in Carson City.

I have covered every election since 1986, but this one is different, and I could not be happier to have this team of smart, aggressive reporters and experienced, savvy editors to oversee them. Before I go any further, I want to address the elephant in the room named Donald Trump. Democracy is on the ballot because of Trump but not just because of him. Yes, he made a raft of claims and filed a gaggle of lawsuits, none of which went anywhere, and he fomented a coup on Jan. 6, 2021. These are facts.

But the most distressing phenomenon, in my view, is how many elected officials and candidates have given sustenance to Trumps false claims of fraud by either echoing them or ignoring them, a form of cancerous neglect that must be illuminated by journalists.

This is the epitome of cowardice, where fear trumps integrity, ambition trumps honesty. Spines disappear as character is revealed.

If Adam Laxalt had not sullied his family name by crying fraud in 2020 and then the state GOP, led by the ethically bereft Michael McDonald, amplified these phony claims (and still do), the crisis would not be as acute. That is, if Trump had been denounced and elected leaders had informed the public of the truth otherwise known as honoring their oath democracy might not be on the ballot, the threat would have been suffocated long ago.

It is our duty and it is imperative for us to fact-check these sub-Trumpian lackeys and try to revivify trust in the electorate that they have helped erode. Nothing could be more important for us and all journalists, everywhere.

There are plenty of conservatives real ones, not the MAGA poseurs who dont know William Buckley from William Shatner who know all of this to be true and are inconsolable about the degradation of their ideology, maybe even usurpation of it by Trump and his fawning acolytes.

Once too many people have lost faith in the system, it collapses and despite some optimism from very smart people that we will endure no matter who wins, I am not so sure.

Some will say this is partisan, but it is instead patriotism. It is not patriotic to try to undermine democracy with manufactured claims of fraud; it is, in fact, the opposite of patriotism. What is patriotic is to reinvigorate faith in a system whose foundations are crumbling because of Trump and his enablers and to call out the mendacity wherever and whenever it surfaces. Many national and local outlets, including The Indy and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, debunked Trumps claims and those of his state minions in 2020. We must do the same in 2024, and we must do it before the election, not afterwards.

I ignore or mute the nattering nabobs with the fake Twitter handles and hyperpartisans who cant see or refuse to tell the truth by blinding voters with a blizzard of lies. Because journalists call out election deniers does not mean we support President Joe Biden or Democrats; its our job to do so, and never has it been more important.

You can call out Bidens rhetoric and his misrepresentations and report the truth that Americans are understandably worried about his age without putting any of that on par with Trumps pathological lying and delusional effusions. That doesnt mean we are rooting for Biden to win and we will point out Democratic depredations when they occur. But we will also be sensitive to proportionality and, yes, fairness.

We will not be deterred by the reflexive and calculated cries of liberal media bias. I dont worry about The Indys record.

Just as we reported on the fake electors and GOP Senate candidate Sam Browns multiple abortion positions, we also helped expose Ruben Kihuen, who might still be in Congress if not for us, highlighted Mark Manendos harassment in Carson City and we have covered Democrats funneling money to nonprofits linked to them and Democrats traveling all over the world on special interest dimes.

We follow the news where it takes us. We are guided by accountability journalism, not political party.

I should also note that the states highest Republican elected official, Gov. Joe Lombardo, whom I predicted would win, has sat for not one, not two but three lengthy interviews with me since he was elected. Q.E.D.

Partisans gonna partisan, hacks gonna hack. We are undeterred, and the proof will be in our work, as it always is.

If you think we have gone too far, call us out. But my lodestar and the team's is to give voters a chance to evaluate candidates from president to local office for where they stand on issues, including the most important one facing the country, which is whether democracy endures.

I would be remiss not to mention that this is difficult for me, as I have written before, being a pundit and nonprofit leader. I have a long paper and digital trail, and I dont try to hide that. I have been lambasted by both sides, the price of doing what I do. I try to balance both roles, and sometimes my staff winces. But they also will tell you I have never told them not to pursue a story, never had a heavy editing hand to slant a piece.

Im a registered nonpartisan, but my opinions on certain issues and people are well-known I dont, I cant run away from that. But that doesnt mean we wont be fair. Let me know if you think we are not.

We will cover the presidential race and every other race fairly. We will make mistakes, but we know our role as the go-to outlet for politics and government in Nevada is critical and we take that responsibility seriously.

This impressive team will use all of the resources at our disposal to show where candidates stand, where they are getting their funding and where their facts need to be checked. We will do it without fear or favor, as we always have.

I hope you will let me know how we are doing the good, bad and ugly. Unless you trust us to be trying our best, even our best will go for naught.

Jon Ralston is the CEO and editor of The Indy.

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OPINION: Democracy at stake and the reality of our coverage - The Nevada Independent

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a factory on Thursday. Ramil Sitdikov/AP hide caption

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a factory on Thursday.

Vladimir Putin's regime is "running out of fuel," and if the Russian president continues to burn through his reserves of oil and gas money, ordinary people will become a threat to his power, according to one outspoken activist.

Aleksei Miniailo is a Russian opposition activist based in Moscow who argues that Putin's grip on power is less steadfast than it seems.

In an article for Foreign Affairs in December headlined, "Don't Give Up on a Better Russia," Miniailo makes the case that there are groups in the country that want a more democratic future.

This week, in the wake of the death of prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Miniailo tells All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly that democracy is still achievable for Russia, and that Putin's crackdown on dissent won't change that.

"As much as it is dramatic or even tragic, as in case with Alexei's assassination it is not unexpected, not something that turns the table," he said.

Flowers and candles are laid around a photo of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Italy. Andrew Medichini/AP hide caption

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Mary Louise Kelly: What went through your mind when you heard the news of Navalny's death?

Aleksei Miniailo: I just couldn't believe it. I thought someone hacked the website of this penitentiary and just posted fake news.

It was pretty hard, actually, because Navalny is a very important symbolic figure. I mean, besides any human feelings about other human beings dying being murdered, actually Navalny is very important for many of us.

Kelly: So the title of this article that you've written is, "Don't Give Up on a Better Russia." Do you still feel that even after the events of last week, even after Navalny's death?

Miniailo: Yes, of course. As much as leaders are important, democracy depends on regular people, on ordinary people, not just on super big figures, on symbolic figures, and on leaders of political parties or of opposition.

If we would say that, "Navalny died, so now there will be no democracy in Russia," that means that all our job was futile, and all that Alexei did was futile. But it is not so. Because one thing that Alexei did very well, he introduced a lot of people into politics. And he, for a very long time, was not some sort of solitary figure, he raised a lot of prominent political figures.

And he was always empowering the audience. When we are talking about the chance that Russia might become democratic, such figures are very, very important. But ultimately, it all depends on the people.

Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia, opposition politician Lyubov Sobol and other demonstrators march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in downtown Moscow in February 2020. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia, opposition politician Lyubov Sobol and other demonstrators march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in downtown Moscow in February 2020.

Kelly: I will note you have spent time in prison. You've been arrested, you've been held for your opposition work. Obviously, that has not deterred you. You're still speaking out. How hard an argument is that to make today to other people in Russia, to hold strong, keep fighting?

Miniailo: It's not easy, but that's when the personal example works. He set a personal example that a person of liberal convictions, a person of oppositional convictions can risk his life, can put his freedom on the line, put his life on the line, to stand up for what he believes in, to stand up for a better Russia.

I'm not saying that everyone should do this, but definitely such examples are very important, because they empower us to become better versions of ourselves and ultimately to to do more for democratization of Russia.

Kelly: This past weekend saw hundreds of people in Russia arrested, detained for protesting or simply for coming out to mourn Navalny. This has prompted fears of perhaps an even more severe crackdown before presidential elections there in Russia next month. Does it cause you in any way to rethink your belief that a better Russia is possible?

Miniailo: This is all expected. Of course, it is hard. But we knew that such things would come to be, and that Putin will kill more of his opponents, that more repression will follow for some time before the regime weakens. It all happens. It all might happen further.

And maybe in a year when you reach out to talk with me about something else, you won't be able to, because I will be in prison or saw something else might happen. But that doesn't change the big situation, that the regime is running out of fuel. They don't have one thing that empires have, which is a civilizational vision of the future, how the society might work, how the society might improve the lives of the people within the empire.

So Putin has none of it. He has an imperial vision. He represents a small group of people stealing wealth from anyone else.

That is not something that can be supported by the wide audience indefinitely. And now he is running out of steam, for more than 20 years.

Police detain a man as he wanted to lay flowers for Alexei Navalny at a monument in St. Petersburg on Saturday. AP hide caption

Kelly: Explain that, when you say he's running out of steam.

Miniailo: For 20 years, he was stashing this surplus income from selling the gas and the oil it's called the fund of national wealth.

So for two years it was spending around $50-$60 billion from this fund. And if this continues to the end of this year, he will run out of these extra funds. So he will have a very hard time after that financing the war and financing his repressions, which he will, of course, continue at the expense of the people.

And the harsh truth is that most of Putin's reign, ordinary people were getting better and better lives because of this oil excess money. But for some time the economy is stagnating and the economy is not adapting. They are not fighting all these problems within the economy, they are just pouring money in there and solving the problems with excess money.

But when he runs out of money, you will have much harder time solving these problems, which will lead to more and more people being unhappy with their regime, and that will impose a more severe threat to his power than activists laying flowers to commemorate Navalny and Boris Nemtsov.

People light candles during a vigil for Navalny in front of the Russian Consulate General on February 16 in Munich, Germany. Johannes Simon/Getty Images hide caption

People light candles during a vigil for Navalny in front of the Russian Consulate General on February 16 in Munich, Germany.

Kelly: I want to ask about you. You are speaking to me from Moscow. You're speaking very critically of Vladimir Putin and his role. How dangerous is that?

Miniailo: I don't know. We'll see. I'm not saying everything I believe. I somehow censor myself, but every time I'm saying something, I'm thinking, "What will be the result? Will it change anything for the better?" And then somehow try to weigh the risks as well.

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Putin's regime is 'running out of fuel,' a Russian opposition activist tells NPR - NPR

Lately, Ive been thinking a lot about our democracy.

Yes, I know its an election year, so paying attention to national, state and local issues is my job, and its what Im supposed to do. But this isnt the usual political punditry and somewhat informed speculation that I usually do; this has been a more philosophical look at our current political system, and it got me thinking: do we still deserve our democracy?

And yes, I know we are not a pure democracy but a constitutional republic, but work with me on this one, okay?

I asked the question primarily because of what's been going on as part of our national discussion. Whether it was the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol where folks weren't happy with the election results and tried to overthrow the government. Yes, I went there.

And even before Jan. 6, and Donald Trump, for that matter, our politics were already becoming more polarized as the fringes from both the far left and far right dominate what attempts to pass for political discourse in this country. Not only do our national politicians spend an unnecessary amount of time kow-towing to these people, but the national media play a significant role in this as well.

As I jokingly say, there isn't one story so small regarding Donald Trump that MSNBC won't talk about it, nor is there one story so big about Trump that Fox News won't.

The end result, at the national level, is a lot of regular people get turned off and want nothing to do with our political system. As my lovely wife mentioned to me the other day, Why should people spend time paying attention to a system that they dont think listens to them, and if they did, it wouldnt matter because they would just give us lip service?

And it's more than just the national level.

The recent Indiana Supreme Court decision to stay a lower courts order regarding the constitutionality of a state ballot access law where candidates have to run in two consecutive primaries or get a letter from their county chairman to say they are in good standing, doesnt help in drawing more voters to the polls. In fact, its likely to have the opposite effect.

The court hasn't issued a decision yet, but the fact that as long as this rule stays in place, approximately 81% of Hoosiers could never run for public office as a Democrat or Republican because they don't vote in primaries. And I still maintain the state law is basically age discrimination because there is no way an 18-year-old could run for office, even though they may be statutorily qualified to do so, but because it was virtually impossible for them to run as a Democrat or Republican because they weren't old enough to vote. But at the same time, we complain about young people not getting involved in politics.

And dont even get me started on how expensive political campaigns have gotten that the only people who can afford to run these days are millionaires and billionaires.

As Benjamin Franklin stated in 1787 to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin responded, "A republic if you can keep it." It makes me wonder not so much if we can keep it, but do we want to?

Abdul-Hakim Shabazzis the editor and publisher ofIndy Politics. He is also a licensed attorney in both Indiana and Illinois.

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Do we still deserve our democracy? | Commentary | thestatehousefile.com - The Statehouse File

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) is the second-largest university in Houston and has served the educational needs of the nations fourth-largest city since 1974. As one of four distinct public universities in the University of Houston System, UHD is a comprehensive, four-year university led by President Loren J. Blanchard. Annually, UHD educates approximately 14,000 students, boasts more than 66,000 alumni, and offers 45 bachelors degrees, 12 masters degrees, and 19 online programs within four colleges: Marilyn Davies College of Business, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Public Service, and College of Sciences and Technology. UHD has one of the lowest tuition rates in Texas.

U.S. News and World Report ranked UHD among the nations Best Online Bachelors Programs for Applied Administration and Best Online Masters Programs in Criminal Justice, as well as a Top Performer in Social Mobility. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranked UHD one of the best colleges in the U.S. for its 2024 rankings, with notable distinctions:No. 1 for diversity (tied) and No. 3 for student experience. The University is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a Minority-Serving Institution, and a Military Friendly School. For more information on the University of Houston-Downtown, visit uhd.edu.

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We the Texans: A Symposium on the State of Democracy - We the Texans: A Symposium on the State of Democracy - UHD News