The word “democracy” is derived from the Greek word etymons, which means "people as lords of their own country." Individualities in history, culture, social nature, and level of economic development determine how people run their own countries and the types of democracy they implement, implying that there is no universal, all-purpose module of democracy, hence the absurdity of judging other countries' democracy as a pedagogue. Democracy is not a privilege reserved for a select few countries. The people of a country should decide whether it is democratic or not, not a few finger-pointing outsiders. Nothing works better than what is most appropriate. Democracy isn't like Coca-Cola, which tastes the same everywhere; establishing a gauge for the world's varied political systems and assessing humanity's unique civilization from a single perspective are, regrettably, undemocratic.

China's democracy is known as “Whole-Process People's Democracy,” a path explored by the Chinese people during the past 100 years under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in their quest for national independence, economic development, and people's liberty and well-being. The Chinese people have the right to democratic elections, decision-making, administration, and oversight in this process, and their contributions are fully recognized at all levels, from the national to the local.

--Whole-process people's democracy is a genuine democracy. It's a complete, scientific system with supporting processes and procedures that's been thoroughly tested by a large number of people. It combines electoral democracy and consultative democracy, two main democratic paradigms. It runs a democratic system that serves a population of over 1.4 billion people from 56 ethnic groups in a big country, allowing for widespread and long-term engagement by all citizens.

--Whole-process people's democracy is an extensive democracy. The people exercise state power effectively through National People's Congresses and the deputies to the Congresses are fully representative of the people. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, China's political party system is not a one-party system. It is a system of multiparty collaboration in which the CPC wields state power. There are eight additional political parties in addition to the CPC. The other parties participate fully in the administration of state affairs under the leadership of the CPC, and are valued advisors on key national programs and contributors to the development of the country.

--Whole-process people's democracy is an effective democracy. China's democracy values substance over form, rejecting political theatrics and shows. The efficiency of democracy is completely demonstrated by China's development achievements and the Chinese people's unwavering support for the Chinese government. According to the report Understanding CPC Resilience: Surveying Chinese Public Opinion through Time published by Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Chinese people’s satisfaction with the central government exceeds 93%. China's world-renowned successes are due to its reliance on its people to seek development—it took decades for China to finish the industrialization process that developed countries underwent for hundreds of years and become the world's second largest economy. Chinese people’s lives have been significantly improved, a moderately prosperous society has been built, and the problem of absolute poverty has been resolved. The Chinese government insists on putting people's lives, health, and safety first in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and has mobilized the entire society to prevent the virus's spread in the shortest period feasible. 

The principles of democracy should also be honored in international relations. The globe is gradually becoming a community with a common future as globalization accelerates. Small or large, all nations are equal members of the international community and qualified to participate in global governance. The only way to deal with things in the world is for governments and people from all countries to consult. Because no single style of democracy is preferable to the others, no single country can claim to be the “leader of the democratic world.” Unfortunately, while blatantly ignoring the chaos in its domestic democracy system, a certain country engages in "democracy export"—it uses democracy and human rights as an excuse to meddle in other countries' internal affairs, frequently employs sanctions, and even infringes on other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity to instigate "color revolutions" and regime change. As an example, consider Hong Kong. Before it returned to its motherland, there was no democracy in Hong Kong under the colonial administration, and the establishment of democratic institutions and the exercise of democracy in Hong Kong would not have been possible if China had not resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong, or if the Chinese government had not committed to the principle of "one country, two systems". The development of Hong Kong's democracy has stalled in 2019 because of the local agitators and the external forces behind them—the former are the frontline saboteurs and the latter the covert masterminds. Many young people in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have become their pawns, and local residents are the victims who suffered the consequences. The Chinese government keeps assisting Hong Kong in developing a democratic system that complies with the region’s constitutional status and actual conditions. The just-concluded election of the seventh Legislative Council of the HKSAR was found to be fair, equitable, open, secure, and clean, with voters' democratic rights fully respected and protected, demonstrating the HKSAR's new electoral system's broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation, and fair competition. It exemplifies the actual definition of democracy: governments must consider what their citizens require and how to improve their lives.

As the world undergoes profound changes unprecedented in a century, China holds high the flag of peace and development, and advocates that all countries should uphold the UN Charter, abide by the international laws, practice true multilateralism, and pursue common security and development in order to build a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation. In the face of a terrible pandemic, climate change, and other global crises, the world community seeks cooperation and true democracy rather than division and conflict. Just as Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the Third Ministerial Meeting of China-CELAC Forum, both China and CELAC members are of the developing world and the common dream of independence, development and revitalization unites us closely. China stands willing to collaborate with all like-minded nations, Grenada included, to advance toward democratic systems that are compatible with our own and contribute to the advancement of political culture.

(The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Grenada, H.E. Wei Hongtian.)