Ahead of a U.S. summit, China tries to move the goalposts on the meaning of ‘democracy’
In the lead-up to the summit, China’s propaganda machine went into overdrive. On Saturday, its State Council issued a white paper entitled, China: Democracy That Works, which serves as China’s latest notice of global dominance. “China proposes to build a global community of shared future,” it reads, “and presses for a new model of international relations.”
While touting its own peculiar “democracy,” China neglects to mention that democracies are actually based on the principle of equal citizenship of all peoples. Whether it is tennis star Peng Shuai demanding that a retired Politburo member be held accountable for sexual assault allegations, or Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese Christians having the right to practise their religion in the language and culture of their tradition, or people being able to freely speak their thoughts on matters of politics and society without fear of arrest, democracy is the universal entitlement to civil freedoms, the inherent right to be ourselves and freely pursue our own future.
