Realizing the New Development of the Logic of “People First”
Wu Qiong, Associate Professor, School of Marxism, Wenzhou University
“Whole-process people’s democracy” is an important part of China’s socialist modernization. In the process of world modernization, the Communist Party of China (CPC), starting from China's actual situation, absorbed and drew on the world’s beneficial experience in modernization, and independently explored a Chinese-style modernization suited to China’s national conditions, realizing the new development of the logic of “people first”, and thus “Whole-process people’s democracy” has become the essential requirement of Chinese-style modernization.
“Whole-process people’s democracy” was first explicitly proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping on July 1, 2021, in his speech to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. At this congress, Xi further emphasized, “Practice the people-centered development ideology and develop people's democracy throughout the entire process.” This marked the formalization of the expression “whole-process people’s democracy.” It combines the word “people’s” with the phrase “whole-process democracy”, further reflecting the position and viewpoints of people’s nature and people’s supremacy inherent in it, and further clarifying that the people are truly the masters of their own affairs. It further clarifies that the people are truly the masters of their own and provides a powerful impetus and support for the people to devote themselves to the great journey of Chinese-style modernization.
Democracy is an important component of socialist modernization and an important criterion for measuring the level of modernization and development, and people’s democracy embodies the inner soul of socialist modernization. China’s socialist modernization has Chinese characteristics, breaking the thinking that “Western modernization is the only model of modernization” and realizing the development of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics. “Whole-process people’s democracy” is a unique and original contribution made by Chinese-style modernization in the field of democracy, which not only follows the universal values of democratic modernization, but also has Chinese characteristics, and is another great contribution made by China to the world’s innovation of democratic model.
Chinese-style modernization is a path of modernization rooted in China and built on the 100-year history of CPC’s development, meeting the requirements of social development and reflecting the common values of all mankind. People’s democracy in the whole process realizes the organic unity of Party leadership, people’s sovereignty and the rule of law. It is a new type of democracy based on these three elements. It is a modernized Chinese-style democracy with Chinese wisdom.
In the process of Chinese-style modernization, the improvement and development of democratic politics is an indispensable and important part. The degree of realization of “whole-process people’s democracy” is not only an important symbol of the development of Chinese-style democratic politics, but also an important measure of the height of Chinese-style modernization.
Whole-process people’s democracy is a whole-chain democracy. In China, it organically combines electoral democracy and consultative democracy, realizing the organic integration and development of the two. Full-course people’s democracy is also full-coverage democracy, with the scope of democratic political operation encompassing various fields such as economy, politics, culture, society and ecological civilization, focusing on national development and social governance affairs as well as the specific requirements and good wishes of the people, with continuity in time, wholeness in content, synergism in operation, and broad participation of the people. “Whole-process people’s democracy” is a proposition of the times with distinctive Chinese characteristics and profound world significance, formed in response to the trend of the times.
Published on January 2, 2025