BEIJING -- China's State Council Information Office on Saturday released a white paper titled "China: Democracy That Works."

Democracy is a common value of humanity and an ideal that has always been cherished by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people, said the white paper.

Over the past hundred years, the Party has led the people in realizing people's democracy in China. The Chinese people now truly hold in their hands their own future and that of society and the country, said the white paper.

The people's status as masters of the country is the essence of people's democracy, it said.

China's whole-process people's democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people's democracy with the will of the state, it said.

It is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. It is a true democracy that works, the white paper noted.

Democracy is a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving. Rooted in history, culture and tradition, it takes diverse forms and develops along the paths chosen by different peoples based on their exploration and innovation, it said.

Democracy is not a decorative ornament, but an instrument for addressing the issues that concern the people. Democracy is the right of the people in every country, rather than the prerogative of a few nations, the white paper noted.

Whether a country is democratic should be judged by its people, not dictated by a handful of outsiders. Whether a country is democratic should be acknowledged by the international community, not arbitrarily decided by a few self-appointed judges, it said.

There is no fixed model of democracy; it manifests itself in many forms. Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick and examining diverse political structures in monochrome are in themselves undemocratic, it added.

These are the highlights of the white paper:

-China creates its own democracy instead of duplicating Western models (Read more)

The original aspiration of China's democracy was to ensure the people's status as masters of the country, said the white paper.

China has created and developed whole-process people's democracy in line with its national conditions. This is a form of democracy with distinctive Chinese features which at the same time reflects humanity's universal desire for democracy, said the white paper.

Whole-process people's democracy has fueled the development of the country and driven the revitalization of the nation. It has contributed a new model to the international political spectrum, said the white paper.

-Chinese people enjoy extensive, tangible democratic rights (Read more)

With complete institutions and extensive participation, whole-process people's democracy has evolved from an idea into a system and mechanism of governance that has taken root in the soil of Chinese society and become part of people's lives, said the white paper.

China's political power is not linked in any way with personal status, wealth, or social relations, but is equally enjoyed by all the people. The state power serves the people, rather than capital, it said.

High-quality democracy in China has improved the system, capacity and efficiency of national governance, it said.

Democracy in China means people-centered development that fully mobilizes the initiative of the people, relies on their strength, and ensures that all share in the benefits, it said.

-White paper details complete system of whole-process people's democracy (Read more)

Whole-process people's democracy involves complete institutional procedures, the white paper said, adding that these well-coordinated and comprehensive institutional procedures serve to put into place diverse, open, and well-organized democratic channels to ensure that the Party's policies and the state will are integrated with the people's aspirations, and that the people are masters of the country.

-China's democracy has concrete, pragmatic practices (Read more)

Whole-process people's democracy in China has concrete and pragmatic practices, and has been fully tested through wide participation, said the white paper.

Whole-process people's democracy is a combination of electoral democracy and consultative democracy and is applied through a combination of elections, consultations, decision-making, management and oversight, according to the white paper.

-White paper expounds on China's whole-process people's democracy under CPC leadership (Read more)

Whole-process people's democracy is a creation of the CPC in leading the people to pursue, develop and realize democracy, embodying the Party's innovation in advancing China's democratic theories, systems and practices, said the white paper.

The Party's history of struggle is a course of rallying the people and leading them to explore, establish and develop whole-process people's democracy, said the white paper.

It is a logical outcome of history, theory and practice based on the strenuous efforts of the people under the leadership of the Party. It is a requisite for maintaining the very nature of the Party and fulfilling its fundamental purpose, the document said.

Full Text: China: Democracy That Works