Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone has on Thursday 14th September this year during the Independent Media Commission (IMC) annual media training told media practitioners that democracy is a good thing that is a common value cherished by humanity across the world.
He continued that recently, democracy has been a buzzword around the world noting that in Sierra Leone, the democratic process has been paid much attention in public since the June 24th elections.
At regional level, he continued , recent coups in some Africa countries have heightened concern about the prospects for democracy in Africa while noting that at the international level , some countries he said have been hyping up the narrative of ‘democracy versus authoritarianism’ inciting division and confrontation in an attempt to drag the world back to the ‘Cold War’ , thus seriously affecting the cause of the world peace and development that he said have aroused concern , discussion and reflection on democracy .
Wang Qing added that democracy is a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving that is rooted in history, culture and tradition. He continued that it take diverse forms and develops along the paths chosen by different peoples based on their exploration and innovation.
From the Chinese side, the best way to evaluate whether a country ‘s political system is democratic and efficient is to observe whether the succession of its leaders is orderly and in line with the law, whether all the people can manage state and social affairs and economic and cultural undertakings in conformity with legal provisions, whether the public can express their requirement without hindrance, whether all sector can efficiently participate in the country’s political affairs , whether national decision making can be conducted in a rational and democratic way, whether people of high caliber in all fields can be part of the national leadership and administrative system through fair competition , whether the governing party is in charge of state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and whether the exercise of power can be kept under effective restraint and supervision.
The Chinese national also noted that democracy is not a decorative ornament, but an instrument for addressing the issues that concern the people and that whether a country is democratic depends on whether its people are truly the masters of the country, whether they have been given verbal promises in elections, and more importantly, how many of these promises are fulfilled after elections.
H.E Wang Qing stated that whether a country is democratic should be judged by its people , not dictated by a handful of outsiders hence the reason he stated that democracy is the right of the people in every country , rather than the prerogative of a few nations.
A democratic country should be acknowledged by the International community and not arbitrarily decided by a few self-appointed judges , as there is no fixed model of democracy , it manifest itself in many form , he stated.
Speaking on how is democracy achieved, Ambassador Wang Qing further narrated there is no single model of achieving democracy which is noted is universally acceptable as countries have different historic, culture and realities, the choice of forms of democracy is bound to be different, and whether or not a correct path to democratic development has a direct bearing on the peace, stability and future of a country.
According to the Ambassador, democracy needs to be realized in the context of one’s own country and works only when it suits actual conditions and solves actual problems, disregarding the realities of one’s own country and blindly copying the system of others often cause chaos and bring disaster to the people.
Citing an example, he disclosed it is vital importance for China , a country with five thousand years of history and civilization and a population of one billion, four hundred million to choose a path to democracy suited to a vast country with a large population, he said.
China must devise the most suitable form of democracy in accordance with its characteristics and realities, a basic principle he said China’s adheres to for developing democracy.
‘ After years of exploration and practice, we have developed the concept and practice of whole –process people’s democracy which 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’ Wang Qing.
Democratic consultation is an important element of China’s democracy, it also a special feature of democracy in China, he told the gathering.
He pinpointed that blindly copying other models of democracy is a problematic endeavor indicating that democracy models cannot be transplanted or imposed from outside.
Wang Qing stated its risks creating cultural conflict, political volatility or even social turmoil and causing great pain to its people.
