The Cost Of Democracy In China

As China experienced in the successful economic achievement by ‘Special Economic Zone’, China started to look at benefits of democracy. In the book, some Chinese thinkers claim that democracy is the essential part of fostering the modern political frame because people should be respected since they have dignity; China seems to follow the Western model that advocates democracy. As a result, China has already taken an experiment on Pingchang city, where elections of the party secretaries are held; many party members come to elect their townships. Also, some people argued that the democratic reform should be progressed incrementally because the sudden change in the political system might shock the people so that they might not adapt to the change. According to the allegory of ‘villagers of zebras’, gradual change is significant because this method change something at least cost. …show more content…
Many Chinese thinkers believe that democracy will cause many problems; people may form protesting riots; the gap between rich and poor will be intensified; the political elite may be corrupted. Also, democracy might hurt the domestic economy because focusing the international relations like Special Economic Zone may bring the lack of domestic consumption and bankruptcy in the rural economy. Additionally, some Chinese thinkers conjure up cases of failing images of democracy: the collapse of the former Soviet Union which followed Gorbachev’s political liberalization; the so-called ‘people’s democracy’ of China’s own Cultural Revolution; and the risk of an independent Taiwan. Especially for the Cultural Revolution, China has a grieved memory; many infrastructures were destroyed and thousands of people were killed. Eventually, due to a fear that democracy has a potential to bring chaos, China hesitated to accept