Wu Guangqiang jw368@163.com FOR decades, there has been an increasing drumbeat in the United States for transforming China from what they call an “authoritarian” nation to a “democratic” one. They have some well-worn excuses for their futile efforts. They regard successful Chinese growth under an “authoritarian” system as a threat to American leadership and exceptionalism, claiming that “a more democratic China would ultimately create a more peaceful, less war-prone environment in Asia.” In the U.S., one administration after another has attempted to wheedle China to create a “pluralistic,” “democratic” system through such peaceful means as free trade, investment, and ideological influence via cultural and educational exchanges. They were convinced that, like other nations, China would eventually embark on the path of Western-styled democracy after it adopted the market system. Yet, they have become disillusioned with the vision as China is striding toward becoming the world’s largest economy while showing no signs of converting to Western democracy. American reaction is much worse than disillusion; it is a mixture of indignation, frustration and desperation. They are overwhelmed by a fear of the end of their centuries-old dominance of the world and of the sense of their ideological supremacy. Therefore, since Donald Trump took office, America, leading its Western followers, has staged a full-scale war on China, employing every means short of live bullets. Ironically, Washington the supposed democracy champion is so undemocratic in trying to squash China that it behaves like a ruffian. It has torn down its disguise of a gentleman and has come to resort to all sorts of brazen and sordid means, including unwarranted accusations that contradict its self-trumped spirit of rule of law, using demonization, which puts itself in the rank of rogues, and ganging up with its running dogs, which reveals that it is just an ass in a lion’s skin. Why hasn't America tamed China with its so-called superior model of democracy? Is it because China stubbornly rejects this core of Western values that serves as the foundation of contemporary capitalism? My answer is simple and straightforward: No! China does not and will not reject any idea or practice as long as it benefits the country and the people. In fact, China has been embracing everything that represents the best of human civilization. China does value democracy, but the Chinese people know very well what true democracy is. By a general definition, democracy refers to government by the people or rule of the majority. Yet the term itself fails to specify how that government by the people or rule of the majority is achieved or how to verify the realization of that objective. The ambiguity of the concept gives rise to the forming and popularity of the Western definition currently dominating the world: “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” Once fixed to “free elections,” this concept of democracy has been monopolized by the West. Any form of government that sheers away from “free elections” is considered authoritarian or dictatorial no matter how successful it is. That’s how Western democracy has slipped astray and become a formalist and a widely abused system. China’s phenomenal achievements have smashed the free-elections-equal-democracy fallacy. China, having shrugged off the specious Western democracy, adopts a substantially functional democracy, which ensures the will and interests of the majority of the people are properly represented and protected through their deputies and officials selected based on their merits and through stringent procedures. Unlike in America or Europe where a comedian with zero political experience or a businessman capable of nothing but bragging and lying can become a president overnight, a State leader in China must work his way up from the grassroots, displaying his competency and leadership through decades of hard work and countless achievements. While Western democracy may have appealed to many Chinese 20 years ago, today it gets increasingly unpopular, especially among the younger generations. Facts speak louder than words. China, under the leadership of the CPC, has lifted its 1.4 billion people out of poverty and is striving to complete the reunification and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. America’s democracy is dead due to its astronomical infection cases and deaths in the pandemic, widespread racial discrimination, extreme income inquality, horrible human rights records and deep social divisions. Keep your crap democracy for yourself, Uncle Sam! (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer) | 