Upholding and Developing Socialist Democratic Politics

Developing people’s democracy and promoting political civilization is the consistent stand and unremitting pursuit of the Communist Party of China. After the founding of New China, especially since the beginning of reform and opening up, the party has persistently integrated Marxist political theory with China’s specific realities and the characteristics of the times, and has embarked on a path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics that suits the national conditions. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has consolidated its foundation and forged ahead into the future, adhered to and strengthened the party’s comprehensive leadership, explored and developed socialist democratic politics with the people as the masters of the country, incorporated the comprehensive rule of law into the “four comprehensive” strategic layout, and put forward a series of new concepts, ideas and strategies, which greatly enriched the theory and practice of socialist democratic political construction with Chinese characteristics, and became a scientific guide for adhering to the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Section 1: Follow the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics

The path of political development is of decisive significance in the political life of the country. There are many examples of social turmoil, national division, and political death due to the wrong choice of political development path. For China, a large developing country with a history of more than 5,000 years of civilization, 56 ethnic groups and a population of 1.4 billion, adhering to the correct path of political development is a major issue that has a bearing on the fundamentals and the overall situation.

The political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the inevitable result of the long-term struggle of the Chinese people in modern times, and an inevitable requirement for adhering to the essential attributes of the party and practicing the fundamental purpose of the party. The key to adhering to the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics is to adhere to the organic unity of the party’s leadership, the people’s mastery of the country, and the rule of law, take ensuring that the people are masters of the country as the foundation, and aim at enhancing the vitality of the party and the country and mobilizing the people’s enthusiasm, continuously expanding people’s democracy and developing socialist political civilization.

1. Taking the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics is a historical necessity

Each country’s political path has its own unique aspects, which are the result of long-term development and evolution on the basis of historical inheritance, cultural tradition, and economic and social development. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: “The reason why the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics is viable, vigorous and efficient is because it grows from China’s social soil. The socialist political system with Chinese characteristics has always grown and is growing in China’s social soil, and if it is to continue to grow in the future, it must also be deeply rooted in China’s social soil. " 1 The political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the practice and creation of the Communist Party of China in uniting and leading the Chinese people and carrying out long-term and unremitting struggle based on China’s reality. After entering the modern era, various political forces in Chinese society have appeared, but they have not found a plan suitable for the national conditions. Holding high the glorious banner of democracy, the Communist Party of China has waged a heroic struggle for nearly a century. Since its founding, the party has taken the realization of the people’s mastery as its own responsibility, and has always taken standing firm on the people’s standpoint, upholding the people’s dominant position, and ensuring the realization of the people’s fundamental interests as the starting point and end point of all work. After the founding of New China, the Party united and led the people to carry out socialist transformation, established the basic socialist system and promoted socialist construction, completed the most extensive and profound social reform in the history of the Chinese nation, and laid the fundamental political prerequisite and institutional foundation for all development and progress in contemporary China.

In the new period of reform and opening up, the Party has continuously deepened the reform of the political system, developed socialist democratic politics, improved the leadership system of the Party and the state, comprehensively advanced the rule of law, improved the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, made the institutional guarantee and rule of law guarantee for the people being masters of the country more powerful, developed the cause of human rights in an all- round way, consolidated the patriotic united front, and enriched the content, more convenient channels and more diverse forms for the people to enjoy and exercise democratic rights in accordance with the law. From the revision, improvement and in-depth implementation of the Constitution, to the continuous improvement of the basic political system of the People’s Congress and the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the system of grassroots mass autonomy, to the promotion of the reform of the leadership system of the Party and the state, the promotion of the rule of law, the rule of law in socialist democratic politics, and the strengthening of supervision and restraint on the operation of power, all these have fully demonstrated the Party’s unremitting efforts and great achievements in promoting socialist democratic politics. As Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: “Since the reform and opening up, our party has united and led the people to make great progress in developing socialist democratic politics, successfully opened up and adhered to the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics, and established the correct direction for the realization of the broadest people’s democracy.“1

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has taken the development of socialist democratic politics as an important part of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities, and promoted the improvement and development of socialist democratic politics in the comprehensive deepening of reform, and the construction of socialist political civilization has achieved fruitful results: actively develop socialist democratic politics, promote the comprehensive rule of law, the leadership of the Party, the people are masters of the country, The construction of an organic and unified system for governing the country according to law has been comprehensively strengthened, the party’s comprehensive leadership system and mechanism have been continuously improved, inner-party democracy has become more extensive, socialist consultative democracy has been comprehensively developed, and the patriotic united front has consolidated and developed. Scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, fair justice, and law-abiding by the whole people have been further advanced, the construction of a rule-of-law country, a rule-of-law government, and a rule-of-law society have mutually reinforced, the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics has been increasingly improved, and the concept of rule of law in the whole society has been significantly enhanced. The reform of the state supervision system has achieved practical results, and the reform of the administrative system, the reform of the judicial system, the restraint on the operation of power, and the establishment of a supervision system have been effectively implemented. All these have provided a strong guarantee for forming a stable and united political situation and a clean political environment, for mobilizing and stimulating the enthusiasm of the people for reform, opening up, and modernization, and for creating a more vibrant, standardized and orderly society.

Historical practice shows that the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics is a correct path that conforms to China’s national conditions and ensures that the people are masters of their own country, and has strong vitality and broad development prospects. It conforms to the requirements of the development of the times, promotes the progress of national civilization and guarantees the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; it fully embodies the common will of the people, safeguards the people’s democratic rights and safeguards the fundamental interests of the people. The path of political development of socialism with Chinese characteristics is deeply rooted in contemporary Chinese history and practice, is the choice of history and the people, and is the fundamental guarantee for the Party and the people to withstand the tests of various difficulties and risks and smoothly advance socialist modernization.