Democracy in China?

China and democracy...meh...those two don't exactly match well. We all know that China is the world's largest communist country (well, *communist*...but we all know how that's failed... let's go free market capitalism!). For years, for decades, the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国 / 中華人民共和國), has struggled with the concept of democracy. Yes, some Chinese citizens are hoping for that day when China will become truly democratic, or at least democratic in Western terms, like the United States, Europe, etc. So will it ever happen? Well, let's see. Probably not? China has existed as a civilization for thousands of years, at least 4000 years, ever since the Xia Dynasty (夏朝) from 2000 BC. And since then, there has been the Warring States Period (战国时代), many battles, but one thing that was consistent was that there was an emperor or at least some monarch in control. The Dynasties lasted all the way until
1911 with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty (清朝). So how come it lasted so long? Well for started, look at the population of China. That's right, largest country in the world in terms of population. It would be pretty difficult to suddenly introduce reforms throughout the country, especially one so diverse. There are 55 ethnic groups in China, including the Han Chinese that make up 92% of the population. So yes, it may be a bit difficult to able to unite. It was already hard enough to unite this country under the Republic of China in the 1920's and 1930's. We saw how that turned out...

The thing with China is that for millennia, the Chinese people have been governed by emperors and leaders and have not really been exposed to much democracy like we have seen. Furthermore, it does have the most people in the world, and so it makes sense somewhat logically to have a firmer grip on the people to control them. The government has enough to deal with with Tibet (西藏) and Xinjiang (新疆). Yes, Western democracy does not match up really well with traditional Chinese culture. And when you think about it, the people in China are relatively content...relatively... It's not like half of the country is fighting and ripping the other half apart over democracy. Generally, the people are tolerant. Sure, they may prefer more freedom-which the government has been doing for the past few decades-but giving all of the people that freedom, well to put it frankly, may not really be that beneficial for them.

Let's say you are a Chinese peasant living in the countryside. Do you even care about getting democracy when you still cannot feed your family? No. I am not against freedom (I live in America, duh), but having China become more democratic in Western terms should not be the number one priority. The number one priority is to ensure that the wealth is spread. After all, look at a map of the spread of wealth, and you will quickly see how there is a huge disparity between urban areas and rural places.

Sincerely, 

Arik Li