Many people think of China as a one-party state And while the Communist Party is the main one
There are others
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell. It’s been said that China is a one-party state,
and that the *only* party in China is the Chinese Communist Party.
China's ruled by, it's a one-party state. The one-party state has no intention of
creating a liberal multi-party democracy. The Chinese Communist Party rules. And according to
the Party, will continue to rule indefinitely. “Xi is putting in place a modernized version of
Mao's communist party, he thinks of all Chinese companies as instruments of a one-party state.”
“Most importantly, it created a huge rift with China, a one party state that thinks
Taiwan is part of its territory” Yet China has been claiming that it’s
not only a Democracy, but a strong, vibrant “whole process democracy.”
Yeah, democracy thrives in China about as well as
a banana thrives in a volcano.
Xi Jinping once said that “Without democracy, there would be no socialism, socialist
modernization, or national rejuvenation.” But wait, I thought China was communist? You
know, since the one-party everyone talks about is the Chinese *Communist* Party.
Is this like how that cereal is called Apple Jacks, despite not tasting like apples?
So let me get this straight, China’s got democracy, socialism,
communism, capitalism,
authoritarianism, totalitarianism,
nepotism, And The Tao of Pooh.
But back to China’s democracy. Chinese officials became obsessed
with the definition of democracy back in 2021, when the US held its first Summit for Democracy.
In short, Taiwan was invited, but China was not.
And that made China angry. No wonder everyone thinks they’re
a one party state. The one time someone holds a party and they’re not invited, they flip out.
China dismissed the snub as the U.S. not having an “inclusive” enough definition of democracy.
“Some in the West claim that there seems to be no democracy in China, and that the Communist Party
of China is just authoritarian and autocratic.” “This actually reveals their hostile mindsets
and intentions, namely, democracy is just a tool to repress anyone
who disagrees with them and to contain the development of other countries.”
Changing the definition of words to try and match your version of reality?
Yeah, that sounds just like that democratic society they had in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Most people think of democracy as a government by the people.
But how is China defining democracy here? “It 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.”
So basically, if you say democracy enough in one sentence, you’ve got a democracy, right?
Are they just saying “democracy” in a mirror and hoping it’ll show up like Candyman?
If you get through all the word soup though, it really boils down to one basic idea:
that Chinese citizens are incorporated into every level of the decision-making process.
Even though they’re not the ones actually making the decisions.
Don’t think about it too hard, it will make your brain explode.
One of the ways the CCP says it does this is through different political parties.
*Democratic* political parties. I’ll tell you more, after the break.
Welcome back. China claims “It is a model of
socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society.”
One of the ways it claims to cover all segments of society is through different political parties.
And yes, China does have political parties besides the Communist Party. At least on paper.
It’s kind of like how there are adhesive bandages
besides Band-Aids. They exist… but you didn’t realize it, did ya?
Here’s how Chinese state-run media describes them.
“The Communist Party of China or CPC acts as the ruling party but cooperates with eight
other groups to discuss and manage state affairs. The eight parties are the Revolutionary Committee
of the Chinese Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction
Association, China Association for Promoting Democracy, Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic
Party, China Zhi Gong Party, Jiusan Society, and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.”
See, China has Democracy! It has political parties that have “democratic” in the title!
Surely, that makes them democratic. Kind of like how Apple Jacks must surely taste like apples!
But as the video points out, the Chinese Communist Party is the preeminent party.
It’s not like other parties can rise up and challenge its leadership.
There are other political parties only because they accept the CCP’s leadership.
They’ve been in China’s political system off and on since 1949 when the Chinese Communist
Party took over China. They actually started out having some power, but after a few years,
they eventually just became puppets of the CCP. The government describes them as having a
“supervisory” role. Because the CCP is the actual ruling party.
This is kind of like saying students are there to supervise their teachers.
The power dynamic clearly prevents these political parties from being a check on the Communist Party.
These 8 parties are based on “the principle of ‘long-term coexistence, mutual supervision,
treating each other with sincerity and sharing each other's weal and woe’"
To all those who don’t study old English, that means sharing each other’s joy and hardship.
So what *can* these 8 political parties do? Well, not much. Their leaders are selected
by the Chinese Communist Party, so they can’t even choose their own leadership.
They’re part of a body called the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference or CPPCC.
This body doesn’t have any real power besides offering proposals and giving advice.
Which I’m sure goes over well. The guy who banned Winnie the Pooh because someone said he looks like
him is probably great at hearing criticism. The People’s Consultative Conference is part
of what China calls its “patriotic united front organization”.
The United Front system is about using all of society to influence public opinion at
home and abroad, neutralize opposition, and generally being the eyes and ears of the CCP.
So instead of these 8 political parties being a check on the CCP,
they’re actually helping to advance the CCP’s goals—democratically of course.
They’re basically like cute dogs that creepy guys get to lower women’s guards
and keep them from realizing what a threat they are. “Daaaaw, aren’t you adorable,
Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. Yes you are!”
While they all work for the CCP, these parties target different segments of
society. The Jiusan Society, for example, has a lot of intellectuals and teachers.
Despite its name, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League is made up of Taiwanese
who support the CCP, not Taiwan’s independent democratic government.
The China Democratic League, which at 330,000 members is the largest of the
8 political parties, has a mix of people from the education, media, arts and culture sectors.
All the members are vetted by the government’s United Front Work Department, which is not only
in charge of managing them, but also making sure they don’t get too big—because you know,
you wouldn’t want them doing something crazy like challenging the CCP.
If they did, I’d say their odds of surviving are about as good as
a banana’s in a volcano.
So what do you think about China’s claims to democracy? Let us know in the comments below.
And remember, China Uncensored is able to keep making videos like this because of viewers
like you—either by liking and subscribing, sharing the show with friends and family,
buying an awesome t-shirt from our merch store at chinauncensored.tv/merchandise
or through direct support on the crowd funding website Patreon or the exclusive
social media platform Locals. As a thank you to the fans who support us directly,
I respond to their questions on the show.
Today’s question comes from Logan on Patreon. He asks: when exactly are the
spring and fall invasion windows for Taiwan? Well Logan, friend of the show Ian Easton from
Project 2049 has written about this in his book the Chinese Invasion Threat.
The best times for an amphibious invasion across the Taiwan Strait are in April, and in October.
But, both months still have their problems. It’s very foggy in April,
and there are still some risks of typhoons in October.
But if the Chinese Communist Party were to invade Taiwan across the Strait, they couldn’t
do it completely in secret. They would have to prepare an amphibious assault in advance,
which other countries might be able to see happening 60 or even 90 days ahead of time.
Also, once they land on Taiwan, it won’t be easy for them, either.
But an amphibious assault is just one way China could attack Taiwan.
They could also do something like a naval blockade of Taiwan.
That’s not as dependent on good weather in the Taiwan Strait. And it could cause
a lot of problems, especially if other countries don’t step up to help Taiwan break the blockade.
Thanks for your question, Logan, and for supporting China Uncensored on Patreon.
To learn more about how you can support the show, go to patreon.com/chinauncensored,
where you can also get cool perks like a special monthly chat with me,
or having me answer your questions on the show.
We rely on your support to keep making great episodes.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.