Quick Question: China and Democracy

[DoomsdayApex]

There seems to be a shift transpiring when arriving China's political future. A decade prior, many analysts, economists, pundits, journalists, etc believed that China would never follow a democratic form of government, but now, as it seems, the perception of China has altered. Many are now predicting that China is heading towards democracy, and will be one by 2020-2030.

One has to wonder though, with China's current impact on the world (most notably on the United States), how much more of an impact will China have on the US if Big Red went Blue?

[Thundercrack85]

It won't be simple.

We'll likely see revolutions turning into a civil war. It's very likely that China will fracture into several states. Some of which won't be Chinese. Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang will regain their independence (that's a big chunk of the People's Republic right there).

Eastern China (the center of the People's Republic) is anyone's guess. It could end up becoming a less ideological dictatorship like Russia. Or gradually turn into a democracy, like Romania. Or it could end up as several states.

And then there's North Korea, which is a ticking time bomb. Whatever happens to North Korea will effect China.

[jasminebell]

It's not so simple. We have to weight hings and view it in a positive way.

[demitri_vampiro]

what IS democracy?
everyone speaks about it, everyone is saying this country is democratic and that one isn't, but what exactly is democracy?

it should mean something like: the people rule the country.
if thats the case then, there is no democratic country. this multiple party system is a fake sence of democracy where the government makes the people believe that they can make a choice, but that choice at the end is limited. what you choose is in fact a dictator for the next 4 years. not really a democracy.

in a real democracy people should always have something to say. and not like nowadays where we the people have absolutely nothing to say.

and for many of those who dont know, communism is a form of democracy, where people choose representatives. so eventhough its only one party, in that party representatives are chosen by the people.

[Llama_Shepherd]

Originally Posted by demitri_vampiro

what IS democracy?
everyone speaks about it, everyone is saying this country is democratic and that one isn't, but what exactly is democracy?

Democracy: Demos= People, Kratos= Power- Democracy= Power of the people.

it should mean something like: the people rule the country.
if thats the case then, there is no democratic country. this multiple party system is a fake sence of democracy where the government makes the people believe that they can make a choice, but that choice at the end is limited. what you choose is in fact a dictator for the next 4 years. not really a democracy.

Checks and balances. The President is not a dictator, he can be removed by Congress and the Supreme Court. Not to mention the President is held accountable at elections, most people think Obama is doing a good job, hence he got a majority popular vote. Limited choice is just something people will have to live with if they want to be a part of a large powerful country that needs to run on representative democracy. Direct democracy is cumbersome and leads to the "tyranny of the majority". Multiple party systems are great, it's two party systems that are on the way out (except for the US).

in a real democracy people should always have something to say. and not like nowadays where we the people have absolutely nothing to say.

The people always have a say.

Senators- face elections every 2 years- accountable to the people.

Congressmen- face elections every 2 years- accountable to the people.

President- face elections every 4 years- accountable to the people.

Supreme Court- maintains the Constitution, the Constitution serves the people.

and for many of those who dont know, communism is a form of democracy, where people choose representatives. so eventhough its only one party, in that party representatives are chosen by the people.

Communist states are not democracies as people do not have freedom of choice. They do not have the power to vote for a party to lead them, changing the person in charge won't change a thing if they do the same functions.

[Hobgoblin]

I took a class with a Chinese professor in the spring. (He immigrated to Canada to teach and then to the U.S.) He claimed that his generation (I'd say he was about forty) tends to be more pro-democracy and pro-Western, while the younger generation tends to be more traditionally anti-democracy and pro-Chinese. The powers that be saw that my prof's generation was basically "lost" and made sure that the next would be more traditional.

Interesting guy. He used to work for a newspaper in China and if the powers that be didnt like a story he wrote and put online, it would just disappear.