Comrade Hu jintao made the following clear-cut statements in the report he delivered at the opening of the ongoing 17 National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC): "People's democracy is the life blood of socialism", "… ensure people enjoy democratic rights in a more extensive and practical way," and "the political structure reform must be constantly deepened along with the development of and economic society and kept pace with the growing enthusiasm of people for political participation."
These statements of Hu's not only enunciate the character and importance of socialist democracy but show the way forward for the political structure reform.
Ours is the Party of wholehearted service to the people, and our country is a socialist country; all power comes from people and belongs to the people. These factors determine the fact that people being as masters of their country represents the nature and core of socialist democracy. From whichever perspective, people being masters of their own destiny poses an unalterable truth and take it for granted in theory. The crux of matter, however, is how to provide a systematic guarantee in the course of practice.
In China's existing political framework, the National People's Congress System, the System of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by CPC and a national minorities regional autonomy system, etc. are all democratic forms with Chinese characteristics. These democratic forms have effectively ensured the political participation of the masses of people and have played a sound role in the people's political participation for many decades.
The report to the current 17th CPC National Congress expounded the ways to ensure people are masters of their own destiny in the domain of expanding the people's democracy and the democracy at the grassroots level, including some new notions, such as "further improving (or perfecting) a management mechanism at grassroots level and extending the scope of self-management" and "giving scope to the active role of social organizations and enhancing the function of social self-management ."
Meanwhile, we are delighted to note that in choosing delegates prior to the 17th CPC National Congress, a 15-percent margin was adopted in the election, five percentage points higher than that in the previous 16th congress held in November 2002. This very change in the election of CPC delegates to the Party Congress reflects from a side aspect the progress in China's democratic life.
Along with the in-depth progress of China's political structure reform, we are fully convinced that the people's democracy will further expand with a more strong guarantee for people's rights as masters of their country. Consequently, the CPC, the state and the socialist system in the country will surely be imbued with vigor and vitality along with the constant advancement of the people's democracy.
By People's Daily Online |
