By Wang Yiming
China's whole-process people's democracy is underpinned by a well-established set of institutional procedures and full participation and practice, a spokesperson said.
China's National People's Congress (NPC) serves as an important institutional vehicle for the country's whole-process democracy, Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, told a press conference in Beijing on March 4.
The system of people's congresses is China's fundamental political system. Congresses at all levels are made up by deputies who represent the interests and will of the people and take part in the exercise of state power in accordance with the law. China has five levels of deputies to the people's congresses, all elected through democratic procedures with a five-year term.
"People's congresses at all levels shoulder important duties and responsibilities in developing the whole process people's democracy. Under the leadership of the Party, they work to expand the orderly political participation of the people, strengthen the legal protection of human rights, ensure that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms as prescribed by law, and see to it that people's rights to be informed, to participate, to be heard, and to oversee is implemented in every aspect of the NPC's work," Zhang said.
"Democracy is about solving problems for the people. Whether a country is democratic or not, practice speaks the loudest, and the people of that country have the biggest say," the spokesperson noted.
Practice has proven that the socialist democratic system with Chinese characteristics is a genuine and effective democracy that is rooted in China's history and culture and is tailored to China's reality, providing answers to China's problems, he added.
The fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is scheduled to open on March 5-11, with 10 items on the agenda.
