In my last article on public governance in China, I pointed out that ideology-driven ratings of China’s constraints on government powers and fundamental human rights have dragged down China’s ranking in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index. Against practice-based governance criteria, like absence of corruption, order and security, effective regulatory enforcement, sanctions for official misconduct, civil justice, and criminal justice, China ranks generally well above the median in the world. Unfortunately, this bias (of WJP rankings) is not just a ranking for academic purposes. It shapes public opinion and adversely affects international cooperation when international cooperation is sorely needed to deal with global challenges.
It is therefore appropriate for me to explain the nature of the Communist Party of China and the weight of cultural constraints on government powers in China.
I was recently on a panel at an online conference themed “The Chinese Emphasis on Culture”, organized by the Hong Kong-based Global Institute for Tomorrow. The main point of my presentation was that while the cultural constraint on government power is particularly strong and effective in China, the Communist Party of China is sadly very much misunderstood, especially in the West. While all members on the panel on which I spoke agree that China has a meritocracy system, I strongly disagreed with one who thinks that China practices “benevolent dictatorship”. This gentleman is from India and thinks that, given the complexity of human nature, only a dictatorship can effectively govern.
The deep-seated biases against China are undermining international cooperation and putting planet Earth at risk. These worries are particularly poignant with the G20 and COP30 meetings convening in Johannesburg and Brazil these days
To me, a dictator is a powerful leader who can do anything he likes without any constraint. A benevolent dictator is a powerful leader who can do whatever he likes but has benevolent intentions. The Chinese government is not a dictator because it is, under the CPC Constitution (2002) and the country’s Constitution (2004), required to serve the roles as stated in the Three Represents: Represent the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces; Represent the orientation of China’s advanced culture; Represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.
This simply says that the CPC is the embodiment of the Three Represents and is above any individual person or group of people. Anyone who deviates from the Three Represents does not deserve to be a CPC member. The Three Represents is a culture of service to the people, i.e., a “for-all-of-us culture” without distinction rather than a “for-me-and-my-kind culture”. The “for-all-of-us culture” is the ideal of “datong” as spelled out in the ancient text Liji and is no different from the ideal of communism, which is also no different from the ideal of “everything under heaven is for everyone to enjoy”. This implies that wealthy individuals do have a responsibility to use their wealth to further the common good of humankind.
The first Represent asks the government to foster productivity and economic well-being. The second Represent asks the government to respect everybody as equal without discrimination or favor (the “for-all-of-us culture”). The third Represent requires the government to serve all the people within the country. The government must be responsive to people’s needs and do what it can to allay people’s concerns. This means that the Chinese government is obliged to follow these requirements stated in the country’s Constitution. There is simply no room for it to “dictate” anything.
The reason is that what is the best policy or institutional reform is dictated by the laws of nature, the laws of the market, and human nature. This is why China adopted the Scientific Outlook on Development, which is also in China’s Constitution. Even with good intentions, one must never prejudge about what works. That is why Deng Xiaoping advised that all leaders should be humble and careful in taking policy decisions, “as if they were groping the stones under the water when wading across a river”. As an enlightened leader, he in particular advised people to adopt pragmatism rather than letting ideological biases contaminate their analysis, suggesting “it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice”.
In short, the CPC is characterized by these cultural characteristics: devotion to serve the people; a readiness to draw talent from across the population regardless of background, while a cultural test and strong track record are required for promotion to the leadership; pragmatic and scientific and lending an ear to the advice from all corners of the country and even the world; and a willingness to self-correct. China, under President Xi Jinping, is committed to embracing the “for-all-of-us culture”, and that applies to international relations as well as domestic affairs.
The culture of fair play and respect for everybody is not unique to China and indeed is shared by many enlightened Western thinkers and activists. I have long pointed out that 2,000 years ago, the teachings of the Stoics and Jesus resembled the teachings of Buddhism and Confucius. Even today and in the recent past, there are many enlightened Western thinkers whose philosophy and lives resonate in Chinese minds. Sadly, however, enlightened Western thinkers today rarely make it into the echelons of power. The deep-seated biases against China are undermining international cooperation and putting planet Earth at risk. These worries are particularly poignant with the G20 and COP30 meetings convening in Johannesburg and Brazil these days.
The author is an honorary research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
