Democracy is not decoration

Before exercising their legal rights to vote and decide matters of common concern, the Chinese people will discuss them through the platform of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference so as to reach some basic consensus first and avoid social disintegration; that's a special form of deliberative democracy in China. That form is especially important today, because we need the common efforts of the whole society to propel the reform forward for the common good.

People's Daily, Sept 23

Democracy is a broad concept that means more than just voting. Political democracy, which is symbolized by ballot boxes, can only be realized with the support of shrinking social gaps, cultural freedom, and a social atmosphere that is conducive to discussing incidents of common concern; that's what we should be working for.