* 这是习近平在庆祝中国人民政治协商会议成立65周年大会上讲话的一部分。 社会主义协商民主，是中国社会主义民主政治的特有形式和独特优势，是中国共产党的群众路线在政治领域的重要体现。中共十八大提出，在发展我国社会主义民主政治的进程中，要完善协商民主制度和工作机制，推进协商民主广泛多层制度化发展。中共十八届三中全会强调，在党的领导下，以经济社会发展重大问题和涉及群众切身利益的实际问题为内容，在全社会开展广泛协商，坚持协商于决策之前和决策实施之中。这些重要论述和部署，为中国社会主义协商民主发展指明了方向。 ——我们要全面认识社会主义协商民主是中国社会主义民主政治的特有形式和独特优势这一重大判断。中国共产党领导人民实行人民民主，就是保证和支持人民当家作主。保证和支持人民当家作主不是一句口号、不是一句空话，必须落实到国家政治生活和社会生活之中，保证人民依法有效行使管理国家事务、管理经济和文化事业、管理社会事务的权力。
“名非天造，必从其实。”实现民主的形式是丰富多样的，不能拘泥于刻板的模式，更不能说只有一种放之四海而皆准的评判标准。人民是否享有民主权利，要看人民是否在选举时有投票的权利，也要看人民在日常政治生活中是否有持续参与的权利；要看人民有没有进行民主选举的权利，也要看人民有没有进行民主决策、民主管理、民主监督的权利。社会主义民主不仅需要完整的制度程序，而且需要完整的参与实践。人民当家作主必须具体地、现实地体现到中国共产党执政和国家治理上来，具体地、现实地体现到中国共产党和国家机关各个方面、各个层级的工作上来，具体地、现实地体现到人民对自身利益的实现和发展上来。 实行人民民主，保证人民当家作主，要求我们在治国理政时在人民内部各方面进行广泛商量。毛泽东同志说过：“国家各方面的关系都要协商。”“我们政府的性格，你们也都摸熟了，是跟人民商量办事的”，“可以叫它是个商量政府”。周恩来同志说过：“新民主主义的议事精神不在于最后的表决，主要是在于事前的协商和反复的讨论。” 在中国社会主义制度下，有事好商量，众人的事情由众人商量，找到全社会意愿和要求的最大公约数，是人民民主的真谛。涉及人民利益的事情，要在人民内部商量好怎么办，不商量或者商量不够，要想把事情办成办好是很难的。我们要坚持有事多商量，遇事多商量，做事多商量，商量得越多越深入越好。涉及全国各族人民利益的事情，要在全体人民和全社会中广泛商量；涉及一个地方人民群众利益的事情，要在这个地方的人民群众中广泛商量；涉及一部分群众利益、特定群众利益的事情，要在这部分群众中广泛商量；涉及基层群众利益的事情，要在基层群众中广泛商量。在人民内部各方面广泛商量的过程，就是发扬民主、集思广益的过程，就是统一思想、凝聚共识的过程，就是科学决策、民主决策的过程，就是实现人民当家作主的过程。这样做起来，国家治理和社会治理才能具有深厚基础，也才能凝聚起强大力量。 古今中外的实践都表明，保证和支持人民当家作主，通过依法选举、让人民的代表来参与国家生活和社会生活的管理是十分重要的，通过选举以外的制度和方式让人民参与国家生活和社会生活的管理也是十分重要的。人民只有投票的权利而没有广泛参与的权利，人民只有在投票时被唤醒、投票后就进入休眠期，这样的民主是形式主义的。在总结新中国人民民主实践的基础上，我们明确提出，在我们这个人口众多、幅员辽阔的社会主义国家里，关系国计民生的重大问题，在中国共产党领导下进行广泛协商，体现了民主和集中的统一；人民通过选举、投票行使权利和人民内部各方面在重大决策之前进行充分协商，尽可能就共同性问题取得一致意见，是中国社会主义民主的两种重要形式。在中国，这两种民主形式不是相互替代、相互否定的，而是相互补充、相得益彰的，共同构成了中国社会主义民主政治的制度特点和优势。 协商民主是中国社会主义民主政治中独特的、独有的、独到的民主形式，它源自中华民族长期形成的天下为公、兼容并蓄、求同存异等优秀政治文化，源自近代以后中国政治发展的现实进程，源自中国共产党领导人民进行革命、建设、改革的长期实践，源自新中国成立后各党派、各团体、各民族、各阶层、各界人士在政治制度上共同实现的伟大创造，源自改革开放以来中国在政治体制上的不断创新，具有深厚的文化基础、理论基础、实践基础、制度基础。 协商民主深深嵌入了中国社会主义民主政治全过程。中国社会主义协商民主，既坚持了中国共产党的领导，又发挥了各方面的积极作用；既坚持了人民主体地位，又贯彻了民主集中制的领导制度和组织原则；既坚持了人民民主的原则，又贯彻了团结和谐的要求。所以说，中国社会主义协商民主丰富了民主的形式、拓展了民主的渠道、加深了民主的内涵。
——我们要深刻把握社会主义协商民主是中国共产党的群众路线在政治领域的重要体现这一基本定性。中国共产党来自人民、服务人民，这就决定了中国共产党领导人民建立的中华人民共和国必须紧紧依靠人民治国理政、管理社会。中国共产党在自己的工作中实行群众路线，坚持一切为了群众，一切依靠群众，从群众中来，到群众中去，把自己的正确主张变为群众的自觉行动。中华人民共和国宪法规定，国家的一切权力属于人民，一切国家机关和国家工作人员必须依靠人民的支持，经常保持同人民的密切联系，倾听人民的意见和建议，接受人民的监督，努力为人民服务。无论是中国共产党执政，还是国家机关施政，都必须坚持贯彻群众路线，紧紧依靠人民。 “政之所兴在顺民心，政之所废在逆民心。”一个政党，一个政权，其前途命运最终取决于人心向背。中国共产党、中华人民共和国的全部发展历程都告诉我们，中国共产党、中华人民共和国之所以能够取得事业的成功，靠的是始终保持同人民群众的血肉联系、代表最广大人民根本利益。如果脱离群众、失去人民拥护和支持，最终也会走向失败。我们必须把人民利益放在第一位，任何时候任何情况下，与人民群众同呼吸共命运的立场不能变，全心全意为人民服务的宗旨不能忘，坚信群众是真正英雄的历史唯物主义观点不能丢。 全心全意为人民服务，始终代表最广大人民根本利益，是我们能够实行和发展协商民主的重要前提和基础。中国共产党党章规定：中国共产党除了工人阶级和最广大人民群众的利益，没有自己特殊的利益。中国共产党及其领导的国家是代表最广大人民根本利益的，其一切理论和路线方针政策，其一切工作部署和工作安排，都应该来自人民，都应该为人民利益而制定和实施。在这个大政治前提下，我们应该也能够广泛听取人民内部各方面的意见和建议。在中国共产党统一领导下，通过多种形式的协商，广泛听取意见和建议，广泛接受批评和监督，可以广泛达成决策和工作的最大共识，有效克服党派和利益集团为自己的利益相互竞争甚至相互倾轧的弊端；可以广泛畅通各种利益要求和诉求进入决策程序的渠道，有效克服不同政治力量为了维护和争取自己的利益固执己见、排斥异己的弊端；可以广泛形成发现和改正失误和错误的机制，有效克服决策中情况不明、自以为是的弊端；可以广泛形成人民群众参与各层次管理和治理的机制，有效克服人民群众在国家政治生活和社会治理中无法表达、难以参与的弊端；可以广泛凝聚全社会推进改革发展的智慧和力量，有效克服各项政策和工作共识不高、无以落实的弊端。这就是中国社会主义协商民主的独特优势所在。 民主不是装饰品，不是用来做摆设的，而是要用来解决人民要解决的问题的。中国共产党的一切执政活动，中华人民共和国的一切治理活动，都要尊重人民主体地位，尊重人民首创精神，拜人民为师，把政治智慧的增长、治国理政本领的增强深深扎根于人民的创造性实践之中，使各方面提出的真知灼见都能运用于治国理政。 “天视自我民视，天听自我民听。”要坚持把实现好、维护好、发展好最广大人民根本利益作为一切工作的出发点和落脚点，我们的重大工作和重大决策必须识民情、接地气。要以人民群众利益为重、以人民群众期盼为念，真诚倾听群众呼声，真实反映群众愿望，真情关心群众疾苦。要坚持工作重心下移，深入实际、深入基层、深入群众，做到知民情、解民忧、纾民怨、暖民心，多干让人民满意的好事实事，充分调动人民群众的积极性、主动性、创造性。 ——我们要切实落实推进协商民主广泛多层制度化发展这一战略任务。面向未来，发展好各项事业，巩固国家安定团结的政治局面，促进政党关系、民族关系、宗教关系、阶层关系、海内外同胞关系和谐发展，一个很重要的条件就是必须通过民主集中制的办法，广开言路，博采众谋，动员大家一起来想、一起来干。正所谓“以天下之目视，则无不见也；以天下之耳听，则无不闻也；以天下之心虑，则无不知也”。 社会主义协商民主，应该是实实在在的、而不是做样子的，应该是全方位的、而不是局限在某个方面的，应该是全国上上下下都要做的、而不是局限在某一级的。因此，必须构建程序合理、环节完整的社会主义协商民主体系，确保协商民主有制可依、有规可守、有章可循、有序可遵。 协商就要真协商，真协商就要协商于决策之前和决策之中，根据各方面的意见和建议来决定和调整我们的决策和工作，从制度上保障协商成果落地，使我们的决策和工作更好顺乎民意、合乎实际。要通过各种途径、各种渠道、各种方式就改革发展稳定重大问题特别是事关人民群众切身利益的问题进行广泛协商，既尊重多数人的意愿，又照顾少数人的合理要求，广纳群言、广集民智，增进共识、增强合力。要拓宽中国共产党、人民代表大会、人民政府、人民政协、民主党派、人民团体、基层组织、企事业单位、社会组织、各类智库等的协商渠道，深入开展政治协商、立法协商、行政协商、民主协商、社会协商、基层协商等多种协商，建立健全提案、会议、座谈、论证、听证、公示、评估、咨询、网络等多种协商方式，不断提高协商民主的科学性和实效性。 人民群众是社会主义协商民主的重点。涉及人民群众利益的大量决策和工作，主要发生在基层。要按照协商于民、协商为民的要求，大力发展基层协商民主，重点在基层群众中开展协商。凡是涉及群众切身利益的决策都要充分听取群众意见，通过各种方式、在各个层级、各个方面同群众进行协商。要完善基层组织联系群众制度，加强议事协商，做好上情下达、下情上传工作，保证人民依法管理好自己的事务。要推进权力运行公开化、规范化，完善党务公开、政务公开、司法公开和各领域办事公开制度，让人民监督权力，让权力在阳光下运行。——选自学习强国APP
Broad, Multilevel, and Institutionalized Consultative Democracy
（September 21, 2014）
* Part of the speech at the meeting marking the 65th anniversary of the CPPCC.
Consultative democracy is a unique form and a distinctive strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is an important embodiment of the Party's mass line. It was stated at the 18th National Congress of the CPC that as China's socialist democracy progresses, we need to improve the institutions and mechanisms for consultative democracy and promote its broad-based, multilevel, and institutionalized development. It was emphasized at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee that with a focus on the major issues concerning economic and social development and the practical issues that affect people's immediate interests, the Party should lead extensive consultations throughout the whole of society and ensure that they take place both before decisions are made and during their implementation. These important statements and plans have shown what the way forward will be for China's socialist consultative democracy.
– We should have a full understanding of the nature of socialist consultative democracy. The very purpose of the CPC's leadership in developing people's democracy is to guarantee and support the position of the people as masters of the country. This is not simply a slogan or a few hollow words; we must ensure its place in the country's political and social activities, and guarantee the people's right to effectively manage state affairs, economic and cultural undertakings, and social affairs in accordance with the law.
"A name is not granted by heaven; it must be earned in life." There are many diverse ways to realize democracy, so we must not be confined just to one particular rigid one. Further, there is no such thing as one single set of standard criteria that are universally acceptable. Whether people enjoy democratic rights or not depends on whether they have the right to vote in elections, as well as whether they have the right to constantly participate in everyday political activities. Apart from having the right to democratic elections, it also depends on whether they have the right to democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. Socialist democracy requires not just a complete set of institutions and procedures, but also full participation. The position of the people as masters of the country must be manifested in the concrete and practical exercise of state power by the CPC and its governance of the country, in all aspects of the work of the Party and government organizations at all levels, and through the realization and development of the people's own interests.
Putting people's democracy into practice and ensuring the people's position as masters of the country demands that we initiate extensive discussions throughout the whole of society while governing the country. Mao Zedong once said, "The relations between all aspects of the state need deliberations." "You are all familiar with the nature of our government – to do things through consultations with the people.... We may call it a consultative government." Zhou Enlai once said, "The spirit of deliberation of the New Democratic Revolution is not in the final voting; it is mainly in the deliberations and repeated discussions that happen before a decision is made."
Under China's socialist system, whenever a problem crops up, we should resort to deliberations first. Matters involving many people are discussed by all those involved; to reach consensus on the wishes and needs of the whole of society is the essence of people's democracy. On matters that concern the people's interests, deliberations should be held with the people; without deliberation or with insufficient deliberation, it is difficult to handle these matters well.
We should always hold deliberations when we raise and address issues: the more numerous and in-depth, the better. On matters that have a bearing on the interests of everyone, deliberations will be held extensively throughout the whole of society; on matters that concern the interests of people in one specific area, deliberations will be held locally; on matters that affect the interests of certain groups of people, deliberations will be held among those groups; and on matters that concern the interests of a community, deliberations will be held within the community.
The process of holding extensive deliberations among the people is the process of promoting democracy and drawing on collective wisdom, the process of unifying people's thinking and building consensus, the process of scientific and democratic decision-making, and the process of ensuring the position of the people as masters of the country. It is only in this way that we can have solid foundations for our country's governance and for social governance; it is only in this way that we are able to draw together strength.
In both ancient and modern times, in China and abroad, experience has shown that to guarantee and support the people's position as masters of the country, it is paramount that their lawfully elected representatives participate in the management of state affairs and social activities, and it is equally important that they participate in such activities through systems and methods that go farther than simple election. If the people merely have the right to vote but no right of extensive participation, in other words, if they are awakened only at election time but go into hibernation afterwards, this is token democracy. Reviewing our experience with people's democracy since the founding of the PRC, we have made it clear that in such a vast and populous socialist country, extensive deliberation under the leadership of the CPC on major issues affecting the economy and the people's quality of life embodies the unity of democracy and centralism. Chinese socialist democracy takes two important forms:
In one the people exercise their right to vote in elections, and in the other, people from all sectors of society undertake extensive deliberations before major decisions are made. In China, these two forms do not cancel one another out, and nor are they contradictory; they are complementary. They constitute institutional features and strengths of Chinese socialist democracy.
Consultative democracy is a unique form of Chinese socialist democracy. It springs from our nation's long-established inclusive political culture, including such notions that all under heaven belongs to the people, mutual learning and inclusiveness, and seeking common ground while putting aside differences. It springs from China's political evolution in modern times, from the long-term practical experience as the CPC led the people through the course of revolution, development, and reform; from the great innovations made in our political institutions after the founding of the PRC by all political parties, people's organizations, ethnic groups, and people from all social strata and different backgrounds; and from the continuous innovations in China's political system since the adoption of reform and opening up. It has firm cultural, theoretical, practical, and institutional foundations.
Consultative democracy has been integrated into the whole process of Chinese socialist democracy. Chinese socialist consultative democracy not only upholds the leadership of the CPC, but also gives expression to the positive roles of all participants; it not only upholds the people's principal position in the country, but also implements the leadership system and organizational principle of democratic centralism; it not only adheres to the principle of people's democracy, but also promotes unity and harmony. So China's socialist consultative democracy diversifies the forms and widens the channels of democracy, and gives it new meaning.– We need to thoroughly understand the fundamental nature of socialist consultative democracy as an important manifestation of the Party's mass line in the political sphere. The CPC comes from the people, and serves the people. This makes it essential that the PRC, which was established by the people under the leadership of the CPC, should rely on the people in governing the country and managing society. The CPC carries out its mass line in its work, that is to say, it stays committed to doing everything for the people and relying on them, following the principle of "from the people, to the people", and translating its sound proposals into people's conscious actions. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates that all power of the state belongs to the people, and all state organs and public servants must rely on their support, keep in close contact with them, listen to their opinions and suggestions, accept their scrutiny, and work hard to serve them. Both the CPC and
state organs must follow the mass line and rely heavily on the people in their exercise of state power.
"Decrees may be followed if they are in accordance with the aspirations of the people; they may be ineffective if they are against the aspirations of the people." The future of a political party or government ultimately rests on public support. The development course of the CPC and the PRC reveals that the reason that we have made progress in our cause is that we have always maintained close ties with the people and represented the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the people. However, if we become detached from the people and lose their support, that cause will fail. We must put the people's interests first. Under no circumstances can we ever alter our standpoint of breathing the same air as the people and sharing a common future with them, nor can we forget our purpose which is to serve the people wholeheartedly, nor can we discard the view of historical materialism that the people are the real heroes.
Serving the people wholeheartedly and always representing the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the people are the important preconditions and foundation for the implementation and development of consultative democracy. It is stipulated in the Constitution of the CPC that the Party has no special interests of its own apart from the interests of the working class and the greatest possible majority of the people. The CPC and the state it leads represent the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the people, and all of their theories, lines, principles, policies, and work plans should come from the people and should be formulated and implemented in the best interests of the people. With this as our basic political premise, we have the obligation and ability to listen extensively to comments and suggestions from all sectors of society.By extensively listening to suggestions and recommendations and accepting criticism and scrutiny through various forms of consultation, we will, under the CPC's unified leadership, be able to reach the broadest possible consensus on all decisions we make and on all our work, and in doing so, ensure that factional strife and bitter disagreement between parties and between interest groups can be avoided. We will be able to have all demands heard on matters affecting the interests of all sides before decisions are made so that political forces do not remain fixed in their own opinions or reject others with different views for the sake of their own interests. We will be able to put in place broad-based mechanisms for identifying and correcting errors so that decisions are not made unless there is a clear understanding of the circumstances, nor are they made on the basis of a belief in one's own infallibility. We will be able to form mechanisms for ensuring people's participation in administration and governance at all levels in order to guarantee that the people will be able to voice their opinions and will find it easy to take an active part in the country's political activities and social governance. We will also be able to pool the wisdom and strength of the whole of society to advance reform and development, effectively overcoming any problems with our decisions and ensuring that essential work is not impeded by lack of consensus. This is where the unique strength of our socialist consultative democracy lies.
Democracy is not an ornament to be used for decoration; it is to be used to solve the problems that the people want to solve. In all the activities of the Party as it exercises state power, and in all of the PRC's activities related to governance, we need to respect the people's principal position in the country, and respect their creativity. We need to look to them as our teachers, and ensure that increased political wisdom and stronger governance capability are deeply rooted in the people's innovative practice. We need to incorporate constructive advice and opinions from all sides of society into the governance of the country.
"Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear." The realization, protection, and development of the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the people should be taken as the end goal of all work. And in carrying out major tasks and making major decisions we must always take into account the reality of the people and their opinions, and general public sentiment. We must put the people's interests first, bear in mind their expectations, pay heed to their aspirations, work to genuinely reflect their wishes, and show true concern for their difficulties. We need to be more community-focused in our work, regularly visit communities, and stay close to the people so that we can become empathetic to their actual conditions, ease their concerns, address their discontent, and enable them to feel that we do care about them. We must do more for the people and offer them practical benefits so as to spark their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity.
– We need to work hard to ensure the broad-based, multilevel, and institutionalized development of consultative democracy. Looking forward, we must adhere to the principle of democratic centralism, encourage the free airing of views, gather advice from all sides, and get every member of society to think and work for a common cause. This will allow us to achieve success in all our social programs, consolidate the political situation of stability and unity, and harmonize the relations between political parties, between ethnic groups, between religions, between social strata, and between our compatriots at home and overseas. This is what is meant by the words, " If you use the eyes of all those under Heaven to see, there is nothing you cannot see. If you use the ears of all those under Heaven to hear, there is nothing you cannot hear. If you use the minds of all those under Heaven to think, there is nothing you cannot understand."
Socialist consultative democracy is not a matter of doing things for the sake of appearances; it must be carried out in a down-to-earth manner. And it must be put into practice in all respects, rather than just in a particular respect, and across the country at all levels, rather than just at a certain level. Therefore, we must establish a system of socialist consultative democracy that has rational procedures and is all-inclusive, so as to ensure that it is carried out on the basis of proper institutions, rules, regulations, and procedures.
When we talk about consultation, we mean real consultation. Real consultation requires consultation both before and during the process of decision-making. It requires that decisions are made and actions are modified on the basis of opinions and suggestions from all sectors. It also requires that institutions are in place to ensure that the results of consultations are implemented, so that our decisions and work better reflect public will and are better adapted to real-life conditions.
We need to take advantage of every mechanism, every channel, and every method to conduct extensive consultations on the major issues of reform, development, and stability, and especially on the issues that have a bearing on people's immediate interests. We need to respect the wishes of the majority of the people, and at the same time take into account the reasonable demands of those who are in the minority. We should extensively solicit opinions and pool wisdom from society, expand consensus, and bolster integrated strength.
We need to expand the consultative channels for the CPC, people's congresses, people's governments, the CPPCC, other political parties, people's organizations, community organizations, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and think-tanks. We need to conduct far-reaching consultation on political affairs, lawmaking, government administration, democracy, social issues, and community-level issues. And we need to improve consultation through proposals, conferences, informal discussions, seminars, hearings, public notices, assessments, the internet, and other means. Through this, we can make our consultative democracy more scientific and effective.
The key element of socialist consultative democracy lies with the people. A great number of decisions and work affecting people's interests happen mainly at the community level. In line with the principle of consultation among the people and for the people, we need to redouble our efforts in developing consultative democracy at the community level, with a focus on conducting consultations among community members. All decisions that affect people's immediate interests must be made on the basis of soliciting the people's opinions, as well as consultations conducted with them through various means, on different levels, and from different sectors. We should improve the system by which community-level organizations maintain contact with the people, strengthen consultation on community affairs, do a sound job of two-way communication of information from the top down and the bottom up, and make sure the people manage their own affairs well in accordance with the law. We must make the exercise of power more open and standardized, and increase transparency in the operations of the Party, the government, and the judiciary, as well as in the administration of other areas. We must ensure that the people oversee the exercise of power and that power is exercised in ways that are open to scrutiny.
