this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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Chinese citizens both think democracy is important at higher rates than the west, and believes their country to be democratic and represent their interests fairly at much higher rates than the west:
Taiwan isn't a threat to the PRC, and neither is Xinjiang nor the Uyghurs living there and elsewhere.
And in this one by the European union they rank themselves lower or equal to western countries. As well as ranking low on things like freedom of speech and separation of power.
Perceived democracy survey by the EU 2025
One survey, be it from the EU or Harvard doesn't really prove anything. If you want to convince people then you should find a meta analysis.
That survey acknowledges that different countries see democracy differently, both in what it is and what the purpose of democracy is. The EU, for example, says it's about "protecting individual rights and freedoms," while China says it's about "improving living standards and well-being."
The kicker is that they specifically ask questions surrounding how well a country abides by liberal, capitalist democracy while not asking how well a country abides by socialist democracy! As you admit, they focus on concepts like "separation of powers," or "freedom of the private press," or "political pluralism," as well as "peaceful transition of power." This fundamentally is meant to disqualify socialist concepts of democracy, focused on cooperation, cohesion, social unity, rule by the common people, and limiting of the powers of the wealthy over society.
Ultimately, both polls are accurate. What's dishonest is the EU poll framing democracy purely in a liberal manner. It isn't a survey about democracy, it's a survey about how well a country abides by Eurocentric, liberal democracy. This isn't an example of polls conflicting each other, when polled in a manner that reflects how well society represents the interests of the common person, the poll I cited is a much better reflection.
You may need to work on your media literacy.
But that's none of those things are democracy. Democracy is rule by the majority. Whether you get individual rights, social protection, or something else is all dependent on who makes up that majority.
Sure, the PRC has rule by the majority. It's definitionally democratic. The EU poll specifically tested for liberal models of democracy designed to give more freedom for capitalists and work against social cohesion.