Elections will take place in China, not to choose the government, but for the National People's Representatives Congress. It is something happens every five years, and it is the only time when citizens can vote for legislators. The government really controls everything, and even though anyone can seek a seat, all candidates are vetted by Communist Party officials.
This year more than 100 people came forward as independent candidates. One of them is Li Chengpeng a famous writer who bases his chances on his popularity on Weibo, a social network similar to twitter. Some of his objectives are to improve school transportation, opportunities to find job for university students, and senior healthcare. As he said, there is so much injustice in China, but he is not going to rebel the government because it would be naive. Indeed, many independent candidates were intimidated by the government and had to quit running because they had or expressed ideas of having some control over the government if they were elected.
The government allows these elections to distract people, to make them feel like if they somehow have a voice. However, the government is simply trying to avoid protests. They rather allow the citizens to vote to express their opinion that having them protesting on the street. But these elections, even if used to distract people are small steps towards democracy.
by Paula Elum
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