Voting as a Healthy Exercise of Democracy

Uncategorizedyvonne.liu.wolf

A healthy democracy requires a regular exercise of voting rights. This year shows a very vibrant number in American voter turn-out.

As we celebrate our democracy in the US by casting our votes, what does voting mean in China?

Over 2 years ago, nearly 3,000 member Chinese Parliament casted their votes to approve an amendment that abolish term limits for the President. In essence, they have casted their votes so that they would never vote again. This amendment would allow Xi Jingping to stay on as President beyond his term ending 2023. This short-lived taste of voting came from Deng Xiaoping who insisted on a two-term limit for the president back in the 1980s. Deng was concerned about the return of Chinese practice of life term rulers.

Celebrate our democracy by voting. Chinese people don’t know how that feels. Giving people the right to vote is easier than teaching people the practice of voicing their opinions through voting. Culturally speaking, the Chinese people hasn’t really gotten the hang of voting before they gave it up for perpetuity.

About Author

yvonne.liu.wolf

Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.