What happened in Zhejiang: Democratic life during the period of transformation

Author: Zhang Jingping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: In 2003, lies, theft, deception, violence, barbarity, and coercion—tyranny trampled legal norms, and the behind-the-scenes story of Russia's transition left people trembling at the grip of capital and power. In response, Chinese scholars asked: As Russia tries to become a "China-style Russia," will China become a "Russia-style China"? In 2004, at a press conference themed around Zhejiang entrepreneurs, Western media asked wealthy entrepreneurs from the privately owned economy of Zhejiang: What would Marx think if he came to Zhejiang? Pursued by issues of the East and West, a Chinese journalist began to investigate the democracy of Zhejiang, thereby showcasing an emerging class of private enterprise owners and a nascent civil society. What are the characteristics of Zhejiang's democracy? What is the cause and effect between Zhejiang's democracy and its economic development? Is Zhejiang's democracy the future of Chinese democracy? Will the future of Chinese democracy, as seen through Zhejiang's democracy, repeat the fate of Russia-style democracy? This book primarily narrates the democratic life of Zhejiang's private enterprise owners. As the influence of money begins to extend to state affairs and business becomes a new ladder to power, the democratic life of this emerging class ceases to be an isolated existence. The narrative not only tells the individual story of how the growing private enterprise owners participate in politics but also necessarily includes the people and events of civil society, as well as the state narrative based on the ethics of the people. The author believes that the emerging private enterprise owners will bring vitality to democratic innovation and also become a driving force for the development of civil society.