Democracy as coffee

Times and times again, democracy as a means to bring stability and prosperity has failed miserably and resulted in bloody riots and thousands of casualties. In Africa where dozens of pseudo democracies were established the last century, elections are usually accompanied with high risk of violence. Just 2 years ago, more than 1,300 Kenyans were killed in the outburst of post-election violence when Mr. Kibaki was declared the winner before the election commissioner knew who won. In Nigera as well, the state and local elections were marred by series of violent incidents in the 50s-60s and the political instability in the aftermath has become a major reason of the prolonged poverty in the region. So does democracy really hold the glamor that the West has proclaimed and is it suitable for every country?

According to the analysis of University for Peace, the main causes of electoral violence are as follows:

• Poverty/Unemployment
• Ineffectiveness of Security Forces/Culture of Impunity
• Weak Penalties
• Weak Governance and Corruption
• Small Arms Proliferations

which leads me to think that democracy is like coffee - without milk and sugar, it just tastes bland. Definitely smells good, but not everyone can take the bitterness. Using the above as a framework, I tried to rationalize the fear of implementing a democracy in China and I can only relate corruption as an potential systematic deficiency that could be used an excuse to deter democracy. Then of course, there are tons of others reasons that the authority can list as to why China is not suitable for a "western-style" democracy. So maybe what we need for China is a green tea latte: a democracy with a local flavor, a system that takes into account of the cultural characteristics, history and social environemnt that too often yield to an abstract ideology.

I want to examine some of the necessary elements that should go side-by-side with democracy in order to make it a lasting and successful system, the milk and sugar required in making the perfect coffee. For one, judicial independence is the cornerstone of democracy which should be established at the time of a democracy is formed. Secondly, good governance along with a reliable security force needs to be in place to discourage social outbreaks. These two are discussed in previous literature but I believe that we also need to incorporate local elements of the region into the system because one system does not fit all. I do not know if China is ready for a democracy now and if it ever will but regardless, an ideology is dead. The people are live. It is my belief that there are certain rights that are innate to human beings when they are born and true leaders will stand to protect these rights of their citizens. How leaders are chosen depends on the system and whatever the system is, it should never take on a life of its own and disillusion our values, as Murakami Haruki has once said.

As for Hong Kong, how about a yin yeung?