Expert: Notion of democracy not a monopoly

Trying to understand China by simply using the Western preconceived notion of democracy is wrong and outdated, and the notion of democracy is not a monopoly, said Marsela Musabelliu, executive director of the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies (AIGS).

Musabelliu said that democracy should be judged by how much people's wishes are being fulfilled by their government. In China, the state ensures that everyone can fulfill their human potential in dignity, and that is the definition of what a democracy should deliver to its people.

Musabelliu also mentioned that the relationship between the state and society in China is very different from that in the West. She advised skeptics to get information from the source and explore China by visiting it, rather than just reading or watching about it.