Scholars say countries should explore own paths to democracy

BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Countries should explore their own paths to democracy in alignment with their national conditions, enhance national governance, and improve their people's wellbeing, according to scholars attending an international forum on democracy.

From Thursday to Friday, more than 100 guests from over 50 countries and regions, including representatives of international organizations and the media, as well as experts and scholars, joined the dialogue on democracy and national governance during the second phase of the International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values.

They voiced their opposition to the zero-sum mentality, the instigation of ideology-based confrontation, and certain countries' act to maintain their own hegemonies under the guise of protecting democracy.

The definition and practice of democracy vary in different countries, which depend on their peoples' lifestyle, culture, location, geographical structure, education as well as many other things, explained Kalyan Raj Sharma, president of Nepal China Friendship Forum in Nepal.

The experts expressed their concern that certain individual countries are actually stoking confrontation under the pretext of promoting their so-called democracy.

Michael Frederick Dunford, a British professor with University of Sussex, said a particular political and legal system in Western capitalist countries is claimed by these countries to be the only form that democracy can assume and a model that these countries have the right to impose selectively on other countries.

The selectivity indicates that what drives this ambition is not certain values, such as democracy and freedom, but certain interests which these values and principles serve to legitimize, Dunford added.

Regarding China's achievements in practicing its own democracy, many participants of the forum expressed their recognition.

The spirit of the Chinese people is always positive and optimistic about the future. Therefore, the Communist Party of China (CPC) must be doing something very right, said Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of the Schiller Institute in Germany.

The forum is scheduled to be held in three phases, with the upcoming third phase slated for Dec. 14-15.

The event was hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council Information Office and co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Media Group and China International Publishing Group.