No fixed model of democracy: S. African scholar

JOHANNESBURG, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Democracy refers to the relationship between the state and the citizens and there is no fixed model of democracy, Buyile Matiwane, deputy-president of the South African Students Congress, has said.

"Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick is in itself undemocratic," he said in an opinion piece published on the South African news website IOL.

Talking about China, Matiwane noted that since the Communist Party of China was founded in 1921, the ruling party of China has always valued the people as a primary force for social progress and put people first.

"Democracy is not a prerogative of a certain country or a group of countries but a universal right of all people. A basic criterion of democracy should be about the people, such as whether the people have the right to govern their country, whether their needs are met and whether they have a sense of fulfillment and happiness," he said.