The Modern Chinese state calls itself a People's Democratic Dictatorship (人民民主专政), and insists that it quickly and efficiently translates the people's will into government policy.  Supposedly the Chinese people have no want or need for slow, chaotic, and expensive 'western style' democracy, and some studies even seem to back this up.

 All of this however, is complete nonsense, as China is an autocratic, single party state, with no free elections and no freedom of speech or press.

Still with all the propaganda floating around, it is easy for a layperson to become confused about what system of Government China has, and the ability of the average person to make their voice heard.  

In this series of episodes we explore the history of elections (选举) and democracy (民主) in China, from the Imperial Period to the present day. In the process we'll discuss the goals of these systems of peoples governance, their effectiveness, and their outcomes. 

This first episode covers from roughly 1840 to 1949. 

Special thanks to Joshua Hill and his book 'Voting as a Rite' for the episode idea 
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674237216