Is the Poor Quality of Chinese Civic Awareness Preventing Democracy in China? A Case Study of Zeguo Township

A prevailing view in China is that the country cannot democratize because of the poor quality of the populace with respect to “citizen quality, “or civic awareness. This viewpoint lacks empirical support in relevant case studies and databases. This article focuses on a case study conducted using the deliberative polling process in Zeguo Township, Zhejiang Province, to determine whether citizen quality influences the effectiveness of local democratic action. We find that during the group democratic deliberation, factors such as participants’ education, age, and career do not bear significantly on the success of democratic deliberation. Democratic deliberation can improve the civic knowledge of the public, public spiritedness, and civic participation, all of which facilitate the effectiveness of deliberation and the development of trust in the government.