Is China Really Moving Toward Democracy? By JOE McDONALD points out it's not that democratic, but then cites Kenneth Lieberthal, "a scholar of Chinese politics at the University of Michigan Business School."

Lieberthal said that as changes accelerate, China could see direct elections within a year at the county level and to city-level offices by 2010. That could put popularly elected figures into positions with responsibility over millions of people.

Ultimately, he said, the ruling party could be aiming at a system like that of the Institutional Revolutionary Party of Mexico or the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Both stayed in power for decades by uniting a wide array of competing factions - then keeping them together by not demanding ideological unity.

In China's leadership, Lieberthal said, "the array of open disagreement over foreign policy and domestic policy issues already is much broader than it was just a few years ago."

Well, neither party is ideal, but they sound a great deal better than what the Chinese have now.