The documentary Please Vote for Me contained great symbolism regarding Chinese democracy and Chinese political thought. As China begins the transition to democracy, it’s growing pains are going to serve as a great test for China and the CCP. In the documentary the 3rd graders quickly learn how to manipulate the democratic process to gain an edge. We saw this in Cheng Cheng’s backdoor political tactics (staging the booing to his opponents talent show performance), and in Lei’s bribery. While it was entertaining to see kids practice Machiavellian tactics, the underlying reality is that Chinese bureaucrats and politicians are using similar tactics, and it has stymied the development of the Chinese people and Chinese democracy. In addition to this, we saw the influence that being a governmental employee can have on the success of not just the individual but their families as well. As a police officer, Lei’s father was able to secure perks, and has been schooled in politics allowing him to bolster his family and son’s status. In terms of democracy, with the current political culture of China, it is difficult to imagine that a western style democracy will form. Given the data we were presented, Chinese political culture dictates a paternalistic relationship between the state and people. Politically, this causes the people to obey and trust the state, to an impressive degree (90% trust central govt, 71% trust corruption laden local governments). In order for a democracy to rise, there has to be discontent among the people, in particular the middle class. The current data proves that the Chinese are overwhelmingly satisfied with the current system and there is no reason to change.