There are all sorts of things worth complaining about in the world, but the fact that the US federal government is a republic and lots of people wish it had more direct democracy is an argument that’s been around since the founding of the republic.

Doesn’t seem like much of a ruse to me.

And regarding “doesn’t matter what other countries do”, come on! This is a thread about the west’s relationship to China in the context of Xi consolidating lifetime rule.

It’s explicitly a thread about our relationship to other governing systems. So your attempt to say people in the US have no standing to criticize China based on some individuals in the US feeling disenfranchised seems like the non-sequitur to me.