> I hope to see a democratic China in my lifetime.

This seems unlikely, given how Xi is now in for the long haul, and the CCP has strong enough a hold on the country that relinquishing power in favor of a system of democratic elections seems unrealistic.

Not to mention that modern-day democracy favors the richest. Russia started having elections after the collapse of the USSR, yet those with capital and influence seem to come out on top.

Similarly with the US, where the larger election funds can afford to influence ('propagandize') the voters.

Perhaps democracy is a good idea, but one that doesn't scale well beyond the city-state.