if normal people can participate in government, is that still a dictatorship? there is a standard way in which chinese people can become a government official if they choose to.

To answer your question: yes, and it has always been the case. Participation in government isn’t the same as consenting to or choosing who governs.

There is a standard way to join a street gang. That doesn't meant that the street gang rules the neighborhood according to a representative democracy, under which people have constitutional rights.