CHANGSHA, March 26 -- A seminar on Chinese democracy and human rights protection was held Sunday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

More than 30 experts and scholars from research institutions and related organizations attended the meeting.

Lu Guangjin, vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said Chinese democracy is an important achievement in China's political progress, with characteristics including socialist democracy, the running of the country by the people, and whole-process people's democracy.

Chen Youwu, dean of the law school at Guangdong University of Technology, said that the essence of Chinese democracy lies in respecting and safeguarding human rights, and Chinese democracy is a new form of democracy that realizes human freedom and equality.

Hu Yuhong, head of the institute of human rights research at East China University of Political Science and Law, said that there is no rule of law without democracy, and whole-process people's democracy enriches people's democratic rights.