Voting in China

Today was one of the first times I have had the opportunity to practice democracy in China and it was almost taken away from me. Every six months or so at work we get to vote for people in exciting categories like "Best Dressed Male and Female Professional" and "Best Support Staff." Normally, I would just abstain, because I don't really believe in democracy, I am more of a fan of dictatorships (its just easier, but China is close enough, which is why I stay here). Anyway, this time I chose to vote because they were offering cash incentives if you were one of the first 50 to have voted. I just picked random names that I could think of and sent the ballot sheet in. A few hours later, our team assistant comes by and says our boss wants us to vote a certain way and we need to choose XX department (I think I just chose the first department from the drop down to be in the first 50 in time). This taught me a valuable lesson about China, which I think is always make sure you ask who to vote for before you vote (like I said, it is close enough to a dictatorship, well, at least in my department anyway).