It's not about the idea. It's the execution. China has the power to effectively mold the minds of the majority (like 80-90%), and the majority is all that's needed. The idea may be in the back of the minds of a lot of people but China can prevent them from coordinating, spreading, and developing those ideas.
If China had a popular democracy, they'd only need to mold the minds of 51% of the populace (assuming Australian-style compulsory voting, or 31% assuming US-et-al-style voluntary voting).
