Citizens of Hong Kong, eat your hearts out. Democracy with Hong Kong characteristics means you get to vote – sort of. You get to choose among a list of candidates that the Communist Party of China thinks would be good at ruling you. Isn’t Beijing thoughtful?

But at the Caihe No 1 primary school in the mainland Chinese city of Hangzhou, democracy is alive and well (and far healthier than in the land of “one country, two systems”). Last week was election week in the year 2 class of teacher Lv Shimeng, and every one of her 40 or so pupils stood for elected office. Voting was free and fair: not free and fair with Chinese characteristics, but free and fair as in anyone could run for any office – and Teacher Lv couldn’t disqualify even the naughtiest.

By the end of the poll, every pint-sized member of the class had been voted into some office or other: from class head right down to lunchbox organiser, energy-saving ambassador and “dessert delivery officer”. The pupils even elected their own sheriff; Texas couldn’t have done it any better.