And why not?
The US, like any country, has a specific history that shapes its views, its values and its political system. But it's not so completely unique that its political system cannot be described within terms that only exist within the US alone. Not everything means the same to everybody, but there is common ground, or we should stop using words altogether.
China is, most certainly, a republic, whether you like it or not or agree with it or not. A republic simply means that power is, in some way, distributed through election as opposed to heredetary. The point is how this election takes place. Certain groups can have a much larger say, e.g. based on wealth, race, sex or any other category you can think of. In a democracy, the idea is that all people should decide, regardless of restrictions What makes the US different from countries like China (and many other republics) is that it is a democratic republic.
It didn't always use to be like that, and I have the strong suspicion that some people would prefer it that way.
Whenever I hear people uttering phrases along the lines of "The US is not a democracy, it is a republic!", I have the strong suspicion that they are uncomfortable with the idea of equality, the principle of one person - one vote, and think that some groups of people should inherently wield more power because they are somehow superior. You know just like - in the good ol'd Roman res publica.
