Democracy in US is 'messy and chaotic': China

Democracy in the United States is “messy and chaotic”, said a report from China's Foreign Ministry.

The 15,000-word report released on the ministry's website on Sunday highlighted the deficiencies of the US democratic system. It said it has led to riots, entrenched racism, tragic mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and widening wealth gap. Freedom of speech was left in name only.

Beijing in previous years had only issued reports on US human rights violations but Sunday's report was the first aimed at the US democratic system, and it also came in the heel of Beijing's white paper on Saturday “China: Democracy That Works”.

The report was also issued before the US Summit for Democracy to be held on Thursday and Friday which the Biden administration has invited Taiwan, but China and Russia are not on the list.

The State Council Information Office on Saturday released the white paper titled “China: Democracy That Works” which said China's democracy is more extensive, more genuine and more effective than US democracy.

In Sunday's ministry report titled: “The State of Democracy in the United States”, it said the democracy in the US has “alienated and degenerated” over the years, and has continued to deviate from the essence of democracy and its original design.

It said the functioning of democracy in the US has been weakened by problems like money politics, identity politics, wrangling between political parties, political polarization, social division, racial tension and wealth gap.

“The US is not a straight A student when it comes to democracy, still less a role model for democracy,” the report said.

It said the "Capitol riot" last January has “revealed what is underneath the gorgeous appearance” of the US democracy, while the death of black American George Floyd has disclosed the systemic racism which has been exist in American society for a long time.

The report also said the US has been in “a total mess” when handling the Covid-19 pandemic, its society has been further divided on issues of wearing mask and getting Covid-19 jabs, while fruits of economic growth are distributed unfairly and many people's income have been stalled for a long time.

The report said democracy is a common value shared by all humanity and is a right for all nations. However, it takes different forms and there is “no one-size-fits-all model”, adding it will be undemocratic to measure globally diverse political systems from a single perspective.

"The political system of a country should be independently decided by its own people," the report said.

But over the years, the US, despite the "structural flaws and problematic practice" of its democratic system, has claimed itself as the "model of democracy," while incessantly interfered in other countries' internal affairs and waged wars under the disguise of "democracy," creating regional turbulence and humanitarian disasters, the report said.

It said the US ignored the huge differences of economic development and the historical and cultural backgrounds among countries, the United States tried to impose its own political system and values on other countries.

“It pushes for what it calls 'democratic transition', and instigates 'color revolution',” the report said.

It said the US “wantonly interferes in other countries’ internal affairs and even subverts their governments, bringing about disastrous consequences for those countries”.

The report used the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria as examples, saying humanitarian tragedies were caused under the US imposition of its brand of democracy.

“Without producing the expected chemistry, the American-style democracy has turned out to be a 'failed transplant' that plunges many regions and countries into turmoil, conflicts and wars,” the report said.

It said “the world needs to take a closer look at the current state of democracy in the US, and the US itself should also conduct some soul-searching.”

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies said in recent years, China no longer passively responded to Western critics on human rights and democratic issues.

“Instead, it acted proactively. It criticized the malpractices of US and western democracy. In the meantime, it emphasized the advantages of Chinese democracy,” Lau said.

He said China's action is to counter the US on smearing and isolating China through the summit for democracy. It also wanted to encouraged other countries to look into the pros and cons of the political systems between the US and China.

Meanwhile in Beijing, president Xi Jinping on Sunday said China will firmly support multilateralism when he delivered a speech in video at the opening ceremony of the two-day Imperial Springs International Forum, which is being held in both online and on-site in Guangzhou, with over 160 attendees from more than 30 countries.

Xi said the world is experiencing multiple crises and people should be open and tolerated, and to negotiate and cooperate when facing endless global issues and challenges.