China News Service, Beijing, December 6 (Reporter Guo Chaokai) The release of the "Ten Questions of American Democracy" research report sponsored by Renmin University of China Chongyang Institute of Finance (hereinafter referred to as Renmin University of China Chongyang) and undertaken by the China-US Humanities Exchange Research Center of Renmin University of China The seminar was held in Beijing on the 6th.
Representatives from embassies in China from more than 30 countries including the United States attended the meeting.
The full text of the "Ten Questions of American Democracy" research report has a total of 23,000 words, divided into five languages: Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. It proposes ten sharp points for the so-called "democracy summit" to be convened in the United States on December 9-10. Torture.
The research report pointed out that American democracy has expressed concerns and criticism in all respects about the current situation in which American democracy has caused social disorder internally, deepened people's suffering, and caused disasters and turbulence externally, and undermined the international order.
As a new type of think tank that has been engaged in global governance research for a long time, the National People's Congress Chongyang has combed and analyzed many American documents. From ten aspects of American system practice, national governance, social status, human rights and freedom, and international influence, it rigorously and objectively puts forward ten questions about the United States. The issue of democracy is to help countries understand democracy more comprehensively and promote the formation of common values for all mankind.
The report stated that democracy is the right of the people of all countries, not the patent of individual countries.
It is absurd for any country to declare its own monopoly on the definition or model of "democracy".
As the only superpower in the world, the United States implemented a modern democratic system earlier in history, and the American people have also waged a long-term struggle for democratic rights.
However, in recent years, U.S. democracy has gradually evolved. It has become a tool for the private gain of a few people internally, violating human rights, causing social tears, and becoming a pretext and excuse for the United States to maintain its hegemony, interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and disrupt international order externally.
The report raises the first question: Is American democracy a democracy of the majority or a "democracy" of the minority?
Political scholar Steven Hill described the United States as "minority rule spreading like cancer."
Power serves capital, and more and more politicians do not put the real interests of voters first.
Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, pointed out: "The United States is more like an oligarchy than an imagined democracy." May I ask whether American democracy today can be regarded as the master of the country?
The report raises the second question: Does American democracy achieve checks and balances of power or lead to abuse of power?
There has been a "super polarization" in political operations, and the means of American politicians far exceed the TV series "House of Cards".
Nearly 80% of the people interviewed believe that government corruption is their biggest worry.
Legislative power, judicial power, and administrative power are frequently abused, and phenomena such as political donations and "political and business revolving doors" have allowed politicians to make money.
Investigations show that the trust of the American people in the US government has also "dropped to near the freezing point."
The report raises the third question: Does American democracy enhance people’s well-being or deepen their suffering?
The basic right to subsistence cannot be guaranteed.
As of the end of 2020, more than 50 million Americans are facing undernourishment, which is an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2019.
More than 220,000 people sleep on the streets.
The gap between the rich and the poor is getting worse.
Estimates show that the median value of American household wealth has not actually increased in the past 20 years.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans hold approximately US$43.27 trillion in wealth, which is 14.3 times the total wealth of the bottom 50% (US$3.03 trillion).
The well-known economist Stieglitz pointed out: “American congressmen rely on 1% of the money for re-election, serve 1% of the people, and even rely on 1% of the people for rewards when they leave office.”
The report raises the fourth question: Does American democracy defend freedom or hinder freedom?
"Overload of freedom" leads to cultural wars that involve energy and waste of resources, "may lead to the disillusionment of democracy," and it "delays American epidemic prevention and is killing Americans."
The hypocritical freedom of speech spreads false information through social media, amplifies hatred and extreme emotions.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that 64% of Americans believe that social media has a negative effect on the direction of the United States.
The report raises the fifth question: Does American democracy protect human rights or violate human rights?
Statistics show that there are more than 38,000 deaths related to shooting each year, of which 20% are children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 17.
The United States accounts for only 4% of the world’s population, but it accounts for 35% of the world’s gun suicides.
In 2020, hate crimes against Asians have increased by 150%.
The number of infections and deaths are far ranked first in the world.
Someone sighed: "This is a massacre!"
The report raises the sixth question: Does American democracy promote unity or cause division?
The survey found that 52% of Trump voters and 41% of Biden voters believe that the red and blue states may be a better choice for the United States today.
The United States is falling into a "cold civil war."
The proportion of people who agree that "African Americans suffer a lot of discrimination" has increased from 19% in 2013 to 50% in 2020.
The shadow of slavery still exists in the United States.
From 2016 to 2017, the number of attacks by far-right perpetrators quadrupled.
The report raises the seventh question: Does American democracy achieve dreams or bring nightmares?
Americans are desperate for the American dream, and many people write obituaries for the American dream.
59% of Americans believe that the media and reporters deliberately mislead people.
Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the country's development path.
The number of Americans who are very dissatisfied with the direction of the United States has risen from 33% in 2017 to 50% in 2021.
85% of Americans believe that the United States' own political system needs major changes or thorough reforms.
The report raises the eighth question: Does American democracy improve national governance or lead to system failure?
The fighting between the two parties has repeatedly shut down and shut down the government.
The mutual constraints between the federal government and the state governments have made it difficult for the country to compete for power and internal friction, the federal government is not smooth, and the infrastructure is difficult to implement.
For example, California has been preparing for the construction of high-speed rail for more than 25 years, but has not yet fully started.
The "collapsed" disaster response, poor risk prevention, slow rescue and disaster relief, and constant observation by officials, even "the Federal Emergency Management Agency documents express a central idea: Don't rely on us."
The report raises the ninth question: Does American democracy bring development and prosperity to other countries or disaster turbulence?
It is estimated that about 241,000 Afghans were killed after the 2002 war; about 18.3 to 206,000 Iraqi civilians died in the violence after the 2003 war; Yemen currently has about 20.7 million (71% of its total population). Humanitarian assistance.
The United States is a veritable "refugee manufacturing machine" in the world today. At least 37 million people have been displaced by the war launched after the "9.11" incident in the United States.
The report raises the tenth question: Does American democracy maintain world peace and development or undermine international order?
Since the first foreign military intervention in 1880, as of 2017, the United States has conducted a total of 392 foreign military interventions.
Since the founding of the United States, it has been at war for more than 92% of its time.
The United States maintains approximately 750 overseas military bases in 80 foreign and colonies (territories).
The U.S. military expenditure in 2020 is 778 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 39% of the total global military expenditure.
About one in five people in the Middle East and North Africa still live on the brink of conflict.
"The currency of the United States, the problem of the world."
The report pointed out that in the name of "democracy," the United States can reflect its will, but it is the "money owner", "gun owner", "white owner", "matchmaker", "army owner", and "medicine owner."
In the United States, it is not the people who can call the shots. "There is no democracy in one country and six masters."
According to the survey, 57% of people outside the United States said that democracy in the United States “has done well in the past, but it hasn’t worked in recent years.” Another 23% said that the United States has never been a model of democracy in other countries.
The report concludes that democracy is the common value of all mankind. There is no monopoly model of democracy in the world. Democracy is rich and diverse. It is a diversified path chosen independently by the people of all countries, rather than a single path that is forced to impose.
It is suggested that the US government may ask itself the above ten questions when holding the so-called "democracy summit."
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