The Chinese-language website of Deutsche Welle on Tuesday published a commentary entitled "Maintaining critical dialogue with China is more important than ever." The article is filled with clichés about so-called "human rights issues in Xinjiang," which are not worth reading. But the phrase "critical dialogue" in the headline is intriguing. It is in fact the main attitude of the US and other Western countries in communicating with non-Western nations in recent years.
This is, in most cases, an unconscious revelation of American and Western elites' inner feeling of superiority. But now they put it forward consciously and promote it as an "effective way" to deal with China. This cannot be explained simply by "pride and prejudice." They did not articulate it in the past, but Western countries have been practicing and enhancing the so-called critical dialogue with China. It has become an approach or even a weapon in the West's strategic game with China. In other words, they are trying to "lecture" China under the cover of "dialogue."
In global interactions, disagreements are common. It is also normal to express different views or even criticize without mincing words. However, equal dialogue cannot be based on the premise that some values are superior to others. It also cannot be only one party lecturing or accusing the other. The US and the West's "critical dialogue" is condescending, and the implied logic is that only they have the ability, qualification and power to determine right and wrong. This means that one party already claimed the moral high ground before the "dialogue" even begins, which dwarfs the development level and moral image of other countries.
Colonialism has long been discarded as something despicable, but Western-centric power structures and mentality have not disappeared completely. Colonialism has been subtly transplanted into various aspects, lurking in Western political language and communication methods. Some elites in the US and the West, with a strong sense of superiority on civilization, regard non-Western countries as candidates waiting for their "approval." With ideological pointers in their hands, they took to the podium to oversee exams, judge papers, and then grade them based on the "performance" of these countries to determine whether they passed the exam. As for the standard of scoring, it is drawn by the US and the West according to their own historical and social formations, and "Western-centrism" is the only correct answer in all the exams.
In their eyes, only the West is right, civilized and advanced, while those who differ from them are branded as "evil," barbaric and backward. They forcibly create a dichotomy between "civilization" and "barbarism." On this fictional premise, they attach moral labels on different practices of other countries, trying to dwarf them in image so that they can "attack others from a high position" as they wish. It is for this reason they recklessly fabricate the lie of "genocide" in Xinjiang, audaciously call for "punishing China" by various means, and frantically threaten to bomb China "back into the Stone Age."
Sometimes, arrogance is a kind of overbearingness; sometimes, it is also a kind of deep inferiority. In the face of the rise of emerging market countries, including China, and their own troubles, the US and other Western countries are becoming increasingly overwhelmed. Faced with the narrowing gap between them and emerging market countries, they have to rely on slogans of "human rights" and "democracy" to maintain their "absolute advantage." The reason why they are so sensitive to their position in the dialogue is that they are aware of the disappearance of the absolute advantage they used to have. As a result, they have to deliberately highlight their discourse power to maintain the obsolete power structure behind it, which has become a subconscious reaction.
Even in the fields of human rights and democracy, the US and the West are increasingly lagging behind, relying only on slogans, posturing and fist-pumping to show their "self-esteem," which is actually laughable to the rest of the world. The West's self-confidence is collapsing, as the democratization of international relations is increasingly popular and as developing countries' awareness of their rights is strengthening. Today, if someone still wants to engage in colonialism and ideological hegemony, or even imagines leading other countries by the nose like livestock, no country with national pride and a sense of independence will obey.
Returning to the "critical dialogue," China has never been afraid of criticism, but firmly opposes hegemony. Times have changed, and US and Western elites should learn to be equal and respectful. Dialogue is necessary, and we welcome "constructive dialogue," but we reject "critical dialogue." We would also like to remind that a condescending posture is dangerous, because the farther you are from the ground, the harder you may fall.
Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Thursday sternly refuted the allegations of “genocide” made
by the US and the UK over human rights situation in China's Xinjiang region, after the two countries took a Security Council meeting on
international law and maintaining peace and security as a chance to attack China on Xinjiang-related issues. They have also called on another “investigative” trip to Xinjiang on Thursday after they found that the UN human rights chief's recent visit to Xinjiang had failed to support their “genocide” fallacies about the region.
After frequent gun shooting cases nationwide in the US
that caused heavy casualties, including children, the White House and Capitol Hill are trying to show that they are trying to find a solution
under pressure from society, as US President Joe Biden said Congress "must act to pass gun control legislation."
The US, whose flag flies over 750 military bases in more than 80 countries and regions, seems to
be sitting on pins and needles after witnessing China sign ONE security cooperation framework agreement with the Solomon Islands. On Tuesday
local time, US President Joe Biden met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the White House. Their “shared concern” about China's
security agreement and “China's Pacific ambitions” were soon placed under the spotlight of Western media outlets.
Native Americans, refugees from US-initiated wars, Floyds and children separated from their parents at the border will remember
the US as the greatest “human ...
The masks covering the true face of the US were taken off one after another through the seven stories the Global Times had published over the course of the past few weeks. These masks are engraved with words such as peace, liberty, security, unity, science, humanity, and global order, hiding the country's true visage that has been distorted with lust, greed, and subjugation.
The masks covering the true face of the US have been removed one after another through the seven investigative stories the
Global Times published over the course of the past few weeks. These masks are engraved with beautiful words such as peace, liberty,
security, unity, science, humanity, and global order, hiding the country's true visage distorted with lust, greed, and subjugation.
Fanning the flames to create turmoil, using economic and financial hegemony to sanction opponents, and forming cliques to create
political isolation - the US is using its hegemony to undermine the international order.
In fact, the US government's approach is quite similar to Voldemort's - they both believe in power, recruit followers, use violence, and repeatedly want to kill competitors in order to maintain supremacy.
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee presides over the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China. Photo: Xinhua
Vigorous Chinese democracy vs aging Western one: Global Times editorial
"Whole-process people's democracy" has been officially written into the Communiqué of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. At Friday's press conference on the sixth plenum, the concept has been further clarified, which has garnered extensive attention from home and abroad.
Democracy is one of the important results of human society's development. It is destined to form different gene combinations in different social environments and manifest itself in various forms, just like that of plants and flowers.
The US and the West have always regarded themselves as property owners and missionaries of democracy, as if they are issuing democratic licenses to the world, preaching to people of other countries about how to be democratic and judging who is democratic and who is not. But they are no longer able to carry on such moves.
China has risen. We hold high the banner of people-centered socialist democracy, and develop an efficient market economy based on China's political system. We have rapidly improved livelihood and eliminated poverty, gaining remarkable and globally eye-catching economic and social achievements.
In this process, elements of democracy with Chinese characteristics have continued to develop and grow. Governments at various levels have been exploring how to make democracy truly effective in all areas. This has formed the goal-oriented democratic construction in which the people are masters of the country. From election to consultations, from policymaking to management and supervision, all have been carried out, upgraded and institutionalized under the promotion of China's fundamental political system. As a result, people's wishes and opinions can always be reported to governments at different levels rapidly. The Party's leadership has ensured that national governance always responds to the demands of the broadest masses of people and can make the most reasonable plan based on the interests of all groups in the society. This will make people the country's masters.
China has developed democracy, but avoided populist radicalism. Everyone has the right to share the fruits of national development but vicious conflicts have been prevented among different interests groups. Although people often express opinions on the internet, sometimes in a fierce manner, China's social governance has generally maintained order. There are very few disruptions caused by partial or large-scale disorder.
The US and the West still regard their democracy as a hallmark. Their political systems have been seriously aging after hundreds of years. Powerful Western interest groups seek to obtain from and exploit their systems in radical ways regardless of the damage they would cause, which has made Western-style democracy full of drawbacks such as populism, political struggles, derailed people participation, and manipulated and misguided elections.
Western-style democracy is still able to have a say in the international public opinion arena. It's because of the economic and social strength accumulated in history. Those countries are still the most developed ones, which has helped them conceal their ugliness and fool the world with their sophistries and cover-ups.
However, some Western elites are now a little bit panicked. They know the West is plagued by problematic politics and a sluggish economy. Meanwhile, they have seen the fast development of China. After the outbreak of COVID-19, China's "people first" political ideology has quickly transformed to great achievements in fighting the epidemic. They worry that if this continues, the fundamental flaws in their narratives about democracy will be exposed, and the perception that their political systems are "bad" will spread throughout the world.
The US and some Western countries in recent years have frantically increased their attacks on China's political system. Doing so is of no help to solve the decline of their own systems. The political dividends of Western-style democracy have already been seriously overdrawn. Now the shortcomings of Western-style democracy have been exposed and further fermented, which is consuming the competitiveness of those countries.
Those Western political elites want to eliminate the challenge of democratic diversity and change the competition rules in the globalization era by stifling China's development. However, China is a super-scale market and a powerful country. It's a dead end if they attempt to solve their own difficulties by changing China.
The Chinese and Western democratic systems could learn from each other and carry out sound competition. Unfortunately, some political elites in the US and West stubbornly seek to turn the two systems into antagonistic relations. Then they will have to bear the long-term consequences of their actions. China will develop faster than them in the long run. After passing a critical point -it's doomed to appear in future - the US and West's political confidence will be greatly shaken. Their unrealistic flattery of Western-style democracy will collapse.
The world is seeing active reflections and hot debates over democracy. Which kind of democracy is good is not defined by a war of words. The good democracy must effectively provide economic and social development with a steady stream of impetus and promote the well-being of the broad masses of people. Facts will be the best judge.
China is making great efforts to bring benefits to its people and contribute positively to building a community with a shared future for mankind. We are earnest explorers of a democratic system that fits our own conditions. Our efforts and success have received much attention and praises from a vast number of developing countries. We have expanded people's political vision, and contributed important experiences.
Developing countries generally face pressure from the US and the West. Due to their size, many countries are unable to withstand the pressure to explore an independent democratic paradigm. China's practice is in line with their interests, bringing the light of freedom to the world when it comes to the national choice of development path.
Democracy not 'patent' of the West; US democracy summit a 'huge irony' aiming to split world: senior CPC official
Photo: Zhao Juecheng/GT
The US' democracy summit convened next month with the attempt to "revive" Western democracy amid mounting democratic problems in their countries is a huge irony, as its purpose is simply to suppress other countries and divide the world into different camps, a senior Chinese official said on Friday.
Jiang Jinquan,director of the Policy Research Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at Friday's press conference on the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
He said democracy is not a patent of the West, nor can it be defined by the West. Western democracy is a democracy dominated by capital, a democracy of the rich, not true democracy.
Some Western countries have shown a hollowing out of democracy,triggering dissatisfaction among their fellow people, but they are still trying to impose their democratic model on other countries. Color revolutions in recent years ago have resulted in disasters to local people, which the people of the world have become increasingly aware of, Jiang said in response to a question on comparison between China's whole-process people's democracy and Western democracy.
Jiang listed several polls as an example. According to a new survey from the Pew Research Centre, 57 percent of global respondents and 72 percent of Americans said that US democracy used to be a good example but has not been recently.
According to an NPR poll, 81 percent of US adults say the future of US democracy is under threat.
In contrast, two recent polls released by a US polling agency show that Chinese people's satisfaction with the CPC and the Chinese government is 95 percent and 98 percent, respectively.
Democracy is not for decoration, but for solving people's problems. Whether a country is democratic or not depends on whether its people are the masters of the country, whether its people have the right to vote and more importantly, whether they have the right to participate widely. It depends on what promises are made during the election process, but more importantly, it depends on how many of these promises are fulfilled after an election, Jiang said.
"Democracy is not true if the people are awakened only at the time of voting and then fall into hibernation, if they can only listen to the election slogans but have no say after the election, if they are favored only at the time of campaigning and then are left out after the election," Jiang said.
Jiang said the CPC has realized that China's political civilization and political system must be deeply rooted in the mind of Chinese society. Copying other countries' political systems will not work and may even destroy the country's future.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to the path of political development under socialism with Chinese characteristics and upheld the leadership of the Party and the position of the people as masters of the country, has resolutely resisted the erosion and influence of the Western political trend of so-called "constitutionalism", ruling party rotation, and developed a democratic road of whole-process people's democracy, Jiang said.
The Chinese people have a high degree of confidence in their political system,and the fundamental reason lies in the fact that whole-process people's democracy is highly democratic, fully fledged and deeply welcomed by the Chinese people. This is true people's democracy, Jiang said.
To break out of its paralysis, the West needs to take a hard look and address three key challenges, Rethinking Democracy, the Social Contract, and Globalization
Next Wednesday, Joseph Biden will be anointed President, guarded by 20,000 National Guard troops in battle gear against not foreign enemies, but domestic threats
A week is a long time in politics. Last Wednesday, armed supporters of President Trump stormed the sanctity of the Capitol, the temple of American democracy.
This Wednesday, President Trump became the first president in American history to be impeached twice.
Next Wednesday, Joseph Biden will be anointed President, guarded by 20,000 National Guard troops in battle gear against not foreign enemies, but domestic threats.
This was supposed to happen only in Hollywood movie scripts.
Consider these bizarre facts: the pandemic is claiming more than 4,000
deaths daily in the United States; digital media like Twitter, YouTube
and Facebook have banned tweets and comments by their own President; all
US stock market indices are still rising, and bitcoin has surged by
27.9% in 13 days.
The article of impeachment stated in more stark terms than any foreign
commentator would dare to express: “President Trump gravely endangered
the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He
threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the
peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of
government.
“He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of
the people of the United States.Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such
conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national
security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in
office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with
self-governance and the rule of law.
“Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour,
trust, or profit under the United States.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pic below)summed it up as “he is a clear and present danger to the nation.”
Arguably, Trump has committed the sin of poisoning the well of democracy, not just in America, but for the rest of the world.
Although Western democrats extol its virtues back to the Greek Age, modern liberal democracy is very recent.
As late as 1978, only one third of the world lived in democracies; by
2015, more than half do. But since then, populism, Brexit and Trumpism
have caused many to lament that democracy is receding.
Today, the gold standard of liberal democracy in America is being tested, if not questioned.
Work in progress
The problem is that liberal democracy based on social equality, rule of law, tolerance of diversity, is a work in progress.
Given very different cultures, history, religion and institutional
set-ups, democracy is practiced differently, requiring huge efforts by
all citizens.
Democracy that has no performance-accountability when what is promised is not delivered.
That became evident when the 2008 global financial crisis accentuated
rising social inequality and insecurity to large segments of the
population.
Democratic politics fragmented and did not seem to be able to deliver on promises.
Austrian economist and political philosopher Joseph Schumpeter became
famous for his observation that the driver of capitalism was
entrepreneurship, which led to creative destruction. He was equally
original and sharp in his realist analysis of democracy.
In his classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, four conditions must
be satisfied for democracy to work: the quality of politicians in terms
of ability and moral character; social consensus that democracy does
not solve everything; a well-trained and effective bureaucracy; and
finally, “effective competition for leadership requires a large measure
of tolerance for difference of opinion.”
Schumpeter understood that democracy has difficulty in making decisions when society is deeply divided.
Vote-seeking
Vote-seeking behaviour means that policies are always for the
short-term, so politicians under serve the long-term interests of the
nation.
For example, democratic and rich countries like Australia cannot even
agree on dealing with climate change, because vested interests in the
mining industry consistently block change through lobbying. If
democracies cannot deliver long-term structural reforms that are painful
and unpopular, then in the long-run, citizens will seek alternatives,
such as autocracies or anocracies (democracy with autocratic
characteristics).
Trump put American democracy in clear and present danger by violating all four Schumpeter conditions.
First, nearly half the voting population ignored his moral issues,
because they believed him calling the mainstream news as “fake”.
Second, he violated many of the unspoken rules, codes and conventions
that buttressed democratic checks and balances, aided by lawyers and
attorney generals whom he also threw under the bus.
Third, he questioned the loyalty and efficacy of the vaunted American
bureaucracy, which then failed to protect the Capitol from violent
protests.
Lastly, he openly sought division, rather than work bi-partisanly to heal social divisions.
Asians have much to learn from Schumpeter, who foresaw that democracy is
about majority rule, but works in practice through an elite that deals
in votes rather than in money. Since capitalism by definition values
money more than labour, money under financial capitalism has a nasty
habit of corrupting politics.
How to control money politics from corroding diverse rights and public goods is a perennial issue in all systems of governance.
If there is one lesson that should resonate in Asia, it is that violence cannot be an answer to the democratic process.
Inciting violence
Trump realised too late that inciting violence in his supporters to
protect his version of electoral victory ended up with him denouncing
violence in the name of law and order.
Retribution occurs to those who incite violence abroad, because violence can bounce back at home.
Next week, the Trump Reality Show will thankfully end, and life will
return to some form of normality, so we can address the threats of
pandemic and job losses without being diverted by another tweet.
For Trump, impeachment will only withdraw his right to hold further
public office. He was made by media, and he will be haunted by media for
the rest of his life. But he will go on to earn millions from book
sales and paid appearances.
The clear and present danger to democracy is a distorted system where heads I win, tails you lose.
We need to change this system, but we don’t know how to do this democratically. Perhaps Joe Biden has the answer.
By Andrew Sheng, a Distinguished Fellow of Fung Global Institute, a
global think tank based in Hong Kong. The views expressed here are his
own.
The Trump administration's China policy possesses the
greatest threat to future China-US relations. It has ruined the
achievements in bilateral relations the two countries had made since the
establishment of diplomatic ties over four decades ago.
Next Wednesday, Joseph Biden will be anointed President, guarded by 20,000 National Guard troops in battle gear against not foreign enemies, but domestic threats
A week is a long time in politics. Last Wednesday, armed supporters of President Trump stormed the sanctity of the Capitol, the temple of American democracy.
This Wednesday, President Trump became the first president in American history to be impeached twice.
Next Wednesday, Joseph Biden will be anointed President, guarded by 20,000 National Guard troops in battle gear against not foreign enemies, but domestic threats.
This was supposed to happen only in Hollywood movie scripts.
Consider these bizarre facts: the pandemic is claiming more than 4,000
deaths daily in the United States; digital media like Twitter, YouTube
and Facebook have banned tweets and comments by their own President; all
US stock market indices are still rising, and bitcoin has surged by
27.9% in 13 days.
The article of impeachment stated in more stark terms than any foreign
commentator would dare to express: “President Trump gravely endangered
the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He
threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the
peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of
government.
“He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of
the people of the United States.Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such
conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national
security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in
office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with
self-governance and the rule of law.
“Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour,
trust, or profit under the United States.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pic below)summed it up as “he is a clear and present danger to the nation.”
Arguably, Trump has committed the sin of poisoning the well of democracy, not just in America, but for the rest of the world.
Although Western democrats extol its virtues back to the Greek Age, modern liberal democracy is very recent.
As late as 1978, only one third of the world lived in democracies; by
2015, more than half do. But since then, populism, Brexit and Trumpism
have caused many to lament that democracy is receding.
Today, the gold standard of liberal democracy in America is being tested, if not questioned.
Work in progress
The problem is that liberal democracy based on social equality, rule of law, tolerance of diversity, is a work in progress.
Given very different cultures, history, religion and institutional
set-ups, democracy is practiced differently, requiring huge efforts by
all citizens.
Democracy that has no performance-accountability when what is promised is not delivered.
That became evident when the 2008 global financial crisis accentuated
rising social inequality and insecurity to large segments of the
population.
Democratic politics fragmented and did not seem to be able to deliver on promises.
Austrian economist and political philosopher Joseph Schumpeter became
famous for his observation that the driver of capitalism was
entrepreneurship, which led to creative destruction. He was equally
original and sharp in his realist analysis of democracy.
In his classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, four conditions must
be satisfied for democracy to work: the quality of politicians in terms
of ability and moral character; social consensus that democracy does
not solve everything; a well-trained and effective bureaucracy; and
finally, “effective competition for leadership requires a large measure
of tolerance for difference of opinion.”
Schumpeter understood that democracy has difficulty in making decisions when society is deeply divided.
Vote-seeking
Vote-seeking behaviour means that policies are always for the
short-term, so politicians under serve the long-term interests of the
nation.
For example, democratic and rich countries like Australia cannot even
agree on dealing with climate change, because vested interests in the
mining industry consistently block change through lobbying. If
democracies cannot deliver long-term structural reforms that are painful
and unpopular, then in the long-run, citizens will seek alternatives,
such as autocracies or anocracies (democracy with autocratic
characteristics).
Trump put American democracy in clear and present danger by violating all four Schumpeter conditions.
First, nearly half the voting population ignored his moral issues,
because they believed him calling the mainstream news as “fake”.
Second, he violated many of the unspoken rules, codes and conventions
that buttressed democratic checks and balances, aided by lawyers and
attorney generals whom he also threw under the bus.
Third, he questioned the loyalty and efficacy of the vaunted American
bureaucracy, which then failed to protect the Capitol from violent
protests.
Lastly, he openly sought division, rather than work bi-partisanly to heal social divisions.
Asians have much to learn from Schumpeter, who foresaw that democracy is
about majority rule, but works in practice through an elite that deals
in votes rather than in money. Since capitalism by definition values
money more than labour, money under financial capitalism has a nasty
habit of corrupting politics.
How to control money politics from corroding diverse rights and public goods is a perennial issue in all systems of governance.
If there is one lesson that should resonate in Asia, it is that violence cannot be an answer to the democratic process.
Inciting violence
Trump realised too late that inciting violence in his supporters to
protect his version of electoral victory ended up with him denouncing
violence in the name of law and order.
Retribution occurs to those who incite violence abroad, because violence can bounce back at home.
Next week, the Trump Reality Show will thankfully end, and life will
return to some form of normality, so we can address the threats of
pandemic and job losses without being diverted by another tweet.
For Trump, impeachment will only withdraw his right to hold further
public office. He was made by media, and he will be haunted by media for
the rest of his life. But he will go on to earn millions from book
sales and paid appearances.
The clear and present danger to democracy is a distorted system where heads I win, tails you lose.
We need to change this system, but we don’t know how to do this democratically. Perhaps Joe Biden has the answer.
By Andrew Sheng, a Distinguished Fellow of Fung Global Institute, a
global think tank based in Hong Kong. The views expressed here are his
own.
The Trump administration's China policy possesses the
greatest threat to future China-US relations. It has ruined the
achievements in bilateral relations the two countries had made since the
establishment of diplomatic ties over four decades ago.
China US Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Consider these bizarre facts: the pandemic is claiming more than 4,000
deaths daily in the United States; digital media like Twitter, YouTube
and Facebook have banned tweets and comments by their own President; all
US stock market indices are still rising, and bitcoin has surged by
27.9% in 13 days.
