China urges reflection on ramshackle 'democracy'
By ZHOU JIN | China Daily | Updated: 2022-01-07 09:10
China on Thursday urged the United States to reflect on its own "democratic deficit" and stop acts of imposing its model overseas and creating division and confrontation in the world with so-called democracy as a cover.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news conference when commenting on the anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump.
Polls have shown strong concerns among people in the US on the state of the country's democracy, Wang said, including a recent NPR poll which found that 64 percent of US respondents believe their democracy is in crisis and at risk of failing.
US democracy is in a ramshackle state, Wang said, adding that the US' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan further exposed the harm of imposing US-style democracy upon others.
However, he said, instead of drawing a lesson, Washington styles itself as a leader of Western democracy and hosted the so-called Summit for Democracy to serve its interest at the cost of international division and confrontation.
This is bound to be rejected and criticized by the world and the summit fizzled out hastily, the spokesman added.
Democracy is a common value of humanity instead of a tool for political manipulation, Wang stressed, adding:"There is no hierarchy when it comes to democracy, and there is no one-size-fits-all democratic model."
Moves to put a label on democracy-while weaponizing and politicizing it-are not a grand show, but a low trick, Wang said.