双语： 2022年美国民主情况
2022年美国民主情况全文英文翻译
2022年美国民主情况
The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022
2023年3月
March 2023
目录
Contents
一、序言
I. Preamble
二、美国民主沉疴难愈
II. American democracy in chronic ills
（一）美国民主颓势持续加重
1. American democracy in further decline
（二）两党争斗加剧政治极化
2. Political polarization intensified by partisan fights
（三）金钱政治愈演愈烈
3. Money politics surged
（四）言论自由徒有其名
4. “Freedom of speech” in name only
（五）司法系统无视民意
5. The judicial system blind to public opinion
（六）美国民众对美式民主日益失望
6. Americans increasingly disillusioned with American democracy
三、美国强推民主制造全球乱局
III. The United States’ imposition of “democracy” has caused chaos around the world
（一）政治极化绑架对外政策
1. Foreign policy held hostage by political polarization
（二）借民主旗号煽动对抗冲突
2. Inciting confrontation and conflict in the name of democracy
（三）单边制裁变本加厉
3. Doubling down on unilateral sanctions
（四）肆意破坏国际关系民主化
4. Undermining democracy in international relations
（五）炮制“民主对抗威权”虚假叙事
5. Foisting a trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”
四、结束语
IV. Conclusion
一、序言
I. Preamble
2022年，美国持续陷入民主失真、政治失能、社会失和的恶性循环。金钱政治、身份政治、社会撕裂、贫富分化等问题愈加严重。美国民主弊病已深入政治和社会肌理的方方面面，并进一步折射出其背后的治理失灵和制度缺陷。
In 2022, the vicious cycle of democratic pretensions, dysfunctional politics and a divided society continued in the United States. Problems such as money politics, identity politics, social rifts, and the gulf between the rich and poor worsened. The maladies afflicting American democracy deeply infected the cells of US politics and society, and further revealed US governance failure and institutional defects.
尽管自身问题成堆，美国却仍居高临下，指手画脚，充当民主教师爷，编造和渲染“民主对抗威权”虚假叙事，围绕美国的私利，在全世界划分“民主和非民主阵营”，张罗举办第二届“领导人民主峰会”，向各国盘点和分派“民主兑现承诺”。这些做法无论是打着“道义”的花言巧语，还是操着利益的掩饰手段，都隐藏不住将民主政治化、工具化，推行集团政治、服务维霸目标的真实意图。
Despite mounting problems at home, the US continued to behave with a sense of superiority, point fingers at others, usurp the role of a “lecturer of democracy”, and concoct and play up the false narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”. To serve the interests of none other than itself, the US acted to split the world into two camps of what it defined as “democracies and non-democracies”, and organized another edition of the so-called “Summit for Democracy” to check how various countries had performed on meeting US standards for democracy and to issue new orders. Be it high-sounding rhetoric or maneuvers driven by hidden agenda, none can hide the real designs of the US – to maintain its hegemony by playing bloc politics and using democracy as a tool for political ends.
本报告通过大量列举事实和媒体专家看法，系统梳理和呈现过去一年美国民主的真实表现，揭示美国国内民主乱象及其在全世界兜售和强加民主所制造的混乱与灾难，让世人进一步认清美国民主的真实面目。
This report collects a multitude of facts, media comments and expert opinions to present a complete and real picture of American democracy over the year. What they reveal is an American democracy in chaos at home and a trail of havoc and disasters left behind as the US peddled and imposed its democracy around the globe. It helps remove the facade of American democracy for more people worldwide.
二、美国民主沉疴难愈
II. American democracy in chronic ills
美国无视当前自身民主面临的种种问题和制度危机，固执地认为美国民主仍然是全球样板、民主灯塔。这种妄自尊大不仅让美国民主弊病积重难返，也让世界各国继续深受其害。
The US refuses to acknowledge the many problems and institutional crises confronting its democracy at home and stubbornly claims to be the template and beacon of democracy for the world. Such imperiousness perpetuates the ills of its democracy and causes dire consequences for other countries.
（一）美国民主颓势持续加重
1. American democracy in further decline
美国民主制度好似外表光鲜的舞台，各路政客你方唱罢我登场，但无论表演多么精彩，都难掩许多长期的严重积弊和始终难以解决的无奈现实。法国《世界报》指出，2022年是美国民主经历怀疑的一年，一场无声的内战已在美国扎根，修复受损的民主需要国家意识和公共利益意识，但目前两者都缺乏，对美国这样一个长期自视为典范的国家来说实属悲哀。瑞典智库“国际民主及选举协助研究所”2022年将美国列入“退步的民主国家名单”。
The functioning of American democratic institutions may look as lively as a circus, with politicians of all stripes showing off themselves one after another. But however boisterous the show is, it cannot hide the lethargy in addressing the long-standing, grave problems. Le Monde points out that 2022 is a year of doubt for US democracy. A silent civil war has taken root in the US, and repairing damaged democracy requires a sense of nation and public interest, both of which are currently lacking. This is sad for a country that has long held itself up as a model. In 2022, the Swedish think tank International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance added the US to its “list of regressive democracies”.
2021年1月6日发生的美国国会暴乱已过去两年，但美国的民主体系并未也难以真正吸取教训，政治暴力还在发展恶化。《华盛顿邮报》《纽约客》指出，美国民主正处于前所未有的糟糕状态，国会暴乱事件充分暴露出社会撕裂、政治分裂以及虚假信息大行其道。国会两党虽然都意识到美式民主的陈年弊病，但在日益极化的党派政治氛围中，出于各自利益，都缺乏革新决心和魄力。
Two years after the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021, the US system of democracy still has difficulty in learning the lessons, as political violence continued to grow and deteriorate. The Washington Post and The New Yorker observe that American democracy is in a worse state than ever before, with the congressional riots fully exposing social rifts, political divisions and rampant misinformation. The two parties, although not unaware of the age-old ills of American democracy, have neither the resolve nor the courage to pursue changes, given the increasingly polarized political atmosphere, as well as their focus on party interests.
2022年，美国国会再度瘫痪，原因不是因为暴乱，而是源于党派恶斗。第118届国会众议长难产闹剧连演4天，最终历经15轮投票才选出众议长。在最后一轮表决中，共和党、民主党分化决裂，票只投给自己人。《纽约时报》称，美国国会未来两年还可能反复陷入这种混乱状态。美国一家政治咨询公司主席布拉德·班农直言：“众议院在此次风波中闹得一团糟，再次表明美国政治机构在衰落。”
In 2022, the US Congress was brought into another paralysis, not by riots, but by partisan fights. The farce of failing to elect the 118th House speaker lasted four days and a decision was only reached after 15 rounds of voting. In the last round, divisions were such that Republicans and Democrats voted strictly along party lines. The New York Times warned that Congress could see repeated chaos like this over the next two years. Brad Bannon, president of a US political consultancy, put it bluntly, “The impasse in the US House of Representatives over the election of the Speaker is another demonstration of the decline in our political institutions.”
美国各界也忧心忡忡。布鲁金斯学会2022年发布报告指出，曾经引以为荣的美国民主制度面临系统性危机，正加速走向衰败，对国内政治、经济、社会的影响已从局部走向整体，将对资本主义的合法性和未来发展带来严重危害。卡内基国际和平基金会报告称，美国民主制度正随着美式资本主义固有弊病的加重而加速衰落，处于危险转折点。投票限制、选举舞弊、政府失信等多重挑战将加速美国民主解体。欧亚集团总裁伊恩·布雷默撰文指出，美国民主制度功能失调使人们担忧2024年总统大选可能再度引发暴力事件。大量社会热点问题持续引发公众愤怒和对美国政治机构合法性的质疑，不少民众担心如此下去不知美国民主制度还能正常运转多久。
This has aroused concerns among the general public. The Brookings Institution concludes in a 2022 report that the once proud American democracy is facing a systemic crisis and is accelerating its decline. The impact is spreading to all fronts in domestic politics, the economy and society, posing a mortal threat to the legitimacy and health of capitalism. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warns in a report that American democracy is at a dangerous inflection point, declining faster as the inherent ills of American capitalism worsen. Multiple challenges such as voting restrictions, election fraud, and loss of trust in government are accelerating the disintegration of American democracy. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, writes that America’s dysfunctional politics raises fears that the 2024 presidential election would again provoke deadly violence in the country. A large number of hot button issues continued to provoke public anger and questions on the legitimacy of the US political establishment. Many worried about how long American democracy could continue to function.
（二）两党争斗加剧政治极化
2. Political polarization intensified by partisan fights
民主党和共和党都面临内部激进派别的崛起，在选民基础、意识形态、身份认同等方面日益泾渭分明，传统上基于政策妥协的党际平衡难以为继。两党不仅视对方为政治对手，而且是对国家的威胁。《纽约书评》刊文指出，美国已是“两国之国”，共和党和民主党分别领衔两个尖锐对立的国民群体，各自形成一个联邦政府。美利坚合众国已成为美利坚分裂国，“两个美国”之间的不和日益加深，政治极化达到前所未有的严重状况。
With radical factions rising in both the Democratic and Republican Parties, the two were increasingly at odds in many aspects, such as voter base, ideology and identity. As a result, the traditional inter-party balance based on policy compromise became more difficult to sustain. The two parties saw each other not only as political opponents, but also as a threat to the country. The New York Review of Books points out that America is already “a binational state” with the Republicans and Democrats leading two sharply opposed national communities that effectively operate as confederations under a single federal government. The United States of America has become the disunited states. The discord between “the two Americas” was deepening day by day, and political polarization reached an unprecedented level.
两党内斗轮番升级，政党利益、集团利益被置于国家利益之上，相互攻击和指责无所不用其极。2022年8月8日，前总统特朗普位于佛罗里达州的海湖庄园被执法部门查抄，特朗普称司法部玩弄政治，阻拦其再次竞选总统，自己遭到政治迫害。共和党则对拜登总统住所发现机密文件穷追猛打，对拜登政府自阿富汗撤军事件展开调查，推动问责，国家机器沦为政党谋取私利的工具。
Amid the escalating political battles, politicians put the interests of their political parties and factions above those of the country and acted in an unbridled way to attack and pin blames on each other. On 8 August 2022, law enforcement raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, and Trump accused the Justice Department of playing politics to stop his second presidential bid and of political persecution. The Republicans, on their part, were relentless on the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden’s residence, launched investigations into the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and demanded accountability. US state apparatus was reduced to a tool for political parties’ self-interest.
政党政治更加明显地以种族和身份划线。《金融时报》刊文指出，共和党代表白人、小城镇和乡村，民主党则代表城市和多种族人群。两党均有超过三分之一的拥护者认为可以用暴力实现政治目的。当一党选举失败时，支持该党的选民仿佛感到自己的美国被外国势力占领。政治学家芭芭拉·沃尔特称，美国已成为介于威权和民主之间的“派系林立的无支配体系”。
Party politics increasingly followed race and identity lines. According to the Financial Times, Republicans are white, small town and rural while Democrats are now almost entirely urban and multi-ethnic. More than a third of Republicans and Democrats today believe violence is justified to achieve their political ends. When one party loses, its voters feel as though their America is being occupied by a foreign power. Political scientist Barbara Walter considers the US “a factionalized anocracy” – the halfway state between autocracy and democracy.
政治极化使公共政策出台愈发困难。根据GovTrack网站数据，美国历届国会成法数量呈递减趋势,从93至98届国会的4247项下降至111至116届国会的2081项。成法数量占提案总数比重下降更明显，从106届国会的6%降至116届国会的1%，20年间减少了5个百分点。
Political polarization was more of an obstacle to policy decision-making. GovTrack, an online non-governmental source of legislative information and statistics, reveals a steady fall in the number of laws successive US Congresses could enact – from 4,247 by the 93th to 98th Congresses down to 2,081 by the 111st to 116th. The drop was even more pronounced when one considers how many bills could become laws, from 6% in the 106th Congress to 1% in the 116th, a slide of 5 percentage points over two decades.
两党争斗手段越来越低劣。斯坦福大学政治和社会学教授戴雅门指出，参加选举各方本应遵守克制用权、拒绝暴力等民主规则，然而在今天的美国，这些规则已面临瓦解。一方面，越来越多的政客和民选官员为获取或保留权力，宁愿不顾和放弃民主规则。另一方面，由于缺乏政治共识，越来越多的民众倾向于接受激进政治观点。美国民主已陷入严重不稳定状态。
The tactics used in partisan fights were more scandalous. Professor Larry Diamond of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford University believes the norms of democracy, such as self-restraint in the exercise of power and rejection of violence, which should have been observed by the participating parties in elections, have begun disintegrating in the US. A growing number of politicians and elected officials in the US have been willing to bend or abandon democratic norms in the quest to achieve or retain power. And as common political ground vanishes, rising proportions of Americans in both camps express attitudes and perceptions that are blinking red for democratic peril. Democracy in the US is at serious risk of breaking down.
（三）金钱政治愈演愈烈
3. Money politics surged
英国剧作家亨利·菲尔丁有句名言：“把金钱奉为神明，它就会像魔鬼一样降祸于你。”在美国政坛，金钱是政治的母乳，选举日益成为富裕阶层的独角戏，普通民众对民主的呼声和诉求反倒成为政治的“杂音”。当金钱这只魔鬼充斥在美国政坛的每一个角落，受挤压的必然是公平与正义。
“Make money your god, and it will plague you like the devil,” so admonished British playwright Henry Fielding. In the US, money is the breast milk of politics and elections increasingly morph into monologues of the wealthy, while the public call for democracy is made only “a jarring note”. With the devil of money lurking in every corner of American politics, fairness and justice is naturally strained.
2022年中期选举是美国金钱政治的最新注解。长期跟踪美国政治献金流向的“揭秘”网站披露，2022年中期选举两党耗资超过167亿美元，刷新了2018年140亿美元的纪录，超过全球70多个国家2021年全年的国民生产总值。佐治亚、宾夕法尼亚、亚利桑那、威斯康星、俄亥俄等州联邦参议员竞选开销平均超过1亿美元。超过90%的参众议员候选人通过砸钱赢得选举。资金来源不明的“黑钱”实际总额难以估量。
The latest illustration is the 2022 midterm elections. The whole exercise has a price tag of more than US$16.7 billion – breaking the 2018 record of US$14 billion – as found by Reveal, an online platform tracking the flow of political donations in the country. This amount dwarfs the 2021 GNPs of more than 70 countries. Federal Senate races in some states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Ohio sucked in more than US$100 million on average. Over 90% of those elected as lawmakers won by splurging funds. It was impossible to identify how much “dark money”, or funds from undisclosed sources, was involved.
美国政治“富人游戏”本色日益显现。根据美国布伦南正义中心数据，21个捐款最多家族每家至少捐助1500万美元，总计达7.83亿美元，远超370万小额捐款总和。亿万富翁提供15.4%的联邦选举资金，这些巨款大部分流向了可以接受无限捐款的超级政治行动委员会。
American politics has increasingly revealed its nature as the “game of the rich”. US think tank the Brennan Center for Justice finds that the top 21 families making political donations contributed at least US$15 million each, totaling US$783 million, far more than the US$3.7 million of small donations. Billionaires provided 15.4% of federal election funds, and most of it went to super PACs that can accept unlimited donations.
巨额的竞选资金消耗并未转化为有效的国家治理。相反，政治分肥愈演愈烈。《联合早报》刊文指出，过去几十年，西方民主政治已经变质。财富日益集中到少数人手里，贫者愈贫，富者愈富。政治把持在富人和政客手中，为自身利益服务。民众虽有投票权，却无法对政治产生实际影响。这种无力感和对传统政党、政府丧失信心的失落感，催生了民粹主义，但问题仍无法解决。
The enormous bills did not bring effective national governance in return. They only stimulated pork barrel politics. An article on Lianhe Zaobao observes that the past few decades has witnessed a decay in Western democracy. Wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, making the poor poorer and the rich richer. Politics is controlled by the rich and politicians to serve their own interests. Despite a right to vote, the public does not have real sway over politics. This sense of powerlessness and loss of confidence in political parties and government has given rise to populism, and the problem remains unresolved.
（四）言论自由徒有其名
4. “Freedom of speech” in name only
美国一向标榜言论自由。但实际上，美国的言论自由奉行以我为准的美国标准。党派利益和金钱政治成为压在言论自由头上的“两座大山”，只要是不利于美国政府和资本利益的言论，都会受到严格限制。
The United States has always prided itself on free speech. In reality, however, freedom of speech in the United States is upheld according to self-centered “US standards”. Partisan interest and money politics have become the “two big mountains” that weigh on free speech. Any speech that is detrimental to the interests of the US government or capital is subject to strict restrictions.
美国政府全面监管媒体和科技公司，干预社会舆论。2022年12月，推特公司首席执行官马斯克和记者马特·泰比连续发布推文，曝光“推特文件”，披露美国政府对所有社交媒体公司都要进行严格审查，有时还直接干预大媒体公司报道内容，例如谷歌经常让链接页面消失。此外，推特公司在2020年大选前审查总统候选人敏感信息，建立“黑名单”，限制不受欢迎的账号甚至热搜话题的曝光度，与联邦调查局合作监控社交媒体内容，同时为美国军方虚假网络宣传大开绿灯。凡此种种，无疑撕下了美国言论自由的遮羞布。
The US government has all-encompassing regulations on media and technology companies to intervene in public opinion. In December 2022, Twitter CEO Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi posted back-to-back tweets that exposed “Twitter files”, revealing that the US government is heavily scrutinizing all social media companies. Sometimes it directly intervenes in big media companies’ reporting, like frequently having Google remove certain links. Twitter censored sensitive information about presidential candidates ahead of the 2020 election, creating “blacklists” to limit the exposure of unpopular accounts and even hot topics, and working with the FBI to monitor social media content, all the while giving the US military the green light to spread disinformation online. All this has undoubtedly torn off the fig leaf of free speech in the United States.
资本和利益集团在舆论上“呼风唤雨”。美国媒体的“言论自由”在遇到资本和利益集团时，会散发出浓浓的“铜臭味”。美国媒体多为私人所有，媒体集团的服务对象是权力和财富精英。无论是媒体的拥有者还是媒体赖以生存的投资和广告收入，都与资本和利益集团脱不了干系。德国知名作家、媒体人米夏埃尔·吕德斯在《伪圣美国》一书中详尽介绍了美国媒体受利益集团影响，对事实进行选择和歪曲的“过滤机制”。2023年1月，一则由美国右翼组织“真相工程”（Project Veritas）发布的辉瑞制药相关视频冲上热搜。辉瑞公司高层乔登·特里斯顿·沃克在视频中提到，辉瑞考虑自行研发新冠病毒变种，新冠疫苗生意是“摇钱树”，并称美国监管人员与药企有利益关联。为灭火，辉瑞除发表声明外，还紧急联系优兔以“违反社区规则”为由删除上述视频。
Capital and interest groups basically can get anything they want when it comes to public opinion. In the face of capital and interest groups, American media’s “freedom of speech” smacks of hypocrisy. Most American media firms are privately owned and serve the powerful and the rich. Whether it’s the owner of the media or the investment and advertisement income that the media depends on, all of them are related to capital and interest groups. In his book The Hypocritical Superpower, Micheal Lueders, a well-known German writer and media professional, elaborated in detail how the “filtering mechanism” of American media, under the influence of interest groups, chooses and distorts facts. In January 2023, Project Veritas, an American right-wing group, published a video about Pfizer that went viral. It recorded Jordon Trishton Walker, a senior executive at Pfizer, saying that Pfizer was exploring plans to “mutate” the coronavirus, that the coronavirus vaccine business was a “cash cow”, and that US regulators had vested interests in drug companies. To deal with the PR crisis, in addition to issuing a statement, Pfizer even had YouTube remove the video immediately on ground of “violating community guidelines”.
美国利用社交媒体操纵国际舆论。2022年12月，独立调查网站“The Intercept”披露，美国防部下属机构长期在推特等社交媒体通过操控话题、欺骗性宣传等手段干预中东国家舆论认知。2017年7月，美军中央司令部官员纳撒尼尔·卡勒给推特公共政策团队发了一个表格，包含52个阿拉伯语账号，要求优先服务其中6个。按照卡勒要求，推特将这批阿拉伯语账号放入“白名单”，用来放大对美有利的信息。美国反战组织“公正外交政策”执行主任埃里克·斯柏林就此指出，美国国会和社交媒体应调查并采取行动，让民众知道自己的纳税款被用来宣传美国无休止的战争。
The US uses social media to manipulate international public opinion. In December 2022, the independent investigation website “The Intercept” revealed that agencies affiliated to the US Department of Defense had long interfered in public opinion in Middle Eastern countries by manipulating topics and waging deceptive propaganda on social media such as Twitter. In July 2017, US Central Command official Nathaniel Kahler sent to the Twitter public policy team a form containing 52 Arabic-language accounts, asking for priority services for six of them. Following Kahler’s request, Twitter put these Arabic accounts on a “white list” to amplify messages favorable to the United States. Eric Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, an anti-war organization, commented on this incident that Congress and social media companies should investigate and take action to ensure that, at the very least, the citizens are fully informed when their tax money is being spent on putting a positive spin on the endless wars.
2022年9月，“北溪”天然气管道被炸震惊全球，肇事者身份和动机引发国际社会高度关注。2023年2月8日，普利策新闻奖得主、美国资深调查记者西摩·赫什撰文，直指美国政府是事件幕后黑手。但对于这条爆炸性新闻，一向嗅觉敏锐的欧美主流媒体却避而不谈，反应蹊跷。加拿大《西部标准报》和德国电视二台评称，赫什的报道是十年来最大新闻之一，但在北美几乎没有媒体愿意谈及，原因在于西方国家不想让别人发现事实真相及其在波罗的海部署的监视技术。此外，西方媒体还“另辟蹊径”，质疑赫什报道的真实性。2月15日，赫什发文指责美国政府和主流媒体大肆掩盖“北溪”管道爆炸事件真相。分析人士指出,考虑到西方媒体听从美国领导，其封锁赫什爆料的行径不足为奇。
In September 2022, the explosion of the “Nord Stream” natural gas pipeline shocked the world, and the international community was eager to know the identity and motive of the perpetrator. On 8 February 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article exposing the US government as the culprit of the incident. However, American and European mainstream media, known for their sensitivity to such scoops, stayed eerily quiet on this piece of explosive news. As observed by Canadian website Western Standard and German television channel ZDF, Hersh’s report was one of the biggest stories of the decade, but few media in North America wanted to talk about it because the West does not want anyone to find out about the truth and the surveillance technologies it has deployed in the Baltic Sea. Western media even try to bypass the crux of the issue by questioning the authenticity of Hersh’s report. On 15 February, Hersh wrote another article, accusing the US government and mainstream media of covering up the truth of the “Nord Stream” pipeline explosion. Analysts pointed out that given Western media’s obedience to the US, their blocking of Hersh’s revelations is not surprising.
（五）司法系统无视民意
5. The judicial system blind to public opinion
作为宪法保障机构，最高法院同美国社会一样陷入不可调和的分裂局面，社会分裂裹挟司法权，两党斗争向司法系统蔓延。最高法院判决越来越体现出保守派和自由派“两个美国”之间的巨大分歧，日益沦为政治斗争工具。“三权分立”不断被侵蚀。党派之争已抛弃传统、突破底线。
As an institution undergirding the country’s Constitution, the US Supreme Court, like the American society, has become deeply divided. Judicial power is hijacked by public opinion, and partisan struggle has spread to the judicial system. Increasingly, Supreme Court decisions reflect the huge chasm between “two Americas” – the conservatives and liberals, and have been reduced to a tool of political warfare. The “separation of powers” is constantly being eroded. Partisanship has abandoned tradition and crossed the line.
两党通过改变最高法院政治倾向实现自身议程。总统选举在某些方面成为两党争夺法官任命权之战。由于最高法院大法官离世，特朗普任内任命了3名立场偏保守的大法官，使保守派大法官对自由派大法官占据绝对优势。南非“每日独行者”网站刊文称，特朗普之后，激进的白人福音派原教旨主义者已接管最高法院的缰绳，最高法院几乎总是做出有利于基督教福音派、大公司和共和党的判决，这并不令人惊讶。
Both parties pursue their agenda by changing the political orientation of the Supreme Court. The presidential election has in some ways become a partisan battle for the right to appoint judges. The passing away of Supreme Court justices gave Trump the opportunity to appoint during his term three justices who took a conservative stance, giving conservative justices an overwhelming advantage over liberal ones. After Trump, radical white evangelical fundamentalists have taken the reins of the Supreme Court, according to an article on the South African website Daily Maverick. It’s hardly surprising that the Supreme Court almost always makes decisions in favor of Christian evangelicals, big corporations and the Republican Party.
美国最高法院关于堕胎权的判决充分显示出其卷入党争、与社会脱节的恶果。2022年6月24日，最高法院公然为宗教保守主义站台，推翻1973年“罗伊诉韦德案”裁决，取消对女性堕胎权的宪法保护，引发全美多地抗议。民调显示，超过半数美国人认为剥夺堕胎权是美国的倒退。以色列《国土报》刊文评称，在堕胎权问题上，最高法院打着捍卫民主的旗号破坏民主，提供了一个“少数人暴政”的生动案例。一个不具有代表性的最高法院，由一位不具有代表性的总统任命，由一个明显不具有代表性的参议院批准。但是，这个最高法院的裁决对美国的影响却将延续到2030、2040乃至2050年。
The US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights fully demonstrates the consequences of being involved in partisan warfare and out of touch with society. On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court flagrantly endorsed religious conservatism by overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and removing constitutional protections for women’s abortion rights. The decision triggered protests across the United States. Polls show that more than half of Americans believe that stripping away abortion rights is a setback for the country. Israeli media “Haaretz” commented that on the issue of abortion rights, the Supreme Court has undermined democracy in the name of defending it, which is a typical case of “tyranny of the minority”. Here is an unrepresentative Supreme Court, with its justices appointed by an unrepresentative president and confirmed by an obviously unrepresentative Senate; but it has made a decision that will affect the United States till 2030, 2040, and even 2050.
最高法院还推翻了纽约州自1913年起实施的限制民众在外隐蔽携枪的法律。纽约州州长称，在全美反思枪支暴力之际，最高法院鲁莽推翻纽约州控枪法律，令人无法容忍。美国政治评论家马修·多德指出，当今美国面临的问题从根本上说源于民主的破碎。美国公民希望看到“罗伊诉韦德案”的公正裁决、真正的枪支改革、提高最低工资、对超级富豪加税、改善全民医疗等反映民众呼声的改革。
The Supreme Court also struck down a New York state law that had been in place since 1913 restricting people from carrying concealed firearms. As the nation reflects on gun violence, such a reckless reversal of New York’s gun control law is intolerable, noted the governor of New York. American political commentator Matthew Dowd pointed out that the problems facing the United States today are rooted in the fragmentation of democracy. What American citizens want are a fair ruling in Roe v. Wade, a real gun reform, higher minimum wages, steeper taxes on the super-rich, better health care for all, and other reforms that heed popular calls.
（六）美国民众对美式民主日益失望
6. Americans increasingly disillusioned with American democracy
《华盛顿邮报》和马里兰大学联合调查显示，美国人对民主的自豪感急剧下降，从2002年的90%下降到2022年的54%。加利福尼亚公共政策研究所民调显示，加州选民普遍担忧美国民主正偏离正轨，其中62%的选民认为美国正朝着错误方向发展，46%对持不同政治观点的美国人合作解决分歧的前景感到悲观，52%对当前美国民主的运作方式不满。昆尼皮亚克大学民调显示，67%受访者认为美国民主制度有崩溃危险，48%认为美国可能再次发生类似国会暴乱的事件。皮尤中心民调显示，65%的美国人认为美国民主制度需要重大改革，57%的受访者认为美国不再是民主典范。加州大学洛杉矶分校研究显示，美国政府治国能力和民主责任感近年不断下降，在推进大规模改革、解决选举公正以及媒体造假等诸多问题上缺乏有力措施。
Americans’ pride in their democracy has dropped sharply, from 90% in 2002 to 54% in 2022, according to a joint Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that Californian voters have widespread concern that American democracy is going off track, with 62% saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, 46% pessimistic about the prospect of Americans with different political views working together to resolve differences, and 52% dissatisfied with the current way American democracy works. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 67% of respondents believe that American democracy is in danger of collapse, and 48% think there could be another Capitol riot in the United States. According to a Pew Center poll, 65% of Americans believe that the American democratic system needs major reforms, while 57% of respondents believe the United States is no longer a model of democracy. A UCLA study shows that the US government has been losing its ability to govern and its sense of democratic responsibility in recent years, and lacks effective measures to push forward large-scale reforms or address issues such as electoral justice and media fraud.
三、美国强推民主制造全球乱局
III. The United States’ imposition of “democracy” has caused chaos around the world
尽管美国自身民主面临种种问题，但并未反躬自省，而是内病外治，仍继续在全球输出美式民主价值观，利用民主议题打压别国、谋取私利，加剧国际社会分裂和阵营对抗。
In spite of all the problems facing its own democracy, the United States refuses to reflect on itself, but instead continues to export American democratic values to other countries, and use the pretext of democracy to oppress other countries and serve its own agenda. What the US has done is exacerbating division in the international community and bloc-based confrontation.
（一）政治极化绑架对外政策
Foreign policy held hostage by political polarization
“政治不过海”（Politics stops at the water’s edge）是美国政界广为流传的谚语，主要是指党争应仅限于内政，对外则要保持一致。然而，随着政治极化加剧，民主共和两党在重大对外议题上的分歧越来越大，对外政策越来越“走极端”“政治过海”渐成常态，不仅给很多发展中国家带来危害，也对美国盟友构成威胁。
“Politics stops at the water’s edge” is a popular proverb in American political circles, which means that partisan struggle should be confined to domestic politics and that a united front should be formed when dealing with foreign affairs. However, with the intensification of political polarization, Democrats and Republicans are increasingly divided on major foreign affairs issues, and America’s foreign policy has become more and more “extreme”. “Politics crossing the water’s edge” has become the norm. It is not only harmful to many developing countries, but also poses a threat to America’s own allies.
新冠疫情发生以来，特朗普政府和一些极端政客在病毒溯源问题上针对中国炮制种种谎言谣言。最为典型的是，2021年美国情报部门发布所谓新冠病毒溯源问题报告，罔顾科学溯源规律，编造“武汉病毒研究所泄漏病毒”，诬蔑中国缺乏透明度和阻挠国际调查。溯源是个科学问题，美方此举真实目的是妄图混淆视听，操弄溯源问题，对中国甩锅推责、遏制打压，充分暴露美式民主的虚伪和政治极化恶果。
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Trump administration and some extreme politicians have concocted all kinds of lies and rumors against China on coronavirus origins-tracing. The most typical is in 2021, when the US intelligence agency issued the so-called origins-tracing report, which, in total disregard of science, fabricated the “lab leak” story and claimed that China lacked transparency and obstructed international investigations. Tracing the origins of the coronavirus is a matter of science, but the true purpose of the US’ doing is to obscure the views of the public and manipulate the issue to shift the blame onto China and suppress and contain China. This fully exposes the hypocrisy of American democracy and the ill effects of political polarization.
拜登政府上台后，长达20年的阿富汗战争以美军仓促撤离告终。美国打烂了一个国家，毁掉了几代人的前途，最后一走了之。美军虽然撤了，但美国政府继续对阿富汗实施制裁，非法冻结阿央行资产，当地民众生活雪上加霜。2022年5月，联合国发布报告显示，阿富汗近2000万人面临严重饥荒。2022年6月，阿富汗发生强烈地震，美国仍拒不解除制裁。
Under the Biden administration, the US ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan with a hasty withdrawal of troops. It just walked away, after shattering a whole country and destroying the future of several generations. Although its troops have left, the US government continued to sanction Afghanistan, and illegally froze the assets of the Afghan central bank, making life even worse for the local people. A UN-backed report published in May 2022 showed that nearly 20 million people in Afghanistan were facing acute hunger. Even after the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan in June 2022, the US still refused to lift the sanctions.
美国政治极化产生外溢影响。加拿大渥太华大学发布报告称，美国一些保守派政客和福克斯新闻等媒体公开对加拿大极右翼分子表达支持，这对加拿大民主构成的威胁比其他任何国家都更大，需要思考美国民主倒退对加拿大的影响。加拿大阿尔伯塔大学教授戈登·拉克瑟认为，促使美国走向专制的力量已经存在。加拿大人长期以来一直认为，美国是我们最好的朋友并将永远支持民主，但这再也不能被视为理所当然。
Political polarization in the US is spilling over. According to a report released by the University of Ottawa, there is open support from conservative media, including Fox News, and conservative politicians in the US for the far-right extremists in Canada. It represents a greater threat to Canadian democracy than the actions of any other state, and the implications of democratic backsliding in the US for Canada must be reflected upon. Professor Gordon Laxer at the University of Alberta believes the forces moving the US toward autocracy already exist. It is ingrained among Canadians that the US is their greatest friend and will always champion democracy. That can no longer be taken for granted.
（二）借民主旗号煽动对抗冲突
2. Inciting confrontation and conflict in the name of democracy
民主是全人类共同价值，不应被用来作为推进地缘战略、违逆人类发展进步的工具。但长期以来，美国为维护自身霸权，将“民主”概念私有化，打着民主旗号煽动分裂制造对抗，破坏以联合国为核心的国际体系和以国际法为基础的国际秩序。
Democracy is a common value of humanity and must not be used as a tool to advance geopolitical agenda or counter human development and progress. However, in order to maintain its hegemony, the US has long been monopolizing the definition of “democracy”, instigating division and confrontation in the name of democracy, and undermining the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law.
乌克兰危机自2022年初爆发至今，重创乌克兰经济民生。2022年10月，世界银行发布报告指出，乌克兰战后重建至少需要3490亿美元，相当于乌克兰2021年全年经济总量的1.5倍。乌克兰危机爆发后，美国视其为从中渔利的机会，非但没有做出任何有利于停战的举措，反而不断拱火浇油，在军工、能源等领域大发战争横财。美国还把向乌克兰提供武器描述为“民主对抗威权”。2022年7月，塞尔维亚战略预测中心发布报告指出，在美国眼里，俄罗斯1999年对车臣首府格罗兹尼发动的袭击是犯罪，而美国在同格罗兹尼差不多大的伊拉克城市费卢杰采取的同样行动就是解放。美国所谓的民主早已被利益集团和资本绑架，给世界带来的是动荡和混乱。
Since its outbreak in early 2022, the Ukraine crisis has hit the country’s economy and the livelihood of its people hard. In October 2022, the World Bank released a report suggesting that Ukraine would need at least US$349 billion, or 1.5 times the country’s total economic output for the whole year of 2021, to rebuild after the war. The US saw the Ukraine crisis as a lucrative opportunity. Instead of taking any measures conducive to ending hostilities, the US kept fueling the flames and made a huge fortune from the war business including the arms industry and the energy sector. It described its arms supply to Ukraine as a move to support “democracy versus authoritarianism”. A July 2022 report by Serbia’s Center for Strategic Prognosis pointed out that the US saw Russia’s 1999 attack on Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, as a crime, but called a similar American operation in Fallujah, an Iraqi city about the size of Grozny, liberation. America’s so-called democracy has long been hijacked by interest groups and capital, and brought instability and chaos to the world.
2022年8月，时任美国国会众议长佩洛西不顾中方坚决反对与严正交涉，执意窜访中国台湾地区。这是一起升级美台官方交往的重大政治挑衅，加剧了台海局势紧张。而佩洛西本人却辩称，“访台彰显美国对台湾民主的坚定支持”。佩洛西窜台问题的实质绝不是什么民主问题，而是事关中国主权和领土完整的问题。其所作所为绝不是对民主的捍卫和维护，而是对中国主权与领土完整的挑衅和侵犯。佩洛西的狡辩连一些美国政客都看不下去。共和党联邦众议员格林质疑佩洛西：“掌控几十年的权力，而整个国家却在崩溃，这种捍卫民主的假勇气已经够多了。”
In August 2022, then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a provocative visit to China’s Taiwan region in disregard of China’s firm opposition and serious representations. It was a major political provocation that upgraded official contact between the US and Taiwan, and aggravated tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Yet, Pelosi argued that the visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy”. The crux of Pelosi’s provocative visit is not about democracy, but China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US action was by no means defending or preserving democracy, but challenging and violating China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pelosi’s fallacy was unbearable even to some US politicians. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Greene challenged Pelosi, saying that “Americans have had enough with a woman obsessed with her own power she’s held for decades while our entire country crumbles ... Enough of this fake ‘courage’ defending democracy.”
国际社会对美方做法看得越来越清楚。俄罗斯联邦安全会议副主席梅德韦杰夫表示，美国自诩为“最高祭司”，披着“民主真理”的外衣在全世界制造混乱，借助金钱、同盟、高端武器等手段粗暴输出自身意志。埃及“金字塔在线”刊文称，所谓“自由民主”的意识形态已被武器化，被美国用来破坏他国的稳定，干涉他国内政，对他国政府进行去合法化，而这些干涉往往产生严重负面影响，都与美国宣称要推进的民主和自由无关。印尼人民浪潮党总主席阿尼斯·玛塔指出，美国擅长把其他国家变成战场，印尼的政治极化是美国在背后一手策划的，在印尼出现的反华声音也是美国的政治议程之一，穆斯林社会必须对此警惕。
The international community is seeing the US approach more and more clearly. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, wrote that the US, as a self-proclaimed “high priest”, has wreaked havoc around the world under the disguise of “true democracy”, and used money, allies and high-end weapons to crudely impose its will. An article published on Ahram Online, an Egyptian news website, argued that “liberalism” and “democracy” had been turned into a weaponized ideology that the US uses to destabilize other countries, delegitimize their governments, and intervene with forms of sociopolitical engineering that often backfires in drastic ways. None of it has to do with the liberalism, democracy and freedom the US claims to promote. Chairman of the Indonesian People’s Wave Party Anis Matta pointed out that American cleverness is making other countries a battlefield. Anti-China sentiment and polarization in Indonesia are also America’s work. Muslims must understand that.
（三）单边制裁变本加厉
3. Doubling down on unilateral sanctions
长期以来，美国依据国内法，基于自身价值观，打着人权民主等旗号，对他国实施单边制裁和“长臂管辖”。过去几十年，美国对古巴、白俄罗斯、叙利亚、津巴布韦等国家实施单边制裁和长臂管辖，对朝鲜、伊朗、委内瑞拉等极限施压，以埃及人权状况为改善为由单方面冻结对埃1.3亿美元的军事援助，严重破坏这些国家的经济发展和民生改善，危及生命权、挑战自决权、损害发展权，构成对他国人权的持续性、系统性、大规模侵犯。近年来，美国发起的单边制裁越来越多，长臂越伸越长，为了维护美国霸权，不顾国际法和国际关系基本准则，肆意损害别国利益，特别是发展中国家正当合法权益。
Under the pretext of human rights and democracy, the US has long been using unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries based on its domestic laws and its own values. In the past decades, the US imposed unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Cuba, Belarus, Syria, Zimbabwe and other countries, placed maximum pressure on countries including the DPRK, Iran and Venezuela, and unilaterally froze US$130 million in military aid to Egypt under the excuse of the country’s lack of progress in human rights. Such actions have seriously damaged the economic development and people’s livelihood in the countries concerned, and jeopardized the right to life, the right to self-determination and the right to development, constituting a continual, systematic and massive violation of human rights in other countries. In recent years, US unilateral sanctions have been increasing and its “long arm” has been extending further. In order to preserve its hegemony, the US has wilfully harmed the interests of other countries, especially the legitimate and lawful interests of developing countries, in disregard of international law and the basic norms of international relations.
2022年3月，土耳其阿纳多卢通讯社发表文章，揭露美国打着“民主”旗号，以莫须有罪名侵略伊拉克，给当地人民带来沉重苦难。一是滥施制裁恶化当地民生。1990年至2003年间，美国对伊拉克施加严厉经济制裁，严重恶化当地经济和民众生活。据联合国粮农组织数据，受美国制裁和禁运影响，伊拉克饥饿率居高不下，仅1990年至1995年，就有50万伊拉克儿童因饥饿或恶劣生存条件而丧生。二是连年战乱造成大量百姓伤亡。据伊拉克卫生部数据，从2003年美国发动伊拉克战争到2011年宣布撤军，约有12万伊拉克平民因战争丧生。三是粗暴嫁接政治模式水土不服。美国无视伊拉克国情，强推美式民主，加剧伊拉克各派政治斗争。
An article published by the Turkish Anadolu News Agency in March 2022 argued that in the name of promoting democracy, the US invaded Iraq on unsubstantiated grounds and brought immense sufferings to the local population. First, the abuse of sanctions aggravated livelihood challenges. Between 1990 and 2003, the severe economic sanctions by the US took a heavy toll on the local economy and the well-being of the Iraqi people. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the hunger rate in Iraq reached a very high level as a result of the US sanctions and embargo. Between 1990 and 1995 alone, 500,000 Iraqi children died of hunger and poor living conditions. Second, the incessant war caused enormous civilian casualties. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, about 120,000 Iraqi civilians were killed between 2003, when the US started the Iraq War, and 2011, when the US announced its withdrawal. Third, the imposed political model failed to adapt. The US forced the American-style democracy upon Iraq in disregard of the latter’s national conditions, only to aggravate the political fight between different factions in the country.
美国的单边制裁行动充分表现出美国的傲慢和对人道主义的漠视。2022年2月11日，拜登总统签署行政令，要求将阿富汗中央银行约70亿美元的在美资产均分，一半作为赔偿“9·11”事件受害者的资金来源，另一半则转移至纽约联邦储备银行的一个账户。美国这种公开劫掠阿富汗人民财产的霸权行径遭到国际社会普遍谴责。2022年3月，印尼《环印尼报》网站报道，阿富汗裔民众在美国驻印尼使馆前示威，抗议美国政府侵吞阿富汗政府资产。抗议者义愤填膺地表示，阿富汗前政府资产应归阿富汗人民所有，应该用于援助遭遇经济危机的阿富汗民众。
The unilateral sanctions imposed by the US fully demonstrate its arrogance and indifference toward humanitarianism. On 11 February 2022, President Biden signed an executive order to split in half the US$7 billion in Afghan central bank assets frozen in the US. Half of the assets were to fund financial compensations for 9/11 victims, and the other half were transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Such blatant stealing from the Afghan people has been widely condemned by the international community. SINDOnews.com, a news website of Indonesia, reported in March 2022 that people of Afghan descent rallied at the US Embassy in Jakarta to protest the US government’s looting of assets from the Afghan government. The indignant protesters argued that the assets of the former Afghan government belonged to the Afghan people and should be used to aid the Afghan people who were experiencing an economic crisis.
（四）肆意破坏国际关系民主化
Undermining democracy in international relations
国际事务是人类公益，应当由各国商量着办，但美国在国际关系中从来没有真正遵循过民主原则。美国披着“多边主义”和“规则”外衣，固守冷战思维，大搞伪多边主义和集团政治，挑动分裂对立，制造集团对抗，假多边主义之名，行单边主义之实，其霸权霸道霸凌行径严重破坏真正多边主义的发展。
International affairs bear on the common interests of mankind, and should be conducted through consultation by all countries. Yet, the US has never truly observed the principle of democracy in international relations. Under the pretext of “multilateralism” and “international rules”, and clinging to the Cold War mentality, the US has exercised fake multilateralism and bloc politics, instigated division and antagonism, created bloc confrontation, and practiced unilateralism in the name of multilateralism. Its hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts seriously impede the development of true multilateralism.
美国将国内法凌驾于国际法之上，对国际规则采取合则用、不合则弃的实用主义态度。20世纪80年代以来，美国曾退出联合国人权理事会、世卫组织、联合国教科文组织、气候变化《巴黎协定》、伊朗核问题全面协议、《武器贸易条约》、《中导条约》、《开放天空条约》等17个重要的国际组织或协议。
The US places its domestic law above international law, and adopts a selective approach to international rules, applying and discarding such rules as it sees fit. Since the 1980s, the US has withdrawn from 17 important international organizations or agreements, including the UN Human Rights Council, WHO, UNESCO, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the JCPOA, the Arms Trade Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Treaty on Open Skies.
美国公然违反《联合国宪章》宗旨和原则以及国际关系基本准则，四处发动战争，制造分裂冲突。美国建国以来240多年历史中，仅有16年没有打仗，堪称世界历史上最好战的国家。二战结束以来，美国在海外发动或参与了朝鲜战争、越南战争、阿富汗战争、伊拉克战争等多场战争，造成极为严重的平民伤亡和财产损失，导致巨大人道主义灾难。2001年以来，美国以反恐之名发动的战争和军事行动已造成超过90万人死亡，其中约有33.5万是平民，数百万人受伤，数千万人流离失所。
The US flagrantly violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, waging wars and creating division and conflict across the world. Throughout its history of 240-plus years, the US has been at peace for only 16 years – it is indeed the most belligerent country in world history. Since the end of World War II, the US has waged or participated in many wars overseas, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, which caused immense civilian casualties and property losses as well as humanitarian catastrophes. Since 2001, the wars and military operations that the US launched in the name of fighting terrorism have killed more than 900,000 people, including some 335,000 civilians, injured millions and displaced tens of millions.
美国无视《联合国海洋法公约》和国际法原则，无视亚太国家和太平洋岛国在国际地区事务中的民主权利，在日本政府迄未就福岛核污水处置问题同利益攸关方和有关国际机构充分协商、未提供足够的科学和事实依据、未解决国际社会正当关切情况下，公然支持日排污决定，为日撑腰。另一方面，美政府却以“放射性核素污染”为由，禁止进口日本福岛周边地区食品农产品，凸显“美式双标”虚伪。
Paying no heed to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and principles of international law, or to the democratic rights of Asia-Pacific countries and Pacific island countries in regional and international affairs, the US has emboldened Japan by expressly supporting its decision to discharge the nuclear waste water from Fukushima, even though the government of Japan has not yet fully consulted stakeholders and relevant international agencies on the disposal, not yet provided sufficient scientific and factual grounds for its behavior, and not yet addressed the legitimate concerns of the international community. On the other hand, the US administration, citing “radionuclide contamination”, banned the import of Japanese food and agricultural products from areas around Fukushima, exposing the hypocrisy of typical US-style double standards.
美国在南太地区推行冷战思维，伙同英国、澳大利亚拼凑“三边安全伙伴关系”，大搞种族主义“小圈子”，承诺同英帮澳建造至少8艘核潜艇。美方行径既严重违背《不扩散核武器条约》和《南太平洋无核区条约》精神，在核扩散边缘疯狂试探，带来巨大风险隐患；同时也开启地区军备竞赛的“潘多拉魔盒”，给地区和平、安全和稳定蒙上阴影。
Advancing the Cold War mentality in the South Pacific region, the US has ganged up with the UK and Australia to put together AUKUS, a racist clique, and pledged to help Australia build at least eight nuclear submarines together with the UK. The move constitutes a serious violation of the principles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, treading a reckless line on the brink of nuclear proliferation and creating tremendous risks. It has also opened the Pandora’s box of regional arms race, casting a shadow over regional peace, security and stability.
2022年6月第九届美洲峰会召开前夕，巴拿马国际问题专家胡里奥·姚在当地媒体撰文称，今天的美国是国际法的绝对叛徒，是国际关系中使用粗暴蛮力最真实的化身。美国是唯一没有签署或批准任何人权条约的国家，也未批准《联合国海洋法公约》。美国是唯一一个未禁止秘密生物武器的国家，在境外拥有两百多个实验室。美国举办美洲峰会的唯一目的，就是把拉美卷入乌克兰战争，并达到分裂和削弱拉美的目的。
Prior to the ninth Summit of the Americas in June 2022, Julio Yao, a Panamanian expert on international issues, wrote in local media that today’s US is an absolute renegade of international law, and the most genuinely authentic personification of the use of brute force in international relations. The US is the only country that has not signed or ratified any human rights treaty, and is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is the only country that does not ban secret biological weapons, with more than 200 laboratories outside its borders. The only thing that the US intends to do with the Summit of the Americas is to involve Latin America and the Caribbean in the war in Ukraine and to divide and weaken them.
2022年8月，《南华早报》刊文称，美西方等所谓“民主国家”无情削弱国际规则基础，只在对自己有利时加以利用。美西方在谴责俄罗斯“入侵”乌克兰的同时，全然忘记了自己在全球开展的一系列干预颠覆行动。美国的做法破坏了世界经济，让更多中等收入国家陷入债务危机。当强国有选择性地遵循自己制定的规则时，整个体系就失去了可信度。
In August 2022, a South China Morning Post article noted that the so-called “democracies” of the US and the West have been relentlessly chipping away at the foundations of international rules and exploiting them when it’s convenient. While the US and the West denounce Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine, they forget their serial interventions, subversions and interference across the globe. What the US did has smashed up the world economy, thereby exposing more middle-income countries to debt crises. When the big powers are selective in following the rules they wrote, the whole system loses credibility.
（五）炮制“民主对抗威权”虚假叙事
Foisting a trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”
当前，美国政府抱持冷战思维，沿袭霸权逻辑，推行集团政治，炮制“民主对抗威权”叙事，给有关国家扣上“威权”的帽子，实质是打着民主旗号，将意识形态和价值观作为打压他国、推进地缘战略的工具。
Harboring the Cold War mentality, a hegemonic logic and a preference for bloc politics, the US administration has framed a narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”, and labeled countries as “autocracies”, with a view to using ideology and values as a tool to suppress other countries and advance its own geostrategy under the disguise of democracy.
2021年，美国举办首届“领导人民主峰会”，公然以意识形态划线，人为将国际社会分成所谓“民主和不民主阵营”，遭到包括美国社会自身在内的多方质疑。《外交事务》《外交学人》刊文批评民主峰会是找错了目标，不但未能实现民主国家团结，反而因参加国代表性问题饱受批评。美国历来在全球推行民主都缺乏既定目标，被吹得天花乱坠的口号往往落实缓慢。在美国自身民主情况如此糟糕形势下，召开民主峰会不仅不能提振全球民主，反而制造出更大地缘政治危机。日本国际战略研究所理事长田中均指出，美国将所谓“民主”强加于他国，发起“民主对抗威权”，扩大世界分裂，日本不应盲目跟随。
In 2021, the US held the first “Summit for Democracy”, attempting to divide the international community into so-called “democratic and undemocratic camps” by openly drawing an ideological line. The move drew questions extensively, including from within the US. Both Foreign Affairs and The Diplomat carried articles criticizing the summit as chasing the wrong goal, not only failing to achieve unity among democratic countries, but also drawing criticism for the representation issue. The US has long lacked a set goal in its promotion of democracy around the world, and has been slow in following up its rhetoric. When democracy in the US is in such a mess, holding a democracy summit cannot boost democracy around the world, but more likely create a greater geopolitical crisis. Hitoshi Tanaka, Chairman of the Institute for International Strategy of Japan, pointed out that the US has been imposing “democracy” on other countries, advancing the “democracy versus authoritarianism” campaign, and expanding global division. Japan should not blindly follow suit.
把本国定义为民主，把别国定义为威权，这本身就是不民主的表现。所谓“民主对抗威权”不是当今世界的特点，更不符合时代发展的潮流。白俄罗斯国家电视一台评称，峰会与会者名单显然是根据美国的“自由标准”制定，但问题在于：为什么美国认为自己可以垄断对民主的定义和理解，并告诉其他国家民主应该是什么样？新加坡《海峡时报》刊文指出，美国必须意识到，其民主体制已失去昔日光彩，不再是黄金标准。民主没有固定模式，美国对民主定义不再有绝对发言权，这是不争的事实。美国应务实地重新评估其外交方式，注重合作而不是对抗。
To brand oneself as democracy while others as autocracies is in itself an act contrary to democracy. The so-called “democracy versus authoritarianism” narrative does not reflect the realities of today’s world, nor is it in line with the trend of the times. “Belarus 1”, a state television station of Belarus, commented that the list of participants to the summit was clearly based on the US standard of “freedom”, but the question was how could the US believe that it could monopolize the definition and interpretation of democracy, and tell others what democracy should look like. Singapore’s Straits Times carried a column that said the US must realize that American democracy has lost its former luster, and is no longer the gold standard. There is no fixed model of democracy, and the US no longer has an absolute say over what democracy means. That is the truth. The US should pragmatically reassess its diplomatic methods and focus on cooperation instead of confrontation.
尽管美国民主在国内外的得分都处于历史低点，但美国对外输出美式民主和价值观的冲动却高烧不退，甚至走火入魔。美国不仅拼凑“三边安全伙伴关系”“四边机制”“五眼联盟”等各种价值观同盟，还试图在经贸科技人文等领域以意识形态划线，鼓吹冷战思维，干扰破坏正常国际合作。卡塔尔半岛电视台评称，在人们对美国民主制度的信任出现倒退之际，美国仍坚持举办民主峰会、充当全球民主领袖，引起普遍质疑。美利坚大学国际关系教授詹姆斯·戈德盖尔说，美国已失去信誉，美国政府应举行一次国内民主峰会，聚焦美国国内的不公正和不平等，包括投票权和虚假信息等问题。大西洋理事会高级研究员艾玛·阿什福德指出，如果美国国内几乎没有正常运转的民主制度，它怎么能传播民主或为其他国家树立榜样？《南华早报》指出，峰会反映出美国在民主问题上的两条迷思：一是全球民主在冷战结束后发生倒退，需要美国来改变现状；二是美国是世界上最重要的民主国家，其全球领导力对其他国家至关重要。这完全无视美国自身民主不断倒退的事实，也无视绝大多数国家不愿被美国虚伪“民主理念”绑架的心声，更无视广大发展中国家发展经济和改善民生的强烈愿望。
Despite unprecedentedly low ratings of US democracy at home and abroad, the country’s hysteria to export US-style democracy and values continues unabated. The US has not only cobbled together values-based alliances such as AUKUS, the Quad and the Five Eyes, but also attempted to disrupt and undermine normal international cooperation in economy, trade, science, technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges by drawing ideological lines and trumpeting the Cold War mentality. Al Jazeera observed that the US insistence on holding a democracy summit and acting as a global democratic leader even when trust in its own democratic system is declining has raised widespread suspicion. James Goldgeier, professor of international relations at American University, said the US has lost its credibility, and that its administration should hold a domestic democracy summit to focus on injustice and inequality, including issues such as voting rights and disinformation. Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, questioned how can the US spread democracy or act as an example for others if it barely has a functioning democracy at home. The South China Morning Post pointed out that the summit reflected two myths about US democracy: First, global advance of democracy since the end of the Cold War is backsliding and it needs the US to reverse it; second, the US is the most important democracy in the world and its global leadership is paramount for other countries. These two myths completely ignore the democratic backsliding in the US, the rejection of the overwhelming majority of countries to being kidnapped by the hypocritical “concept of democracy” of the US, and the strong desire of developing countries to grow their economies and raise living standards.
四、结束语
IV. Conclusion
民主是全人类的共同价值，但世界上不存在适用于一切国家的政治制度模式。人类文明的花园丰富多彩，各国的民主也应百花齐放。美国有美国式民主，中国有中国式民主，各国也都有适合各自国情的独特模式的民主。一个国家是不是民主，如何更好地实现民主，应由这个国家的人民来评判，而不应由少数自以为是的国家来指手画脚。
Democracy is humanity’s common value; however, there is no single model of political system that is applicable to all countries in the world. Human civilization, if compared to a garden, should be a diverse place in which democracy in different countries blooms like a hundred flowers. The US has American-style democracy, China has Chinese-style democracy, and other countries have their own unique models of democracy that suit their respective national conditions. It should be up to the people of a country to judge whether the country is democratic or not and how to better promote democracy in their country. The few self-righteous countries have no right to point fingers.
弊病缠身依然好为人师没有说服力，打着民主幌子损人利己、搞乱世界应受到一致反对，把世界各国简单分为民主和威权两类缺乏现代性和科学性。当今世界需要的，不是以民主的名义制造分裂，推行事实上唯我独尊的单边主义，而是在《联合国宪章》宗旨和原则基础上加强团结合作，坚持真正的多边主义。当今世界需要的，不是打着民主的幌子干涉别国内政，而是弘扬真民主、摒弃伪民主，共同推进国际关系民主化。当今世界需要的，不是渲染对抗、无益于携手应对全球性挑战的“民主峰会”，而是多干实事、着眼解决国际社会面临突出问题的团结大会。
Those who have many flaws themselves have little credibility to lecture others. Attempts to undermine others for one’s own profit and destabilize the world must be unanimously opposed. A black-and-white division of countries as democratic or authoritarian is both anachronistic and arbitrary. What our world needs today is not to stoke division in the name of democracy and pursue de facto supremacy-oriented unilateralism, but to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and uphold true multilateralism on the basis of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. What our world needs today is not to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs under the guise of democracy, but to advocate genuine democracy, reject pseudo-democracy and jointly promote greater democracy in international relations. What our world needs today is not a “Summit for Democracy” that hypes up confrontation and contributes nothing to the collective response to global challenges, but a conference of solidarity that focuses on taking real actions to solve prominent global challenges.
自由、民主、人权是人类的共同追求，也是中国共产党一贯追求的价值。中国坚持和发展全过程人民民主，把人民当家作主具体和现实地体现到中国共产党治国理政之中。中国愿就民主问题同各国加强交流互鉴，弘扬和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值，推动国际关系民主化，为人类进步事业作出新的更大贡献。
Freedom, democracy and human rights are the common pursuit of humanity, and values that the Communist Party of China (CPC) always pursues. China commits to and advances whole-process people’s democracy, and puts into action the principle of people running the country in the CPC’s exercise of national governance in specific and concrete ways. China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with other countries on the issue of democracy, advocate humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, promote greater democracy in international relations, and make new and greater contributions to human progress.
本文来源：外交部
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