美国总统拜登近日公布，将于12月9日至10日举行首届“民主峰会”。拜登政府挑选了110个国家和地区作为参会成员，表面上是要“推进民主”，实质上是打着“民主”的旗号拉帮结派，强行推行自己的模式，维护自己的霸主地位。

《华盛顿邮报》称，这次峰会主要用意之一是联合全球“民主政府”对抗中国，反制中国在经济、政治和军事上的影响力。

从公布的名单来看，美国发起的这场邀约，以其自身战略利益为指导。比如在亚洲，日本、韩国等一些美国盟友受到了邀请，而泰国、越南、新加坡则不在邀请名单上。中东地区的国家，只有以色列和伊拉克受到了邀请。

什么是民主，一个国家是否民主，绝不是由另一个国家说了算，而是应该由当事国的人民说了算。

冷战结束至今，美国一直是全球唯一的超级大国，不愿意看到世界上出现能够和它抗衡的国家。但是，自2001年9.11事件以来，美国的全球领导力不断衰退。由于应对新冠疫情不力，美式民主的声望在全球范围内呈“断崖式”下降。皮尤研究中心最近的一项调查显示，全球57%的受访者、美国国内72%的受访者认为美国“不是民主的良好样板”。

美国人对自己国家更有发言权。哈佛大学肯尼迪学院政治研究所本周公布的一项新民意调查显示，大多数美国年轻人对美国的民主状况感到担忧。其中， 52%的年轻人认为美国的民主陷入困境或者是失败的。

美国的两党制表面上看似民主，然而他们并不是劲往一处使，心往一处想，而是彼此倾轧，互相拆台。从疫情一开始，民主党和共和党就在是否应该戴口罩等各种防疫问题上争执不休，错过了抗疫最佳时期，最终导致国内疫情失控。截至11月底，美国的新冠病毒死亡人数突破77万，使美国成为全世界因新冠疫情死亡人数最高的国家。

面对不断遭受到的质疑，美国政府没有反思自身存在的缺陷，而是依然以“民主代言人”自居，打着推进“民主”的旗号，拉拢一些追随者，打压、排挤他国。

世界是多元的，民主不是一种教条，实现民主也不可能只有一种模式，更不能强制推行某一种模式，甚至要求有着不同文化传统、历史、国情的国家都套用这一模式，不符合这种模式的国家，就被判定为“不民主”，这种用一己标准垄断对民主的定义，充当民主“判官”的做法，实质上是一种“霸主”心态，是对民主精神的践踏，是最大的不民主。

当今世界迫切需要的，既不是拉帮结伙排斥异己召开所谓的“民主峰会”，也不是建立什么“民主国家联盟”，而是放下“霸主”心态，包容并蓄，尊重各个国家自己的选择，共同发展，合作共赢。(完)

'Summit for Democracy' a pretense for imposing hegemony？

By John Lee

(ECNS) -- U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that he will host a virtual "Summit for Democracy" on Dec. 9 and 10. The Biden Administration has invited 110 countries and regions to join the summit, claiming to promote democracy yet, in essence, it is trying to impose its "democratic model" and maintain hegemony.

The event is an attempt to "unify democratic governments in opposition to China" and counter China's "economic, political and military influence," said the Washington Post.

The invitation list reveals its ambition to expand its strategic interests. In Asia, for example, U.S. allies Japan and South Korea were invited, while Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore were not. Of the countries in the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq were invited.

The issues of “What is democracy?" and “Whether a country is democratic or not" shouldn't be decided and judged by a certain country. Rather, it should be done by the people who live there.

The majority of young Americans believe that democracy in their country is either failing or in trouble, according to a Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics poll on Wednesday.

The United States has remained the world's sole superpower since the end of the Cold War. Its global leadership has gradually declined since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. The reputation of the U.S. model of democracy has also dropped dramatically due to its ineffective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Global Attitudes Survey this spring, Pew surveyed 18,850 adults in 17 advanced economies about their views of American society and politics. Few people view American democracy as an example for the rest of the world to follow, its survey shows. Outside the U.S., 57 percent said that American democracy “has not been a good example for democracy in recent years.” An additional 23 percent said the United States has never been a good example for democracy.

The figure is as high as in the U.S., where about 72 percent of American respondents said their country has not been a good example for democracy in recent years.

U.S. bipartisanship appears democratic, yet Democrats and Republicans are always at odds and try to drag the other down even when there is need for cooperation. For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out they squabbled over various issues, including whether a mask mandate was necessary, missing the best time to contain the pandemic and creating an out-of-control situation.

By the end of November, the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the U.S. had passed 770,000, making it the country with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world.

In the face of doubts concerning its global leadership, the U.S. government did not reflect on its own shortcomings, but tried to woo followers and subdue countries with different types of governance in the name of promoting "democracy.”

The world is a diverse planet and democracy is not a dogma. There cannot be only one model of democracy, and it's unrealistic to impose one model on countries with different cultural traditions, histories, and national conditions.

It is a "hegemonic" mentality to call a country "undemocratic" if it does not conform to this model.

What is urgently needed today is neither a "summit for democracy" nor a "coalition of democracies.” Instead, the focus should be on mutual understanding, inclusiveness, and respect for each country's own choices.

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