US President Joe Biden convened more than 100 world leaders at the summit on Thursday (December 9), calling for the strengthening of democracy around the world, and said that maintaining rights and freedoms in the face of rising authoritarianism is the current era” Decisive challenge”.
In the opening speech of his virtual “democracy summit”, Biden said that this is an unprecedented gathering of the same kind aimed at combating the regression of global democracy. He said that global freedom is being sought to expand power, export influence and suppress it. Defend the threat of the dictator.
“In my opinion, we are at a turning point in history. …will we allow the retreat of rights and democracy to remain uncontrolled? Or will we share the vision…and the courage to lead human progress and mankind again The pace of free progress?” he said.
This meeting was a test of Biden’s assertions. In his first foreign policy speech in February, Biden announced that he would return the United States to global leadership after the United States’ global status was undermined under the leadership of its predecessor Donald Trump. To fight against authoritarian forces.
“Democracy does not happen by accident. We must update it with each generation,” he said. “In my opinion, this is the decisive challenge of our time.”
Biden did not accuse China and Russia. These two authoritarian countries, Washington, have been disagreeing on a series of issues, but their leaders apparently did not appear on the guest list.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said in November that the number of threatened mature democracies hit a record high, and pointed out that Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Mali had undergone coups, and Hungary, Brazil, and India had regressed.
US officials promised to take a year of action after a two-day gathering of 111 world leaders, but the preparations were overshadowed by the democratic qualifications of some invitees.
With the exception of Hungary, led by the hardline nationalist prime minister Victor Orban, all EU member states have been invited to the summit.
The White House said it is working with Congress to provide $424.4 million for a new initiative to support global democracy, including support for independent news media.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the summit that her department is fighting money laundering, illegal financing and tax evasion. Yellen said: “After all, if the rich are also allowed to violate our laws with impunity, the United States cannot be a credible spokesperson for free and fair governments overseas.”
This week’s event coincided with a question about American democratic forces. The Democratic president is working hard to pass his agenda through a polarized Congress, and after Republican Trump objected to the 2020 election results, his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Republicans are expanding their control over the management of elections in multiple states in the United States, raising concerns that the 2020 midterm elections will be undermined.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday supporting the legislation proposed by Democratic lawmakers that would place new restrictions on the use of presidential pardons and strengthen measures to prevent foreign election interference, as well as other measures designed to protect American democracy.
The summit also included Taiwan, which aroused the anger of China, which believes that democratically managed islands are part of its territory.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Taiwan’s invitation shows that the United States is only using democracy as a “cover and tool to advance its geopolitical goals, oppress other countries, divide the world, and serve its own interests.”
The White House rejected the criticism. “In the context of this summit, we don’t think it’s…about any particular country. We really emphasized at this summit that we are seeking to build democratic momentum,” a senior government official told reporters.
‘Oral service’
Washington used the eve of the summit to announce sanctions against officials in Iran, Syria, and Uganda who were accused of oppressing the local population, as well as those accused of ties to corruption and criminal gangs in Kosovo and Central America.
At the beginning of the summit on Thursday, further measures were announced against foreign officials’ embezzlement and other suspected corruption plans in their country’s COVID-19 response.
US officials hope to win support for global initiatives during the conference, such as using technology to enhance privacy or circumvent censorship, and for countries to make specific public commitments to improve their democracy before the face-to-face summit scheduled for the end of 2022.
Some people question whether the summit can promote meaningful change, especially leaders accused of authoritarian tendencies by human rights organizations such as the Philippines, Poland, and Brazil.
Annie Boyajian, the advocacy director of the non-profit organization Freedom House, said that the event has the potential to help troubled democracies do better and promote coordination between democratic governments.
“However, it is impossible to conduct a comprehensive assessment until we know what the promises are and how they will be implemented in the coming year,” Boyajian said.
Uzra Zeya, a senior official in charge of civil security, democracy, and human rights at the State Department, said that civil society will help hold countries, including the United States, accountable. Zeya declined to say whether Washington will cancel the invitation of leaders who fail to fulfill their promises.
Sarah Holwinsky, director of Human Rights Watch in Washington, said that making the invitation to the 2022 summit depends on fulfilling promises is the only way for countries to take action.
