US should remove hypocritical mask of double standard on democracy: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The United States should heed the rational criticism from the international community, deeply reflect upon itself and remove its hypocritical mask of double standard on democracy, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on criticism from many international experts and academics about U.S. democracy and the so-called "Summit for Democracy".

Mutsuji Shoji, a Japanese expert on international issues, said in an article that the countries invited to attend the "Summit for Democracy" have varying democratic conditions. It looked as if many were there, but actually most were just making up the number. The alliance for democracy patched up by the United States is nothing but a bluff like a "paper tiger," the expert said.

Zhao said that the expert's "paper tiger" description was most vivid, noting that democracy is a value shared by all humanity. No one can lecture other countries condescendingly on this subject, and the United States is in no position to lecture others.

In addition to the Japanese expert, Americans including former Congressman Ron Paul, mainstream media in Western countries such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Economist magazine, and academics from think tanks in Asian countries including India, the Philippines and Thailand, have all questioned and criticized the so-called "Summit for Democracy", Zhao said.

Opinion polls conducted by the Pew Research Center and other institutions have shown pessimism about the U.S. democracy in the international community, including among the U.S. public, according to Zhao.

"U.S. democracy has lost its luster. U.S. governance is also in a ramshackle state. Rampant gun violence, systemic racial discrimination and other issues in the United States also keep setting new world records and shocking the public," he said.

Turning a blind eye to its deplorable record, the United States cooked up the false argument of "democracy versus autocracy," trying to label and politicize democracy. The so-called "Summit for Democracy" fizzled out to a hasty end as expected, the spokesperson said.

The United States should heed the rational criticism from the international community, deeply reflect upon itself, remove its hypocritical mask of double standard on democracy, take concrete actions to address domestic problems, and respond to the concerns of the international community, he said.