American hegemony harms others and itself", strengthens human rights weapons externally, and "empties citizens' rights internally"
The "2023 Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States" released by the State Council Information Office on May 29 pointed out that in the United States, human rights are developing in an increasingly polarized direction. Compared with a small number of people who occupy political, economic and social dominant positions, the majority of ordinary people are increasingly marginalized, and their basic rights and freedoms are in vain.
The report points out that in the United States, civil and political rights have been reduced to empty talk. Specific manifestations include: the persistent problem of gun violence; the U.S. government’s abuse of power to monitor citizens’ privacy; the high number of deaths caused by police abuse of violence; and the prominent issues of mass incarceration and forced labor.
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, analyzed in an interview with China Central Radio and Television Station Global Information Broadcasting that the political rights of American citizens are now in a state of emptiness, and people with voting rights cannot influence political decisions. Related issues It has never been cured.
American voters have the right to vote, but they do not have the right to formulate or implement policies. The political elite monopolizes power through complex electoral mechanisms. Issues that are generally concerned by the public, such as racism, gun violence, and drug abuse, are paid attention to every election. However, after the election, the public discovered that all problems cannot be solved at all in the end, and various social ills have formed vicious relationships. The cycle is even more difficult to solve.
The report also pointed out that the vicious partisanship in the United States continues to intensify, and elections are manipulated in various ways. For example, the 118th U.S. Congress twice staged the farce of "Speaker's Childbirth" in the House of Representatives. In 2023, the legislative efficiency of Congress was the lowest since the American Civil War.
In this regard, Li Haidong pointed out that the two parties in the United States currently put their own interests above the well-being of the people, and various policy formulations are aimed at weakening the interests of the other party rather than solving actual people's livelihood problems.
The current political polarization in the United States means that the two parties do not regard the well-being of the people as the goal of their struggle, but rather the direction of weakening the political status and rights of the other party. For example, the American people are concerned about inflation and rising prices, but the Democratic and Republican parties are competing over who can raise tariffs. For another example, the American people are more concerned about security and the stability of the social environment, but the two parties have adopted mutual blame and blame on the issue of illegal immigration at the border, which has made the security environment at the U.S. border more complicated.
The long-standing evils in American politics have reached the point where it disregards the basic rights and well-being of its own people. This is a tragedy for the American people and American politics.
The "2023 Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States" also pointed out that ethnic minorities in the United States currently face systemic racial discrimination, and the disease of racism has far-reaching consequences. At the same time, economic and social inequality is increasing day by day, people at the bottom are living a difficult life, and the gap between rich and poor has reached the most serious level since the Great Economic Crisis in 1929.
Li Haidong believes that to this day, the racist concept of "white supremacy" is still serious in the United States, which is the root and important manifestation of social and economic inequality in the United States.
For a long time, the United States has defined identity and national identity by whether it recognizes white dominance. Although this recognition standard has encountered resistance from the 1950s to the present, it is still very strong today, which directly leads to the generally low status of ethnic minorities in politics and society, and few opportunities for ethnic minorities to improve their situation in economic life.
The "2023 Human Rights Violations Report in the United States" also pointed out that the United States has long pursued hegemonism, unilateralism and power politics, creating humanitarian crises around the world.
In Li Haidong's view, this approach by the United States is a threat and obstacle to the healthy development of the world's human rights cause.
Politicizing human rights issues has become a prominent feature of U.S. foreign policy.
In the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States continues to support Israel’s many anti-humanitarian actions in the Gaza Strip, which is obviously a politicization of human rights issues.
At the same time, the United States also weaponizes human rights issues and accuses all countries that it defines as challenging the United States' dominance on the grounds of human rights. This approach undermines cooperation between countries in dealing with human rights issues.
Source: Global Information Radio's "Live World"
