Sore over 'Summit for Democracy 2021', China labels US democracy as 'weapon of mass destruction'

WION Web Team
Washington, United States Updated: Dec 11, 2021, 12:11 PM(IST)

China slams US over 'summit for democracy' Photograph:( Reuters )

Story highlights

The Asian country which has been facing outlash for silencing democratic voices within its borders and in Hong Kong has now vowed to 'resolutely resist and oppose all kinds of pseudo-democracies'

Still sore about being left out of the recently held 'Summit for democracy", China has labelled American democracy as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’.

Along with Russia and Hungary, China was not invited to be a part of the two-day virtual summit hosted by the US. China responded angrily to this and alleged Biden-led US of still following Cold War-era ideologies.

"'Democracy' has long become a 'weapon of mass destruction' used by the US to interfere in other countries," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement.

Also read | On Human Rights Day, US imposes sanctions on Myanmar, China, North Korea

China has also alleged that the virtual summit was organised by the US solely to bring in more divide and weaponise the idea of democracy. The ministry claims that through this summit, Joe Biden-led government wanted to "draw lines of ideological prejudice, instrumentalise and weaponise democracy... (and) incite division and confrontation."

The Asian country which has been facing outlash for silencing democratic voices within its borders and in Hong Kong has now vowed to "resolutely resist and oppose all kinds of pseudo-democracies".

While the US surrounded itself with ‘like-minded’ governments, China decided to blow its own horn by promoting its own version of "whole-process people's democracy". The idea was promoted through a white paper which was released last week.

Also read | US blacklists Chinese firm, sanctions political leaders over human rights violations in Uyghur

When the US was busy ignoring China during this two-day event, China celebrated its small victory as Nicaragua abandoned its diplomatic alliance with Taiwan, claiming it only recognises China. The US responded to this announcement by urging "all countries that value democratic institutions" to "expand engagement" with Taiwan.

After the summit, the US Treasury also sanctioned two high-level Chinese officials for violation of human rights in China’s Xinjiang region. Additionally, AI surveillance firm SenseTime has been blacklisted for its facial recognition technology as the American authorities believe the technology is being used to target the Uyghur minority.

Read in App