>>US election 'joke' stirs democracy debate<<
STAFF REPORTER in Beijing
Many people in China are using the bizarre election
outcome in the United States as a chance to assess the
relevance of the democratic process to the mainland.
Newspaper headlines such as "America Makes a Great
International Joke" have provided excellent fodder for a
Chinese government sick of being told by America how
best to run the country.
"I think this is a great opportunity for the world and for
China in particular to thumb their noses at the idea of
American democracy. Is this political stability?" one
Chinese journalist said. "Also, for an advanced country
like America to not even be able to count the votes
makes them look really stupid."
For others, the US quagmire - with Democrat Al Gore
resorting to the courts to challenge Republican rival
George W. Bush's claim on the White House - is
evidence of the merits of the democratic process, where
the divergence of public opinion shows clearly through
poll results.
"I don't think what's happening reflects badly on
democracy. Instead, I think it proves the opportunity of
democracy, that there can be this kind of competition.
That simply does not exist in China," said
businesswoman Zhu Mei.
"Ultimately, whoever is elected, the consequences will
be about the same for China. America has proven itself
as a stable democracy. I don't think the current
problems will change that. In fact it might make it
stronger."
While some people feel an increasingly democratic
society is inevitable, others are less than convinced
Chinese are ready to vote for their leaders.
"I think our conditions in America and China are quite
different," Beijing cab driver Zhang Taoyan said. "In
America, average people have full knowledge of their
histories and social circumstances. It's not like that in
China. We aren't informed enough about what is going
on to be able to fairly vote for our leaders, even if we
were given that right."
While a debate about the relevance of the Electoral
College system to today's politics rages in the United
States, some Chinese have also been surprised to learn
about the lack of a direct election there.
"I think I can speak for most people in China, that when
we think about an election, it should be one person and
one vote," Mr Zhang said. "The Electoral College
sounds pretty feudal to me, and if we had democracy
here, I'm sure everyone would want one vote per
person."
worldtribune.com
The appearance of political instability in the US can't be helping the confidence of foreign investors. |
