Fact sheet reveals US agency's aims in the guise of promoting 'democracy'

China's Foreign Ministry has issued what it calls a fact sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy and criticized the United States for long using "democracy" as a tool and a weapon to undermine democracy, saying any attempt to interfere in other countries' internal affairs in the name of "democracy" is doomed to failure.

The NED is nominally a nongovernmental organization that provides support for "democracy "abroad but in fact relies on financial support from the White House and the US Congress, and takes orders from the US government, essentially being the US government's "white glove" that serves US strategic interests, the document said.

By providing funding, the NED has manipulated and directed NGOs worldwide to export US values, conduct subversion, infiltration and sabotage, and incite so-called democratic movements in target countries and regions, arousing strong resentment worldwide.

The NED was behind "color revolutions" instigated and orchestrated by the US, including the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine and the "Arab Spring".

China has long been a key target of the NED's infiltration and subversion activities. The NED invests heavily in anti-China programs and attempts to incite "Xinjiang independence", "Hong Kong independence" and "Tibet independence", the document said.

The NED said in 2020 that it provided more than $10 million of grants for 69 China-related programs within one year for carrying out various activities undermining China's political and social stability.

The NED has meddled in elections in Hong Kong and interfered in China's internal affairs, the document said. The NED website says $2 million was spent on 11 Hong Kong-related projects in 2020, with a particular focus on disrupting Legislative Council elections.

In addition, it has produced disinformation and played up anti-government narratives. For instance, the NED-funded "World Uyghur Congress" and "Human Rights Watch" disseminate lies about Xinjiang such as the alleged genocide in Xinjiang in an attempt to contain China.

Diao Daming, an associate professor of US studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, hailed the fact sheet as a demonstration of China's major-country diplomacy.

"From the American Genocide of the Indians－Historical Facts and Real Evidence issued in March to the State of Democracy in the United States published in December as well as the latest fact sheet, China exposes a series of US disgraceful records in an objective and detailed way and helps the world see through Washington's true intention," Diao said.

The fact sheet came one day ahead of the election in Hong Kong of a chief executive, the first one after the improvement to the electoral system there.

Strong response

"An improved electoral system and practice in Hong Kong serve as a strong response to those including the US-supported NED that attempts to disrupt Hong Kong would not work," Diao said.

In March the NED said that it would co-host the 11th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy in Taipei in October.

China should guard against such ideological infiltration, said Zhang Tengjun, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

"As the NED has been sanctioned by China over its egregious acts in Hong Kong in 2019, it attempts to continue to play up other issues including the Taiwan question to cooperate with the US government to contain China."

The so-called Summit for Democracy hosted by the US last year ended with little support, and the NED tries to give support to the "Taiwan independence" forces under the guise of "democracy", he said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin earlier sent a stern warning to the US that the attempt to contain China by emboldening "Taiwan independence" forces in the name of upholding "democracy" has never succeeded and will not succeed.