Roundup: Imposing values, norms on others is undemocratic, experts say

BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Experts at an international forum on democracy have said that imposing a so-called democracy based on a specific set of values and norms on others is undemocratic.

The second phase of the International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values, held here on Thursday and Friday, focuses on the topics of Democracy and National Governance, which triggered heated discussions among experts from all over the world.

Ong Tee Keat, chairman of Malaysian think tank Center for New Inclusive Asia and also former transport minister of Malaysia, said "any country which seeks to impose on others its own brand of democracy based on its civilizational values and norms, is by itself undemocratic in nature."

"This is not an altruistic deed of liberation as claimed, but a coercive move infringing on the liberty of choice of the people on the receiving end," he said.

The "one-size-fits-all" model stands to be contested as democracy has never been homogeneous in form, he said, adding that the Western democracy is neither perfect nor a panacea to all problems of governance.

Michael Frederick Dunford, professor of economic geography at the University of Sussex, said a particular political and legal system that emerged slowly in advanced Western capitalist countries is claimed by these countries to be the only form that democracy can assume, and to be a model that these countries have the right to impose, selectively, on other countries.

"Selectivity indicates that what drives this ambition is not certain values, democracy and freedom, but certain interests which these values and principles serve to legitimize," said Dunford.

"Attempts to export a Western liberal order saw conflicts, destructive wars, and large scale refugee movements," Dunford added.

Referring to the U.S. military action against Afghanistan, Wang Linggui, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said democracy can by no means be justified by violence.

Any violent action under the guise of promoting so-called democracy or justice is in fact trampling on democratic theories and ideas, he added.

Wang said while exporting its so-called democracy and touting its own brand of democracy, the United States should reflect on the limitations of its own democratic model.

"It needs to pay attention to solving many of its own problems instead of blaming others," he said.

The forum opened on Dec. 4 in Beijing and is scheduled for three phases. Over 60 speakers participated in the second phase of the forum. The third phase is slated for Dec. 14-15.