The US Should Restrain Its Impulse to Preach Democracy

How the U.S. participates in the progress of Asian development and promotes Asian stability and development is a puzzle worth pondering. To solve the puzzle, Washington needs to first change its attitude and restrain its impulse to act as a “democracy preacher.”

During her visit to Asia, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that it is necessary to “expand the global Community of Democracies” in Asia. She then insinuated that China lacks human rights by praising certain countries. Without a doubt, America once again played the role of a “preacher of human rights.”

As the Financial Times commented, Hillary’s speech was “part of the growing geopolitical debate.…” However, this was not merely a debate, and the Americans did not posture to debate with a certain side. Indeed, democracy and human rights issues are pivotal to the U.S.’ “return to Asia” strategy.

Who gave the U.S. the power to arrogantly comment on Asian democracy? Americans aren’t willing to think about this question. They even believe that this question is needless to ask. The misunderstanding of this question, however, may lead to the failure of the U.S. “return to Asia” strategy.

The U.S. recently tried to show the legitimacy of its leading role in Asia. For example, it engaged in military exercises and increased the number of troops in Asia in order to act as a security provider. Additionally, the U.S. also held up the banner of “democracy” and “human rights” to maintain its dominant position in morality.

American behavior, indeed, shows its worry about losing Asia. Washington has not understood two reasons why the U.S. makes Asia feel alienated and needs to “return”: One is that the U.S. has comparatively decreasing attention to Asia, and another is the dramatic changes to Asian political and economic structures, which correspondingly altered the U.S.’ status in the region.

Asian countries, especially East Asian countries, have successfully resisted the financial crisis caused by Western countries and achieved high economic growth. Currently, regional cooperation is quickly developing with a promising future. Such achievements are derived from two factors: One is the growing cooperation for mutual benefit among Asian countries, and another is Asian countries’ active exploration of appropriate development paths based on domestic situations.