{"id":1118783,"date":"2021-12-14T16:58:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T21:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1118783"},"modified":"2021-12-14T16:58:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T21:58:35","slug":"hayward-joe-bidens-virtual-summit-for-democracy-a-train-wreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hayward-joe-bidens-virtual-summit-for-democracy-a-train-wreck\/","title":{"rendered":"Hayward: Joe Biden\u2019s Virtual \u2018Summit for Democracy\u2019 a Train Wreck"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhayward-joe-bidens-virtual-summit-for-democracy-a-train-wreck%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1118783&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>President Biden\u2019s \u201cSummit for Democracy\u201d on Thursday and Friday was a spectacular disaster, an embarrassment to the free world at precisely the moment when democracy needed to demonstrate bold confidence \u2013 and basic competence \u2013 against the rising tide of authoritarianism.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The hideous concluding act of Biden\u2019s farce was the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2021\/12\/13\/reuters-biden-censored-taiwan-map-at-digital-authoritarianism-panel-on-purpose\/\"><span>panicked termination<\/span><\/a><span> of Taiwanese minister Audrey Tang\u2019s video feed when she attempted to display a map that showed her island and China in different colors, visually implying they are not the same nation. The map colors indicated freedom in each respective country, however, and nations no one would confuse with China, including Vietnam and Laos, also appeared the same color as China \u2013 clearly showing a statement of sovereignty was not the intent.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The Biden team cut off Tang\u2019s video, replacing her presentation with a Disclaimer stating \u201cany opinions expressed by individuals on this panel are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States government.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The State Department claimed Tang\u2019s treatment was a \u201ctechnical issue\u201d and said cutting her off was an \u201chonest mistake,\u201d but White House sources later admitted to Reuters it was an \u201cinternal overreaction\u201d prompted by a blizzard of anguished emails between administration officials terrified of offending the Chinese.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tang was participating in a panel discussion about the rise of \u201cdigital authoritarianism.\u201d The Biden administration ended up giving a very convincing demonstration that digital authoritarianism is indeed a serious threat, and they have no idea how to contend with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_19125202\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"39\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1237144799.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19125202\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1237144799-1024x676-1.jpg\" alt width=\"990\" height=\"654\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the closing remarks of the virtual Summit for Democracy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, in Washington, DC, December 10, 2021. (SAUL LOEB\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The summit was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2021\/12\/10\/diplomacy-is-back-south-africa-boycotts-bidens-democracy-summit\/\"><span>boycotted<\/span><\/a><span> by South Africa, the most important democracy on the African continent, in retaliation for another act of sheer panic: Biden\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/11\/29\/malawi-president-brands-biden-coronavirus-travel-ban-afrophobia\/\"><span>hastily-imposed travel ban<\/span><\/a><span> on South Africa and several of its neighbors after the discovery of the Omicron variant of Chinese coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The summit was also sharply criticized for some of the nations that <\/span><i><span>did <\/span><\/i><span>attend.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6127359\/biden-summit-for-democracy\/\"><i><span>Time<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>magazine noted that over 30 percent of the 110 participants were rated only \u201cpartly free\u201d by Freedom House, and several have been denounced as \u201cnot free\u201d or outright \u201cautocracies\u201d by human rights organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSome of the omissions from the participant list are as puzzling as the inclusions. It\u2019s not clear, for example, why strongmen like India\u2019s Modi, the Philippines\u2019 Duterte, and Brazil\u2019s Bolsonaro made the cut, but Turkey\u2019s Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn\u2019t, when all of them have been wrecking democratic institutions in their respective countries with equal vigor,\u201d <\/span><i><span>Time <\/span><\/i><span>grumbled.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19125226\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"35\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1358067518.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19125226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1358067518-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>U.S. President Joe Biden delivers opening remarks for the virtual Summit for Democracy in the South Court Auditorium on December 09, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Freedom advocates were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/nation\/elections\/rodrigo-duterte-vows-honest-peaceful-2022-elections\/\"><span>particularly irked<\/span><\/a><span> by the participation of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who they vilify for ruthlessly suppressing opposition media and waging an incredibly bloody \u201cwar on drugs.\u201d Duterte\u2019s administration is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Duterte used the forum to claim Filipinos \u201cfully enjoy\u201d freedom of the press and \u201cfair and honest elections,\u201d a performance denounced by his critics as a whitewash enabled by the Biden administration. Reporters Without Borders ranks the Philippines 138th out of 180 countries for press freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Philippines was the first republic in Asia and the inspiration of all Asian struggles for independence. Today, we have a vibrant democracy and an open and diverse society,\u201d Duterte insisted.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Filipino-American activists mustered impressive numbers outside the Philippine Consulate in New York on Saturday to protest against Duterte\u2019s invitation to the Summit for Democracy:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fil-Am activists protest Biden\u2019s invitation to Duterte to join democracy summit | TFC News USA\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kisVE9917eY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>The failure of Biden\u2019s summit reflects the free world\u2019s increasing lack of confidence. Setting high standards and snubbing unfree or partly-free countries like Iraq or the Democratic Republic of the Congo might alienate them completely and drive them into China\u2019s arms. Democracy in 2021 is not comfortable enough in its own skin to place high expectations upon its wobbly allies or democracy-curious autocratic guests.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cHere in the United States, we know that our democracy is not immune from threats. January 6 looms large in our collective conscience,\u201d Vice President Kamala Harris said in her address to summiteers, dragging the political and media obsession with the Capitol Hill riot into the summit and making the U.S. seem even more uncertain of itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/12\/10\/biden-democracy-summit-comes-us-fights-its-own-democratic-crisis\/6421440001\/\"><span>USA Today<\/span><\/a><\/em><span> thought Harris\u2019 remarks were the biggest news from the Summit for Democracy, at least until the Taiwan snub became the summit\u2019s craven epitaph:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"21\">\n<p><span>Critics worry that if President Joe Biden\u2019s summit \u2014 and the broader effort to protect open societies \u2014 is to succeed, the United States must first lead by example and address its own failings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhile President Biden is hosting a global democracy summit, our own democracy right here is falling apart,\u201d said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a voting rights group. \u201cYou can\u2019t be the torchbearer for democracy while your own house is on fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Other signs that America needs to focus inward, critics say: rampant misinformation fueled by former President Donald Trump and his supporters claiming the 2020 election was fraudulent; new restrictions on voting access; widespread public distrust in American leaders and institutions; and growing political polarization that has left Congress increasingly paralyzed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Tighter rules for voting \u2013 mostly a return to the rules in place before the pandemic emergency \u2013 are protection for democracy, not a threat to it. Healthy democracies can handle \u201cpolitical polarization\u201d just fine. Denouncing partisanship and Congressional deadlock as existential threats to democracy is tantamount to asserting that democracy only works when everyone agrees about everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is not the fault of Donald Trump or his supporters that Western political elites increasingly view democracy, capitalism, individual rights, and the rule of law as excess cargo to be jettisoned at the first sign of turbulence. The Chinese coronavirus clearly shook the dwindling faith of Western politicians, journalists, and academics in self-government.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19125274\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"37\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1237115057.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19125274\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1237115057-653x1024-1.jpg\" alt width=\"653\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>German Chancellor Olaf Scholz listens to opening remarks from U.S. President Joe Biden, at the start of the virtual Summit for Democracy at the Chancellery on December 9, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. (Michele Tantussi \u2013 Pool\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Our governing class cleaves increasingly to China\u2019s view that only authoritarian governments are equipped to handle serious crises like the coronavirus pandemic and a growing list of \u201ccrises\u201d they wish to be viewed as equal to the pandemic in threat level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/12\/09\/us\/politics\/biden-democracy-summit.html\"><i><span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>noticed Chinese and Russian state mouthpieces seizing on the critique of democracy pushed by Harris and left-wing U.S. media outlets \u2013 or maybe it was the other way around, since China and Russia fired off their cheap shots a few days before the Summit for Democracy began:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"28\">\n<p><span>A few days before President Biden\u2019s Summit for Democracy, a virtual meeting of more than 100 countries that opened on Thursday morning, the Chinese foreign ministry released a stinging report about the American democratic system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The \u201cgunshots and farce on Capitol Hill have completely revealed what is underneath the gorgeous appearance of the American-style democracy,\u201d the Chinese report said, citing the Jan. 6 riot. In a country where \u201cmoney decides everything,\u201d the report charged, \u201can entrenched political paralysis\u201d renders governing impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry struck a similarly contemptuous tone in late November. \u201cThe United States claims the right to decide who is worthy of being called a democracy and who is not,\u201d said the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, according to Tass, the state news agency. \u201cIt certainly looks cynical. I would say that it looks pathetic, given the state of democracy and human rights in the United States and in the West in general.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>A virtual forum that gives authoritarian regimes a chance to score propaganda points against the free world \u2013 while top U.S. officials and big corporate media largely agree with the authoritarian critique! \u2013 can only be counted as a setback for democracy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Concluding the event by kowtowing to the speech codes of Communist China and pulling the plug on Taiwan, arguably the most imperiled free nation in the world, was the cherry of cowardice atop a double scoop of doom. The participants in Biden\u2019s summit sounded like they were trying to convince themselves democracy&nbsp;might<em>&nbsp;<\/em>still be viable, provided they get to be in charge of it. As a sales pitch for representative government to the developing world, the summit was a catastrophe.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Biden\u2019s \u201cSummit for Democracy\u201d on Thursday and Friday was a spectacular disaster, an embarrassment to the free world at precisely the moment when democracy needed to demonstrate bold confidence &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1118783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1118783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1118783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1118783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1118783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}