Asian democracy cannot slavishly copy West
- Source: Global Times
- [22:18 December 01 2009]
- Comments
Students attend a rally to mourn over the victims of the massacre, in Manila, capital of the Philippines, Nov. 24 2009.(Xinhua/Jon Fabrigar)
By Zhang Weiwei
The election-linked massacre in the Philippines last week shocked the world.
The grim fact is that there have been almost 1,000 political murders in the country since 1986.
When I visited the Philippines in 2005, I asked many local residents why there were so many political murders there.
A friend, who is well informed on Philippine politics, told me that, "Political posts are source of great riches for politicians, thus many of them often take great risks to hire killers to murder their opponents and journalists who dare to expose the truth."
The Philippines used to be considered Asia's "showcase of democracy" by the US. It copied the US's political systems, including separation of powers, separation of the state and religion, and constitutional democracy.
However, for almost a century, the country's political power lies in the hands of a few flamboyant clans. Behind the recent massacre, it is a fight among powerful political clans.
The Philippines used to be the economically strongest country next to Japan in the region, but the US-style democracy did not bring it prosperity and affluence as its people wished. Instead, instability and poverty dragged behind the whole country.
Many Asian countries and regions also adopted Western political systems. But considering their conditions in recent decades, one could fi nd that these "democratic" regimes have not done well. They are generally faced with divided society, extreme corruption and an economic downturn.
These are the typical syndromes of Western-style democracy in the Third World.
