A 10,000-word article on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website criticized the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for its ties to the CIA, for subverting the legitimate governments of other countries and cultivating pro-U.S. puppet forces under the guise of promoting democracy. The article, published days before the 2022 China-Europe Human Rights Symposium on May 10, is seen as a wave of Chinese offensives aimed at setting the agenda for the discourse.
“A List of Facts about the American National Endowment for Democracy” stated that the NED has been involved in staging several color revolutions around the world for more than 30 years, including the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 and the Arab Spring in 2010.
The article also accused NED of colluding with local political groups, interfering in the political agenda of other countries, meddling in Hong Kong elections and interfering in China’s internal affairs.
The article points out that the NED, through its subordinate National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), contacted and provided financial support to Hong Kong opposition political groups and organizations. In 2014, it even instructed and funded the Hong Kong opposition, radical youth groups to plan the movement of Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP).
The article also says that NED invests huge amounts of money every year to carry out anti-China projects in an attempt to incite Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibetan independence and it is the main source of funding for many Xinjiang independence groups, providing about 1.24 million (US$, about S$1.72 million) to various “Xinjiang independence” forces in 2020 alone.
The article pointed out that from 2003 to the present, NED was behind the scenes in organizing, planning, directing and channeling funds in many large-scale street movements in Hong Kong, such as the OCLP and anti-extradition law demonstrations. In the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition law movement, NED was accused of moving from behind the scenes to the front, directly engaging with the key people in the anti-China rebellion in Hong Kong, granting subsidies and conducting training to those involved in the riots, a figure around $640,000 that year.
Other accusations include claims that the NED has been generating false information, hyping anti-government rhetoric, funding activities and academic programs, and engaging in ideological infiltration.
The article also mentions Taiwan, where NED President Damon Wilson led a delegation to visit Taiwan and held a press conference to announce that he will cooperate with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to hold the Global Congress of the World Movement for Democracy in Taipei in October 2022, backing up the forces of Taiwan independence under the guise of democracy.
Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry, May 7, 2022
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/zyxw/202205/t20220507_10683088.shtml