On April 12, Huanqiu Published an article discussing U.S. democracy, with quotes from the Washington Post, Financial Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

"Although it is two and a half years away, American media, already tired of Obama, are more keen on predicting the 2016 Presidential election. According to the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, the former Governor of Florida and younger brother of former President George W. Bush, both showed up at an education conference. This was a stage appearance in preparation for their 2016 presidential campaign. So far, neither has announced their candidacy and there won’t be any conclusion drawn before the end of the year. In accordance with the usual tactics of Republicans and Democrats, however, the 2016 election is likely to be a battle between a former President’s son and another President’s brother, and a former President’s wife."

"Since Hillary wants to warm up for the next general election, why would she appear in the city of Las Vegas which does not have a good reputation. Few American media offered an explanation. According to the Financial Times article on March 30, ‘Last week several Republican presidential hopefuls trekked to Las Vegas to pay their respects to Sheldon Adelson, the gaming billionaire.’ The article said that the U.S. may remove the ceiling on what individuals can give to candidates and parties, [thereby rescinding] ‘what remains of post-Watergate limits on campaign finance.’ ‘But in an economy where the top 1 per cent of the population owns more than a third of the nation’s wealth, it corrodes the republic from which such riches sprang. People fret about America’s 1 per cent economy. They should worry more about its 1 per cent democracy.’"

"There has never been a time when America’s political families were so deep-rooted. According to statistics, of the most recent nine presidential campaigns, there were seven in which candidates came from either the Bush or the Clinton family. In his Los Angeles Times article, New York University history professor Jonathan Zimmerman stated, ‘A few years ago, I found myself sitting on an airplane next to a gentleman from Egypt. Talk quickly turned to the upheaval in his country, where the so-called Arab Spring was in full bloom.’ ‘"We want a real democracy," he told me, "not like yours." When I pressed him to elaborate, he shot back with a question of his own. "How many times have you voted," he asked, "when someone named ‘Bush’ or ‘Clinton’ wasn’t running?"’ This history scholar then lamented that ‘We tell the world that we’re a land of opportunity, where anyone can grow up to be the president. Then we limit ourselves to a handful of political dynasties.’ ‘That’s not good for our image overseas, or for our democracy at home.’"

Source: Huanqiu, April 12, 2014
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2014-04/4969327.html
LA Times, March 27, 2014
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-zimmerman-political-dynasties-20140327,0,4599058.story#axzz2x9oFfqj1

On April 4, Qiushi, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship publication, accused the United States of being the "prime culprit" behind Internet insecurity. The following is an excerpt from Qiushi‘s article.

"Recently, another scandal broke out regarding the U.S. government’s surveillance programs. On March 22, 2014, the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel and the New York Times disclosed, with documents provided by Edward Snowden, that the National Security Agency (NSA) conducted large-scale surveillance and espionage activities against China’s Huawei. The targets of U.S. intelligence agencies also have included China’s former national leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, banks, and telecommunications companies."

"Frankly speaking, the news was not particularly shocking or unexpected. How could a country be lenient on a ‘highly concerned target’ if it would even tap into its own allies national leaders? Many analysts point out that the United States has been playing the game of a thief crying ‘stop thief.’ For a long time, the U.S. government has been accusing China of ‘organized’ hacking, stealing its government and business intelligence, and posing threats to its national security and economic interests. However, since the PRISM-gate scandal, a series of large-scale NSA domestic and foreign surveillance programs have been made public. Friends and foes have all suddenly become enlightened: the prime culprit behind the Internet insecurity is here."

"Alongside the surveillance scandal is the U.S.’s post-Cold War logic on national security. In short, the U.S. is seeking to achieve ‘absolute security’ both in the real world and in cyberspace. Starting from building the Theater Missile Defense system to today’s PRISM program, the U.S. has been pursuing security against any threat or challenge in an almost paranoid state of mind. Ever since the 9.11 incident, the U.S. has made gathering intelligence one of its top priorities. As the birthplace of Internet technology, the U.S. has a unique advantage in accessing information. Therefore, the U.S. intelligence agencies are heavily dependent on a variety of network tools to get the information that they want. As long as their so-called security is relevant, then privacy, legal restrictions, and moral principles are all left behind. … Its ideal version of network security is one in which the U.S. can monitor any object without any restriction, while any other country cannot do anything similar to the U.S. One strong piece of evidence is that, when the PRISM program was exposed, President Obama repeatedly defended the need for the program in terms of security, but never admitted that surveillance and monitoring are wrong."

Source: Qiushi, April 4, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/wwtj/201404/t20140404_337203.htm

Recently the spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) answered a question from a journalist regarding U.S. Vice President Biden’s meeting with two heavyweight pan-democrats from Hong Kong and the New York Times’ Editorial "Protecting Hong Kong’s Autonomy."

"Since Hong Kong SAR’s reunification 17 years ago, the system of ‘one country two systems’ has been successfully implemented. The economic, social, and democratic developments in Hong Kong have exceeded expectations. The Hong Kong people enjoy unprecedented democratic rights and freedoms, which has won widespread international acclaim."

The spokesperson continued that Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. They firmly oppose any country intervening in any way and interfering with its internal affairs. The current political reform in Hong Kong is at a sensitive time. It is hoped that the United States will "watch your steps and mind your words" and not let the issue of Hong Kong interfere with Sino-US relations.

Source: China News, April 6, 2014
http://www.chinanews.com/ga/2014/04-06/6035011.shtml