中新网评:美国众议长选举“连续剧”暴露美式民主痼疾******
中新网北京1月9日电(蒋鲤)在15轮投票表决后,美国众议院议长选举这场“连续剧”终于落下帷幕,众议院共和党领袖凯文•麦卡锡最终成功当选第55任美国众议院议长。这是美国国会过去164年来耗时最久的一次议长选举记录,将美国“对抗式民主”的弊端暴露无遗。
资料图:美国众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡。中新社记者 沙晗汀 摄由于两党对立加剧、党派内斗、利益分配不均等因素,众议长选举陷入一场拉锯战。在此次众议长竞选中,美国民主党议员继续抱团,多轮投票中,一票不投麦卡锡,共和党右翼“强硬派”领头的约20人小团体也拒绝投票麦卡锡。
麦卡锡的当选之路一波三折,除了本人的“政治投机派”角色在国会不受欢迎外,与共和党内部政治分歧关系密切。
一方面,共和党党内反对者认为,麦卡锡对民主党态度过于软弱,无力对抗民主党控制的参议院和拜登政府,另一方面,因为共和党的多数优势微弱,党内一些影响力较小的派系的政治力量则被放大,有利于他们巩固自己的选票。
此外,党内反对者也认为,自己的选票没有换取更多利益,希望以此作为筹码换取麦卡锡更大的让步,比如让他们获得众议院重要委员会中的职务。
作为仅次于美国总统、副总统的政坛三号人物,众议院议长通常由众议院多数党领袖担任,选举几乎没有悬念。然而,麦卡锡此次为当选,不得不做出多个关键让步,其中可能包括恢复一项罢黜议长动议机制,使得众议长的权力被削弱,难以掌控众议院。
美国有线电视新闻网CNN称,麦卡锡在这场不合时宜的政治勒索中作出让步,这种绥靖政策只会让极端主义势力更加强大。
这场引发全世界围观的尴尬选举暴露出美国政治存在严重的对立和分化。在权力博弈思维的裹挟下,党派利益凌驾于国家和人民利益之上,美国两党相互拆台,陷入“为反对而反对”的无脑对垒。而即便是一党内,也会因为利益分配问题产生不同的小派系,相互对抗,选票变成了谋利益的工具。
从国会山骚乱到打破记历史记录的15轮众议长选举,“对抗式民主”让美国政治陷入瓶颈,长期对抗势必会让政客们丧失客观公正的判断能力,其政治阶层是否有能力治理国家也会引发质疑。
两党之争和党派内斗进一步放大了美国政治体制弊病,美国所谓的“民主”形象,让全世界大跌眼镜。鼓吹以选民利益为先的美式选举,变成了政客们利益置换的游戏,进一步彰显出美国“民主政治”日渐失能,不断极化的党争已使美国政治制度陷入死循环。
House speaker election reveals deep-rooted problems in U.S. democracy
(ECNS) -- The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as the 55th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after 15 ballots. As the most grueling House speaker election in the past 164 years, the election has highlighted the defects of the country’s "confrontational democracy".
The election once reached a stalemate due to intense partisan strife, inner-party struggle among the Republicans, uneven distribution of interests, and more. Democratic Party members forged a close alliance, refusing to vote for McCarthy, while about 20 Republicans also declined to cast ballots for the GOP leader.
Except for his unpopular role as a "political speculator" in Congress, McCarthy’s hard-won election can be attributed to turmoil within the Republican Party.
On the one hand, opponents in the Republican Party believe that the GOP leader's attitude toward the Democrats is too weak to confront the Senate controlled by Democrats and the Biden administration.
On the other hand, the political power of some less influential factions in the Republican Party has been amplified due to the Party’s weak majority advantage in the House of Representatives, which is conducive to consolidating their ticket warehouses.
Meanwhile, these opponents believe that their votes failed to win them more benefits, hoping to use this as a bargaining chip for McCarthy's further concessions, such as getting them positions in important House Committees.
As the third political figure after the President and Vice President of the U.S., the speaker, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives.
But McCarthy has made many concessions in order to bring the ultra conservatives along, involving what’s known as the “motion to vacate,” a mechanism by which members can force a vote to depose the speaker. The reported concessions will empower individual members at the expense of McCarthy’s sway as speaker.
CNN thought the concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown would only make the extremist faction more powerful.
This embarrassing election, which has drawn global attention, exposed the serious opposition and polarization in American politics. Both Democrats and Republicans put their interests before that of the country and its people, attacking and opposing each other irrationally.
Besides, different factions arise within a single party and confront each other because of the distribution of interests. Votes have become a tool to win more benefits.
From Capitol riots to the House Speaker election with record-breaking ballots, "confrontational democracy" has become a bottleneck of American politics. Long-term confrontation will surely impede politicians to think objectively and fairly while their capacity of governing the country will also raise doubts among the public.
Both parties’ struggle and infighting among the Republicans have further amplified the defects of the American political system, with its "democratic" image shocking the world.
The U.S.-style election, which advocates putting voters' interests first, has become a game of interest exchange among politicians. In addition, it further demonstrates the malfunction of American "democratic politics" and the constantly polarized party struggle that has trapped the American political system into an infinite cycle.
世界需要怎样的人工智能?国际合作全球治理成为共识****** 中新社北京12月5日电 (记者 孙自法)世界需要怎样的人工智能?12月4日至5日在北京举行的2021人工智能合作与治理国际论坛上,全球人工智能领域的思想领袖和实践者线上线下“云”集一堂,共商人工智能发展大计。论坛开幕式上,国际组织、政府部门和学术界代表就对人工智能的国际合作、全球治理形成共识。 联合国助理秘书长、秘书长技术事务特使办公室主管官员玛丽亚·弗朗切斯卡·斯帕托利萨诺表示,人工智能是联合国秘书长发布的《数字合作路线图》中提到的关键数字挑战之一。作为一项能够带来真正变革的技术,人工智能的应用也伴随着严峻挑战。在充分发挥人工智能益处的同时,需要在全球范围内进行更好的引导与合作。 她说,联合国秘书长在《我们的共同议程》报告中强调了要加强人工智能领域的全球监管,提议要建立一个由多重利益攸关方参与的全球人工智能合作新机构,特别强调要纳入全球南方国家及其观点的重要性。“我们必须共同努力建立普惠包容、反应迅速、且行之有效的全球合作架构,以此应对人工智能带来的各项挑战”。 中国科技部副部长李萌指出,中国秉持科技向善,高度重视人工智能治理。他认为,未来,人工智能治理要倡导敏捷治理理念,实现人工智能发展与安全的平衡;倡导包容共享理念,实现不同群体共享智能红利的平衡;倡导可持续发展理念,实现智能化与绿色化的平衡;倡导人类命运共同体理念,实现差异发展与合作共赢的平衡。 在中国工信部副部长徐晓兰看来,在“互联网+人工智能”的驱动下,人类的生活方式发生着深刻变革;在“工业互联网+人工智能”的驱动下,产业的生产方式将发生深刻变革,人工智能还将深刻影响社会治理的现代化进程。她说,中国工信部已组建智能传感器、智能网联汽车等国家制造业创新中心,推动北京等8个人工智能创新应用先导区建设等,未来还将携手相关各方,在共促人工智能持续健康发展、共建包容共享的人工智能治理规则、共创国际合作新局面等方面大力合作,为推动人工智能国际治理体系建设贡献中国智慧。 图灵奖得主、清华大学交叉信息研究院院长姚期智指出,随着人工智能与经济社会的相互嵌入,保持科学技术与经济社会发展之间的良性互动与协同越来越重要,这就需要做好人工智能技术开发、应用与治理之间的平衡。然而,人工智能对数字经济时代的隐私保护和数据安全也提出挑战,不断精进的算法、高效的算力和隐私保护是人工智能理论的新方向。他认为,“平衡包容”的人工智能治理体系的建构,将进一步释放人工智能的潜能,更大程度地保证人工智能的安全性。 作为本次论坛国际支持机构,联合国开发计划署驻华代表白雅婷表示,人工智能在疫情应对、抗击气候变化中都发挥着重要作用。与此同时,人工智能也存在算法偏见和侵犯个人隐私等风险。随着人工智能应用在世界各地愈加普及,需要就公平道德的人工智能治理体系的构建路径达成共识,国际合作至关重要。因此,要确保围绕人工智能开展的对话真正具有全球性,让每个国家都有机会发声。 “人工智能是第四次工业革命的标志性技术,智能时代的‘大门’已经缓缓开启。”论坛主办方、清华大学校长邱勇指出,人工智能治理必须协同多元主体、兼顾多维目标、融合多元价值,加强全球合作与对话,构建平衡包容的人工智能治理体系。大学作为人类科技文明的重要策源地,不仅要在人工智能基础理论与技术前沿努力突破创新,也要践行科技向善的文化理念,塑造良善的人工智能价值与伦理,推动建立科学合理的人工智能国际治理体系。 他说,清华大学高度重视人工智能领域的研究和教育,已先后成立人工智能研究院、智能产业研究院、人工智能国际治理研究院、智能社会治理研究院。清华大学将继续发挥多学科优势,努力在人工智能治理领域发挥更大作用。(完) (文图:赵筱尘 巫邓炎) [责编:天天中] 阅读剩余全文() |