2023年美国侵犯人权报告文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/15704.html
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Contents
序言
Foreword
一、公民和政治权利沦为空谈
I. Civil and Political Rights Become Empty Talk
二、种族主义顽疾贻害深远
II. The Chronic Disease of Racism
三、经济和社会不平等日益加剧
III. Growing Economic and Social Inequality
四、妇女和儿童权利遭受持续侵犯
IV. Persistent Violations of the Rights of Women and Children
五、无证移民悲惨境遇触目惊心
V. Heart-wrenching Struggles of Undocumented Migrants
六、美式霸权制造人道主义危机
VI. American Hegemony Creates Humanitarian Crises
结语
Conclusion
序言
Foreword
2023年美国的人权状况继续恶化。在美国,人权朝着日益两极分化的方向发展。与占据政治、经济和社会支配地位的少数人相比,大多数普通民众越来越被边缘化,基本权利和自由被虚置。76%的美国人认为自己的国家正处于错误的发展方向上。
The human rights situation in the United States continued to deteriorate in 2023. In the United States, human rights are becoming increasingly polarized. While a ruling minority holds political, economic, and social dominance, the majority of ordinary people are increasingly marginalized, with their basic rights and freedoms being disregarded. A staggering 76 percent of Americans believe that their nation is in the wrong direction.
美国政党恶斗、政府失能、治理失效,公民权利和政治权利无法得到有效保障。两党难以达成控枪共识,大规模枪击事件持续高发,约4.3万人死于枪支暴力,平均每天死亡117人。警察执法滥用暴力,2023年至少1247人死于警察暴力,创2013年以来新高,执法问责制度却形同虚设。美国人口不到全球的5%,囚犯数量却占全球的25%,是名副其实的“监狱国家”。政党恶斗持续加剧,利用选区划分操弄选举,众议院两度上演“议长难产”闹剧,政府公信力继续下跌,美国民众对联邦政府的信任度仅为16%。
Political infighting, government dysfunction, and governance failure in the United States have failed to protect civil and political rights. Bipartisan consensus on gun control remains elusive, contributing to a continued surge in mass shootings. Approximately 43,000 people were killed by gun violence in 2023, averaging 117 deaths per day. Police brutality persists and at least 1247 deaths were attributed to police violence, marking a new high since 2013, yet the law enforcement accountability system remains virtually nonexistent. Taking up less than 5 percent of the global population, the United States accounts for 25 percent of global prison population, earning the title of a “carceral state.” Political infighting intensifies as parties manipulate elections through gerrymandering, leading to “Speaker crisis “for twice in the House of Representatives, further diminishing the government’s credibility, with only 16 percent of Americans trusting the federal government.
美国种族主义根深蒂固,种族歧视情势严重。联合国专家指出,针对非洲裔的系统性种族主义已经渗透到美国警察部队和刑事司法系统。由于医疗服务领域存在严重的种族歧视,非洲裔孕产妇死亡率几乎是白人女性的3倍。近六成亚裔表示面临种族歧视,针对华裔科学家的“中国行动计划”贻害深远。种族主义意识形态在美国社交媒体、音乐、游戏等多平台恶性传播并跨国溢出,成为极端种族主义的主要输出国。
Deep-rooted racism persists in the United States, with cases of severe racial discrimination. United Nations experts point out that systemic racism against African Americans has permeated the U.S. police force and criminal justice system. Due to significant racial discrimination in the healthcare sector, the maternal mortality rate for African American women is nearly three times that of white women. Nearly 60 percent of Asians report facing racial discrimination, with the “China Initiative” targeting Chinese scientists having far-reaching consequences. Racist ideologies proliferate across multiple sectors such as social media, music, and gaming, and spill over across borders, making the United States a major exporter of extreme racism internationally.
美国贫富分化加剧,“工作者贫困”现象凸显,经济社会权利保障制度空转。长期以来的劳资分配差异悬殊,导致贫富差距达到1929年经济大危机以来最严重的程度。美国有1150万个低收入工薪家庭,联邦最低时薪标准自2009年以来一直没有上调,2023年1美元购买力已降至2009年的70%。低收入家庭难以支付食品、房租和能源等基本生活所需,无家可归者超过65万人,创16年来新高。“工作者贫困”使辛勤劳作者的“美国梦”破碎,导致2023年发生了21世纪以来波及范围最广的罢工潮。
The United States is witnessing intensified wealth inequality, with the phenomenon of “Working poor” becoming more pronounced, and the economic and social rights protection system is seen as ineffective. Long-standing disparities in the distribution of income between labor and capital have resulted in the most severe wealth gap since the Great Depression of 1929. There are 11.5 million low-income working families in the United States, but the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. As of 2023, the purchasing power of one U.S. dollar has declined to 70 percent of its value in 2009. Low-income families struggle to afford basic necessities such as food, rent, and energy, leading to over 650,000 people experiencing homelessness, reaching a new high in 16 years. “Working poor” has shattered the “American Dream” for hardworking individuals, contributing to the broadest wave of strikes since the beginning of the 21st century, occurring in 2023.
美国妇女儿童权利长期遭受系统性侵犯,保障性别平等的宪法规定付之阙如,至今未批准联合国《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》,而且是联合国会员国中唯一没有批准《儿童权利公约》的国家。美国参议院2023年4月否决了保障性别平等的宪法修正提案。美国每年约有5.4万名妇女因遭受怀孕歧视而失业。超过220万育龄妇女无法获得产科护理。至少有21个州命令禁止或严格限制堕胎。孕产妇死亡人数近20年来增加了一倍多。职场、校园、家庭等多领域的性暴力层出不穷。儿童的生存权与发展权堪忧。大量儿童被排除出医疗补助计划。枪支暴力成为儿童死亡的主要原因。毒品滥用在青少年群体中蔓延。46个州被发现瞒报约3.48万例寄养儿童失踪案件。
Women and children’s rights in the United States have long been systematically violated, with constitutional provisions for gender equality remaining absent. The United States remains the only UN member state that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In April 2023, the U.S. Senate rejected a constitutional amendment to guarantee gender equality. In the United States, approximately 54,000 women lose their jobs annually due to pregnancy discrimination. Over 2.2 million women of childbearing age cannot access maternity care. At least 21 states have enacted bans or strict restrictions on abortion. Maternal mortality has more than doubled in the past two decades. Sexual violence is rampant in workplaces, schools, and homes. Children’s rights to survival and development are in jeopardy, with many children excluded from healthcare assistance programs. Gun violence remains a leading cause of child deaths, and drug abuse is rampant among youth. Forty-six states have been found to underreport around 34,800 cases of missing foster children.
美国是一个在历史和现实中均受益于移民的国家,却存在严重的排斥和歧视移民问题。从1882年臭名昭著的“排华法案”到2017年广受国际社会谴责的“禁穆令”,排斥与歧视移民的做法已深嵌于美国制度结构中。如今,移民问题成为党争逐利与政治“甩锅”的工具,政客们对移民的个人权利和福祉弃之不顾,移民政策被简单复制为“你赞成我就反对”的党派决裂立场,最终沦为利用选民的政治作秀。移民乱局陷入无解的恶性循环,移民及儿童遭受大规模逮捕、人口贩运与剥削等残酷对待。政治极化及美式人权的虚伪本质在移民问题上表现得淋漓尽致。
The United States, a country that has historically and presently benefited from immigration, faces severe issues of exclusion and discrimination against immigrants. Practices of exclusion and discrimination against immigrants have been deeply ingrained in the U.S. institutional structure, from the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the internationally condemned “Muslim Ban” in 2017. Today, the immigration issue has become a tool for partisan gain and political blame-shifting, with politicians disregarding the individual rights and welfare of immigrants. Immigration policies are simplified into partisan positions of “If you support, I oppose,” ultimately becoming political theatrics to manipulate voters. The immigration crisis falls into a vicious cycle, with immigrants and children subjected to widespread arrests, human trafficking, and exploitation. The hypocrisy of political polarization and the hypocritical nature of American human rights are glaringly evident in the immigration issue.
美国长期奉行霸权主义,推行强权政治,滥用武力和单边制裁。持续向他国输送集束弹药等武器,加剧区域紧张局势和地区武装冲突,造成大量平民伤亡和严重人道主义危机。大肆实施“外国代理人”行动,破坏他国社会稳定,侵犯他国人权。至今不肯关闭关塔那摩监狱。
The United States has long pursued hegemonism, practiced power politics, and abused force and unilateral sanctions. Continuous delivery of weapons such as cluster munitions to other countries exacerbates regional tensions and armed conflicts, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties and severe humanitarian crises. Extensive “proxy forces” operations undermine social stability and violate the human rights of other nations. Guantanamo Bay prison remains open to this day.
一、公民和政治权利沦为空谈
I. Civil and Political Rights Become Empty Talk
美国枪支暴力造成惨痛生命代价,政党恶斗导致难以达成控枪共识。政府滥用权力监控公民隐私,警察暴力愈演愈烈,警察执法问责制度形同虚设。政治极化持续加剧,选举操弄肆意横行,政府公信力继续下跌。
Gun violence in the United States takes a terrible toll on human lives, and vicious political party infighting leads to difficulties in achieving consensus on gun control. The government has abused its power to monitor citizens’ privacy, police violence has intensified, and the system of police accountability for law enforcement is in vain. Political polarization continues to intensify, election manipulation is rampant, and the credibility of the government continues to decline.
枪支暴力造成惨痛生命代价。数据显示,美国所有类型的枪支暴力事件都呈上升趋势。根据“枪支暴力档案”网站统计的数据,2023年美国至少发生了654起大规模枪击事件。枪支暴力导致近4.3万人死亡,平均每天死亡117人。例如,美国广播公司新闻网站2023年10月28日报道,缅因州发生大规模枪击事件,造成至少18人死亡,13人受伤。《今日美国报》网站2023年12月6日报道,拉斯维加斯3名大学教授被一名前同事枪杀。美国大学教授协会主席艾琳·马尔维称,枪支暴力是“不可接受的国家威胁”,敦促美国政府进行枪支政策改革。美国与枪支有关的伤亡人数激增,引发联合国人权事务委员会的严重关切。
Gun violence inflicts a painful toll on human lives. The data shows that all types of gun violence are on the rise in the United States. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were at least 654 mass shootings in the United States in 2023. Gun violence is responsible for nearly 43,000 deaths, an average of 117 per day. For example, the ABC News website reported on Oct. 28, 2023, that a mass shooting in Maine killed at least 18 people and wounded 13 others. The USA Today website reported on Dec. 6, 2023, that three college professors in Las Vegas were shot dead by a former colleague. Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, called gun violence an “unacceptable national menace” and urged the U.S. government to reform gun policy. A spike in gun-related injuries and deaths in the United States raises serious concerns for the UN Human Rights Committee.
枪支暴力危害外溢。美国枪支泛滥导致枪支走私行为在周边国家愈演愈烈,给当地民众生命安全与地区稳定带来巨大危害。墨西哥政府数据显示,每年有超过50万支枪从美国走私流入墨西哥。2014年至2018年间墨西哥暴力犯罪现场收缴的枪支超过70%来自美国。拉丁美洲“犯罪洞察”组织2022年的调查报告显示,从美国流入加勒比地区的非法枪支导致该地区的谋杀犯罪率不断升高。
Gun violence spills over. The proliferation of guns in the United States has led to the intensification of gun smuggling in neighboring countries, which has brought great harm to the lives of local people and regional stability. Mexican government figures show that more than half a million guns are smuggled into Mexico from the United States each year. More than 70 percent of guns seized at violent crime scenes in Mexico between 2014 and 2018 came from the United States. According to a 2022 report by InSight Crime, the flow of illegal guns from the United States into the Caribbean has led to a rising murder rate in the region.
政党恶斗导致难以达成控枪共识。联合国人权事务委员会呼吁美国采取一切必要措施有效保护生命权,防止和减少枪支暴力。皮尤研究中心网站2023年6月28日发布的调查报告显示,枪支暴力被广泛认为是一个重大且日益严重的国家问题,58%的受访者赞成更严格的枪支管控法律,超过60%的美国成年人认为枪支暴力是当今美国的重大国家问题。然而美国政客罔顾国际社会与国内民众控枪呼声,只顾金钱和政治私利,使美国的枪支泛滥长期得不到有效控制。半岛电视台专栏作家贝伦·费尔南德斯在《美国的枪支暴力:资本主义就是祸首》一文中认为,“美国是一个将利润置于人民之上的国家”。布法罗超市枪击案、尤瓦尔迪小学枪击案、高地公园游行枪击案等一连串造成大量人员伤亡的枪击事件已经定义了美国的生活。美国枪支制造巨头史密斯-韦森公司仅2021年就通过销售突击式步枪(大规模枪击事件中经常出现的凶器)赚取了至少1.25亿美元。美国宪法学者、杜克大学法学院教授约瑟夫·布洛彻认为,政治博弈极大地损害了制定有效立法以遏制美国枪支暴力的努力。即使大规模枪击事件频发,两党也不太可能在制定枪支管控具体措施上达成新的共识。在党争极化与利益集团推动下,越来越多的州政府主动推动立法以扩大居民拥有与携带枪支的权利。2023年美国至少有27个州不需要许可证就可携带手枪。枪支暴力痼疾难消,政府管控政策不力,最终付出的是普通民众的生命代价。
Political party infighting leads to difficulties in achieving consensus on gun control. The UN Human Rights Committee calls on the United States to take all necessary measures to effectively protect the right to life and prevent and reduce gun violence. According to a survey report released on the website of the Pew Research Center on June 28, 2023, gun violence is widely recognized as a major and growing national problem, with 58 percent of respondents in favor of stricter gun control laws and more than 60 percent of American adults believing that gun violence is a major national problem in the United States today. However, American politicians ignore the international community and the domestic public’s call for gun control, only for money and political self-interest, so that the proliferation of guns in the United States cannot be effectively controlled for a long time. In her article “U.S. gun violence: Capitalism is the culprit,” Al Jazeera columnist Belen Fernandez argues that the United States “is entirely predicated on putting profits over people.” The Buffalo supermarket shooting, the Uvalde Elementary School shooting, the Highland Park parade shooting and other mass shootings have defined American life. U.S. gun manufacturing giant Smith & Wesson Brands earned at least 125 million U.S. dollars in 2021 alone from sales of assault-style rifles, the weapons often used in mass shootings. Joseph Blocher, an American constitutional scholar and professor at Duke University Law School, argues that political jockeying has greatly harmed efforts to enact effective legislation to curb gun violence in the United States. Even with the frequency of mass shootings, it is unlikely that there will be a new bipartisan consensus to enact specific gun control measures. Driven by partisan polarization and interest groups, a growing number of state governments have taken the initiative to push legislation to expand residents’ rights to own and bear arms. In 2023, at least 27 states will not require a license to carry a handgun. The chronic disease of gun violence, and inadequate government control policies, ultimately took a heavy toll on ordinary people’s lives.
政府滥用权力监控公民隐私。联合国人权事务委员会指出,美国《涉外情报监视法》第702条的范围过于宽泛,该法不仅允许美国执法人员监视外国人的电子通信,执法人员还可能利用法律漏洞在没有搜查令的情况下获取大量美国公民的通讯信息(即“后门搜查”),并且缺乏明确透明的监督机制。美国众议院情报委员会2023年11月16日发布的报告显示,美国联邦调查局将《涉外情报监视法》第702条规定转用于进行国内监控,“广泛而持续地”监控国会议员、国会竞选活动捐助者以及反种族主义抗议者的通讯。布伦南司法中心网站2023年11月20日报道,十几年来,纽约警察局滥用社交媒体从事非法活动,包括监视公共集会、在没有证据的情况下跟踪公民个人及其联系人等,而这些行为并未受到监督和问责。
The government abused its power to monitor citizens’ privacy. The UN Human Rights Committee remains concerned at the overly broad scope of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which not only allows U.S. law enforcement officials to monitor the electronic communications of foreigners, but also allows law enforcement officials to take advantage of legal loopholes to obtain large amounts of U.S. citizens’ communications without a warrant (known as “backdoor searches”), and lacks a clear and transparent oversight mechanism. A report released by the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 16, 2023, revealed that the FBI redirected Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct domestic surveillance, “persistent and widespread” monitoring of the communications of members of the Congress, congressional campaign donors, and anti-racist protesters. The Brennan Center for Justice website reported on Nov.20, 2023, that for more than a decade, the New York Police Department has abused social media to engage in illegal activities, including surveillance of public gatherings and tracking of individual citizens and their contacts without evidence, without oversight or accountability.
宗教不容忍问题恶化。宗教偏见是美国社会长期存在的问题。近年来,由宗教不容忍引起的犯罪数量持续增加。美国联邦调查局2023年10月发布的仇恨犯罪统计显示,2022年美国基于宗教的仇恨犯罪事件高达2042起。美国伊斯兰关系委员会2023年4月发布报告称,2022年度共收到5156份涉及对穆斯林歧视的投诉,主要关乎就业歧视、教育歧视和执法不公,其中与教育相关的投诉案件比2021年增加了63%。
The problem of religious intolerance has worsened. Religious prejudice is a long-standing problem in American society. In recent years, the number of crimes caused by religious intolerance has continued to increase. According to hate crime statistics released by the FBI in Oct. 2023, there were as many as 2,042 incidents of religious-based hate crimes in the United States in 2022. According to a report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in April 2023, a total of 5,156 complaints of discrimination against Muslims were received in 2022, mainly related to employment discrimination, education discrimination and unfair law enforcement, of which education-related complaints increased by 63 percent over 2021.
言论和表达自由受到压制。美国政府当局、政治人物、执法官员等对媒体机构和记者的骚扰、恐吓、威胁和攻击,受到联合国人权事务委员会关注。以得克萨斯州、佛罗里达州、密苏里州、犹他州和南卡罗来纳州为代表,越来越多的州通过立法颁布禁令,禁止公立学校使用涉及种族、历史、性别等特定主题的教育材料和书籍。面对激增的审查制度,个人权利和言论基金会的立法政策主任乔·科恩“深感不安”。根据该基金会的追踪调查,在美国大学校园里,教职员工因言论或表达而受到惩罚或解雇的数量创20年来新高。美联社2023年3月15日报道,艺术家卡特里娜·马吉库特在爱达荷州刘易斯顿一所公立学校举办展出,用刺绣作品展示慢性病、毒品等医疗保健问题。这一展出遭到审查并被移除,理由是涉嫌与该州“禁止堕胎公共资金法案”相抵触。与之类似,艺术家莉迪亚·诺布尔斯制作的4部展现女性堕胎经历的纪录作品也被删除。
Freedom of speech and expression is suppressed. The harassment, intimidation, threats and attacks against media organizations and journalists by U.S. government authorities, politicians and law enforcement officials have drawn the attention of the UN Human Rights Committee. Led by Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah and South Carolina, a growing number of states have passed legislation banning public schools from using educational materials and books that address specific topics such as race, history and gender. Joe Cohn, legislative and policy director with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the proliferating censorship is “deeply troubling.” According to the foundation’s tracking survey, the number of faculty members punished or fired for speech and expression on U.S. college campuses has reached a 20-year high. The Associated Press reported on March 15, 2023, that Katrina Majkut, an artist, used embroidery to illustrate chronic illness, drugs and other health care issues at a state school in Lewiston, Idaho. The display was censored and removed for allegedly violating the state’s No Public Funds for Abortion Act. Similarly, four documentary video and audio works by another artist, Lydia Nobles, that showed women talking about their own experiences with abortion were also removed.
警察滥用暴力致死人数创下新高。布伦南司法中心网站2023年2月3日发表的《终结警察暴力文化》文章指出,美国的国家安全大厦是建立在制度性暴力的文化和传统之上的。美国警察滥用武力执法问题突出,但大多执法部门拒绝公布使用武力的数据。“警察暴力地图”网站的数据显示,美国警察2023年至少杀害了1247人,创该组织自2013年开始全国追踪以来的最高纪录。这意味着平均每天至少有3人被警察杀害。
Deaths from police brutality have hit a record high. The article “Ending the Culture of Police Violence,” published on the website of the Brennan Center for Justice on Feb. 3, 2023, pointed out that the U.S. security edifice is built upon a culture and inheritance of institutional violence. The problem of excessive use of force by police is prominent in the United States, but most law enforcement departments refuse to release the data on the use of force. According to Mapping Police Violence, police in the United States killed at least 1,247 people last year, the highest number of killings since its national tracking began in 2013, which means an average of roughly three people killed by officers each day.
警察执法问责制度形同虚设。加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校公共政策与政治学教授艾米·莱尔曼和霍普金斯大学政治学教授维斯拉·韦弗合著的《逮捕公民:美国犯罪控制的民主后果》一书指出,美国警察部门一贯排斥公民对其执法行为合法性的质疑,对警察违法行为进行责任追究的机制形同虚设。华盛顿大学学者伊芙·伍尔和莫森·纳哈维在国际医学期刊《柳叶刀》发表论文指出,美国疾病控制与预防中心的官方死亡统计数据库中,超过一半的警察杀人事件被错误地标记为“一般凶杀或自杀”。《纽约时报》网站2023年1月31日报道指出,美国警察内务部门往往更热衷于为同僚开脱罪责,而非对不当行为开展调查,致使警察难以受到追责。警察工会不遗余力地攻击批评者,为不良行为者开脱。
The accountability system for police law enforcement is in vain. In the book “Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control,” Amy Lerman, professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and Vesla Weaver, professor of Political Science and Sociology at Johns Hopkins University stated that American police departments have always detested citizens questioning the legality of their law enforcement actions, and the mechanism for holding police accountable for illegal acts is virtually useless. In a paper published on The Lancet, Eve Wool and Mohsen Naghavi, two scholars from University of Washington, said that more than half of police killings have been incorrectly labeled as “general homicide or suicide” in CDC’s official death statistics database. According to a report of The New York Times on Jan. 31, 2023, internal-affairs departments are often more interested in exonerating colleagues than investigating misconduct, and police unions do everything they can to shield bad actors, attack critics and secure more due process for cops accused of abuse than their victims ever get.
大规模监禁与强迫劳动问题突出。美国人口不到全球的5%,但囚犯占全球在押囚犯的25%,是全世界监禁率最高,同时也是监禁人数最多的国家。美国公共政策智库“监狱政策倡议”2023年10月发布的《关于美国大规模监禁及其影响的10项统计数据》报告显示,每天都有约200万人被关押在美国联邦和各州的监所及移民拘留设施,还有约370万人受到缓刑和假释等社区监督。芝加哥大学法学院与美国公民自由联盟2023年6月发布的报告显示,美国监狱劳工每年创造价值数十亿美元的商品与服务,大部分州付给囚犯的时薪仅为美国联邦最低工资标准的2%至3%,部分州甚至不会有任何报酬。“监狱政策倡议”组织2023年3月14日报道,囚犯在美国监狱的工作是强制性的,被监禁的“工人”几乎没有权利和保护。监狱强迫囚犯以低薪或无薪、无福利的方式工作,同时向他们收取必需品费用,使监狱能够将监禁成本转移到被监禁者身上。
The issue of mass incarceration and forced labor is prominent. The United States is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, making it the country with the highest incarceration rate and the largest number of incarcerated individuals globally. According to the report “Ten statistics about the scale and impact of mass incarceration in the United States” by the U.S. policy think tank Prison Policy Initiative in October 2023, on any given day, about 2 million people in the United States are locked up in federal and state prisons and immigration detention facilities. 3.7 million people are held under community supervision such as probation and parole. The report released in June 2023 by the University of Chicago Law School and the American Civil Liberties Union reveals that incarcerated workers in the United States generate billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services annually. However, in most states, the hourly wages paid to prisoners amount to only 2-3 percent of the federal minimum wage standard, with some states providing no compensation at all. According to a report by the Prison Policy Initiative released on March 14, 2023, prisoners’ work in U.S. prisons is mandatory, and incarcerated “workers” have almost no rights or protections. Prisons force inmates to work for low or no pay, without benefits, while also charging them fees for necessities, allowing prisons to shift the costs of incarceration onto the incarcerated individuals.
党争恶斗持续加剧。美国两党间争斗激烈,两党内部也陷入了碎片极化乱象的僵局。2023年1月,第118届美国国会开幕当天,众议院便遭遇“议长难产”危机。经过15轮拉锯式投票之后,众议院才选出新议长。2023年4月,田纳西州议会将议员贾斯汀·琼斯和贾斯汀·皮尔逊驱逐,理由是他们在一起校园枪击事件发生后,声援当地民众呼吁加强枪支管控的示威,引发政坛一片哗然。2023年10月初,由于在新财年拨款等重大问题上无法达成共识,众议院议长遭遇了史无前例的罢免。随后,众议院再次上演了比9个月前更疯狂的“议长难产”闹剧。两党议员不顾美国联邦财政支出临时拨款即将到期、联邦政府面临关门危机的实际情况,对议长职位进行了22天的争夺。由于没有议长,众议院处于停摆状态,从而中断了美国正常政治议程。英国《经济学人》周刊网站2023年12月28日发表文章回顾2023年美国政坛的乱象。文章评论称,由于政党忙于内斗,2023年的美国国会没有通过多少立法,堪称自美国内战以来效率最低的国会,“这一年的立法亮点或许是《鸭票现代化法案》”(该法案的主要内容是对一项法律条款作出修改,使候鸟狩猎许可电子化)。
The partisan strife in the United States has been intensifying. The intense struggle between the two parties in the United States has led to a deadlock characterized by internal fragmentation and polarization. On the opening day of the 118th U.S. Congress in January 2023, the House of Representatives faced a “Speaker crisis.” It took 15 rounds of tug-of-war voting before a new Speaker was elected. In April 2023, the Tennessee State Legislature expelled representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for supporting local calls for strengthening gun control measures following a campus shooting incident, sparking uproar in the political arena. In early October 2023, due to the inability to reach consensus on significant issues such as funding for the new fiscal year, the Speaker of the House was ousted in an unprecedented recall vote. Subsequently, the House witnessed a more frantic repeat of the “Speaker crisis” from nine months prior. Despite the imminent expiration of temporary federal funding and the looming government shutdown crisis, lawmakers from both parties engaged in a 22-day struggle for the Speaker position. With no Speaker in place, the House remained in a state of deadlock, disrupting the normal political agenda of the United States. On Dec. 28, 2023, British magazine The Economist published an article reviewing the chaos in the American political arena in 2023. The article commented that there was a lot of attention on the long-running Republican civil war in the House in 2023, but not a lot of legislation made it through Congress and to the president’s desk, and in fact by some measures, it was the least productive Congress since the actual civil war. “Perhaps the legislative highlight of the year was the Duck Stamp Modernisation Act,” it said. (The main content of this stamp is to modify a legal provision to digitize permits for migratory bird hunting.)
两党继续操弄选举。美国金钱政治盛行,选举烧钱规模膨胀。公开数据显示,2023年参与肯塔基州州长选举的民主、共和两党候选人仅用于竞选广告的开支就达到9100万美元,超过2019年上一次州长选举竞选广告花费的3倍以上,是2023年最昂贵的选举。美国两党持续变换花样操弄选区重划,为党争私利而扭曲普通民意表达。普林斯顿大学“杰利蝾螈”项目对美国2021年开始的选区重新划分实证研究显示,美国有16个州在国会选区划分上存在明显的操弄表现,其中12个州为“整体上严重操弄选区的州”。2023年,纽约、佛罗里达、佐治亚、北卡罗来纳等多个州相继高调进行了具有明显党派利益色彩的国会众议院选区重划,直接涉及超过五分之一的国会众议院席位的政党归属。在纽约州的26个国会众议院席位当中,2022年选举后民主党占据15席、共和党占据11席,但按照民主党主导的2023年重新划分选区的新地图,民主党在维持15席的同时还可以在共和党控制席位的至少6个选区中形成足够强有力的竞争。北卡罗来纳州两党对14个国会众议院席位目前大体平分秋色,但按照共和党在2023年重新划分选区后的安排,共和党至少可以维持10个选区即10席的控制权。
The two parties continue to manipulate the election. Money politics prevails in the United States, and the scale of burning money in elections expands. According to public data, in the gubernatorial elections of Kentucky in 2023, the candidates of the two parties spent 91 million U.S. dollars on campaign advertisements alone, which was more than three times in 2019, making it the most expensive election in 2023. The two parties continue to change their ways to manipulate the redistricting and distort public opinion for the sake of party self-interest. Princeton University’s “Gerrymandering Project” of the U.S. redistricting since 2021 shows that there are 16 states that have significant manipulation of congressional district boundaries, and 12 of them are states with serious manipulation of districts as a whole. In 2023, New York, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and other states have successively carried out high-profile congressional House redistricting with obvious partisan interests, directly involving the party affiliation of more than one-fifth of the congressional House seats. New York’s congressional delegation is made up of 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans after the 2022 election. However, under the new Democratic-led redistricting map in 2023, Democrats could maintain 15 seats while still having an edge in up to six districts currently held by Republicans. North Carolina’s 14-member congressional delegation was split between seven Democrats and seven Republicans, but under the voting lines adopted by state lawmakers in 2023, the GOP is favored to win in 10 districts while Democrats are favored in three.
政府公信力继续下跌。美国广大普通民众对联邦以及各级政府极度失望,多数认为美国正处于错误的发展方向。皮尤研究中心的调查数据显示,美国民众对联邦政府的信任度长期处于历史低位,2023年仅为16%。盖洛普民调机构逐月调查的结果显示,2023年1月至12月,有76%至81%的美国民众对国家发展态势表示不满意。此外,76%的美国人认为自己国家正处于错误的发展方向,认为美国处于正确发展方向者仅为23%。美国年轻群体对民主政治实践普遍不满。根据美利坚大学政治经济研究所2023年的调查,18岁至34岁受访者中,48%的人认为美国政治制度更多地阻碍他们实现美国梦。美国年轻人对政党政治疏离,投票意愿不高。塔夫茨大学发布的研究显示,2022年美国国会中期选举中,全国范围内年轻选民的投票率仅为23%。
Government credibility continues to fall. The general public in the United States is extremely disappointed with the federal government at all levels, and most of them think that the United States is in the wrong direction. According to the survey data of Pew Research Center, the U.S. public trust in government has been near historical lows and stood at 16 percent in 2023. Gallup surveys show from January to December, 2023, at most 81 percent and at least 76 percent of Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the country. According to Ipsos poll, 76 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Only 23 percent think the country is headed in the right direction. There is widespread dissatisfaction among young Americans with the practice of democratic politics. According to a 2023 survey by the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University, 48 percent young Americans (aged 18-34) say the U.S. political system does more to prevent them from achieving the American Dream. Young Americans are alienated from party politics and less likely to vote. According to a study released by Tufts University, the turnout of young voters nationwide in the 2022 midterm elections was only 23 percent.
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