【雙語】2021年王毅答記者問全文及金句
瀏覽量：464 發布時間：2020-11-05
020年美國侵犯人權報告
The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020
中華人民共和國國務院新聞辦公室
The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China
2021年3月
March 2021
目錄
Contents
序言
Foreword
一、疫情嚴重失控釀成人間悲劇
I. Incompetent Pandemic Containment Leads to Tragic Outcome
二、美式民主失序引發政治亂象
II. American Democracy Disorder Triggers Political Chaos
三、種族歧視惡化少數族裔處境
III. Ethnic Minorities Devastated by Racial Discrimination
四、社會持續動蕩威脅公眾安全
IV. Continuous Social Unrest Threatens Public Safety
五、貧富日益分化加劇社會不公
V. Growing Polarization Between Rich and Poor Aggravates Social Inequality
六、踐踏國際規則造成人道災難
VI. Trampling on International Rules Results in Humanitarian Disasters
序言
Foreword
“我無法呼吸！”
“I can’t breathe!”
——喬治·弗洛伊德
– George Floyd
美國國會大廈暴力事件亂象是政治高層散布重重謊言、蔑視民主、煽動仇恨和分裂導致的惡果。
“The scenes (the U.S. Capitol building violence) we have seen are the result of lies and more lies, of division and contempt for democracy, of hatred and rabble-rousing – even from the very highest levels.”
——德國總統施泰因邁爾
– German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
2020年新冠肺炎疫情全球肆虐，對人類生命安全構成重大威脅。病毒沒有國界，疫情不分種族，戰勝疫情需要世界各國守望相助、團結合作。但一向自認例外和優越的美國，不僅自身疫情失控，而且與之相伴的還有政治失序、種族沖突、社會撕裂，留下了“山巔之城”“民主燈塔”侵犯人權的新紀錄。
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, posing a major threat to human security. The virus respects no borders, nor does the epidemic distinguish between races. To defeat the epidemic requires mutual help, solidarity and cooperation among all countries. However, the United States, which has always considered itself an exception and superior, saw its own epidemic situation go out of control, accompanied by political disorder, inter-ethnic conflicts, and social division. It further added to the human rights violations in the country, the so-called “city upon a hill” and “beacon of democracy.”
——政府應對疫情任性妄為導致失控，釀成人間悲劇。美國人口不足世界總人口的5%，但截至2021年2月底，其新冠肺炎確診病例數卻超過全球總數的25%，死亡病例數占全球總數的近20%，超過50萬美國民眾失去了寶貴的生命。
– The epidemic went out of control and turned into a human tragedy due to the government’s reckless response. By the end of February 2021, the United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world’s population, accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly one-fifth of the global deaths from the disease. More than 500,000 Americans lost their lives due to the virus.
——民主制度失序引發政治亂象，進一步撕裂美國社會。金錢政治扭曲壓制民意，選舉成為富人階層“獨角戲”，人們對美國民主制度的信心下降至20年來最低點。政治極化日益嚴重，仇恨政治演變為全國性瘟疫，選后暴亂導致國會淪陷。
– Disorder in American democratic institutions led to political chaos, further tearing the fabric of society apart. Money-tainted politics distorted and suppressed public opinion, turning elections into a “one-man show” of the wealthy class and people’s confidence in the American democratic system dropped to the lowest level in 20 years. Amid increasing political polarization, hate politics evolved into a national plague, and the Capitol was stormed in post-election riots.
——少數族裔遭受系統性種族歧視，處境艱難。有色人種在美國18歲以下未成年人中的比例約為三分之一，卻占被監禁未成年人總數的三分之二。非洲裔新冠肺炎感染率是白人的3倍，死亡率是白人的2倍，被警察殺死的概率是白人的3倍。四分之一亞裔年輕人成為種族欺凌的目標。
– Ethnic minority groups suffered systematic racial discrimination and were in a difficult situation. People of color made up about one-third of all minors under the age of 18 in the United States but two-thirds of all of the country’s imprisoned minors. African Americans are three times as likely as whites to be infected with the coronavirus, twice as likely to die from COVID-19, and three times as likely to be killed by the police. One in four young Asian Americans has been the target of racial bullying.
——槍支交易和槍擊事件創歷史新高，人們對社會秩序失去信心。在疫情失控、種族抗議和選舉沖突交織影響下，2020年美國的槍支銷量高達2300萬支，比2019年激增64%，首次購買槍支的人數超過800萬人。美國全年共有超過41500人死于槍擊，平均每天達110多人，全國共發生592起大規模槍擊事件，平均每天超過1.6起。
– Gun trade and shooting incidents hit a record high, and people’s confidence in social order waned. Americans bought 23 million guns in 2020 against the background of an out-of-control epidemic, accompanied by racial justice protests and election-related conflicts, a surge of 64 percent compared with 2019. First-time gun buyers exceeded 8 million. More than 41,500 people were killed in shooting incidents across the United States in the year, an average of more than 110 a day, and there were 592 mass shootings nationwide, an average of more than 1.6 a day.
——非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德被白人警察殘忍跪壓致死，引燃美國社會怒火。50個州爆發廣泛持續的種族抗議浪潮，政府武力鎮壓示威民眾，1萬多人被逮捕，大批新聞記者頻遭無端攻擊和拘捕。
– George?Floyd, an African American, died after being brutally kneeled on his neck by a white police officer, sparking a national outcry. Widespread protests for racial justice erupted in 50 states. The U.S. government suppressed demonstrators by force, and more than 10,000 people were arrested. A large number of journalists were attacked and arrested for no reason.
——貧富差距加速擴大，底層民眾生活苦不堪言。疫情失控導致大規模失業潮，數千萬人失去醫療保險，六分之一美國人、四分之一美國兒童面臨饑餓威脅。弱勢群體成為政府消極應對疫情的最大犧牲品。
– The gap between the rich and the poor widened, with the people at the bottom of society living in misery. The epidemic led to mass unemployment. Tens of millions of people lost health insurance coverage. One in six Americans and one in four American children were at risk of hunger. Vulnerable groups became the biggest victims of the government’s reckless response to the epidemic.
面對如此糟糕的嚴重人權問題，美國政府不僅缺乏應有的反思，還對世界上其他國家的人權狀況說三道四，充分暴露了其在人權問題上的雙重標準及虛偽性。當今時代，人類社會發展正處于一個新的十字路口，面臨新的嚴峻挑戰。希望美方能夠懷謙卑之心、憫國人疾苦，放下虛偽、霸道、大棒和雙重標準，與國際社會相向而行，共同構建人類命運共同體。
– The U.S. government, instead of introspecting on its own terrible human rights record, kept making irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in other countries, exposing its double standards and hypocrisy on human rights. Standing at a new crossroads, mankind is faced with new, grave challenges. It is hoped that the U.S. side will show humility and compassion for the suffering of its own people, drop hypocrisy, bullying, “Big Stick” and double standards, and work with the international community to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
一、疫情嚴重失控釀成人間悲劇
I. Incompetent Pandemic Containment Leads to Tragic Outcome
美國號稱具有世界上最豐富的醫療資源和醫療護理能力，應對新冠肺炎疫情卻一片混亂，成為世界上確診人數和死亡人數最多的國家。
The United States claimed to be most abundant in medical resources and healthcare capacity, yet its response to the COVID-19 pandemic was chaotic, causing it to lead the world in the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths.
應對疫情不力造成慘重后果。根據美國約翰斯·霍普金斯大學統計的數據，截至2021年2月底，美國新冠肺炎確診病例總數已超過2800萬例，死亡病例總數超過50萬例。美國人口不足世界總人口的5%，其新冠肺炎確診病例數卻超過全球總數的25%，死亡病例數占全球總數的近20%。美國有線電視新聞網2020年12月20日報道，僅加利福尼亞州就已經報告了184.5萬例新冠肺炎確診病例和22599例死亡病例，相當于每10萬人中就有4669人確診、57人死亡，這還不包括許多未得到診斷的輕癥或無癥狀感染病例。如果美國能夠科學應對，事情本不必如此。美國流行病學家、疾病控制與預防中心原負責人威廉·福格認為，“這是一場屠殺”。（注1）
Incompetent pandemic response led to dire consequences. A tally by Johns Hopkins University showed that as of the end of February 2021, the United States has registered more than 28 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, with related deaths exceeding 500,000. With a population of less than 5 percent of the world’s total, the United States accounted for more than 25 percent of all the confirmed cases and nearly 20 percent of the deaths. On Dec. 20, 2020, CNN reported that the state of California alone had reported 1.845 million COVID-19 cases and 22,599 deaths, which translates to roughly 4,669 known cases and 57 deaths for every 100,000 residents. Even these numbers don’t give the whole picture of the state, because many cases, including mild or asymptomatic infections, had not been diagnosed. Had the American authorities taken science-based measures to contain the pandemic, this could have been avoided. But since they had not, the pandemic, as epidemiologist and former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) William Foege had put it, is “a slaughter” to the United States.
領導人無視科學警告刻意淡化疫情風險。根據《紐約時報》《華盛頓郵報》等媒體復盤的美國疫情時間線，美國特朗普政府一再忽視疫情警告。白宮國家安全委員會在2020年1月初就收到情報，預測病毒將在美國蔓延。時任白宮貿易與制造業政策辦公室主任彼得·納瓦羅在1月29日撰寫的一份備忘錄中，詳細列舉了疫情暴發的潛在風險：可能會有多達50萬人死亡，并造成數萬億美元的經濟損失。時任美國衛生與公眾服務部部長亞歷克斯·阿扎等衛生官員和醫學專家也多次警告疫情在美國暴發的危險。但美國特朗普政府不僅對各種警告置之不理，反而專注于控制信息傳播，甚至發布虛假信息誤導民眾，稱新冠肺炎病毒是“大號流感”，感染病毒的風險和死亡率“非常低”，疫情會很快“奇跡般地消失”，導致防控疫情的“黃金窗口期”被白白浪費。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月13日報道指出，時任美國政府領導人寧肯相信自己的直覺也不相信科學，錯失時機，斷送了大量無辜的生命。
National leaders ignored warnings from experts and downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic. According to the timeline of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States released by media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post, the Trump administration had repeatedly ignored alarms regarding the risks of the pandemic. In early January 2020, a National Security Council office had already received intelligence reports predicting the spread of the virus to the United States. In a Jan. 29, 2020 memo, then White House trade adviser Peter Navarro projected that a coronavirus pandemic might lead to as many as half a million deaths and trillions of dollars in economic losses. A number of health officials, including then Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and medical experts also warned of the possibility of a pandemic in the United States. None of the aforementioned warnings brought the imminent pandemic to the Trump administration’s attention. Instead, the administration focused on controlling the message, and released misleading signals to the public by claiming “the risk of the virus to most Americans was very low,” suggesting that the coronavirus is no worse than the common flu, and stating the virus will “miraculously go away” when the weather gets warmer. Thus, the country lost crucial weeks for pandemic prevention and control. An article published on the website of The New York Times on April 13, 2020 commented that, then American leader’s “preference for following his gut rather than the data cost time, and perhaps lives.”
政府選擇不作為導致疫情失控。在美國新冠肺炎死亡病例超過30萬人后，加利福尼亞大學洛杉磯分校醫學教授戴維·哈耶斯-鮑提斯塔指出，美國其實不應死那么多人，是政府選擇了不作為導致悲劇的發生。（注2）哥倫比亞大學疾病研究人員通過模型分析顯示，如果美國政府2020年3月13日發布的疫情防控措施能夠提前兩星期，那么約83%的死亡是可以避免的。（注3）英國醫學期刊《柳葉刀》2020年5月17日罕有地發表社論指出，美國政府總是“著迷于”找到快速結束疫情的方式——疫苗、新藥，甚至指望病毒會就這么消失了，但事實是只有依賴病毒檢測、感染追蹤及隔離等基本的公共衛生準則，才可能終結疫情。即便疫情已經在美國大范圍蔓延，確診病例和死亡病例已升至全球第一的情況下，特朗普政府出于政治私利，依然急于重啟經濟。沃克斯新聞網2020年8月11日評論稱，一些州在4、5月份就忙于重啟，使得病毒傳播的重災區從最初的紐約地區向南部、西部擴散，并最終擴散到全國其他地區。盡管許多醫學研究已經證實佩戴口罩可以有效防止感染病毒，但時任美國政府領導人和一些州政府官員卻長期拒絕實施強制口罩令。
Government inaction led to uncontrolled pandemic spread. “There’s no need for that many to have died. We chose, as a country, to take our foot off the gas pedal. We chose to, and that’s the tragedy.” So commented David Hayes-Bautista, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, after the pandemic death toll hit 300,000 in the United States. Disease modelers with the Columbia University also estimated that, if the United States had begun locking down cities and limiting social contact on March 1, 2020, two weeks earlier than most people started staying home, about 83 percent of the nation’s pandemic-related deaths would have been avoided. An editorial from the website of medical journal The Lancet, published on May 17, 2020, commented that the U.S. government was obsessed with magic bullets – vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. At the same time, it noted that only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like testing, tracing, and isolation, would see the emergency brought to an end. Even when the pandemic is spreading in a vast area in the United States, the administration was hasty to restart the economy due to political concerns. According to news website Vox on Aug. 11, 2020, in April and May last year, several states rushed to reopen and caused the virus to shift to the South, West and eventually the rest of the United States. In addition, despite that experts had recommended people wear masks in public, the then American leader and some state officials had been extremely reluctant to issue any decree to make wearing masks mandatory.
疫情防控指揮混亂使得民眾無所適從。美國有線電視新聞網2020年5月9日的評論指出，美國應對新冠肺炎疫情混亂不堪，缺乏全國性的指導方針和組織領導，各州只能自行其是，甚至不得不相互競價爭搶醫療物資。時任美國政府領導人與公共衛生機構、醫學專家發布的有關疫情防控信息相互抵牾、反復無常。專家們呼吁聯邦政府統籌全國病毒檢測和醫療物資供應，領導人卻讓各地政府自己解決；聯邦政府剛剛公布分階段重啟計劃，領導人卻接著呼吁各州加快重啟；疾病控制與預防中心強烈建議公眾佩戴口罩，領導人卻長達幾個月堅決拒絕佩戴口罩；更為荒誕的是，領導人竟提出讓民眾注射消毒劑治療新冠肺炎。
Chaotic pandemic control and prevention measures caused confusion among the public. An article published by CNN on May 9, 2020 called the U.S. response to the pandemic “consistently inconsistent,” and noted that there were no national guidelines and no organized efforts to reopen the country beyond what measures states had taken. The article also said that in terms of pandemic control and prevention, public health officials say one thing while governors say another and the national leader says something else entirely. In addition, after the experts called for federal leadership, the then American leader left it to cities and states to solve national problems with testing and hospital supplies by themselves. When the federal government released a phased plan for reopening, the leader called on states to reopen faster. After the CDC recommended that people wear masks in public, the leader refused to do so for months. Even more ridiculously, the leader at one point advocated injecting bleach as a treatment.
任性自負推卸責任。盡管在疫情應對中昏招迭出，時任美國政府領導人卻拒絕承認有任何失誤，反而用各種說辭自我美化、推脫責任，罔顧事實將美國確診病例全球居首歸因于做了更多的核酸檢測，聲稱自己對病毒檢測系統的混亂低效和死亡率的不斷攀升“沒有任何責任”。而白宮顧問、美國國家過敏癥和傳染病研究所所長安東尼·福奇指出，數據不會說謊，美國確實是世界上新冠肺炎疫情最嚴重的國家。（注4）
National leaders shirked their responsibility out of arrogance. Despite one ludicrous idea after another, the then American leader refused to admit any fault. Instead, the leader invented all sorts of excuses to gloss over his mistakes while shirking from responsibilities. For one, the then leader insisted that the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 cases because it tested more than any other country in the world. When asked about testing problems and rising deaths, the leader claimed he “doesn’t take responsibility at all.” However, White House adviser and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci admitted that the numbers didn’t lie and the United States had the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world.
老年人成為政府抗疫不力的“犧牲品”。疫情中原本就面臨更大風險的老年人群體，在混亂不堪的疫情防控體系中被進一步邊緣化，面臨著生命貶值、尊嚴貶損。2020年3月23日和4月20日，得克薩斯州副州長丹·帕特里克在接受福克斯新聞網采訪時兩次表示，“寧愿死也不愿看到公共衛生措施損害美國經濟”。《圣迭戈工會論壇報》網站2020年8月18日報道，根據新冠肺炎病毒追蹤項目公布的數據，養老院等長期護理機構中的居民占美國人口的比例不到1%，占新冠肺炎死亡人數的比例卻超過40%。《華盛頓郵報》2020年5月9日的評論稱，美國的抗疫行動成了“一場國家批準的屠殺”，它故意犧牲老年人、工人、非洲裔和拉美裔人口。
Senior citizens fell victims to the government’s incompetent response to COVID-19. Senior citizens are a group more susceptible to the pandemic, yet they have been further marginalized in the U.S. pandemic prevention and control chaos, with their lives becoming valueless and their dignity trampled upon. On March 23 and April 20, 2020, Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor of Texas, told Fox News that he would rather die than see public health measures damage the U.S. economy and there are more important things than living. Furthermore, an Aug. 18, 2020 report published on The San Diego Union-Tribune website found that residents in long-term care facilities account for less than 1 percent of the U.S. population but more than 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths. A May 9, 2020 article from The Washington Post website called the U.S. pandemic control efforts “state-sanctioned killing,” where “the old, factory workers, and black and Hispanic Americans” were deliberately sacrificed.
貧困人口面臨更嚴重感染威脅。研究發現，美國貧富差距和新冠肺炎疫情導致的死亡率密切相關。紐約州的基尼系數最高，同時其死亡人數也最高。（注5）英國《衛報》網站2020年3月21日報道，疫情期間美國富人優先進行新冠病毒檢測，而低收入從業群體大多無法居家辦公且不享有帶薪病假，不得不為了維持生活使自己面臨更大的感染風險。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年5月8日報道，公共衛生官員指出，洛杉磯縣低收入社區居民死于新冠肺炎的人數是其鄰近富裕社區的3倍。蓋洛普公司的一項調查顯示，七分之一的美國成年人表示，如果自己或家庭成員出現新冠肺炎相關癥狀，將因為擔心負擔不起治療費用放棄治療。聯合國極端貧困與人權問題特別報告員菲利普·奧爾斯頓指出，美國窮人正受到新冠肺炎病毒最嚴重的打擊，更容易感染病毒，死亡率更高，而一個混亂的、注重企業利潤的政府應對措施未能充分顧及他們的利益。
The poor faced greater threat of infection. Researchers found that the Gini Index, an economic barometer that ranks income inequality from 0 (total equality) to 1 (total inequality), was a strong predictor of COVID-19 deaths. New York State, which had one of the highest Gini Index numbers also had the highest number of fatalities in the nation by a margin. The Guardian website reported on March 21, 2020 that in the wake of the epidemic, it’s the wealthy and powerful first get coronavirus tests, while low-paid workers, most of whom have no paid sick leave and can’t do their work from home, put themselves at greater risk of contracting the virus in order to earn a living. Public health officials said, in Los Angeles County, residents of low-income communities are three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those in wealthier neighborhoods, according to a report published on the Los Angeles Times website on May 8, 2020. A Gallup survey revealed that one in seven American adults said that if they or their family members developed symptoms related to COVID-19, they would probably give up medical treatment because they were worried that they could not afford the costs. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, also pointed out that the poor in the United States were being hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-income and poor people face far higher risks from the coronavirus due to chronic neglect and discrimination, and a muddled, corporate-driven federal response has failed them, he observed.
殘障人士和無家可歸者處境維艱。非營利組織“公平健康”2020年11月發布的一項研究顯示，與普通人群相比，有智力和發育障礙的人死于新冠肺炎的可能性要高出3倍。（注6）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年5月14日報道，疫情帶來的經濟沖擊使得美國無家可歸者人數暴漲45%。無家可歸者中有很多年邁的老人和殘障人士，他們原本身體健康狀況就不佳，生活和衛生條件惡劣，是病毒的易感群體。疫情期間，流落街頭的無家可歸者遭到嚴厲驅逐，被迫住進臨時收容所。路透社網站2020年4月23日報道，美國各地的無家可歸者收容所因人員擁擠難以保持社交距離，使得病毒極易傳播。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月13日報道稱，無家可歸者收容所成為紐約市疫情的“定時炸彈”，超過1.7萬人住在為單身成年人準備的集中收容所中，睡在床上幾乎可以手碰手。《波士頓環球報》網站2020年5月4日報道，波士頓市無家可歸者確診感染新冠病毒的人數占當地該群體已接受檢測人口的三分之一。
The handicapped and the homeless were in dire straits. A study released in November 2020 by the nonprofit FAIR Health found that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are three times more likely to die of COVID-19, compared to the general population. The website of the Los Angeles Times reported on May 14, 2020 that with the coronavirus-induced shock to the economy crippling businesses of all sizes and leaving millions of Americans out of work, homelessness in the United States could grow as much as 45 percent in a year. Many of the homeless Americans are elderly or disabled people. Given their originally poor physical health and bad living and hygienic conditions, they are susceptible to the virus. During the pandemic, the homeless were evicted and pushed into makeshift shelters. The website of Reuters reported on April 23, 2020 that the crowded shelters across the United States made it impossible for the homeless who lived there to maintain social distance, which made it easier for the virus to spread. The New York Times website reported on April 13, 2020 that in the New York City, a crisis has taken hold in homeless shelters, as more than 17,000 men and women are sleeping in group or “congregate” shelters for single adults, with beds close enough for people sleeping in them to hold hands. The Boston Globe website reported on May 4, 2020 that, about one-third of the homeless people who were tested have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
監獄疫情暴發威脅囚犯生命健康。美國廣播公司網站2020年12月19日報道，美國至少已有27.5萬名囚犯感染新冠肺炎，1700多名感染者死亡，監獄系統的感染率大大高于周邊社區。根據美聯社和非營利新聞組織“馬歇爾項目”共同收集的數據，在州和聯邦監獄管理局管理的監獄中，每5名囚犯中就有1人感染新冠肺炎，是普通人感染率的4倍多；其中24個州監獄的感染率更高，堪薩斯州一半囚犯感染，是該州總人口感染率的8倍；阿肯色州每7名囚犯中就有4人感染。
Outbreak in jails threatened lives of inmates. ABC News reported on Dec. 19, 2020 that at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected, of whom more than 1,700 have died, and nearly every prison system in the country has seen infection rates significantly higher than the communities around them. One of every five prisoners in facilities run by the federal Bureau of Prisons has had coronavirus, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the criminal justice system. They also found that 24 state prison systems have had even higher infection rates. Half of the prisoners in Kansas have been infected with COVID-19 – eight times the rate of cases among the state’s overall population. In Arkansas, four of every seven have had the virus.
疫情失控給美國人心理帶來嚴重陰影。特朗普政府應對疫情不力對美國人造成的負面影響超過病毒本身，人們感到壓力重重、孤立無援。（注7）美國疾病控制與預防中心2020年8月14日公布的一項研究顯示，2020年4月至6月，40.9%的成年受訪者表示出現心理健康問題，30.9%的成年受訪者表示患有焦慮或抑郁癥，而這些數字只是冰山一角。與此同時，13%的成年受訪者表示開始或增加使用藥物，11%的成年受訪者認真考慮過自殺。2020年6月發布的一項研究顯示，疫情期間美國自殺救助熱線電話接聽數量上升了47%，某些危機干預熱線電話接聽數量暴漲300%。（注8）
Out-of-control pandemic brought Americans psychological pressure. The Trump administration’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected Americans more than the virus itself, which has left people stressed and isolated. In a study published by the CDC on Aug. 14, 2020, due to stay-at-home orders, 40.9 percent of adults reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, 30.9 percent reported either anxiety or depression and those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. The same CDC study showed that 13 percent of people surveyed by the CDC during the same time said that they started or increased their substance use and 11 percent seriously considered suicide. A separate study released in June 2020 showed calls to suicide hotlines went up 47 percent nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic with some crisis lines experiencing a 300-percent increase.
二、美式民主失序引發政治亂象
II. American Democracy Disorder Triggers Political Chaos
美國自詡為民主制度的“樣板”，動輒打著所謂維護民主、自由、人權的旗號對許多國家指手畫腳、肆意打壓。然而，金錢政治痼疾深重，民意操縱與謊言泛濫，美式民主不僅難以彌合日益極化的政治分歧，反而進一步加劇了美國社會的撕裂，導致美國民眾的公民權利和政治權利有名無實。
Touting itself as the beacon of democracy, the United States has wantonly leveled criticism against and oppressed many other countries under the guise of upholding democracy, freedom and human rights. However, the U.S. society has been plagued by deep-rooted money politics, unchecked public opinion manipulation and rampant lies, and American democracy has further aggravated social division instead of bridging the increasingly polarized political differences. As a result, the American people enjoy their civil and political rights in name only.
金錢支配下的政治選舉實質上成為“錢決”。金錢是美國政治的驅動力。美國的金錢政治扭曲了民意，把選舉搞成了富人階層的“獨角戲”。2020年美國總統和國會選舉的總支出高達140億美元，是2016年的2倍多。其中，總統選舉花費再創歷史紀錄，達到66億美元；國會選舉花費超過70億美元。美國消費者新聞與商業頻道網站2020年11月1日報道，在2020年的選舉周期中，排在前10位的捐款者捐款總額超過6.4億美元。除公開登記的選舉捐款外，大量秘密資金和“黑錢”充斥著2020年的美國大選。根據紐約大學布倫南司法研究中心的分析，匿名捐款的“黑錢”組織通過廣告支出和向各類超級政治行動委員會提供的捐款創了新的紀錄，共為2020年的選舉投入7.5億多美元。（注9）
Influence of money in electoral politics essentially makes it a money-led election. Money is the driving force of American politics. America’s money politics has distorted public opinion, turning elections into a “one-man show” for the rich. The amount spent on the 2020 U.S. presidential and congressional campaigns hit nearly 14 billion U.S. dollars, more than double what was spent in the 2016 election. The presidential campaign saw a record high of 6.6 billion U.S. dollars in total spending, while congressional races finished with over 7 billion U.S. dollars. According to a Nov. 1, 2020 report on the website of CNBC, the top 10 donors in the 2020 U.S. election cycle contributed over 640 million U.S. dollars. In addition to publicly registered election donations, a large amount of secret funds and dark money flooded the 2020 U.S. elections. According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, dark money groups poured more than 750 million U.S. dollars into 2020 elections through ad spending and record-breaking contributions to political committees such as super political action committees.
民眾對選舉的信任陷入危機。蓋洛普公司網站2020年10月8日公布的調查顯示，對總統選舉非常有信心的受訪者比例僅有19%，創下自2004年以來該調查的最低紀錄。《華爾街日報》網站2020年11月9日評論稱，在2020年的選舉中，人們對美國民主制度的信心下降至20年來最低點。
Public trust in U.S. elections was in crisis. According to Gallup’s figures released on Oct. 8, 2020, only 19 percent of Americans say they are “very confident” about the accuracy of the presidential election, the lowest Gallup has recorded in its trend dating back to 2004. According to a commentary carried by the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 9, 2020, the 2020 U.S. election can be seen as the culmination of a two-decade period of decline in faith in the basic building blocks of democracy.
政治極化現象日益嚴重。共和黨和民主黨之間的對立逐漸從政策之爭變為身份之爭，政治部落屬性日趨明顯，兩黨在諸多重大公共事項上僵持不下、無所作為，使國家治理陷入低效無能的泥淖。政客自甘墮落爭權奪利，相互傾軋、攻訐纏斗成為美國的基本政治生態，各種丑陋攻擊和低俗抹黑競相上演。支持不同黨派的選民在極端政客的挑唆煽動之下勢不兩立，情緒日趨狂熱、溝通愈發艱難，仇恨政治演變為一場全國性的瘟疫，成為社會持續動蕩撕裂的根源。皮尤研究中心網站2020年11月13日報道，美國社會出現了不同尋常的政治分裂。民主黨人和共和黨人之間在經濟、種族、氣候變化、執法、國際參與以及其他一系列問題上的分歧日益鮮明。2020年的總統選舉使這些根深蒂固的分歧進一步深化。選舉前一個月，兩黨候選人的支持者中有約80%的登記選民表示，他們與另一方的分歧不僅在于政治和政策上的不同，更在于核心價值觀上的對立，約90%的選民擔心對方的勝選會對美國造成“持久傷害”。
Political polarization grew. Disagreement between Democrats and Republicans has gradually changed from policy differences to identity battles with increasingly obvious political tribalism. The two parties have ended in deadlocks on many major public issues, thus leading to inefficient and incompetent state governance. Power plays between rival politicians in dogfights have become the hallmark of American politics, which saw a variety of shows featuring ugly attacks and vulgar smears. Voters supporting different parties are at loggerheads under the instigation of extreme politicians. Dominated by growing political fanaticism, the two camps are increasingly harder to talk to each other. Hate politics raged through the country and became the root cause of constant social unrest and division. According to a Nov. 13, 2020 report by Pew Research Center, America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide. There has been an increasingly stark disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on economy, racial justice, climate change, law enforcement, international engagement and a long list of other issues. The 2020 presidential election exacerbated these deep-seated divides. A month before the election, roughly 80 percent of the registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about more than just politics and policies, but also about core American values, and about 90 percent in both camps worried that a victory by the other would lead to “lasting harm” to the United States.
權力制衡異化為否決政治。兩黨分裂強化了美國體制中固有的否決現象，權力分割和權力制衡變異為相互否決。兩黨惡斗不止，使國會陷入癱瘓，決策陷入僵局。在疫情暴發失控的危機局面下，兩黨不僅在諸多議題上一再纏斗，還把應對疫情沖擊的第二輪紓困法案當作競選工具，為了撈取選票拉鋸扯皮拒不妥協，導致數百萬底層民眾生計艱難。否決政治造成國會和行政系統、聯邦和州的尖銳對立。疫情期間，共和黨總統和民主黨占多數的眾議院矛盾不斷，聯邦政府與民主黨執政的“藍州”沖突頻發，不僅同各州搶奪抗疫物資，還屢屢和“藍州”執行截然相反的疫情應對政策，導致民眾無所適從。馬薩諸塞州緊急購買的300萬個N95口罩在運抵紐約港后竟被聯邦政府攔截。
Power checks and balances have mutated into veto politics. The bipartisan divides intensified the veto practices inherent in the American system. The separation, check and balance of power have turned into vetoing each other. The two parties engaged in ferocious battles, paralyzing the Congress and deadlocking the decision-making. While the outbreak of COVID-19 went out of control, the two parties not only brawled with each other on multiple issues, but also took the bill for the second round of COVID-19 relief measures as their campaigning tool for election. The two parties filibustered and stalled each other for votes, leaving millions of grassroots people in livelihood predicament. The veto politics has caused acute confrontations between the Congress and the administrative system, as well as between the federal and state authorities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, frequent contradictions have taken place between the Republican president and the Democrats-dominated House of Representatives, and between the federal government and Democratic “blue states.” The federal government competed with the states in the scramble for anti-virus supplies, and was often at odds with the “blue states” in epidemic response policies, thus causing people to be at a loss. Massachusetts once arranged to buy 3 million N95 masks for urgent needs, but federal authorities seized them at the Port of New York.
選后暴亂凸顯美式民主危機。選舉沒有解決美國政治分歧，反而使對立白熱化。英國《衛報》網站2020年11月4日指出，無論誰贏得選舉，美國仍然是一個嚴重分裂的國家，憤怒和仇恨將成為政治遺產。敗選的共和黨陣營指控大選存在多項欺詐，不接受總統選舉結果，在密歇根州、威斯康星州、賓夕法尼亞州和佐治亞州等提出訴訟，并對當地選舉官員施壓和恐嚇，要求重新計票以推翻選舉結果。特朗普一再堅稱絕不接受選舉結果，并號召支持者前往華盛頓抗議國會確認選舉結果，選舉爭議最終演變為暴亂。
The post-election riots highlighted the American democracy crisis. The election did not resolve the political differences in the United States, but heated up social confrontation. A Nov. 4, 2020 report on the website of the Guardian noted that whoever won the 2020 election, America would remain a country bitterly divided and the politics of anger and hatred would be the legacy. Claiming that the election was tainted by fraud, the defeated Republican camp refused to accept the presidential election results and filed lawsuits in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, calling for a recount of ballots to overturn the election by pressuring and intimidating local election officials. Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that he would never accept the election defeat, calling on his supporters to protest against the congressional certification of the election result in Washington, D.C. The election dispute eventually turned into riots.
2021年1月6日，拒絕接受選舉結果的上萬名示威者在華盛頓舉行“拯救美國”示威集會，大批示威者隨后越過警衛線翻墻闖入國會大廈，與警察發生激烈肢體沖突。警察發射催淚彈并開槍射擊，國會議員們戴著防護面罩慌忙躲避，示威者占領會場后肆意妄為。事件造成數人死亡，導致正在認證選舉結果的參眾兩院聯席會議被迫中斷，華盛頓特區相繼進入宵禁和緊急狀態。美國國會警察局局長史蒂文·桑德2021年1月7日稱，成千上萬參與暴力騷亂的人用金屬管、化學刺激物和其他武器襲擊警察，華盛頓特區和國會大廈共有50多名警察受傷。警察總計逮捕了100多人。2021年1月7日，聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特發表聲明稱，該事件清楚地表明了政治領導人持續、蓄意歪曲事實以及煽動暴力和仇恨所造成的破壞性影響。
On Jan. 6, 2021, tens of thousands of protesters who refused to accept the election defeat staged a “Save America” rally in Washington, D.C. A large number of protesters breached security and stormed into the Capitol building, where they tussled with police officers. Members of the U.S. Congress were hurriedly evacuated wearing their gas masks, as the police fired tear gas and shot to disperse the protesters. Protesters acted recklessly after occupying the venue. The riots resulted in multiple injuries and an interruption of the congressional certification of the electoral victory. Washington, D.C. imposed curfew and entered a state of emergency. On Jan. 7, 2021, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said that thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions attacked officers with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other weapons, injuring more than 50 police officers. The police arrested more than 100 people in total. On Jan. 7, 2021, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement that the attack on the U.S. Capitol demonstrated clearly the destructive impact of sustained, deliberate distortion of facts, and incitement to violence and hatred by political leaders.
華盛頓上演的政治亂象令世界震驚。美國媒體稱這是美國現代史上權力移交第一次“在華盛頓權力走廊內演變成一場實體對抗”，“暴力、混亂和破壞動搖了美國民主的核心”，是“對美國民主燈塔形象的一記重擊”。法國《費加羅報》評論稱，這一暴力事件激化了美國社會不同陣營間的怨恨和不信任，使美國陷入新的政治危機。《外交政策》評論稱，美國已經變成了美國領導人經常譴責的樣子：無法在權力交接過程中避免暴力和流血破壞。黎巴嫩外交官穆罕默德·薩法在社交媒體發表評論稱：“如果美國看到美國正對美國做的事，美國肯定會入侵美國，以從美國暴政的手中解放美國。”
The political chaos in Washington shocked the world. American media called it the first time in modern American history that the power transfer has turned into a real combat in the Washington corridor of power. They blamed that violence, chaos and vandalism had shaken the American democracy to the core, dealing a heavy blow to America’s image as a democratic beacon. The French daily Le Figaro commented that the violent incident stoked up the resentment and distrust among different camps in American society, plunging America into an unknown situation. The Foreign Policy said in a commentary that the United States has become what its leaders used to condemn: being unable to avoid violence and bloody destruction during transfer of power. Lebanese diplomat Mohamad Safa commented via social media, “If the United States saw what the United States is doing in the United States, the United States would invade the United States to liberate the United States from the tyranny of the United States.”
三、種族歧視惡化少數族裔處境
III. Ethnic Minorities Devastated by Racial Discrimination
在美國，種族主義是全面性、系統性、持續性的存在。美國前總統奧巴馬對這一現狀無奈地表示：“因種族而被區別對待是數百萬美國人悲劇性的、痛苦的、憤怒的‘常態’。”2020年6月，聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特連發兩條媒體聲明，強調非洲裔男子弗洛伊德死亡引發的抗議活動不僅凸顯了美國警察對有色人種的暴力執法問題，也凸顯了美國在衛生、教育、就業等方面的不平等和種族歧視問題。如果美國想要結束種族主義和暴力的悲慘歷史，就必須予以傾聽和解決。6月17日，聯合國人權理事會第43次會議召開種族主義問題緊急辯論，這是人權理事會歷史上首次就美國人權問題召開緊急會議。11月9日，美國在接受聯合國人權理事會第三輪國別人權審查時，因種族歧視問題遭致國際社會嚴厲批評。聯合國消除種族歧視委員會等機構指出，美國的種族主義令人震驚，白人種族主義者、新納粹分子和三K黨成員公然使用種族主義的標語、口號，宣揚白人至上，煽動種族歧視和仇恨；政治人物越來越多地使用分裂性語言，試圖將種族、族裔和宗教少數群體邊緣化，等同于煽動和助長暴力、不容忍和偏執。聯合國當代形式種族主義問題特別報告員滕達伊·阿丘梅認為，對于非洲裔美國人來說，美國的法律體系已經無法解決種族不公與歧視。
In the United States, racism exists in a comprehensive, systematic and continuous manner. Former U.S. President Barack Obama said helplessly that “for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’.” In June 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet made two consecutive media statements, emphasizing that the protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an African American, highlighted not only the issue of police brutality against people of color, but also inequality and racial discrimination in health, education, and employment in the United States. The grievances need to be heard and addressed if the country is to move on from its tragic history of racism and violence. On June 17, 2020, the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on racism. This was the first time in the history of the Human Rights Council that an urgent meeting on the human rights issues of the United States was held. On Nov. 9, 2020, the United States was severely criticized by the international community for racial discrimination when it was in the third cycle of Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations and other institutions pointed out that racism in the United States is horrific. The white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan overtly use racist slogans, chants and salutes to promote white supremacy and incite racial discrimination and hatred. Political figures increasingly use divisive language in attempts to marginalize racial, ethnic and religious minorities, which amounts to inciting and fueling violence, intolerance and bigotry. Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, believes that for black people in the United States, the domestic legal system has utterly failed to acknowledge and confront the racial injustice and discrimination that are so deeply entrenched in law enforcement.
印第安人權利遭受侵犯。美國政府在歷史上對印第安人進行過系統性種族清洗和大屠殺，犯下罄竹難書的反人類罪和種族滅絕罪行，美國印第安人今天仍然過著二等公民般的生活，權利飽受踐踏。美國許多低收入社區中的印第安人等土著人遭受核廢料等有毒環境影響，罹患癌癥、心臟病的比率非常高。很多土著人生活在危險廢物處置場附近，出生缺陷率畸高。2020年8月5日，聯合國危險物質及廢料的無害環境管理和處置對人權的影響問題特別報告員根據人權理事會第36/15號決議發布的報告指出，美國土著人面臨采掘業、農業和制造業釋放或產生的有毒污染物，包括遭受核廢料放射性影響，并且采礦廢物造成的土壤和鉛塵污染對其健康造成的影響遠超其他群體。聯合國宗教或信仰自由問題特別報告員根據聯大74/145號決議編寫的報告指出，美國政府未經土著群體同意，或違反其傳統土地所有權和集體土地所有權，將印第安“立巖”蘇族部落等的土地開放接受投資。聯合國適當生活水準權問題特別報告員根據人權理事會第43/14號決議編寫的報告指出，少數群體和土著人受新冠肺炎疫情的影響最具破壞性，美國土著人的住院率是非拉美裔白人的5倍，死亡率也遠超白人。
Rights of the American Indians were violated. The United States has carried out systematic ethnic cleansing and massacres of Indians in history, and committed countless crimes against humanity and genocides. American Indians still live a life like a second-class citizen and their rights have been trampled over. Many indigenous peoples, such as the American Indians, who live in low-income communities in the United States, suffer from higher rates of cancer and heart diseases from toxic radioactive environments. Many indigenous people live near hazardous waste disposal sites and have an abnormally high rate of birth defects. On Aug. 5, 2020, the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 36/15, decried the situation of indigenous peoples in the United States. They are exposed to toxic pollutants, including nuclear waste, released or produced by extractive industries, agriculture and manufacturing. The soil and lead dust pollution from mining waste poses a more significant health threat for indigenous peoples in the United States than other groups. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in accordance with General Assembly resolution 74/145 found out that the United States had opened up the lands of indigenous communities, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to investment without the communities’ consent or in contravention of their customary and collective land ownership. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, released in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 43/14, said that some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19 had been felt by racial and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. The hospitalization rate of Native Americans was five times that of non-Hispanic white Americans. The death rate of Native Americans also far exceeded that of white Americans.
對亞裔群體的欺凌加劇。疫情暴發以來，亞裔美國人在公共場合遭受羞辱甚至攻擊的事件比比皆是，一些美國政客對此更是有意誤導。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月16日指出，“新冠病毒肆虐期間，在美國身為亞裔是一種非常孤獨的感覺”。全國廣播公司網站2020年9月17日報道，一項針對美國亞裔年輕人的調查顯示，在過去一年中，四分之一的美國亞裔年輕人成為種族欺凌目標；在時任美國政府領導人種族主義言論的推波助瀾下，近一半受訪者對自身所處境遇表示悲觀，四分之一的受訪者對自己及家人所處的境遇表示恐懼。聯合國當代形式種族主義問題特別報告員滕達伊·阿丘梅2020年3月23日和4月21日先后指出，有關國家政客主動發表公開或暗示性的仇外言論，使用別有用心的名稱來替代新冠肺炎病毒，這種把特定疾病與某個具體國家或民族相聯系的仇外表達不負責任、令人不安。美國政府官員公然煽動、引導和縱容種族歧視，無異于對現代人權觀念的悍然羞辱。
Bullying against Asian Americans escalated. Since the pandemic began, the incidents of Asian Americans being humiliated and even assaulted in public have been found everywhere, and some American politicians have misled the public on purpose. “It’s very lonely to be Asians in the United States during the raging pandemic,” said a report published on the website of the New York Times on April 16, 2020. A survey of young Asian Americans showed that in the past year, a quarter of young Asian Americans became targets of racial bullying; fueled by the racist remarks of the then American leader, nearly half of the respondents expressed pessimism about their situation, and a quarter of the respondents expressed fear about the situation of themselves and their families, according to a report published on the website of the National Broadcasting Corporation on Sept. 17, 2020. Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said on March 23 and April 21, 2020, that politicians of relevant countries took the initiative to make open or suggestive xenophobic remarks, adopting alternative names with ulterior motives for the novel coronavirus. Their remarks that associated a specific disease with a specific country or ethnicity were irresponsible and disturbing, according to the Special Rapporteur. U.S. government officials openly incited, induced, and condoned racial discrimination, which was tantamount to humiliating modern human rights concepts.
仇恨犯罪居高不下凸顯種族關系惡化。聯邦調查局2020年發布的報告顯示，在2019年執法部門報告的8302起單一偏見引起的仇恨犯罪案件中，57.6%涉及種族族裔身份，其中高達48.4%是針對非洲裔，15.8%是針對白人，14.1%是針對拉美裔，4.3%是針對亞裔。在種族仇恨犯罪案件的4930名受害者中，非洲裔多達2391人。《今日美國報》網站2020年5月20日報道，一些美國人將疫情的暴發歸咎于亞裔，對亞裔的歧視、騷擾和仇恨犯罪事件越來越多。民權組織“停止仇恨亞裔美國人與太平洋島居民”的統計數據顯示，2020年前7個月，美國共發生2300余起針對亞裔的仇恨犯罪。
The high level of hate crimes highlighted the deterioration of race relations. An FBI report released in 2020 showed that 57.6 percent of the 8,302 single-bias hate crime offenses reported by law enforcement agencies in 2019 were motivated by race/ethnicity/ancestry. Of these offenses, 48.4 percent were motivated by anti-black or African American bias; 15.8 percent stemmed from anti-white bias; 14.1 percent were classified as anti-Hispanic or Latino bias; 4.3 percent resulted from anti-Asian bias. Among the 4,930 victims of racial hate crimes, as many as 2,391 were of African descent. Some Americans blamed the outbreak of the pandemic on Asian Americans, and there had been an increase in the number of hate crimes and incidents of harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans, according to a report published on the website of USA Today on May 20. Statistics from the civil rights organization Stop AAPI Hate showed there were over 2,300 anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. during the first seven months of 2020.
警察暴力執法導致非洲裔死亡案件頻發。2020年3月13日，26歲的非洲裔女子布倫娜·泰勒在自己家中被警察射中8槍致死。2020年5月25日，46歲的非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德被白人警察當街殘忍“跪殺”。2020年8月23日，29歲的非洲裔男子雅各布·布萊克在打開車門要上車時被警察從背后連開7槍導致重傷，事發時布萊克3個年幼的孩子就在車上目睹了這一恐怖經過。“警察暴力地圖”網站數據顯示，2020年美國警察共槍殺1127人，其中只有18天沒有殺人。非洲裔只占美國總人口的13%，卻占被警察槍殺人數的28%，非洲裔被警察殺死的概率是白人的3倍。2013年至2020年，約98%的涉案警察未被指控犯罪，被定罪的警察更是少之又少。
Unchecked police violence led to frequent deaths of African Americans. On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was shot eight times and killed by police in her own home. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American was killed after a white policeman kneeled on his neck in the street. On Aug. 23, 2020, Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African American, was severely injured after police officers shot him seven times in the back when Blake was getting into a car. At the time, Blake’s three kids were in the car, witnessing the horrible act. American police shot and killed a total of 1,127 people in 2020, with no killing reported in just 18 days, according to Mapping Police Violence. African Americans made up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for 28 percent of the people killed by the police. African Americans were approximately three times more likely than white people to be killed by police. From 2013 to 2020, about 98 percent of the police involved in shooting cases were not charged with a crime, and the number of convicted was even smaller.
有色人種受疫情危害更大。2020年8月21日，聯合國人權理事會非洲人后裔問題專家工作組向人權理事會第45次會議提交報告指出，美國新冠肺炎病毒的感染率和死亡率體現了明顯的種族差異，非洲裔的感染率、住院率和死亡率分別是白人的3倍、5倍和2倍。英國《金融時報》網站2020年5月15日報道稱，“沒有什么比這場疫情下的生與死更能體現美國的膚色差異了”。美國疾病控制與預防中心2020年8月7日發布的報告顯示，疫情中的種族差異擴大到了兒童。拉美裔兒童因新冠肺炎住院的比率是白人兒童的9倍，非洲裔兒童住院的比率是白人兒童的6倍。（注10）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月10日報道，洛杉磯公共衛生總監芭芭拉·費雷爾指出，病毒對非洲裔和拉美裔居民造成的嚴重影響，根源在于“種族主義和歧視對獲得健康所需資源和機會的影響”。《今日美國報》網站2020年10月22日評論指出，有色人種死于疫情的人數遠遠多于白人，可歸因于不平等的教育與經濟體系導致有色人種得不到高薪工作，住房歧視導致有色人種居住密集，以及以犧牲窮人為代價的環境政策等。在新冠肺炎死亡率最高的10個縣中，有7個縣是有色人種人口占大多數；在死亡率最高的前50個縣中，有31個縣的居住者主要是有色人種。
People of color were more harmed by the epidemic. The infection rate and death rate of COVID-19 in the United States showed significant racial differences, with the infection rate, hospitalization rate and death rate of African Americans being three times, five times and twice that of white people respectively, according to a report delivered by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to the UN Human Rights Council on Aug. 21, 2020. “Nothing brings into sharper relief America’s color disparities than life and death in the Great Lockdown,” said a report published on the website of the Financial Times on May 15, 2020. Racial disparities in the epidemic extend to children, according to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 7, 2020. Latino and black children were hospitalized with COVID-19 at a rate nine times and six times that of white kids, respectively. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County, said the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on black and Latino residents is rooted in the impact of racism and discrimination on the access to the resources and opportunities that are needed to good health, according to the website of the Los Angeles Times on July 10, 2020. COVID-19 kills far more people of color than white Americans, which could be attributed to America’s unequal education and economic systems that disproportionately leave people of color out of higher-wage jobs, discrimination in housing that corralled people of color into tightly packed neighborhoods, and environmental policies designed by white power brokers at the expense of the poor, an article by USA Today said. Of the 10 U.S. counties with the highest death rates from COVID-19, seven have populations where people of color make up the majority, according to data compiled by USA Today. Of the top 50 counties with the highest death rates, 31 are populated mostly by people of color.
有色人種面臨更嚴重的失業威脅。英國《衛報》網站2020年4月28日評論稱，“最后被雇傭，最先被解雇”是非洲裔美國人最無奈的現實。美國勞工部2020年5月8日發布的報告顯示，4月份非洲裔和拉美裔的失業率分別飆升至16.7%和18.9%，創歷史最高紀錄。（注11）《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年6月4日報道，經過嚴重疫情后，只有不到一半的非洲裔美國成年人還擁有工作。美國勞工部2020年9月發布的數據顯示，非洲裔的失業率比白人高出近一倍。（注12）《基督教科學箴言報》2020年7月20日報道，工會領導者呼吁美國勞工在20多個城市罷工，以抗議在疫情期間加劇的系統性種族主義和經濟不平等。
People of color faced an even greater threat of unemployment. The Guardian commented in an article on April 28, 2020 that the “last hired, first fired” phenomenon was the most frustrating reality for African Americans. A report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on May 8, 2020 revealed the unemployment rate of African Americans and Latinos soared to 16.7 percent and 18.9 percent respectively in April, both the highest on record. The Washington Post reported on June 4, 2020 that after the Great Lockdown in spring, fewer than half of all black adults had a job. Figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor in September showed the jobless rate for the black people almost doubled that for the white. The Christian Science Monitor reported on July 20, 2020 that trade union leaders called for a national workers’ strike in more than two dozen U.S. cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that had only worsened during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
執法司法領域存在系統性種族歧視。《信使》雜志網2020年12月17日報道，在路易斯維爾市，盡管非洲裔美國人僅占當地駕齡人口的20%，且在搜查中發現違禁品的比率遠低于白人，但警察對于非洲裔的搜查卻占搜查總次數的57%，近3年內被逮捕者中有43.5%是非洲裔。英國廣播公司網站2020年6月1日報道，盡管非洲裔僅占美國總人口的13%，卻占監獄囚犯總數的三分之一，這意味著每10萬名非洲裔中就有1000多人被監禁。美國全國州議會會議網站2020年7月15日發布的研究顯示，有色人種在美國18歲以下未成年人中的比例約為三分之一，卻占被監禁未成年人總數的三分之二。艾奧瓦公共廣播新聞網2020年12月18日報道，在艾奧瓦州的監獄中，非洲裔的監禁率是白人的11倍。即使犯同一罪行，非洲裔也更可能被判更長的刑期。《洛杉磯時報》2020年9月15日報道，美國聯邦司法系統死刑適用中也存在著種族偏見，殺害非洲裔比殺害白人面臨死刑的可能性更低。當受害者是白人時，重罰有色人種犯罪嫌疑人的傾向更為明顯。《戴維斯先鋒報》網站2020年12月4日報道，自1976年以來，有色人種在美國的死刑執行中占比高達43%，目前等待執行的被告人中55%是有色人種。《邁阿密先驅報》網站2020年12月18日發表評論認為：“在我們的國家，刑事司法制度是由你的錢包和膚色來決定的。”
Systemic racial discrimination existed in law enforcement and justice. The Courier Journal reported on its website on Dec. 17, 2020 that although black people make up about 20 percent of Louisville’s driving-age population, they accounted for 57 percent of police searches, even though the police were far more likely to find contraband in searches of white people than black people. In the past three years, black people made up 43.5 percent of arrests by the Louisville Metro Police Department. African Americans made up around 13 percent of the U.S. population, but represented almost a third of the country’s prison population, which meant that there were more than 1,000 African-American prisoners for every 100,000 African American population. People of color constitute approximately one-third of the U.S. population under 18, but two-thirds of incarcerated minors, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures on July 15, 2020. Iowa Public Radio News reported on Dec. 18, 2020 that in Iowa’s prisons, black Iowans were imprisoned at a rate 11 times that of white Iowans. Black people were probably sentenced to a longer jail term for the same offense. The Los Angeles Times reported on Sept. 15, 2020 that black people have been over-represented on death rows across the United States and killers of black people are less likely to face the death penalty than people who kill white people. Davis Vanguard reported on Dec. 4, 2020 that people of color account for a disproportionate 43 percent of executions in the U.S. since 1976, and 55 percent of defendants currently awaiting execution are people of color. “We live in a country where our criminal justice system is defined by the size of your wallet and the color of your skin,” said an article published by the Miami Herald on Dec. 18, 2020.
職場中的種族歧視根深蒂固。哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞網2020年10月7日報道，對20多名現任和前任非洲裔美國特工的采訪中，受訪者都稱聯邦調查局的職場文化對少數族裔缺乏包容性。聯邦調查局的10個最高領導職位目前全部由白人擔任。全球13000名聯邦調查局特工中，非洲裔僅占4%，非洲裔婦女僅占1%，這一比例幾十年來幾乎沒有變化。聯邦調查局在業務培訓中不成比例地淘汰非洲裔申請者。該機構非洲裔事務多元化委員會負責人杰克遜表示，這是一種系統性的種族主義。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月2日報道，臉書公司被指控在雇用、補償和晉升方面存在對非洲裔的系統性歧視。數據顯示，2019年在美國擔任該公司技術職務的員工中只有1.5%是非洲裔，高級領導層中只有3.1%是非洲裔。過去5年，該公司的雇員增長了400%，但上述比例卻幾乎沒有任何改變。
Workplace racial discrimination was deeply rooted. According to a CBS News report on Oct. 7, 2020, over 20 current and former black agents interviewed all described some sort of racial discrimination while in the FBI. Of the top 10 leadership positions in the FBI, all are currently held by white men. Currently, only 4 percent of the 13,000 FBI agents around the world are black, and black women only account for 1 percent, a number that has stayed virtually the same for decades. There were long-standing problems at the FBI such as the disproportionate weeding out of black applicants during the training process. As head of the FBI’s Black Affairs Diversity Committee, Eric Jackson called it “institutionalized racism.” According to a report by the Los Angeles Times on July 2, 2020, Facebook Inc. was accused of systemic discrimination in hiring, compensation and promotion of black people. Facebook’s own figures showed just 1.5 percent of employees in technical roles in the U.S. were black in 2019, and 3.1 percent were black among senior leadership. Those percentages have barely budged even as the company’s employees grew by 400 percent over the past five years.
對少數族裔的社會歧視廣泛存在。《華爾街日報》和美國全國廣播公司2020年7月9日進行的一項聯合民意調查顯示，56%的美國選民認為美國社會是種族主義社會，非洲裔和拉美裔受到歧視。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月14日報道，弗洛伊德事件發生后，更多的白人也認為美國種族歧視問題嚴重。調查顯示，白人受訪者認為非洲裔經常受到歧視的可能性從2月的22%上升到7月的40%，認為拉美裔經常受到歧視的可能性從22%上升到32%，認為亞裔經常受到歧視的可能性從7%上升到20%。
Social discrimination against ethnic minorities was widespread. A poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News on July 9, 2020 found that 56 percent of the U.S. voters believe American society is racist and blacks and Hispanics are discriminated against. The Los Angeles Times reported on July 14, 2020 that after the death of George Floyd, more white Americans recognized the serious racial discrimination in the United States. A July 2020 survey showed that compared with February, white respondents are 18 percentage points more likely to believe black Americans are discriminated against frequently (from 22 percent to 40 percent), 10 percentage points more likely to believe Latinos are discriminated against frequently (from 22 percent to 32 percent), and 13 percentage points more likely to believe Asians are discriminated against frequently (from 7 percent to 20 percent).
種族間的不平等進一步加劇。芝加哥大學和圣母大學的研究顯示，2020年6月至11月，美國的貧困率上升了2.4個百分點，而非洲裔的貧困率上升了3.1個百分點。（注13）數據顯示，白人家庭的財富中位數是非洲裔的42倍，是拉美裔的23倍。美聯社2020年10月13日報道，美聯儲發布的數據顯示，2019年只有33.5%的非洲裔家庭持有股票，遠低于61%的白人家庭股票持有率。《今日美國報》網站2020年10月23日報道，2020年第一季度，美國白人家庭的住房擁有率為73.7%，而非洲裔家庭的住房擁有率卻只有44%。《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年6月4日報道稱，非洲裔美國人的生活處境極為艱難，超過五分之一的非洲裔家庭面臨食物匱乏，這一比例超過白人家庭3倍之多。美國廣播公司新聞網站2020年10月11日報道，2019年有15.7%的拉美裔生活在貧困之中，是白人的2倍多。
Inequality between races worsened. According to researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame, the U.S. poverty rate jumped by 2.4 percentage points from June to November 2020, while the poverty rate among black Americans went up by 3.1 percentage points. Statistics showed the median white household has 41 times more wealth (measured as the sum of assets held by a family minus total household debt) than the median black family and 22 times more than the median Latino family. Citing data released by the Federal Reserve, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 13, 2020 that only 33.5 percent of black households owned stocks in 2019, compared with 61 percent for white households. USA Today reported on Oct. 23, 2020 that in the first quarter of 2020, the national homeownership rate for white households was 73.7 percent, but only 44 percent of black households owned a home. The Washington Post reported on June 4, 2020 that more than one in five black families now report they often or sometimes do not have enough food – more than three times the rate for white families. ABC News reported on Oct. 11, 2020 that 15.7 percent of Latinos lived in poverty in 2019, a percentage more than double that of the white people.
四、社會持續動蕩威脅公眾安全
IV. Continuous Social Unrest Threatens Public Safety
政府維護治安不力，原本就高發的槍擊事件和暴力犯罪在疫情期間迭創新高，民眾恐慌難安。警察毫無節制地暴力執法，引發一次又一次席卷全國的抗議浪潮。警方濫用武力鎮壓抗議民眾，大規模攻擊和逮捕新聞記者，致使民怨進一步沸騰高漲，引發持續的社會動蕩。
The government failed to maintain proper law and order, and shootings and violent crimes, which were already high in incidence, recorded new highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing panic among members of the public. The police’s unrestrained use of violence in law enforcement triggered waves of protests that swept across the country. The police had abused their force to suppress protesters, and attacked and arrested journalists on a large scale, further fueling public anger and continuous social unrest.
疫情期間犯罪率持續增長。新冠肺炎疫情大流行期間，盡管各種防疫措施導致戶外活動大幅減少，但大城市的犯罪率卻持續增長。根據聯邦調查局2020年9月發布的《初步統一犯罪報告》，2020年上半年，美國的謀殺案比2019年同期增長14.8%，其中25萬至50萬人口城市的謀殺案增長26%；縱火案上升19%，其中人口超過100萬城市的縱火案上升52%；芝加哥的謀殺案激增37%，縱火案激增52.9%；紐約和洛杉磯的謀殺案分別增長了23%和14%。
Crime rates were on the rise amid the pandemic. While outdoor activities were down drastically as a result of various epidemic response measures, the crime rates were up in large cities amid the pandemic. According to the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report released in September 2020, in the first half of 2020, the number of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 14.8 percent year on year, with cities with populations of 250,000 to 500,000 reporting an increase of 26 percent. During the same period, the number of arson offenses increased 19 percent year on year, while such offenses rose 52 percent in cities with populations of 1 million and over. Murders in Chicago spiked by 37 percent, while arson in the city was up 52.9 percent. New York City recorded an increase of 23 percent in homicides, while Los Angeles saw murders rise by 14 percent.
暴力犯罪數量居高不下。聯邦調查局2020年發布的報告顯示，2019年美國共發生暴力犯罪案件120多萬起，其中謀殺案16425起、強奸案139815起、搶劫案267988起、重傷案821182起。這意味著每10萬居民中分別發生5起謀殺案、40余起強奸案、80余起搶劫案和250余起重傷案。
The number of violent crimes remained high. According to FBI reports released in 2020, more than 1.2 million violent crimes occurred in the United States in 2019, including 16,425 murders, 139,815 rapes, 267,988 robberies, and 821,182 aggravated assaults, translating to five murders, over 40 rapes, 80 robberies and 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 inhabitants.
槍支交易和槍擊事件再創歷史新高。加州大學戴維斯分校的一項研究發現，美國疫情失控導致人們對社會穩定失去信心，許多曾經反對擁槍的人士也開始購槍，導致疫情期間的槍支購買量飆升。（注14）《華盛頓郵報》網站2021年1月19日報道，在疫情失控、種族抗議和選舉沖突交織影響下，2020年美國的槍支銷量高達2300萬支，比2019年激增64%。根據美國全國射擊運動基金會的數據，2020年美國首次購買槍支的人數超過800萬人。《今日美國報》網站2020年12月18日報道，美國的持槍殺人率是其他發達國家的25倍。“槍支暴力檔案室”發布的數據顯示，2020年美國共有超過41500人死于槍擊，平均每天達110多人，創下歷史最高紀錄；全國共發生592起大規模槍擊事件，平均每天超過1.6起。北卡羅來納州查塔姆郡槍擊案、加利福尼亞州河濱郡槍擊案、阿拉巴馬州摩根郡槍擊案均造成7人死亡。芝加哥僅5月底的一個周末就有85人被槍擊，其中24人死亡。2021年1月9日下午，32歲的槍手杰森·南丁格爾在芝加哥沿街瘋狂濫殺民眾，導致3人死亡、4人重傷。
Gun sales and shootings hit record high. A study from the University of California, Davis found a significant increase in firearm violence in the United States associated with the coronavirus-related surge in firearm purchasing. A new destabilizing sense as virus fears spread had been motivating even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time. The Washington Post reported on its website on Jan. 19, 2021 that, COVID-19 lockdowns, anti-racism protests and election strife had led to record gun sales of about 23 million in 2020, a 64 percent increase over 2019 sales. The 2020 numbers include purchases by more than 8 million first-time buyers, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. USA Today reported on its website on Dec. 18, 2020 that, with regard to gun homicides, the United States has historically reported a rate about 25 times higher than other wealthy nations. According to data from Gun Violence Archive, more than 41,500 people died by gun violence in 2020 nationwide, an average of more than 110 a day, which is a record. There had been 592 mass shootings nationwide, an average of more than 1.6 a day. Shootings in Chatham County of North Carolina, Riverside County of California, and Morgan County of Alabama each claimed seven lives. A deadly weekend in Chicago came at the end of May, when 85 people were shot, 24 fatally. In the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2021, 32-year-old Jason Nightengale went on a random shooting rampage in Chicago, leaving three people killed and four others wounded.
弗洛伊德被警察當街跪殺引發騷亂。2020年5月25日晚，46歲的非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德因涉嫌使用假鈔購買香煙，被白人警察殘忍跪壓8分鐘之久致死。明尼阿波利斯市市長雅各布·弗雷悲憤地說道：“我所看到的是徹徹底底的錯誤。作為黑人在美國不應等同于被判了死刑。”律師本·克拉姆普發表聲明指出：“弗洛伊德受到的僅是一項非暴力指控，卻因警察過度和不人道地濫用武力而喪生。”美國法治民權律師委員會會長克里斯汀·克拉克指出：“對這個國家的黑人來說，現在的絕望深不見底。毫無節制的警察暴行日積月累，醞釀了一場巨大風暴。”（注15）警察暴行引燃社會怒火，“黑人的命也是命”抗議浪潮席卷全美，并波及多個國家。美國各地騷亂連連升級，抗議人群堵塞道路、構筑街壘與警察對峙，大量警察局和公共機構、商場商店被洗劫。英國《衛報》網站2020年6月8日報道，喬治·弗洛伊德遭警察當街跪殺之后，美國50個州的大約140個城市都發生了針對這起謀殺的抗議和示威。
George Floyd’s death from police brutality sparked unrest. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man from Minnesota, died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for eight minutes during an arrest for forgery. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said what he saw was “wrong on every level,” noting, “Being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, “This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said, “The depths of despair are enormous right now for black people in this country. You pile on unchecked police violence and it makes for a perfect storm.” The police brutality sparked visceral outrage, leading to protests in support of Black Lives Matter throughout the United States, as well as in other countries. The unrest escalated across the nation, with protesters blocking the streets and building barricades to confront the police. A large number of police stations, public institutions and shopping malls were looted. The Guardian reported on its website on June 8, 2020 that, since George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, about 140 cities in all 50 states throughout the United States have seen protests and demonstrations in response to the killing.
示威民眾遭武力鎮壓。面對沸騰的民怨，時任美國政府領導人火上澆油，調集大批國民警衛隊奔赴各地，號召開槍射擊，現場橡皮子彈橫飛，催淚瓦斯彌漫，民眾驚恐不已，社會陷入一片混亂。政府派遣的聯邦探員在各地隨意抓捕抗議者，1萬多人被逮捕，其中包含大量無辜民眾。2020年，非洲裔女子布倫娜·泰勒被警察槍殺公之于眾后，再次引爆“黑人的命也是命”抗議浪潮，僅在路易斯維爾的抗議活動中就有435人被逮捕。（注16）英國《衛報》網站2020年10月29日報道，2020年5月以來的反種族主義抗議中，美國至少發生了950起警察針對普通民眾和記者的施暴事件。警方對抗議者使用了橡皮子彈、催淚瓦斯和“非法的致命性武力”。
The demonstrators were suppressed by force. In the face of visceral public grievances, the then U.S. administration leader added fuel to the fire by deploying a large number of National Guard soldiers across the country and calling for shooting. Targeted with flying rubber bullets and tear gas on site, the public were horrified and the society fell into chaos. U.S. federal agents had been grabbing protesters seemingly without cause. More than 10,000 individuals had been arrested, including many innocent people. The disclosure of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, an African-American woman, during a police raid fueled a renewed wave of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, with the city of Louisville alone reporting arrests of 435 individuals during the movement. The Guardian reported on its website on Oct. 29, 2020 that, at least 950 instances of police brutality against civilians and journalists during anti-racism protests had occurred since May 2020. The police had used rubber bullets, tear gas and “unlawful lethal force” against protesters.
新聞記者遭到執法部門前所未有的攻擊。2020年美國至少有117名記者在報道反種族主義抗議等活動中被逮捕或拘留，比2019年暴增12倍。英國《衛報》網站2020年6月5日報道，“記者被警察毆打、噴胡椒噴霧和逮捕的數量在美國前所未有地增加”。在弗洛伊德事件發生后的一周內，美國便發生了148起逮捕或襲擊記者事件，遭逮捕的記者人數超過了前三年的總和。“保護記者委員會”2020年12月14日發表聲明稱，美國記者在2020年遭遇了前所未有的攻擊，其中大多數是被執法部門襲擊的。
Journalists had been subject to unparalleled attacks by law enforcement. There were at least 117 cases of journalists being arrested or detained while on the job covering anti-racism protests in the United States in 2020, a 1,200-percent increase from the figure in 2019. The Guardian reported on its website on June 5, 2020 that, reporters were beaten, pepper-sprayed and arrested by police in numbers never before documented in the United States. There were 148 arrests or attacks on journalists in the country within one week after the George Floyd incident, which was more than what was recorded during the previous three years combined. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement on Dec. 14, 2020 that, U.S. journalists faced unprecedented attacks in 2020, the majority by law enforcement.
五、貧富日益分化加劇社會不公
V. Growing Polarization Between Rich and Poor Aggravates Social Inequality
新冠肺炎疫情使美國社會深陷第二次世界大戰以來最嚴重的經濟衰退，企業大批倒閉，勞動者失去工作，貧富差距進一步擴大，底層民眾生活苦不堪言。
The COVID-19 epidemic plunged the United States into the worst economic downturn since World War II. A large number of businesses shut down, workers lost their jobs, the gap between rich and poor widened, and the lives of the people at the bottom of society were miserable.
貧富差距加速擴大。彭博網站2020年10月8日報道，美國最富有的50人與最貧窮的1.65億人擁有的財富相等，1%最富有的人擁有的凈資產是50%最貧困人口的16.4倍。疫情進一步加劇了財富不平等狀況。福布斯網站2020年12月11日報道，美國614位億萬富翁的集體凈資產在疫情期間增加了9310億美元。芝加哥大學和圣母大學的研究顯示，美國的貧困率從2020年6月份的9.3%快速上升到11月份的11.7%。（注17）
The rich-poor divide further widened. The website of Bloomberg reported on Oct. 8, 2020 that the 50 richest Americans now hold almost as much wealth as the poorest 165 million people in the country. The richest 1 percent of Americans have a combined net worth that is 16.4 times that of the poorest 50 percent. The epidemic has aggravated wealth inequality. The website of Forbes reported on Dec. 11, 2020 that over the past months of the pandemic, the collective net worth of America’s 614 billionaires has increased by 931 billion U.S. dollars. America’s poverty rate jumped to 11.7 percent in November 2020, up from 9.3 percent in June, according to researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame.
疫情失控引發大規模失業。《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年5月9日報道，美國企業倒閉和失業潮的速度及規模超乎想象，2050萬人在短期內失去工作，幾乎是2007年至2009年整個金融危機期間的2倍。高中以下教育程度人口的失業率2020年4月飆升至21.2%，創“大衰退”以來歷史最高水平。《今日美國報》網站2020年8月8日報道，2020年6月，33個都會區失業率超過15%。2020年2月至5月，1150萬美國女性失去工作。（注18）
Out-of-control epidemic led to mass unemployment. The speed and magnitude of business closures and job losses defied comparison, according to a report on the website of The Washington Post on May 9, 2020. Some 20.5 million people abruptly lost their jobs, which was roughly double what the nation experienced during the entire financial crisis from 2007 to 2009. In April 2020, the unemployment rate soared to 21.2 percent for people with less than a high school degree, surpassing the previous all-time high set in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The website of USA Today reported on Aug. 8, 2020 that 33 U.S. metro areas had a jobless rate of over 15 percent in June 2020. About 11.5 million American women lost their jobs between February and May 2020.
數千萬人在疫情中陷入食物危機。“喂養美國”網站2020年10月更新的分析報告顯示，超過5000萬人陷入食物無保障狀況，這意味著六分之一美國人、四分之一美國兒童面臨饑餓威脅。英國《衛報》網站2020年11月25日報道，美國食物救助需求比疫情流行前高出60%。2020年感恩節期間，高達數百萬美國人不得不依靠慈善機構的救助才能避免挨餓。
Tens of millions of people were in food crisis in the epidemic. More than 50 million people – one in six Americans, including one in four children – could experience food insecurity in 2020, according to an analysis report updated in October 2020 by Feeding America. The website of the Guardian reported on Nov. 25, 2020 that nationwide, demand for food aid has plateaued at about 60 percent higher than pre-pandemic times. Millions of Americans must rely on charity to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table in 2020.
醫療保險覆蓋人群銳減。美國因政治極化一直未能實現全民醫保，享有醫保的人群又因疫情急劇縮減。2020年3月至5月，估計約2700萬美國人由于疫情失去醫療保險。得克薩斯州未參加醫療保險的人數從430萬人暴增至490萬人，使得該州無醫保人口比例升至30%。（注19）
Health insurance coverage plummeted. America has no universal health insurance because of political polarization and the number of people enjoying health insurance has shrunk sharply due to the epidemic. From March to May 2020, an estimated 27 million Americans have lost health insurance coverage in the pandemic. In Texas alone, the number of uninsured jumped from about 4.3 million to nearly 4.9 million, which means that three out of every 10 Texans are uninsured.
數字鴻溝加劇教育不平等。一份基于普查數據的分析報告指出，2018年，約1700萬美國兒童生活在沒有互聯網的家庭中，700萬兒童所在的家庭沒有計算機。（注20）《政治家》網站2020年9月23日報道，距美國國會大廈僅一小時車程的巴爾的摩市在校兒童中就有三分之一的人沒有電腦；三分之一的非洲裔、拉美裔和印第安人家庭沒有互聯網。在疫情期間遠程教育成為主流教育模式的背景下，與較富裕的同齡人相比，低收入和少數族裔孩子的家庭背景使得他們難以擁有進行獨立學習的技術條件和環境，因而在遠程學習方面處于劣勢地位，進一步加劇了由貧困和種族不平等造成的教育差距。
The digital divide aggravated educational inequality. In 2018, nearly 17 million children lived in homes without internet connection, and more than 7 million did not have computers at home, according to a report that analyzed census data for that year. The website of Politico reported on Sept. 23, 2020 that one in three students in Baltimore city, which is only an hour’s drive from the U.S. Capitol, has no computers. One in three African American, Latino or American Indian families do not have home internet. Virtual learning became a mainstream education pattern during the epidemic. Compared with their wealthier peers, low-income and minority children are less likely to have appropriate technology and home environments for independent study because of their family backgrounds and therefore are at a disadvantage in e-learning, further aggravating the educational divide caused by poverty and racial inequality.
六、踐踏國際規則造成人道災難
VI. Trampling on International Rules Results in Humanitarian Disasters
在抗疫需要全球團結的時刻，美國卻執意奉行本國優先，推行孤立主義、單邊主義，揮舞制裁大棒，霸凌威脅國際機構，殘酷對待尋求庇護者，成為全球安全與穩定的最大麻煩制造者。
At a time when global unity is needed to fight the pandemic, the United States, however, persists in pursuing an agenda of “America first,” isolationism, and unilateralism, imposing sanctions wantonly, bullying and threatening international organizations, and treating asylum seekers cruelly, thus becoming the biggest troublemaker to global security and stability.
悍然退出世界衛生組織。美國特朗普政府為推卸自身抗疫不力的責任，挖空心思羅織各種不實指責，極力將世界衛生組織打造成“替罪羊”。2020年4月14日，美國政府宣布暫停向世界衛生組織繳納會費，遭到國際社會一致譴責。聯合國秘書長古特雷斯4月14日發表聲明稱，全球正在抗擊新冠肺炎疫情，削減世衛組織或任何其他人道主義組織所需資金不合時宜。美國醫學會主席帕特里斯·哈里斯4月15日發表聲明說，美國在這一關鍵時刻暫停向世衛組織提供資金支持，是在錯誤方向上邁出的危險一步。英國《衛報》網站4月15日發表評論稱，在世界迫切需要共同戰勝這場全球從未經歷過的威脅時，美國政府停繳世衛組織會費是一種缺乏道德和破壞國際秩序的行為，是“對全球團結的駭人背叛”。2020年7月，美國政府不顧國際社會反對，悍然宣布退出世界衛生組織。
The United States withdrew from WHO. In order to shirk its responsibility for its disastrous anti-pandemic measures, the Trump administration tried every means to scapegoat the World Health Organization (WHO) by fabricating false charges against the organization. On April 14, 2020, the U.S. government announced its suspension of paying dues to the WHO, which was widely criticized by the international community. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement on April 14, 2020, saying that when the world was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it was inappropriate to reduce the resources required by the WHO or any other humanitarian organization for operations. President of the American Medical Association, Patrice Harris, stated on April 15, 2020 that combating the pandemic required international cooperation and halting funding to the WHO at this critical moment was a dangerous step in the wrong direction. On April 15, 2020, an online article of the Guardian commented that when the world desperately needed to jointly overcome this threat that the world had never experienced before, the suspension of the WHO dues by the U.S. government was an act that lacked morality and disrupted the international order, and was a horrible betrayal to global solidarity. In July 2020, the U.S. government brazenly announced its withdrawal from the WHO despite the opposition of the international community.
背信棄義退出《巴黎協定》。美國是全球累積排放溫室氣體最多的國家，按照共同但有區別的責任原則，本應承擔最大的減排責任，卻肆意妄為大開歷史倒車，于2020年11月4日正式退出《巴黎協定》，是近200個締約方中唯一一個退出該協定的國家。國際社會普遍認為，美國此舉在政治上是短視的，在科學上是錯誤的，在道德上是不負責任的。聯合國全球變暖科學報告的作者之一、康奈爾大學氣候科學家娜塔莉·馬霍瓦爾德指出：“美國退出《巴黎協定》將會削弱全球減排努力，從而使更多的人因氣候變化陷入生死存亡的險境。”（注21）
The United States walked away from its commitments to and withdrew from the Paris Agreement. The United States, as the largest cumulative emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should bear the greatest share of emission reduction based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. However, the United States ran counter to the trend of the times and officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement on Nov. 4, 2020, becoming the only country among the nearly 200 contracting parties to quit the treaty. The international community generally believed that the U.S. move was politically short-sighted, unscientific, and morally irresponsible. “Having the U.S. pull out of Paris is likely to reduce efforts to mitigate, and therefore increase the number of people who are put into a life-or-death situation because of the impacts of climate change,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald, a coauthor of UN science reports on global warming.
霸凌行徑威脅國際機構。2020年6月11日，美國政府對國際刑事法院的工作人員及其家屬實施經濟制裁和入境限制，只因他們堅持調查美國軍隊和情報官員在阿富汗和其他地方可能犯下的戰爭罪。聯合國新聞網站2020年6月25日刊文稱，美國此舉是對國際法和國際道義的“直接攻擊”。聯合國人權理事會2020年6月19日通過決議，強烈譴責美國非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德遭警察暴力執法致死事件。法新社援引人權組織的話稱，因美國“強力游說”施壓，決議最終版刪除了點名美國種族問題和警察暴力的內容，未啟動對美國進行更深入的調查。美國公民自由聯盟批評稱，美國通過霸凌其他國家，使決議內容大打折扣，并且再次逃脫國際調查，又一次站在了非洲裔和警察暴力受害者的對立面。
Bullying actions threatened international organizations. On June 11, 2020, the U.S. government authorized economic sanctions and travel restrictions against workers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and their family members for investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The U.S. sanctions targeting ICC staff were “a direct attack on the institution’s judicial independence,” according to an article on the website of UN NEWS on June 25, 2020. On June 19, 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning police brutality that led to the death of African American George Floyd. Citing remarks from human rights groups, the AFP said that the final version of the resolution removed the call for further investigations and stripped away any mention of the racism and police brutality in the United States due to “hard lobbying.” By bullying other countries, the United States watered down the text of the resolution, escaped from international probes for another time, and ran counter to the African descent in the United States and victims of police violence, said the American Civil Liberties Union.
單邊制裁加重人道危機。在疫情全球蔓延、關乎人類生命與健康福祉的重要時刻，各國應團結協作以應對疫情，維護全球公共衛生安全。美國政府卻在疫情期間依然對伊朗、古巴、委內瑞拉、敘利亞等國實施單邊制裁，導致被制裁國家難以及時獲得抗擊疫情需要的醫療物資。聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特2020年3月24日表示，制裁會阻礙抗疫醫療合作，給所有人增加風險；無論是出于維護全球公共衛生安全，還是為了維護被制裁國家數百萬人的權利和生活，都應放松或暫停特殊領域的制裁。英國《衛報》網站2020年4月6日報道，來自多個國家的24名高級外交官聯合敦促美國政府放寬對伊朗的醫療和人道主義制裁，稱此舉“有可能挽救數十萬普通伊朗人的生命”。聯合國人權專家2020年4月30日稱，美國對古巴的封鎖和對其他國家的制裁嚴重破壞了遏制疫情和拯救生命的國際合作，呼吁美國執行聯合國決議，解除對古巴的經濟和金融封鎖，不再阻礙古巴融資購買藥品、醫療設備、食品和其他必需品。（注22）聯合國極端貧困與人權問題特別報告員、安全飲用水和衛生問題特別報告員、教育權問題特別報告員2020年5月6日發表聯合聲明，指出美國對委內瑞拉的制裁正對該國民眾的人權產生嚴重影響，敦促美國在疫情肆虐情形下立即解除加劇該國民眾苦難的制裁。聯合國人權問題特別報告員阿萊娜·多漢2020年12月29日呼吁美國取消對敘利亞的單方面制裁，稱在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐的背景下，制裁將加劇敘利亞本已嚴峻的人道主義危機，威脅到敘利亞全體民眾的生命權、健康權和發展權。
Unilateral sanctions aggravated humanitarian crisis. At a critical time when COVID-19 spread globally and endangered human life, health, and wellbeing, all countries should work together to respond to the pandemic and maintain global public health security. However, during this pandemic, the U.S. government still imposed unilateral sanctions on countries such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria, which made it difficult for the sanctioned countries to obtain needed anti-pandemic medical supplies in a timely manner. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on March 24, 2020, that in the case of a global pandemic, sanctions would hinder medical work and increase risks for everyone. She argued that to maintain global public health security and protect the rights and lives of millions of people in sanctioned countries, sanctions should be relaxed or suspended in certain sectors. A group of 24 senior diplomats from various countries urged the U.S. government to ease medical and humanitarian sanctions on Iran, noting that such move “could potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iranians,” according to a report on the website of the Guardian on April 6, 2020. On April 30, 2020, UN human rights experts said that the U.S. embargo on Cuba and sanctions on other countries seriously undermined international cooperation to curb the pandemic and save lives. The experts called on the United States to implement UN resolutions, lift its economic and financial embargo on Cuba and withdraw measures that prevent Cuba from financing the purchase of medicine, medical equipment, food and other essential goods. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the Special Rapporteur on human rights for safe drinking water and sanitation, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education issued a joint statement on May 6, 2020, saying that the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela were seriously harming the human rights of the people in the country. They urged the United States to immediately lift sanctions that exacerbated the suffering of the people when the pandemic raged in the country. On Dec. 29, 2020, Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights, called on the United States to remove unilateral sanctions against Syria, noting that the sanctions would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in Syria and run roughshod over the Syrian people’s rights to live, health, and development.
殘酷對待尋求庇護者。美國有線電視新聞網2020年9月30日報道，2020財年共有21人在美國移民拘留所中死亡，是2019財年死亡人數的2倍多，創2005年以來死亡人數最高值。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年10月30日報道，大量移民兒童長期被羈押。數據顯示，近幾年被美國政府拘留的266000名移民兒童中，有25000多人被拘留超過100天，近1000人在難民收容所中度過了一年多時間，多人被拘留超過5年。根據多家美國媒體報道，數十名來自拉美和加勒比海國家的女性移民向美國佐治亞州法院提起集體訴訟，指控美國移民和海關執法局拘留中心的醫生在沒有征得她們同意的情況下，為她們進行了不必要的婦科手術，甚至強行摘除子宮，對其身心健康造成嚴重損害。英國《衛報》網站2020年10月22日報道，美國移民官員對來美尋求庇護的喀麥隆公民實施威脅，迫使他們在驅逐令上簽字，拒絕簽字者遭受鎖喉、毆打、噴胡椒水等暴力，被戴上手銬強行在驅逐令上按下指紋，從而失去了獲得移民聽證的權利遭驅逐出境。
Asylum seekers were treated cruelly. According to a report of CNN on Sept. 30, 2020, in the 2020 fiscal year, 21 people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, which was more than double the number of deaths in the fiscal year 2019 and marked the highest annual death toll since 2005. A report published on the website of the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 30, 2020 noted that a huge number of migrant children were stranded in custody for the long haul. Data showed that of the 266,000 migrant children held in government custody in recent years, over 25,000 had been detained for longer than 100 days, close to 1,000 migrant children had spent more than a year in refugee shelters, and some of them had spent more than five years in custody. As reported by multiple U.S. media outlets, dozens of women from Latin American and Caribbean states have filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Georgia, claiming that they were subjected to unnecessary gynecological surgeries without their consent while in ICE custody, including uterus removal in some cases. They said these unwanted surgeries caused severe harm to their physical and mental health. The Guardian website reported on Oct. 22, 2020 that Cameroonian asylum seekers were threatened and forced to sign their own deportation orders. Those who refused to sign were choked, beaten, and pepper-sprayed, with some put in handcuffs to have their fingerprints forcibly taken in place of a signature on orders of removal, by which the asylum seekers waive their rights to further immigration hearings and accept deportation.
疫情期間繼續強制遣返移民。根據美國移民及海關執法局的統計數據，截至2021年1月14日，美國移民拘留機構中共有8848人確診感染新冠肺炎病毒。（注23）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年11月18日報道，2020年3月以來，美國政府不顧疫情傳播風險，將至少8800名無人陪伴的非法移民兒童強制驅逐出境。聯合國兒童基金會稱，被美國強制遣返的墨西哥和中美洲的移民兒童正面臨危險和歧視。
Forced deportation of immigrant children continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data tallied by the ICE, as of Jan. 14, 2021, a total of 8,848 detainees had been confirmed as COVID-19 cases. According to a report on the website of the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 18, 2020, the U.S. government had expelled at least 8,800 unaccompanied immigrant children despite serious protection risks during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to UNICEF, migrant children who returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America were facing danger and discrimination.
赦免屠殺他國平民的戰爭罪犯。2020年12月30日，聯合國人權理事會雇傭軍問題工作組發表聲明，表示時任美國總統赦免在伊拉克犯下戰爭罪的4名黑水公司雇員違反了美國承擔的國際法義務，呼吁《日內瓦公約》所有締約國共同譴責美國這一行徑。聲明表示，這4名黑水公司雇員2007年在伊拉克巴格達尼蘇爾廣場實施屠殺，造成14名手無寸鐵的平民死亡，至少17人受傷。工作組主席指出，美國赦免黑水公司雇員的行為對國際人道主義法和人權造成沖擊，是對正義和受害者及其家人的侮辱。聯合國人權高專辦發言人烏爾塔多表示，美國此舉會“加劇有罪不罰”，助長他人犯罪。
The United States pardoned criminals slaughtering civilians in other countries. On Dec. 30, 2020, the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, issued a statement, saying that the then U.S. President’s pardon of four Blackwater contractors convicted of war crimes in Iraq violated U.S. obligations under international law. The statement called on all states to the Geneva Conventions to condemn the U.S. action. The four Blackwater contractors were found to have committed a massacre at Nisour Square in Baghdad in 2007, which left 14 unarmed civilians dead and at least 17 people wounded, according to the statement. Pardoning the Blackwater contractors was an affront to justice and the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families, said the Chair of the Working Group. Pardoning them “contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future,” said Marta Hurtado, a spokesperson with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020
中華人民共和國國務院新聞辦公室
The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China
2021年3月
March 2021
目錄
Contents
序言
Foreword
一、疫情嚴重失控釀成人間悲劇
I. Incompetent Pandemic Containment Leads to Tragic Outcome
二、美式民主失序引發政治亂象
II. American Democracy Disorder Triggers Political Chaos
三、種族歧視惡化少數族裔處境
III. Ethnic Minorities Devastated by Racial Discrimination
四、社會持續動蕩威脅公眾安全
IV. Continuous Social Unrest Threatens Public Safety
五、貧富日益分化加劇社會不公
V. Growing Polarization Between Rich and Poor Aggravates Social Inequality
六、踐踏國際規則造成人道災難
VI. Trampling on International Rules Results in Humanitarian Disasters
序言
Foreword
“我無法呼吸！”
“I can’t breathe!”
——喬治·弗洛伊德
– George Floyd
美國國會大廈暴力事件亂象是政治高層散布重重謊言、蔑視民主、煽動仇恨和分裂導致的惡果。
“The scenes (the U.S. Capitol building violence) we have seen are the result of lies and more lies, of division and contempt for democracy, of hatred and rabble-rousing – even from the very highest levels.”
——德國總統施泰因邁爾
– German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
2020年新冠肺炎疫情全球肆虐，對人類生命安全構成重大威脅。病毒沒有國界，疫情不分種族，戰勝疫情需要世界各國守望相助、團結合作。但一向自認例外和優越的美國，不僅自身疫情失控，而且與之相伴的還有政治失序、種族沖突、社會撕裂，留下了“山巔之城”“民主燈塔”侵犯人權的新紀錄。
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, posing a major threat to human security. The virus respects no borders, nor does the epidemic distinguish between races. To defeat the epidemic requires mutual help, solidarity and cooperation among all countries. However, the United States, which has always considered itself an exception and superior, saw its own epidemic situation go out of control, accompanied by political disorder, inter-ethnic conflicts, and social division. It further added to the human rights violations in the country, the so-called “city upon a hill” and “beacon of democracy.”
——政府應對疫情任性妄為導致失控，釀成人間悲劇。美國人口不足世界總人口的5%，但截至2021年2月底，其新冠肺炎確診病例數卻超過全球總數的25%，死亡病例數占全球總數的近20%，超過50萬美國民眾失去了寶貴的生命。
– The epidemic went out of control and turned into a human tragedy due to the government’s reckless response. By the end of February 2021, the United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world’s population, accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly one-fifth of the global deaths from the disease. More than 500,000 Americans lost their lives due to the virus.
——民主制度失序引發政治亂象，進一步撕裂美國社會。金錢政治扭曲壓制民意，選舉成為富人階層“獨角戲”，人們對美國民主制度的信心下降至20年來最低點。政治極化日益嚴重，仇恨政治演變為全國性瘟疫，選后暴亂導致國會淪陷。
– Disorder in American democratic institutions led to political chaos, further tearing the fabric of society apart. Money-tainted politics distorted and suppressed public opinion, turning elections into a “one-man show” of the wealthy class and people’s confidence in the American democratic system dropped to the lowest level in 20 years. Amid increasing political polarization, hate politics evolved into a national plague, and the Capitol was stormed in post-election riots.
——少數族裔遭受系統性種族歧視，處境艱難。有色人種在美國18歲以下未成年人中的比例約為三分之一，卻占被監禁未成年人總數的三分之二。非洲裔新冠肺炎感染率是白人的3倍，死亡率是白人的2倍，被警察殺死的概率是白人的3倍。四分之一亞裔年輕人成為種族欺凌的目標。
– Ethnic minority groups suffered systematic racial discrimination and were in a difficult situation. People of color made up about one-third of all minors under the age of 18 in the United States but two-thirds of all of the country’s imprisoned minors. African Americans are three times as likely as whites to be infected with the coronavirus, twice as likely to die from COVID-19, and three times as likely to be killed by the police. One in four young Asian Americans has been the target of racial bullying.
——槍支交易和槍擊事件創歷史新高，人們對社會秩序失去信心。在疫情失控、種族抗議和選舉沖突交織影響下，2020年美國的槍支銷量高達2300萬支，比2019年激增64%，首次購買槍支的人數超過800萬人。美國全年共有超過41500人死于槍擊，平均每天達110多人，全國共發生592起大規模槍擊事件，平均每天超過1.6起。
– Gun trade and shooting incidents hit a record high, and people’s confidence in social order waned. Americans bought 23 million guns in 2020 against the background of an out-of-control epidemic, accompanied by racial justice protests and election-related conflicts, a surge of 64 percent compared with 2019. First-time gun buyers exceeded 8 million. More than 41,500 people were killed in shooting incidents across the United States in the year, an average of more than 110 a day, and there were 592 mass shootings nationwide, an average of more than 1.6 a day.
——非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德被白人警察殘忍跪壓致死，引燃美國社會怒火。50個州爆發廣泛持續的種族抗議浪潮，政府武力鎮壓示威民眾，1萬多人被逮捕，大批新聞記者頻遭無端攻擊和拘捕。
– George?Floyd, an African American, died after being brutally kneeled on his neck by a white police officer, sparking a national outcry. Widespread protests for racial justice erupted in 50 states. The U.S. government suppressed demonstrators by force, and more than 10,000 people were arrested. A large number of journalists were attacked and arrested for no reason.
——貧富差距加速擴大，底層民眾生活苦不堪言。疫情失控導致大規模失業潮，數千萬人失去醫療保險，六分之一美國人、四分之一美國兒童面臨饑餓威脅。弱勢群體成為政府消極應對疫情的最大犧牲品。
– The gap between the rich and the poor widened, with the people at the bottom of society living in misery. The epidemic led to mass unemployment. Tens of millions of people lost health insurance coverage. One in six Americans and one in four American children were at risk of hunger. Vulnerable groups became the biggest victims of the government’s reckless response to the epidemic.
面對如此糟糕的嚴重人權問題，美國政府不僅缺乏應有的反思，還對世界上其他國家的人權狀況說三道四，充分暴露了其在人權問題上的雙重標準及虛偽性。當今時代，人類社會發展正處于一個新的十字路口，面臨新的嚴峻挑戰。希望美方能夠懷謙卑之心、憫國人疾苦，放下虛偽、霸道、大棒和雙重標準，與國際社會相向而行，共同構建人類命運共同體。
– The U.S. government, instead of introspecting on its own terrible human rights record, kept making irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in other countries, exposing its double standards and hypocrisy on human rights. Standing at a new crossroads, mankind is faced with new, grave challenges. It is hoped that the U.S. side will show humility and compassion for the suffering of its own people, drop hypocrisy, bullying, “Big Stick” and double standards, and work with the international community to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
一、疫情嚴重失控釀成人間悲劇
I. Incompetent Pandemic Containment Leads to Tragic Outcome
美國號稱具有世界上最豐富的醫療資源和醫療護理能力，應對新冠肺炎疫情卻一片混亂，成為世界上確診人數和死亡人數最多的國家。
The United States claimed to be most abundant in medical resources and healthcare capacity, yet its response to the COVID-19 pandemic was chaotic, causing it to lead the world in the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths.
應對疫情不力造成慘重后果。根據美國約翰斯·霍普金斯大學統計的數據，截至2021年2月底，美國新冠肺炎確診病例總數已超過2800萬例，死亡病例總數超過50萬例。美國人口不足世界總人口的5%，其新冠肺炎確診病例數卻超過全球總數的25%，死亡病例數占全球總數的近20%。美國有線電視新聞網2020年12月20日報道，僅加利福尼亞州就已經報告了184.5萬例新冠肺炎確診病例和22599例死亡病例，相當于每10萬人中就有4669人確診、57人死亡，這還不包括許多未得到診斷的輕癥或無癥狀感染病例。如果美國能夠科學應對，事情本不必如此。美國流行病學家、疾病控制與預防中心原負責人威廉·福格認為，“這是一場屠殺”。（注1）
Incompetent pandemic response led to dire consequences. A tally by Johns Hopkins University showed that as of the end of February 2021, the United States has registered more than 28 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, with related deaths exceeding 500,000. With a population of less than 5 percent of the world’s total, the United States accounted for more than 25 percent of all the confirmed cases and nearly 20 percent of the deaths. On Dec. 20, 2020, CNN reported that the state of California alone had reported 1.845 million COVID-19 cases and 22,599 deaths, which translates to roughly 4,669 known cases and 57 deaths for every 100,000 residents. Even these numbers don’t give the whole picture of the state, because many cases, including mild or asymptomatic infections, had not been diagnosed. Had the American authorities taken science-based measures to contain the pandemic, this could have been avoided. But since they had not, the pandemic, as epidemiologist and former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) William Foege had put it, is “a slaughter” to the United States.
領導人無視科學警告刻意淡化疫情風險。根據《紐約時報》《華盛頓郵報》等媒體復盤的美國疫情時間線，美國特朗普政府一再忽視疫情警告。白宮國家安全委員會在2020年1月初就收到情報，預測病毒將在美國蔓延。時任白宮貿易與制造業政策辦公室主任彼得·納瓦羅在1月29日撰寫的一份備忘錄中，詳細列舉了疫情暴發的潛在風險：可能會有多達50萬人死亡，并造成數萬億美元的經濟損失。時任美國衛生與公眾服務部部長亞歷克斯·阿扎等衛生官員和醫學專家也多次警告疫情在美國暴發的危險。但美國特朗普政府不僅對各種警告置之不理，反而專注于控制信息傳播，甚至發布虛假信息誤導民眾，稱新冠肺炎病毒是“大號流感”，感染病毒的風險和死亡率“非常低”，疫情會很快“奇跡般地消失”，導致防控疫情的“黃金窗口期”被白白浪費。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月13日報道指出，時任美國政府領導人寧肯相信自己的直覺也不相信科學，錯失時機，斷送了大量無辜的生命。
National leaders ignored warnings from experts and downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic. According to the timeline of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States released by media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post, the Trump administration had repeatedly ignored alarms regarding the risks of the pandemic. In early January 2020, a National Security Council office had already received intelligence reports predicting the spread of the virus to the United States. In a Jan. 29, 2020 memo, then White House trade adviser Peter Navarro projected that a coronavirus pandemic might lead to as many as half a million deaths and trillions of dollars in economic losses. A number of health officials, including then Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and medical experts also warned of the possibility of a pandemic in the United States. None of the aforementioned warnings brought the imminent pandemic to the Trump administration’s attention. Instead, the administration focused on controlling the message, and released misleading signals to the public by claiming “the risk of the virus to most Americans was very low,” suggesting that the coronavirus is no worse than the common flu, and stating the virus will “miraculously go away” when the weather gets warmer. Thus, the country lost crucial weeks for pandemic prevention and control. An article published on the website of The New York Times on April 13, 2020 commented that, then American leader’s “preference for following his gut rather than the data cost time, and perhaps lives.”
政府選擇不作為導致疫情失控。在美國新冠肺炎死亡病例超過30萬人后，加利福尼亞大學洛杉磯分校醫學教授戴維·哈耶斯-鮑提斯塔指出，美國其實不應死那么多人，是政府選擇了不作為導致悲劇的發生。（注2）哥倫比亞大學疾病研究人員通過模型分析顯示，如果美國政府2020年3月13日發布的疫情防控措施能夠提前兩星期，那么約83%的死亡是可以避免的。（注3）英國醫學期刊《柳葉刀》2020年5月17日罕有地發表社論指出，美國政府總是“著迷于”找到快速結束疫情的方式——疫苗、新藥，甚至指望病毒會就這么消失了，但事實是只有依賴病毒檢測、感染追蹤及隔離等基本的公共衛生準則，才可能終結疫情。即便疫情已經在美國大范圍蔓延，確診病例和死亡病例已升至全球第一的情況下，特朗普政府出于政治私利，依然急于重啟經濟。沃克斯新聞網2020年8月11日評論稱，一些州在4、5月份就忙于重啟，使得病毒傳播的重災區從最初的紐約地區向南部、西部擴散，并最終擴散到全國其他地區。盡管許多醫學研究已經證實佩戴口罩可以有效防止感染病毒，但時任美國政府領導人和一些州政府官員卻長期拒絕實施強制口罩令。
Government inaction led to uncontrolled pandemic spread. “There’s no need for that many to have died. We chose, as a country, to take our foot off the gas pedal. We chose to, and that’s the tragedy.” So commented David Hayes-Bautista, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, after the pandemic death toll hit 300,000 in the United States. Disease modelers with the Columbia University also estimated that, if the United States had begun locking down cities and limiting social contact on March 1, 2020, two weeks earlier than most people started staying home, about 83 percent of the nation’s pandemic-related deaths would have been avoided. An editorial from the website of medical journal The Lancet, published on May 17, 2020, commented that the U.S. government was obsessed with magic bullets – vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. At the same time, it noted that only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like testing, tracing, and isolation, would see the emergency brought to an end. Even when the pandemic is spreading in a vast area in the United States, the administration was hasty to restart the economy due to political concerns. According to news website Vox on Aug. 11, 2020, in April and May last year, several states rushed to reopen and caused the virus to shift to the South, West and eventually the rest of the United States. In addition, despite that experts had recommended people wear masks in public, the then American leader and some state officials had been extremely reluctant to issue any decree to make wearing masks mandatory.
疫情防控指揮混亂使得民眾無所適從。美國有線電視新聞網2020年5月9日的評論指出，美國應對新冠肺炎疫情混亂不堪，缺乏全國性的指導方針和組織領導，各州只能自行其是，甚至不得不相互競價爭搶醫療物資。時任美國政府領導人與公共衛生機構、醫學專家發布的有關疫情防控信息相互抵牾、反復無常。專家們呼吁聯邦政府統籌全國病毒檢測和醫療物資供應，領導人卻讓各地政府自己解決；聯邦政府剛剛公布分階段重啟計劃，領導人卻接著呼吁各州加快重啟；疾病控制與預防中心強烈建議公眾佩戴口罩，領導人卻長達幾個月堅決拒絕佩戴口罩；更為荒誕的是，領導人竟提出讓民眾注射消毒劑治療新冠肺炎。
Chaotic pandemic control and prevention measures caused confusion among the public. An article published by CNN on May 9, 2020 called the U.S. response to the pandemic “consistently inconsistent,” and noted that there were no national guidelines and no organized efforts to reopen the country beyond what measures states had taken. The article also said that in terms of pandemic control and prevention, public health officials say one thing while governors say another and the national leader says something else entirely. In addition, after the experts called for federal leadership, the then American leader left it to cities and states to solve national problems with testing and hospital supplies by themselves. When the federal government released a phased plan for reopening, the leader called on states to reopen faster. After the CDC recommended that people wear masks in public, the leader refused to do so for months. Even more ridiculously, the leader at one point advocated injecting bleach as a treatment.
任性自負推卸責任。盡管在疫情應對中昏招迭出，時任美國政府領導人卻拒絕承認有任何失誤，反而用各種說辭自我美化、推脫責任，罔顧事實將美國確診病例全球居首歸因于做了更多的核酸檢測，聲稱自己對病毒檢測系統的混亂低效和死亡率的不斷攀升“沒有任何責任”。而白宮顧問、美國國家過敏癥和傳染病研究所所長安東尼·福奇指出，數據不會說謊，美國確實是世界上新冠肺炎疫情最嚴重的國家。（注4）
National leaders shirked their responsibility out of arrogance. Despite one ludicrous idea after another, the then American leader refused to admit any fault. Instead, the leader invented all sorts of excuses to gloss over his mistakes while shirking from responsibilities. For one, the then leader insisted that the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 cases because it tested more than any other country in the world. When asked about testing problems and rising deaths, the leader claimed he “doesn’t take responsibility at all.” However, White House adviser and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci admitted that the numbers didn’t lie and the United States had the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world.
老年人成為政府抗疫不力的“犧牲品”。疫情中原本就面臨更大風險的老年人群體，在混亂不堪的疫情防控體系中被進一步邊緣化，面臨著生命貶值、尊嚴貶損。2020年3月23日和4月20日，得克薩斯州副州長丹·帕特里克在接受福克斯新聞網采訪時兩次表示，“寧愿死也不愿看到公共衛生措施損害美國經濟”。《圣迭戈工會論壇報》網站2020年8月18日報道，根據新冠肺炎病毒追蹤項目公布的數據，養老院等長期護理機構中的居民占美國人口的比例不到1%，占新冠肺炎死亡人數的比例卻超過40%。《華盛頓郵報》2020年5月9日的評論稱，美國的抗疫行動成了“一場國家批準的屠殺”，它故意犧牲老年人、工人、非洲裔和拉美裔人口。
Senior citizens fell victims to the government’s incompetent response to COVID-19. Senior citizens are a group more susceptible to the pandemic, yet they have been further marginalized in the U.S. pandemic prevention and control chaos, with their lives becoming valueless and their dignity trampled upon. On March 23 and April 20, 2020, Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor of Texas, told Fox News that he would rather die than see public health measures damage the U.S. economy and there are more important things than living. Furthermore, an Aug. 18, 2020 report published on The San Diego Union-Tribune website found that residents in long-term care facilities account for less than 1 percent of the U.S. population but more than 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths. A May 9, 2020 article from The Washington Post website called the U.S. pandemic control efforts “state-sanctioned killing,” where “the old, factory workers, and black and Hispanic Americans” were deliberately sacrificed.
貧困人口面臨更嚴重感染威脅。研究發現，美國貧富差距和新冠肺炎疫情導致的死亡率密切相關。紐約州的基尼系數最高，同時其死亡人數也最高。（注5）英國《衛報》網站2020年3月21日報道，疫情期間美國富人優先進行新冠病毒檢測，而低收入從業群體大多無法居家辦公且不享有帶薪病假，不得不為了維持生活使自己面臨更大的感染風險。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年5月8日報道，公共衛生官員指出，洛杉磯縣低收入社區居民死于新冠肺炎的人數是其鄰近富裕社區的3倍。蓋洛普公司的一項調查顯示，七分之一的美國成年人表示，如果自己或家庭成員出現新冠肺炎相關癥狀，將因為擔心負擔不起治療費用放棄治療。聯合國極端貧困與人權問題特別報告員菲利普·奧爾斯頓指出，美國窮人正受到新冠肺炎病毒最嚴重的打擊，更容易感染病毒，死亡率更高，而一個混亂的、注重企業利潤的政府應對措施未能充分顧及他們的利益。
The poor faced greater threat of infection. Researchers found that the Gini Index, an economic barometer that ranks income inequality from 0 (total equality) to 1 (total inequality), was a strong predictor of COVID-19 deaths. New York State, which had one of the highest Gini Index numbers also had the highest number of fatalities in the nation by a margin. The Guardian website reported on March 21, 2020 that in the wake of the epidemic, it’s the wealthy and powerful first get coronavirus tests, while low-paid workers, most of whom have no paid sick leave and can’t do their work from home, put themselves at greater risk of contracting the virus in order to earn a living. Public health officials said, in Los Angeles County, residents of low-income communities are three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those in wealthier neighborhoods, according to a report published on the Los Angeles Times website on May 8, 2020. A Gallup survey revealed that one in seven American adults said that if they or their family members developed symptoms related to COVID-19, they would probably give up medical treatment because they were worried that they could not afford the costs. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, also pointed out that the poor in the United States were being hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-income and poor people face far higher risks from the coronavirus due to chronic neglect and discrimination, and a muddled, corporate-driven federal response has failed them, he observed.
殘障人士和無家可歸者處境維艱。非營利組織“公平健康”2020年11月發布的一項研究顯示，與普通人群相比，有智力和發育障礙的人死于新冠肺炎的可能性要高出3倍。（注6）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年5月14日報道，疫情帶來的經濟沖擊使得美國無家可歸者人數暴漲45%。無家可歸者中有很多年邁的老人和殘障人士，他們原本身體健康狀況就不佳，生活和衛生條件惡劣，是病毒的易感群體。疫情期間，流落街頭的無家可歸者遭到嚴厲驅逐，被迫住進臨時收容所。路透社網站2020年4月23日報道，美國各地的無家可歸者收容所因人員擁擠難以保持社交距離，使得病毒極易傳播。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月13日報道稱，無家可歸者收容所成為紐約市疫情的“定時炸彈”，超過1.7萬人住在為單身成年人準備的集中收容所中，睡在床上幾乎可以手碰手。《波士頓環球報》網站2020年5月4日報道，波士頓市無家可歸者確診感染新冠病毒的人數占當地該群體已接受檢測人口的三分之一。
The handicapped and the homeless were in dire straits. A study released in November 2020 by the nonprofit FAIR Health found that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are three times more likely to die of COVID-19, compared to the general population. The website of the Los Angeles Times reported on May 14, 2020 that with the coronavirus-induced shock to the economy crippling businesses of all sizes and leaving millions of Americans out of work, homelessness in the United States could grow as much as 45 percent in a year. Many of the homeless Americans are elderly or disabled people. Given their originally poor physical health and bad living and hygienic conditions, they are susceptible to the virus. During the pandemic, the homeless were evicted and pushed into makeshift shelters. The website of Reuters reported on April 23, 2020 that the crowded shelters across the United States made it impossible for the homeless who lived there to maintain social distance, which made it easier for the virus to spread. The New York Times website reported on April 13, 2020 that in the New York City, a crisis has taken hold in homeless shelters, as more than 17,000 men and women are sleeping in group or “congregate” shelters for single adults, with beds close enough for people sleeping in them to hold hands. The Boston Globe website reported on May 4, 2020 that, about one-third of the homeless people who were tested have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
監獄疫情暴發威脅囚犯生命健康。美國廣播公司網站2020年12月19日報道，美國至少已有27.5萬名囚犯感染新冠肺炎，1700多名感染者死亡，監獄系統的感染率大大高于周邊社區。根據美聯社和非營利新聞組織“馬歇爾項目”共同收集的數據，在州和聯邦監獄管理局管理的監獄中，每5名囚犯中就有1人感染新冠肺炎，是普通人感染率的4倍多；其中24個州監獄的感染率更高，堪薩斯州一半囚犯感染，是該州總人口感染率的8倍；阿肯色州每7名囚犯中就有4人感染。
Outbreak in jails threatened lives of inmates. ABC News reported on Dec. 19, 2020 that at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected, of whom more than 1,700 have died, and nearly every prison system in the country has seen infection rates significantly higher than the communities around them. One of every five prisoners in facilities run by the federal Bureau of Prisons has had coronavirus, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the criminal justice system. They also found that 24 state prison systems have had even higher infection rates. Half of the prisoners in Kansas have been infected with COVID-19 – eight times the rate of cases among the state’s overall population. In Arkansas, four of every seven have had the virus.
疫情失控給美國人心理帶來嚴重陰影。特朗普政府應對疫情不力對美國人造成的負面影響超過病毒本身，人們感到壓力重重、孤立無援。（注7）美國疾病控制與預防中心2020年8月14日公布的一項研究顯示，2020年4月至6月，40.9%的成年受訪者表示出現心理健康問題，30.9%的成年受訪者表示患有焦慮或抑郁癥，而這些數字只是冰山一角。與此同時，13%的成年受訪者表示開始或增加使用藥物，11%的成年受訪者認真考慮過自殺。2020年6月發布的一項研究顯示，疫情期間美國自殺救助熱線電話接聽數量上升了47%，某些危機干預熱線電話接聽數量暴漲300%。（注8）
Out-of-control pandemic brought Americans psychological pressure. The Trump administration’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected Americans more than the virus itself, which has left people stressed and isolated. In a study published by the CDC on Aug. 14, 2020, due to stay-at-home orders, 40.9 percent of adults reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, 30.9 percent reported either anxiety or depression and those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. The same CDC study showed that 13 percent of people surveyed by the CDC during the same time said that they started or increased their substance use and 11 percent seriously considered suicide. A separate study released in June 2020 showed calls to suicide hotlines went up 47 percent nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic with some crisis lines experiencing a 300-percent increase.
二、美式民主失序引發政治亂象
II. American Democracy Disorder Triggers Political Chaos
美國自詡為民主制度的“樣板”，動輒打著所謂維護民主、自由、人權的旗號對許多國家指手畫腳、肆意打壓。然而，金錢政治痼疾深重，民意操縱與謊言泛濫，美式民主不僅難以彌合日益極化的政治分歧，反而進一步加劇了美國社會的撕裂，導致美國民眾的公民權利和政治權利有名無實。
Touting itself as the beacon of democracy, the United States has wantonly leveled criticism against and oppressed many other countries under the guise of upholding democracy, freedom and human rights. However, the U.S. society has been plagued by deep-rooted money politics, unchecked public opinion manipulation and rampant lies, and American democracy has further aggravated social division instead of bridging the increasingly polarized political differences. As a result, the American people enjoy their civil and political rights in name only.
金錢支配下的政治選舉實質上成為“錢決”。金錢是美國政治的驅動力。美國的金錢政治扭曲了民意，把選舉搞成了富人階層的“獨角戲”。2020年美國總統和國會選舉的總支出高達140億美元，是2016年的2倍多。其中，總統選舉花費再創歷史紀錄，達到66億美元；國會選舉花費超過70億美元。美國消費者新聞與商業頻道網站2020年11月1日報道，在2020年的選舉周期中，排在前10位的捐款者捐款總額超過6.4億美元。除公開登記的選舉捐款外，大量秘密資金和“黑錢”充斥著2020年的美國大選。根據紐約大學布倫南司法研究中心的分析，匿名捐款的“黑錢”組織通過廣告支出和向各類超級政治行動委員會提供的捐款創了新的紀錄，共為2020年的選舉投入7.5億多美元。（注9）
Influence of money in electoral politics essentially makes it a money-led election. Money is the driving force of American politics. America’s money politics has distorted public opinion, turning elections into a “one-man show” for the rich. The amount spent on the 2020 U.S. presidential and congressional campaigns hit nearly 14 billion U.S. dollars, more than double what was spent in the 2016 election. The presidential campaign saw a record high of 6.6 billion U.S. dollars in total spending, while congressional races finished with over 7 billion U.S. dollars. According to a Nov. 1, 2020 report on the website of CNBC, the top 10 donors in the 2020 U.S. election cycle contributed over 640 million U.S. dollars. In addition to publicly registered election donations, a large amount of secret funds and dark money flooded the 2020 U.S. elections. According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, dark money groups poured more than 750 million U.S. dollars into 2020 elections through ad spending and record-breaking contributions to political committees such as super political action committees.
民眾對選舉的信任陷入危機。蓋洛普公司網站2020年10月8日公布的調查顯示，對總統選舉非常有信心的受訪者比例僅有19%，創下自2004年以來該調查的最低紀錄。《華爾街日報》網站2020年11月9日評論稱，在2020年的選舉中，人們對美國民主制度的信心下降至20年來最低點。
Public trust in U.S. elections was in crisis. According to Gallup’s figures released on Oct. 8, 2020, only 19 percent of Americans say they are “very confident” about the accuracy of the presidential election, the lowest Gallup has recorded in its trend dating back to 2004. According to a commentary carried by the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 9, 2020, the 2020 U.S. election can be seen as the culmination of a two-decade period of decline in faith in the basic building blocks of democracy.
政治極化現象日益嚴重。共和黨和民主黨之間的對立逐漸從政策之爭變為身份之爭，政治部落屬性日趨明顯，兩黨在諸多重大公共事項上僵持不下、無所作為，使國家治理陷入低效無能的泥淖。政客自甘墮落爭權奪利，相互傾軋、攻訐纏斗成為美國的基本政治生態，各種丑陋攻擊和低俗抹黑競相上演。支持不同黨派的選民在極端政客的挑唆煽動之下勢不兩立，情緒日趨狂熱、溝通愈發艱難，仇恨政治演變為一場全國性的瘟疫，成為社會持續動蕩撕裂的根源。皮尤研究中心網站2020年11月13日報道，美國社會出現了不同尋常的政治分裂。民主黨人和共和黨人之間在經濟、種族、氣候變化、執法、國際參與以及其他一系列問題上的分歧日益鮮明。2020年的總統選舉使這些根深蒂固的分歧進一步深化。選舉前一個月，兩黨候選人的支持者中有約80%的登記選民表示，他們與另一方的分歧不僅在于政治和政策上的不同，更在于核心價值觀上的對立，約90%的選民擔心對方的勝選會對美國造成“持久傷害”。
Political polarization grew. Disagreement between Democrats and Republicans has gradually changed from policy differences to identity battles with increasingly obvious political tribalism. The two parties have ended in deadlocks on many major public issues, thus leading to inefficient and incompetent state governance. Power plays between rival politicians in dogfights have become the hallmark of American politics, which saw a variety of shows featuring ugly attacks and vulgar smears. Voters supporting different parties are at loggerheads under the instigation of extreme politicians. Dominated by growing political fanaticism, the two camps are increasingly harder to talk to each other. Hate politics raged through the country and became the root cause of constant social unrest and division. According to a Nov. 13, 2020 report by Pew Research Center, America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide. There has been an increasingly stark disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on economy, racial justice, climate change, law enforcement, international engagement and a long list of other issues. The 2020 presidential election exacerbated these deep-seated divides. A month before the election, roughly 80 percent of the registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about more than just politics and policies, but also about core American values, and about 90 percent in both camps worried that a victory by the other would lead to “lasting harm” to the United States.
權力制衡異化為否決政治。兩黨分裂強化了美國體制中固有的否決現象，權力分割和權力制衡變異為相互否決。兩黨惡斗不止，使國會陷入癱瘓，決策陷入僵局。在疫情暴發失控的危機局面下，兩黨不僅在諸多議題上一再纏斗，還把應對疫情沖擊的第二輪紓困法案當作競選工具，為了撈取選票拉鋸扯皮拒不妥協，導致數百萬底層民眾生計艱難。否決政治造成國會和行政系統、聯邦和州的尖銳對立。疫情期間，共和黨總統和民主黨占多數的眾議院矛盾不斷，聯邦政府與民主黨執政的“藍州”沖突頻發，不僅同各州搶奪抗疫物資，還屢屢和“藍州”執行截然相反的疫情應對政策，導致民眾無所適從。馬薩諸塞州緊急購買的300萬個N95口罩在運抵紐約港后竟被聯邦政府攔截。
Power checks and balances have mutated into veto politics. The bipartisan divides intensified the veto practices inherent in the American system. The separation, check and balance of power have turned into vetoing each other. The two parties engaged in ferocious battles, paralyzing the Congress and deadlocking the decision-making. While the outbreak of COVID-19 went out of control, the two parties not only brawled with each other on multiple issues, but also took the bill for the second round of COVID-19 relief measures as their campaigning tool for election. The two parties filibustered and stalled each other for votes, leaving millions of grassroots people in livelihood predicament. The veto politics has caused acute confrontations between the Congress and the administrative system, as well as between the federal and state authorities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, frequent contradictions have taken place between the Republican president and the Democrats-dominated House of Representatives, and between the federal government and Democratic “blue states.” The federal government competed with the states in the scramble for anti-virus supplies, and was often at odds with the “blue states” in epidemic response policies, thus causing people to be at a loss. Massachusetts once arranged to buy 3 million N95 masks for urgent needs, but federal authorities seized them at the Port of New York.
選后暴亂凸顯美式民主危機。選舉沒有解決美國政治分歧，反而使對立白熱化。英國《衛報》網站2020年11月4日指出，無論誰贏得選舉，美國仍然是一個嚴重分裂的國家，憤怒和仇恨將成為政治遺產。敗選的共和黨陣營指控大選存在多項欺詐，不接受總統選舉結果，在密歇根州、威斯康星州、賓夕法尼亞州和佐治亞州等提出訴訟，并對當地選舉官員施壓和恐嚇，要求重新計票以推翻選舉結果。特朗普一再堅稱絕不接受選舉結果，并號召支持者前往華盛頓抗議國會確認選舉結果，選舉爭議最終演變為暴亂。
The post-election riots highlighted the American democracy crisis. The election did not resolve the political differences in the United States, but heated up social confrontation. A Nov. 4, 2020 report on the website of the Guardian noted that whoever won the 2020 election, America would remain a country bitterly divided and the politics of anger and hatred would be the legacy. Claiming that the election was tainted by fraud, the defeated Republican camp refused to accept the presidential election results and filed lawsuits in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, calling for a recount of ballots to overturn the election by pressuring and intimidating local election officials. Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that he would never accept the election defeat, calling on his supporters to protest against the congressional certification of the election result in Washington, D.C. The election dispute eventually turned into riots.
2021年1月6日，拒絕接受選舉結果的上萬名示威者在華盛頓舉行“拯救美國”示威集會，大批示威者隨后越過警衛線翻墻闖入國會大廈，與警察發生激烈肢體沖突。警察發射催淚彈并開槍射擊，國會議員們戴著防護面罩慌忙躲避，示威者占領會場后肆意妄為。事件造成數人死亡，導致正在認證選舉結果的參眾兩院聯席會議被迫中斷，華盛頓特區相繼進入宵禁和緊急狀態。美國國會警察局局長史蒂文·桑德2021年1月7日稱，成千上萬參與暴力騷亂的人用金屬管、化學刺激物和其他武器襲擊警察，華盛頓特區和國會大廈共有50多名警察受傷。警察總計逮捕了100多人。2021年1月7日，聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特發表聲明稱，該事件清楚地表明了政治領導人持續、蓄意歪曲事實以及煽動暴力和仇恨所造成的破壞性影響。
On Jan. 6, 2021, tens of thousands of protesters who refused to accept the election defeat staged a “Save America” rally in Washington, D.C. A large number of protesters breached security and stormed into the Capitol building, where they tussled with police officers. Members of the U.S. Congress were hurriedly evacuated wearing their gas masks, as the police fired tear gas and shot to disperse the protesters. Protesters acted recklessly after occupying the venue. The riots resulted in multiple injuries and an interruption of the congressional certification of the electoral victory. Washington, D.C. imposed curfew and entered a state of emergency. On Jan. 7, 2021, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said that thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions attacked officers with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other weapons, injuring more than 50 police officers. The police arrested more than 100 people in total. On Jan. 7, 2021, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement that the attack on the U.S. Capitol demonstrated clearly the destructive impact of sustained, deliberate distortion of facts, and incitement to violence and hatred by political leaders.
華盛頓上演的政治亂象令世界震驚。美國媒體稱這是美國現代史上權力移交第一次“在華盛頓權力走廊內演變成一場實體對抗”，“暴力、混亂和破壞動搖了美國民主的核心”，是“對美國民主燈塔形象的一記重擊”。法國《費加羅報》評論稱，這一暴力事件激化了美國社會不同陣營間的怨恨和不信任，使美國陷入新的政治危機。《外交政策》評論稱，美國已經變成了美國領導人經常譴責的樣子：無法在權力交接過程中避免暴力和流血破壞。黎巴嫩外交官穆罕默德·薩法在社交媒體發表評論稱：“如果美國看到美國正對美國做的事，美國肯定會入侵美國，以從美國暴政的手中解放美國。”
The political chaos in Washington shocked the world. American media called it the first time in modern American history that the power transfer has turned into a real combat in the Washington corridor of power. They blamed that violence, chaos and vandalism had shaken the American democracy to the core, dealing a heavy blow to America’s image as a democratic beacon. The French daily Le Figaro commented that the violent incident stoked up the resentment and distrust among different camps in American society, plunging America into an unknown situation. The Foreign Policy said in a commentary that the United States has become what its leaders used to condemn: being unable to avoid violence and bloody destruction during transfer of power. Lebanese diplomat Mohamad Safa commented via social media, “If the United States saw what the United States is doing in the United States, the United States would invade the United States to liberate the United States from the tyranny of the United States.”
三、種族歧視惡化少數族裔處境
III. Ethnic Minorities Devastated by Racial Discrimination
在美國，種族主義是全面性、系統性、持續性的存在。美國前總統奧巴馬對這一現狀無奈地表示：“因種族而被區別對待是數百萬美國人悲劇性的、痛苦的、憤怒的‘常態’。”2020年6月，聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特連發兩條媒體聲明，強調非洲裔男子弗洛伊德死亡引發的抗議活動不僅凸顯了美國警察對有色人種的暴力執法問題，也凸顯了美國在衛生、教育、就業等方面的不平等和種族歧視問題。如果美國想要結束種族主義和暴力的悲慘歷史，就必須予以傾聽和解決。6月17日，聯合國人權理事會第43次會議召開種族主義問題緊急辯論，這是人權理事會歷史上首次就美國人權問題召開緊急會議。11月9日，美國在接受聯合國人權理事會第三輪國別人權審查時，因種族歧視問題遭致國際社會嚴厲批評。聯合國消除種族歧視委員會等機構指出，美國的種族主義令人震驚，白人種族主義者、新納粹分子和三K黨成員公然使用種族主義的標語、口號，宣揚白人至上，煽動種族歧視和仇恨；政治人物越來越多地使用分裂性語言，試圖將種族、族裔和宗教少數群體邊緣化，等同于煽動和助長暴力、不容忍和偏執。聯合國當代形式種族主義問題特別報告員滕達伊·阿丘梅認為，對于非洲裔美國人來說，美國的法律體系已經無法解決種族不公與歧視。
In the United States, racism exists in a comprehensive, systematic and continuous manner. Former U.S. President Barack Obama said helplessly that “for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’.” In June 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet made two consecutive media statements, emphasizing that the protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an African American, highlighted not only the issue of police brutality against people of color, but also inequality and racial discrimination in health, education, and employment in the United States. The grievances need to be heard and addressed if the country is to move on from its tragic history of racism and violence. On June 17, 2020, the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on racism. This was the first time in the history of the Human Rights Council that an urgent meeting on the human rights issues of the United States was held. On Nov. 9, 2020, the United States was severely criticized by the international community for racial discrimination when it was in the third cycle of Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations and other institutions pointed out that racism in the United States is horrific. The white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan overtly use racist slogans, chants and salutes to promote white supremacy and incite racial discrimination and hatred. Political figures increasingly use divisive language in attempts to marginalize racial, ethnic and religious minorities, which amounts to inciting and fueling violence, intolerance and bigotry. Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, believes that for black people in the United States, the domestic legal system has utterly failed to acknowledge and confront the racial injustice and discrimination that are so deeply entrenched in law enforcement.
印第安人權利遭受侵犯。美國政府在歷史上對印第安人進行過系統性種族清洗和大屠殺，犯下罄竹難書的反人類罪和種族滅絕罪行，美國印第安人今天仍然過著二等公民般的生活，權利飽受踐踏。美國許多低收入社區中的印第安人等土著人遭受核廢料等有毒環境影響，罹患癌癥、心臟病的比率非常高。很多土著人生活在危險廢物處置場附近，出生缺陷率畸高。2020年8月5日，聯合國危險物質及廢料的無害環境管理和處置對人權的影響問題特別報告員根據人權理事會第36/15號決議發布的報告指出，美國土著人面臨采掘業、農業和制造業釋放或產生的有毒污染物，包括遭受核廢料放射性影響，并且采礦廢物造成的土壤和鉛塵污染對其健康造成的影響遠超其他群體。聯合國宗教或信仰自由問題特別報告員根據聯大74/145號決議編寫的報告指出，美國政府未經土著群體同意，或違反其傳統土地所有權和集體土地所有權，將印第安“立巖”蘇族部落等的土地開放接受投資。聯合國適當生活水準權問題特別報告員根據人權理事會第43/14號決議編寫的報告指出，少數群體和土著人受新冠肺炎疫情的影響最具破壞性，美國土著人的住院率是非拉美裔白人的5倍，死亡率也遠超白人。
Rights of the American Indians were violated. The United States has carried out systematic ethnic cleansing and massacres of Indians in history, and committed countless crimes against humanity and genocides. American Indians still live a life like a second-class citizen and their rights have been trampled over. Many indigenous peoples, such as the American Indians, who live in low-income communities in the United States, suffer from higher rates of cancer and heart diseases from toxic radioactive environments. Many indigenous people live near hazardous waste disposal sites and have an abnormally high rate of birth defects. On Aug. 5, 2020, the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 36/15, decried the situation of indigenous peoples in the United States. They are exposed to toxic pollutants, including nuclear waste, released or produced by extractive industries, agriculture and manufacturing. The soil and lead dust pollution from mining waste poses a more significant health threat for indigenous peoples in the United States than other groups. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in accordance with General Assembly resolution 74/145 found out that the United States had opened up the lands of indigenous communities, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to investment without the communities’ consent or in contravention of their customary and collective land ownership. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, released in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 43/14, said that some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19 had been felt by racial and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. The hospitalization rate of Native Americans was five times that of non-Hispanic white Americans. The death rate of Native Americans also far exceeded that of white Americans.
對亞裔群體的欺凌加劇。疫情暴發以來，亞裔美國人在公共場合遭受羞辱甚至攻擊的事件比比皆是，一些美國政客對此更是有意誤導。《紐約時報》網站2020年4月16日指出，“新冠病毒肆虐期間，在美國身為亞裔是一種非常孤獨的感覺”。全國廣播公司網站2020年9月17日報道，一項針對美國亞裔年輕人的調查顯示，在過去一年中，四分之一的美國亞裔年輕人成為種族欺凌目標；在時任美國政府領導人種族主義言論的推波助瀾下，近一半受訪者對自身所處境遇表示悲觀，四分之一的受訪者對自己及家人所處的境遇表示恐懼。聯合國當代形式種族主義問題特別報告員滕達伊·阿丘梅2020年3月23日和4月21日先后指出，有關國家政客主動發表公開或暗示性的仇外言論，使用別有用心的名稱來替代新冠肺炎病毒，這種把特定疾病與某個具體國家或民族相聯系的仇外表達不負責任、令人不安。美國政府官員公然煽動、引導和縱容種族歧視，無異于對現代人權觀念的悍然羞辱。
Bullying against Asian Americans escalated. Since the pandemic began, the incidents of Asian Americans being humiliated and even assaulted in public have been found everywhere, and some American politicians have misled the public on purpose. “It’s very lonely to be Asians in the United States during the raging pandemic,” said a report published on the website of the New York Times on April 16, 2020. A survey of young Asian Americans showed that in the past year, a quarter of young Asian Americans became targets of racial bullying; fueled by the racist remarks of the then American leader, nearly half of the respondents expressed pessimism about their situation, and a quarter of the respondents expressed fear about the situation of themselves and their families, according to a report published on the website of the National Broadcasting Corporation on Sept. 17, 2020. Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said on March 23 and April 21, 2020, that politicians of relevant countries took the initiative to make open or suggestive xenophobic remarks, adopting alternative names with ulterior motives for the novel coronavirus. Their remarks that associated a specific disease with a specific country or ethnicity were irresponsible and disturbing, according to the Special Rapporteur. U.S. government officials openly incited, induced, and condoned racial discrimination, which was tantamount to humiliating modern human rights concepts.
仇恨犯罪居高不下凸顯種族關系惡化。聯邦調查局2020年發布的報告顯示，在2019年執法部門報告的8302起單一偏見引起的仇恨犯罪案件中，57.6%涉及種族族裔身份，其中高達48.4%是針對非洲裔，15.8%是針對白人，14.1%是針對拉美裔，4.3%是針對亞裔。在種族仇恨犯罪案件的4930名受害者中，非洲裔多達2391人。《今日美國報》網站2020年5月20日報道，一些美國人將疫情的暴發歸咎于亞裔，對亞裔的歧視、騷擾和仇恨犯罪事件越來越多。民權組織“停止仇恨亞裔美國人與太平洋島居民”的統計數據顯示，2020年前7個月，美國共發生2300余起針對亞裔的仇恨犯罪。
The high level of hate crimes highlighted the deterioration of race relations. An FBI report released in 2020 showed that 57.6 percent of the 8,302 single-bias hate crime offenses reported by law enforcement agencies in 2019 were motivated by race/ethnicity/ancestry. Of these offenses, 48.4 percent were motivated by anti-black or African American bias; 15.8 percent stemmed from anti-white bias; 14.1 percent were classified as anti-Hispanic or Latino bias; 4.3 percent resulted from anti-Asian bias. Among the 4,930 victims of racial hate crimes, as many as 2,391 were of African descent. Some Americans blamed the outbreak of the pandemic on Asian Americans, and there had been an increase in the number of hate crimes and incidents of harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans, according to a report published on the website of USA Today on May 20. Statistics from the civil rights organization Stop AAPI Hate showed there were over 2,300 anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. during the first seven months of 2020.
警察暴力執法導致非洲裔死亡案件頻發。2020年3月13日，26歲的非洲裔女子布倫娜·泰勒在自己家中被警察射中8槍致死。2020年5月25日，46歲的非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德被白人警察當街殘忍“跪殺”。2020年8月23日，29歲的非洲裔男子雅各布·布萊克在打開車門要上車時被警察從背后連開7槍導致重傷，事發時布萊克3個年幼的孩子就在車上目睹了這一恐怖經過。“警察暴力地圖”網站數據顯示，2020年美國警察共槍殺1127人，其中只有18天沒有殺人。非洲裔只占美國總人口的13%，卻占被警察槍殺人數的28%，非洲裔被警察殺死的概率是白人的3倍。2013年至2020年，約98%的涉案警察未被指控犯罪，被定罪的警察更是少之又少。
Unchecked police violence led to frequent deaths of African Americans. On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was shot eight times and killed by police in her own home. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American was killed after a white policeman kneeled on his neck in the street. On Aug. 23, 2020, Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African American, was severely injured after police officers shot him seven times in the back when Blake was getting into a car. At the time, Blake’s three kids were in the car, witnessing the horrible act. American police shot and killed a total of 1,127 people in 2020, with no killing reported in just 18 days, according to Mapping Police Violence. African Americans made up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for 28 percent of the people killed by the police. African Americans were approximately three times more likely than white people to be killed by police. From 2013 to 2020, about 98 percent of the police involved in shooting cases were not charged with a crime, and the number of convicted was even smaller.
有色人種受疫情危害更大。2020年8月21日，聯合國人權理事會非洲人后裔問題專家工作組向人權理事會第45次會議提交報告指出，美國新冠肺炎病毒的感染率和死亡率體現了明顯的種族差異，非洲裔的感染率、住院率和死亡率分別是白人的3倍、5倍和2倍。英國《金融時報》網站2020年5月15日報道稱，“沒有什么比這場疫情下的生與死更能體現美國的膚色差異了”。美國疾病控制與預防中心2020年8月7日發布的報告顯示，疫情中的種族差異擴大到了兒童。拉美裔兒童因新冠肺炎住院的比率是白人兒童的9倍，非洲裔兒童住院的比率是白人兒童的6倍。（注10）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月10日報道，洛杉磯公共衛生總監芭芭拉·費雷爾指出，病毒對非洲裔和拉美裔居民造成的嚴重影響，根源在于“種族主義和歧視對獲得健康所需資源和機會的影響”。《今日美國報》網站2020年10月22日評論指出，有色人種死于疫情的人數遠遠多于白人，可歸因于不平等的教育與經濟體系導致有色人種得不到高薪工作，住房歧視導致有色人種居住密集，以及以犧牲窮人為代價的環境政策等。在新冠肺炎死亡率最高的10個縣中，有7個縣是有色人種人口占大多數；在死亡率最高的前50個縣中，有31個縣的居住者主要是有色人種。
People of color were more harmed by the epidemic. The infection rate and death rate of COVID-19 in the United States showed significant racial differences, with the infection rate, hospitalization rate and death rate of African Americans being three times, five times and twice that of white people respectively, according to a report delivered by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to the UN Human Rights Council on Aug. 21, 2020. “Nothing brings into sharper relief America’s color disparities than life and death in the Great Lockdown,” said a report published on the website of the Financial Times on May 15, 2020. Racial disparities in the epidemic extend to children, according to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 7, 2020. Latino and black children were hospitalized with COVID-19 at a rate nine times and six times that of white kids, respectively. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County, said the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on black and Latino residents is rooted in the impact of racism and discrimination on the access to the resources and opportunities that are needed to good health, according to the website of the Los Angeles Times on July 10, 2020. COVID-19 kills far more people of color than white Americans, which could be attributed to America’s unequal education and economic systems that disproportionately leave people of color out of higher-wage jobs, discrimination in housing that corralled people of color into tightly packed neighborhoods, and environmental policies designed by white power brokers at the expense of the poor, an article by USA Today said. Of the 10 U.S. counties with the highest death rates from COVID-19, seven have populations where people of color make up the majority, according to data compiled by USA Today. Of the top 50 counties with the highest death rates, 31 are populated mostly by people of color.
有色人種面臨更嚴重的失業威脅。英國《衛報》網站2020年4月28日評論稱，“最后被雇傭，最先被解雇”是非洲裔美國人最無奈的現實。美國勞工部2020年5月8日發布的報告顯示，4月份非洲裔和拉美裔的失業率分別飆升至16.7%和18.9%，創歷史最高紀錄。（注11）《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年6月4日報道，經過嚴重疫情后，只有不到一半的非洲裔美國成年人還擁有工作。美國勞工部2020年9月發布的數據顯示，非洲裔的失業率比白人高出近一倍。（注12）《基督教科學箴言報》2020年7月20日報道，工會領導者呼吁美國勞工在20多個城市罷工，以抗議在疫情期間加劇的系統性種族主義和經濟不平等。
People of color faced an even greater threat of unemployment. The Guardian commented in an article on April 28, 2020 that the “last hired, first fired” phenomenon was the most frustrating reality for African Americans. A report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on May 8, 2020 revealed the unemployment rate of African Americans and Latinos soared to 16.7 percent and 18.9 percent respectively in April, both the highest on record. The Washington Post reported on June 4, 2020 that after the Great Lockdown in spring, fewer than half of all black adults had a job. Figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor in September showed the jobless rate for the black people almost doubled that for the white. The Christian Science Monitor reported on July 20, 2020 that trade union leaders called for a national workers’ strike in more than two dozen U.S. cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that had only worsened during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
執法司法領域存在系統性種族歧視。《信使》雜志網2020年12月17日報道，在路易斯維爾市，盡管非洲裔美國人僅占當地駕齡人口的20%，且在搜查中發現違禁品的比率遠低于白人，但警察對于非洲裔的搜查卻占搜查總次數的57%，近3年內被逮捕者中有43.5%是非洲裔。英國廣播公司網站2020年6月1日報道，盡管非洲裔僅占美國總人口的13%，卻占監獄囚犯總數的三分之一，這意味著每10萬名非洲裔中就有1000多人被監禁。美國全國州議會會議網站2020年7月15日發布的研究顯示，有色人種在美國18歲以下未成年人中的比例約為三分之一，卻占被監禁未成年人總數的三分之二。艾奧瓦公共廣播新聞網2020年12月18日報道，在艾奧瓦州的監獄中，非洲裔的監禁率是白人的11倍。即使犯同一罪行，非洲裔也更可能被判更長的刑期。《洛杉磯時報》2020年9月15日報道，美國聯邦司法系統死刑適用中也存在著種族偏見，殺害非洲裔比殺害白人面臨死刑的可能性更低。當受害者是白人時，重罰有色人種犯罪嫌疑人的傾向更為明顯。《戴維斯先鋒報》網站2020年12月4日報道，自1976年以來，有色人種在美國的死刑執行中占比高達43%，目前等待執行的被告人中55%是有色人種。《邁阿密先驅報》網站2020年12月18日發表評論認為：“在我們的國家，刑事司法制度是由你的錢包和膚色來決定的。”
Systemic racial discrimination existed in law enforcement and justice. The Courier Journal reported on its website on Dec. 17, 2020 that although black people make up about 20 percent of Louisville’s driving-age population, they accounted for 57 percent of police searches, even though the police were far more likely to find contraband in searches of white people than black people. In the past three years, black people made up 43.5 percent of arrests by the Louisville Metro Police Department. African Americans made up around 13 percent of the U.S. population, but represented almost a third of the country’s prison population, which meant that there were more than 1,000 African-American prisoners for every 100,000 African American population. People of color constitute approximately one-third of the U.S. population under 18, but two-thirds of incarcerated minors, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures on July 15, 2020. Iowa Public Radio News reported on Dec. 18, 2020 that in Iowa’s prisons, black Iowans were imprisoned at a rate 11 times that of white Iowans. Black people were probably sentenced to a longer jail term for the same offense. The Los Angeles Times reported on Sept. 15, 2020 that black people have been over-represented on death rows across the United States and killers of black people are less likely to face the death penalty than people who kill white people. Davis Vanguard reported on Dec. 4, 2020 that people of color account for a disproportionate 43 percent of executions in the U.S. since 1976, and 55 percent of defendants currently awaiting execution are people of color. “We live in a country where our criminal justice system is defined by the size of your wallet and the color of your skin,” said an article published by the Miami Herald on Dec. 18, 2020.
職場中的種族歧視根深蒂固。哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞網2020年10月7日報道，對20多名現任和前任非洲裔美國特工的采訪中，受訪者都稱聯邦調查局的職場文化對少數族裔缺乏包容性。聯邦調查局的10個最高領導職位目前全部由白人擔任。全球13000名聯邦調查局特工中，非洲裔僅占4%，非洲裔婦女僅占1%，這一比例幾十年來幾乎沒有變化。聯邦調查局在業務培訓中不成比例地淘汰非洲裔申請者。該機構非洲裔事務多元化委員會負責人杰克遜表示，這是一種系統性的種族主義。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月2日報道，臉書公司被指控在雇用、補償和晉升方面存在對非洲裔的系統性歧視。數據顯示，2019年在美國擔任該公司技術職務的員工中只有1.5%是非洲裔，高級領導層中只有3.1%是非洲裔。過去5年，該公司的雇員增長了400%，但上述比例卻幾乎沒有任何改變。
Workplace racial discrimination was deeply rooted. According to a CBS News report on Oct. 7, 2020, over 20 current and former black agents interviewed all described some sort of racial discrimination while in the FBI. Of the top 10 leadership positions in the FBI, all are currently held by white men. Currently, only 4 percent of the 13,000 FBI agents around the world are black, and black women only account for 1 percent, a number that has stayed virtually the same for decades. There were long-standing problems at the FBI such as the disproportionate weeding out of black applicants during the training process. As head of the FBI’s Black Affairs Diversity Committee, Eric Jackson called it “institutionalized racism.” According to a report by the Los Angeles Times on July 2, 2020, Facebook Inc. was accused of systemic discrimination in hiring, compensation and promotion of black people. Facebook’s own figures showed just 1.5 percent of employees in technical roles in the U.S. were black in 2019, and 3.1 percent were black among senior leadership. Those percentages have barely budged even as the company’s employees grew by 400 percent over the past five years.
對少數族裔的社會歧視廣泛存在。《華爾街日報》和美國全國廣播公司2020年7月9日進行的一項聯合民意調查顯示，56%的美國選民認為美國社會是種族主義社會，非洲裔和拉美裔受到歧視。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年7月14日報道，弗洛伊德事件發生后，更多的白人也認為美國種族歧視問題嚴重。調查顯示，白人受訪者認為非洲裔經常受到歧視的可能性從2月的22%上升到7月的40%，認為拉美裔經常受到歧視的可能性從22%上升到32%，認為亞裔經常受到歧視的可能性從7%上升到20%。
Social discrimination against ethnic minorities was widespread. A poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News on July 9, 2020 found that 56 percent of the U.S. voters believe American society is racist and blacks and Hispanics are discriminated against. The Los Angeles Times reported on July 14, 2020 that after the death of George Floyd, more white Americans recognized the serious racial discrimination in the United States. A July 2020 survey showed that compared with February, white respondents are 18 percentage points more likely to believe black Americans are discriminated against frequently (from 22 percent to 40 percent), 10 percentage points more likely to believe Latinos are discriminated against frequently (from 22 percent to 32 percent), and 13 percentage points more likely to believe Asians are discriminated against frequently (from 7 percent to 20 percent).
種族間的不平等進一步加劇。芝加哥大學和圣母大學的研究顯示，2020年6月至11月，美國的貧困率上升了2.4個百分點，而非洲裔的貧困率上升了3.1個百分點。（注13）數據顯示，白人家庭的財富中位數是非洲裔的42倍，是拉美裔的23倍。美聯社2020年10月13日報道，美聯儲發布的數據顯示，2019年只有33.5%的非洲裔家庭持有股票，遠低于61%的白人家庭股票持有率。《今日美國報》網站2020年10月23日報道，2020年第一季度，美國白人家庭的住房擁有率為73.7%，而非洲裔家庭的住房擁有率卻只有44%。《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年6月4日報道稱，非洲裔美國人的生活處境極為艱難，超過五分之一的非洲裔家庭面臨食物匱乏，這一比例超過白人家庭3倍之多。美國廣播公司新聞網站2020年10月11日報道，2019年有15.7%的拉美裔生活在貧困之中，是白人的2倍多。
Inequality between races worsened. According to researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame, the U.S. poverty rate jumped by 2.4 percentage points from June to November 2020, while the poverty rate among black Americans went up by 3.1 percentage points. Statistics showed the median white household has 41 times more wealth (measured as the sum of assets held by a family minus total household debt) than the median black family and 22 times more than the median Latino family. Citing data released by the Federal Reserve, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 13, 2020 that only 33.5 percent of black households owned stocks in 2019, compared with 61 percent for white households. USA Today reported on Oct. 23, 2020 that in the first quarter of 2020, the national homeownership rate for white households was 73.7 percent, but only 44 percent of black households owned a home. The Washington Post reported on June 4, 2020 that more than one in five black families now report they often or sometimes do not have enough food – more than three times the rate for white families. ABC News reported on Oct. 11, 2020 that 15.7 percent of Latinos lived in poverty in 2019, a percentage more than double that of the white people.
四、社會持續動蕩威脅公眾安全
IV. Continuous Social Unrest Threatens Public Safety
政府維護治安不力，原本就高發的槍擊事件和暴力犯罪在疫情期間迭創新高，民眾恐慌難安。警察毫無節制地暴力執法，引發一次又一次席卷全國的抗議浪潮。警方濫用武力鎮壓抗議民眾，大規模攻擊和逮捕新聞記者，致使民怨進一步沸騰高漲，引發持續的社會動蕩。
The government failed to maintain proper law and order, and shootings and violent crimes, which were already high in incidence, recorded new highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing panic among members of the public. The police’s unrestrained use of violence in law enforcement triggered waves of protests that swept across the country. The police had abused their force to suppress protesters, and attacked and arrested journalists on a large scale, further fueling public anger and continuous social unrest.
疫情期間犯罪率持續增長。新冠肺炎疫情大流行期間，盡管各種防疫措施導致戶外活動大幅減少，但大城市的犯罪率卻持續增長。根據聯邦調查局2020年9月發布的《初步統一犯罪報告》，2020年上半年，美國的謀殺案比2019年同期增長14.8%，其中25萬至50萬人口城市的謀殺案增長26%；縱火案上升19%，其中人口超過100萬城市的縱火案上升52%；芝加哥的謀殺案激增37%，縱火案激增52.9%；紐約和洛杉磯的謀殺案分別增長了23%和14%。
Crime rates were on the rise amid the pandemic. While outdoor activities were down drastically as a result of various epidemic response measures, the crime rates were up in large cities amid the pandemic. According to the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report released in September 2020, in the first half of 2020, the number of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 14.8 percent year on year, with cities with populations of 250,000 to 500,000 reporting an increase of 26 percent. During the same period, the number of arson offenses increased 19 percent year on year, while such offenses rose 52 percent in cities with populations of 1 million and over. Murders in Chicago spiked by 37 percent, while arson in the city was up 52.9 percent. New York City recorded an increase of 23 percent in homicides, while Los Angeles saw murders rise by 14 percent.
暴力犯罪數量居高不下。聯邦調查局2020年發布的報告顯示，2019年美國共發生暴力犯罪案件120多萬起，其中謀殺案16425起、強奸案139815起、搶劫案267988起、重傷案821182起。這意味著每10萬居民中分別發生5起謀殺案、40余起強奸案、80余起搶劫案和250余起重傷案。
The number of violent crimes remained high. According to FBI reports released in 2020, more than 1.2 million violent crimes occurred in the United States in 2019, including 16,425 murders, 139,815 rapes, 267,988 robberies, and 821,182 aggravated assaults, translating to five murders, over 40 rapes, 80 robberies and 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 inhabitants.
槍支交易和槍擊事件再創歷史新高。加州大學戴維斯分校的一項研究發現，美國疫情失控導致人們對社會穩定失去信心，許多曾經反對擁槍的人士也開始購槍，導致疫情期間的槍支購買量飆升。（注14）《華盛頓郵報》網站2021年1月19日報道，在疫情失控、種族抗議和選舉沖突交織影響下，2020年美國的槍支銷量高達2300萬支，比2019年激增64%。根據美國全國射擊運動基金會的數據，2020年美國首次購買槍支的人數超過800萬人。《今日美國報》網站2020年12月18日報道，美國的持槍殺人率是其他發達國家的25倍。“槍支暴力檔案室”發布的數據顯示，2020年美國共有超過41500人死于槍擊，平均每天達110多人，創下歷史最高紀錄；全國共發生592起大規模槍擊事件，平均每天超過1.6起。北卡羅來納州查塔姆郡槍擊案、加利福尼亞州河濱郡槍擊案、阿拉巴馬州摩根郡槍擊案均造成7人死亡。芝加哥僅5月底的一個周末就有85人被槍擊，其中24人死亡。2021年1月9日下午，32歲的槍手杰森·南丁格爾在芝加哥沿街瘋狂濫殺民眾，導致3人死亡、4人重傷。
Gun sales and shootings hit record high. A study from the University of California, Davis found a significant increase in firearm violence in the United States associated with the coronavirus-related surge in firearm purchasing. A new destabilizing sense as virus fears spread had been motivating even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time. The Washington Post reported on its website on Jan. 19, 2021 that, COVID-19 lockdowns, anti-racism protests and election strife had led to record gun sales of about 23 million in 2020, a 64 percent increase over 2019 sales. The 2020 numbers include purchases by more than 8 million first-time buyers, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. USA Today reported on its website on Dec. 18, 2020 that, with regard to gun homicides, the United States has historically reported a rate about 25 times higher than other wealthy nations. According to data from Gun Violence Archive, more than 41,500 people died by gun violence in 2020 nationwide, an average of more than 110 a day, which is a record. There had been 592 mass shootings nationwide, an average of more than 1.6 a day. Shootings in Chatham County of North Carolina, Riverside County of California, and Morgan County of Alabama each claimed seven lives. A deadly weekend in Chicago came at the end of May, when 85 people were shot, 24 fatally. In the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2021, 32-year-old Jason Nightengale went on a random shooting rampage in Chicago, leaving three people killed and four others wounded.
弗洛伊德被警察當街跪殺引發騷亂。2020年5月25日晚，46歲的非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德因涉嫌使用假鈔購買香煙，被白人警察殘忍跪壓8分鐘之久致死。明尼阿波利斯市市長雅各布·弗雷悲憤地說道：“我所看到的是徹徹底底的錯誤。作為黑人在美國不應等同于被判了死刑。”律師本·克拉姆普發表聲明指出：“弗洛伊德受到的僅是一項非暴力指控，卻因警察過度和不人道地濫用武力而喪生。”美國法治民權律師委員會會長克里斯汀·克拉克指出：“對這個國家的黑人來說，現在的絕望深不見底。毫無節制的警察暴行日積月累，醞釀了一場巨大風暴。”（注15）警察暴行引燃社會怒火，“黑人的命也是命”抗議浪潮席卷全美，并波及多個國家。美國各地騷亂連連升級，抗議人群堵塞道路、構筑街壘與警察對峙，大量警察局和公共機構、商場商店被洗劫。英國《衛報》網站2020年6月8日報道，喬治·弗洛伊德遭警察當街跪殺之后，美國50個州的大約140個城市都發生了針對這起謀殺的抗議和示威。
George Floyd’s death from police brutality sparked unrest. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man from Minnesota, died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for eight minutes during an arrest for forgery. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said what he saw was “wrong on every level,” noting, “Being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, “This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said, “The depths of despair are enormous right now for black people in this country. You pile on unchecked police violence and it makes for a perfect storm.” The police brutality sparked visceral outrage, leading to protests in support of Black Lives Matter throughout the United States, as well as in other countries. The unrest escalated across the nation, with protesters blocking the streets and building barricades to confront the police. A large number of police stations, public institutions and shopping malls were looted. The Guardian reported on its website on June 8, 2020 that, since George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, about 140 cities in all 50 states throughout the United States have seen protests and demonstrations in response to the killing.
示威民眾遭武力鎮壓。面對沸騰的民怨，時任美國政府領導人火上澆油，調集大批國民警衛隊奔赴各地，號召開槍射擊，現場橡皮子彈橫飛，催淚瓦斯彌漫，民眾驚恐不已，社會陷入一片混亂。政府派遣的聯邦探員在各地隨意抓捕抗議者，1萬多人被逮捕，其中包含大量無辜民眾。2020年，非洲裔女子布倫娜·泰勒被警察槍殺公之于眾后，再次引爆“黑人的命也是命”抗議浪潮，僅在路易斯維爾的抗議活動中就有435人被逮捕。（注16）英國《衛報》網站2020年10月29日報道，2020年5月以來的反種族主義抗議中，美國至少發生了950起警察針對普通民眾和記者的施暴事件。警方對抗議者使用了橡皮子彈、催淚瓦斯和“非法的致命性武力”。
The demonstrators were suppressed by force. In the face of visceral public grievances, the then U.S. administration leader added fuel to the fire by deploying a large number of National Guard soldiers across the country and calling for shooting. Targeted with flying rubber bullets and tear gas on site, the public were horrified and the society fell into chaos. U.S. federal agents had been grabbing protesters seemingly without cause. More than 10,000 individuals had been arrested, including many innocent people. The disclosure of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, an African-American woman, during a police raid fueled a renewed wave of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, with the city of Louisville alone reporting arrests of 435 individuals during the movement. The Guardian reported on its website on Oct. 29, 2020 that, at least 950 instances of police brutality against civilians and journalists during anti-racism protests had occurred since May 2020. The police had used rubber bullets, tear gas and “unlawful lethal force” against protesters.
新聞記者遭到執法部門前所未有的攻擊。2020年美國至少有117名記者在報道反種族主義抗議等活動中被逮捕或拘留，比2019年暴增12倍。英國《衛報》網站2020年6月5日報道，“記者被警察毆打、噴胡椒噴霧和逮捕的數量在美國前所未有地增加”。在弗洛伊德事件發生后的一周內，美國便發生了148起逮捕或襲擊記者事件，遭逮捕的記者人數超過了前三年的總和。“保護記者委員會”2020年12月14日發表聲明稱，美國記者在2020年遭遇了前所未有的攻擊，其中大多數是被執法部門襲擊的。
Journalists had been subject to unparalleled attacks by law enforcement. There were at least 117 cases of journalists being arrested or detained while on the job covering anti-racism protests in the United States in 2020, a 1,200-percent increase from the figure in 2019. The Guardian reported on its website on June 5, 2020 that, reporters were beaten, pepper-sprayed and arrested by police in numbers never before documented in the United States. There were 148 arrests or attacks on journalists in the country within one week after the George Floyd incident, which was more than what was recorded during the previous three years combined. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement on Dec. 14, 2020 that, U.S. journalists faced unprecedented attacks in 2020, the majority by law enforcement.
五、貧富日益分化加劇社會不公
V. Growing Polarization Between Rich and Poor Aggravates Social Inequality
新冠肺炎疫情使美國社會深陷第二次世界大戰以來最嚴重的經濟衰退，企業大批倒閉，勞動者失去工作，貧富差距進一步擴大，底層民眾生活苦不堪言。
The COVID-19 epidemic plunged the United States into the worst economic downturn since World War II. A large number of businesses shut down, workers lost their jobs, the gap between rich and poor widened, and the lives of the people at the bottom of society were miserable.
貧富差距加速擴大。彭博網站2020年10月8日報道，美國最富有的50人與最貧窮的1.65億人擁有的財富相等，1%最富有的人擁有的凈資產是50%最貧困人口的16.4倍。疫情進一步加劇了財富不平等狀況。福布斯網站2020年12月11日報道，美國614位億萬富翁的集體凈資產在疫情期間增加了9310億美元。芝加哥大學和圣母大學的研究顯示，美國的貧困率從2020年6月份的9.3%快速上升到11月份的11.7%。（注17）
The rich-poor divide further widened. The website of Bloomberg reported on Oct. 8, 2020 that the 50 richest Americans now hold almost as much wealth as the poorest 165 million people in the country. The richest 1 percent of Americans have a combined net worth that is 16.4 times that of the poorest 50 percent. The epidemic has aggravated wealth inequality. The website of Forbes reported on Dec. 11, 2020 that over the past months of the pandemic, the collective net worth of America’s 614 billionaires has increased by 931 billion U.S. dollars. America’s poverty rate jumped to 11.7 percent in November 2020, up from 9.3 percent in June, according to researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame.
疫情失控引發大規模失業。《華盛頓郵報》網站2020年5月9日報道，美國企業倒閉和失業潮的速度及規模超乎想象，2050萬人在短期內失去工作，幾乎是2007年至2009年整個金融危機期間的2倍。高中以下教育程度人口的失業率2020年4月飆升至21.2%，創“大衰退”以來歷史最高水平。《今日美國報》網站2020年8月8日報道，2020年6月，33個都會區失業率超過15%。2020年2月至5月，1150萬美國女性失去工作。（注18）
Out-of-control epidemic led to mass unemployment. The speed and magnitude of business closures and job losses defied comparison, according to a report on the website of The Washington Post on May 9, 2020. Some 20.5 million people abruptly lost their jobs, which was roughly double what the nation experienced during the entire financial crisis from 2007 to 2009. In April 2020, the unemployment rate soared to 21.2 percent for people with less than a high school degree, surpassing the previous all-time high set in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The website of USA Today reported on Aug. 8, 2020 that 33 U.S. metro areas had a jobless rate of over 15 percent in June 2020. About 11.5 million American women lost their jobs between February and May 2020.
數千萬人在疫情中陷入食物危機。“喂養美國”網站2020年10月更新的分析報告顯示，超過5000萬人陷入食物無保障狀況，這意味著六分之一美國人、四分之一美國兒童面臨饑餓威脅。英國《衛報》網站2020年11月25日報道，美國食物救助需求比疫情流行前高出60%。2020年感恩節期間，高達數百萬美國人不得不依靠慈善機構的救助才能避免挨餓。
Tens of millions of people were in food crisis in the epidemic. More than 50 million people – one in six Americans, including one in four children – could experience food insecurity in 2020, according to an analysis report updated in October 2020 by Feeding America. The website of the Guardian reported on Nov. 25, 2020 that nationwide, demand for food aid has plateaued at about 60 percent higher than pre-pandemic times. Millions of Americans must rely on charity to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table in 2020.
醫療保險覆蓋人群銳減。美國因政治極化一直未能實現全民醫保，享有醫保的人群又因疫情急劇縮減。2020年3月至5月，估計約2700萬美國人由于疫情失去醫療保險。得克薩斯州未參加醫療保險的人數從430萬人暴增至490萬人，使得該州無醫保人口比例升至30%。（注19）
Health insurance coverage plummeted. America has no universal health insurance because of political polarization and the number of people enjoying health insurance has shrunk sharply due to the epidemic. From March to May 2020, an estimated 27 million Americans have lost health insurance coverage in the pandemic. In Texas alone, the number of uninsured jumped from about 4.3 million to nearly 4.9 million, which means that three out of every 10 Texans are uninsured.
數字鴻溝加劇教育不平等。一份基于普查數據的分析報告指出，2018年，約1700萬美國兒童生活在沒有互聯網的家庭中，700萬兒童所在的家庭沒有計算機。（注20）《政治家》網站2020年9月23日報道，距美國國會大廈僅一小時車程的巴爾的摩市在校兒童中就有三分之一的人沒有電腦；三分之一的非洲裔、拉美裔和印第安人家庭沒有互聯網。在疫情期間遠程教育成為主流教育模式的背景下，與較富裕的同齡人相比，低收入和少數族裔孩子的家庭背景使得他們難以擁有進行獨立學習的技術條件和環境，因而在遠程學習方面處于劣勢地位，進一步加劇了由貧困和種族不平等造成的教育差距。
The digital divide aggravated educational inequality. In 2018, nearly 17 million children lived in homes without internet connection, and more than 7 million did not have computers at home, according to a report that analyzed census data for that year. The website of Politico reported on Sept. 23, 2020 that one in three students in Baltimore city, which is only an hour’s drive from the U.S. Capitol, has no computers. One in three African American, Latino or American Indian families do not have home internet. Virtual learning became a mainstream education pattern during the epidemic. Compared with their wealthier peers, low-income and minority children are less likely to have appropriate technology and home environments for independent study because of their family backgrounds and therefore are at a disadvantage in e-learning, further aggravating the educational divide caused by poverty and racial inequality.
六、踐踏國際規則造成人道災難
VI. Trampling on International Rules Results in Humanitarian Disasters
在抗疫需要全球團結的時刻，美國卻執意奉行本國優先，推行孤立主義、單邊主義，揮舞制裁大棒，霸凌威脅國際機構，殘酷對待尋求庇護者，成為全球安全與穩定的最大麻煩制造者。
At a time when global unity is needed to fight the pandemic, the United States, however, persists in pursuing an agenda of “America first,” isolationism, and unilateralism, imposing sanctions wantonly, bullying and threatening international organizations, and treating asylum seekers cruelly, thus becoming the biggest troublemaker to global security and stability.
悍然退出世界衛生組織。美國特朗普政府為推卸自身抗疫不力的責任，挖空心思羅織各種不實指責，極力將世界衛生組織打造成“替罪羊”。2020年4月14日，美國政府宣布暫停向世界衛生組織繳納會費，遭到國際社會一致譴責。聯合國秘書長古特雷斯4月14日發表聲明稱，全球正在抗擊新冠肺炎疫情，削減世衛組織或任何其他人道主義組織所需資金不合時宜。美國醫學會主席帕特里斯·哈里斯4月15日發表聲明說，美國在這一關鍵時刻暫停向世衛組織提供資金支持，是在錯誤方向上邁出的危險一步。英國《衛報》網站4月15日發表評論稱，在世界迫切需要共同戰勝這場全球從未經歷過的威脅時，美國政府停繳世衛組織會費是一種缺乏道德和破壞國際秩序的行為，是“對全球團結的駭人背叛”。2020年7月，美國政府不顧國際社會反對，悍然宣布退出世界衛生組織。
The United States withdrew from WHO. In order to shirk its responsibility for its disastrous anti-pandemic measures, the Trump administration tried every means to scapegoat the World Health Organization (WHO) by fabricating false charges against the organization. On April 14, 2020, the U.S. government announced its suspension of paying dues to the WHO, which was widely criticized by the international community. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement on April 14, 2020, saying that when the world was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it was inappropriate to reduce the resources required by the WHO or any other humanitarian organization for operations. President of the American Medical Association, Patrice Harris, stated on April 15, 2020 that combating the pandemic required international cooperation and halting funding to the WHO at this critical moment was a dangerous step in the wrong direction. On April 15, 2020, an online article of the Guardian commented that when the world desperately needed to jointly overcome this threat that the world had never experienced before, the suspension of the WHO dues by the U.S. government was an act that lacked morality and disrupted the international order, and was a horrible betrayal to global solidarity. In July 2020, the U.S. government brazenly announced its withdrawal from the WHO despite the opposition of the international community.
背信棄義退出《巴黎協定》。美國是全球累積排放溫室氣體最多的國家，按照共同但有區別的責任原則，本應承擔最大的減排責任，卻肆意妄為大開歷史倒車，于2020年11月4日正式退出《巴黎協定》，是近200個締約方中唯一一個退出該協定的國家。國際社會普遍認為，美國此舉在政治上是短視的，在科學上是錯誤的，在道德上是不負責任的。聯合國全球變暖科學報告的作者之一、康奈爾大學氣候科學家娜塔莉·馬霍瓦爾德指出：“美國退出《巴黎協定》將會削弱全球減排努力，從而使更多的人因氣候變化陷入生死存亡的險境。”（注21）
The United States walked away from its commitments to and withdrew from the Paris Agreement. The United States, as the largest cumulative emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should bear the greatest share of emission reduction based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. However, the United States ran counter to the trend of the times and officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement on Nov. 4, 2020, becoming the only country among the nearly 200 contracting parties to quit the treaty. The international community generally believed that the U.S. move was politically short-sighted, unscientific, and morally irresponsible. “Having the U.S. pull out of Paris is likely to reduce efforts to mitigate, and therefore increase the number of people who are put into a life-or-death situation because of the impacts of climate change,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald, a coauthor of UN science reports on global warming.
霸凌行徑威脅國際機構。2020年6月11日，美國政府對國際刑事法院的工作人員及其家屬實施經濟制裁和入境限制，只因他們堅持調查美國軍隊和情報官員在阿富汗和其他地方可能犯下的戰爭罪。聯合國新聞網站2020年6月25日刊文稱，美國此舉是對國際法和國際道義的“直接攻擊”。聯合國人權理事會2020年6月19日通過決議，強烈譴責美國非洲裔男子喬治·弗洛伊德遭警察暴力執法致死事件。法新社援引人權組織的話稱，因美國“強力游說”施壓，決議最終版刪除了點名美國種族問題和警察暴力的內容，未啟動對美國進行更深入的調查。美國公民自由聯盟批評稱，美國通過霸凌其他國家，使決議內容大打折扣，并且再次逃脫國際調查，又一次站在了非洲裔和警察暴力受害者的對立面。
Bullying actions threatened international organizations. On June 11, 2020, the U.S. government authorized economic sanctions and travel restrictions against workers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and their family members for investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The U.S. sanctions targeting ICC staff were “a direct attack on the institution’s judicial independence,” according to an article on the website of UN NEWS on June 25, 2020. On June 19, 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning police brutality that led to the death of African American George Floyd. Citing remarks from human rights groups, the AFP said that the final version of the resolution removed the call for further investigations and stripped away any mention of the racism and police brutality in the United States due to “hard lobbying.” By bullying other countries, the United States watered down the text of the resolution, escaped from international probes for another time, and ran counter to the African descent in the United States and victims of police violence, said the American Civil Liberties Union.
單邊制裁加重人道危機。在疫情全球蔓延、關乎人類生命與健康福祉的重要時刻，各國應團結協作以應對疫情，維護全球公共衛生安全。美國政府卻在疫情期間依然對伊朗、古巴、委內瑞拉、敘利亞等國實施單邊制裁，導致被制裁國家難以及時獲得抗擊疫情需要的醫療物資。聯合國人權事務高級專員米歇爾·巴切萊特2020年3月24日表示，制裁會阻礙抗疫醫療合作，給所有人增加風險；無論是出于維護全球公共衛生安全，還是為了維護被制裁國家數百萬人的權利和生活，都應放松或暫停特殊領域的制裁。英國《衛報》網站2020年4月6日報道，來自多個國家的24名高級外交官聯合敦促美國政府放寬對伊朗的醫療和人道主義制裁，稱此舉“有可能挽救數十萬普通伊朗人的生命”。聯合國人權專家2020年4月30日稱，美國對古巴的封鎖和對其他國家的制裁嚴重破壞了遏制疫情和拯救生命的國際合作，呼吁美國執行聯合國決議，解除對古巴的經濟和金融封鎖，不再阻礙古巴融資購買藥品、醫療設備、食品和其他必需品。（注22）聯合國極端貧困與人權問題特別報告員、安全飲用水和衛生問題特別報告員、教育權問題特別報告員2020年5月6日發表聯合聲明，指出美國對委內瑞拉的制裁正對該國民眾的人權產生嚴重影響，敦促美國在疫情肆虐情形下立即解除加劇該國民眾苦難的制裁。聯合國人權問題特別報告員阿萊娜·多漢2020年12月29日呼吁美國取消對敘利亞的單方面制裁，稱在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐的背景下，制裁將加劇敘利亞本已嚴峻的人道主義危機，威脅到敘利亞全體民眾的生命權、健康權和發展權。
Unilateral sanctions aggravated humanitarian crisis. At a critical time when COVID-19 spread globally and endangered human life, health, and wellbeing, all countries should work together to respond to the pandemic and maintain global public health security. However, during this pandemic, the U.S. government still imposed unilateral sanctions on countries such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria, which made it difficult for the sanctioned countries to obtain needed anti-pandemic medical supplies in a timely manner. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on March 24, 2020, that in the case of a global pandemic, sanctions would hinder medical work and increase risks for everyone. She argued that to maintain global public health security and protect the rights and lives of millions of people in sanctioned countries, sanctions should be relaxed or suspended in certain sectors. A group of 24 senior diplomats from various countries urged the U.S. government to ease medical and humanitarian sanctions on Iran, noting that such move “could potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iranians,” according to a report on the website of the Guardian on April 6, 2020. On April 30, 2020, UN human rights experts said that the U.S. embargo on Cuba and sanctions on other countries seriously undermined international cooperation to curb the pandemic and save lives. The experts called on the United States to implement UN resolutions, lift its economic and financial embargo on Cuba and withdraw measures that prevent Cuba from financing the purchase of medicine, medical equipment, food and other essential goods. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the Special Rapporteur on human rights for safe drinking water and sanitation, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education issued a joint statement on May 6, 2020, saying that the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela were seriously harming the human rights of the people in the country. They urged the United States to immediately lift sanctions that exacerbated the suffering of the people when the pandemic raged in the country. On Dec. 29, 2020, Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights, called on the United States to remove unilateral sanctions against Syria, noting that the sanctions would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in Syria and run roughshod over the Syrian people’s rights to live, health, and development.
殘酷對待尋求庇護者。美國有線電視新聞網2020年9月30日報道，2020財年共有21人在美國移民拘留所中死亡，是2019財年死亡人數的2倍多，創2005年以來死亡人數最高值。《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年10月30日報道，大量移民兒童長期被羈押。數據顯示，近幾年被美國政府拘留的266000名移民兒童中，有25000多人被拘留超過100天，近1000人在難民收容所中度過了一年多時間，多人被拘留超過5年。根據多家美國媒體報道，數十名來自拉美和加勒比海國家的女性移民向美國佐治亞州法院提起集體訴訟，指控美國移民和海關執法局拘留中心的醫生在沒有征得她們同意的情況下，為她們進行了不必要的婦科手術，甚至強行摘除子宮，對其身心健康造成嚴重損害。英國《衛報》網站2020年10月22日報道，美國移民官員對來美尋求庇護的喀麥隆公民實施威脅，迫使他們在驅逐令上簽字，拒絕簽字者遭受鎖喉、毆打、噴胡椒水等暴力，被戴上手銬強行在驅逐令上按下指紋，從而失去了獲得移民聽證的權利遭驅逐出境。
Asylum seekers were treated cruelly. According to a report of CNN on Sept. 30, 2020, in the 2020 fiscal year, 21 people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, which was more than double the number of deaths in the fiscal year 2019 and marked the highest annual death toll since 2005. A report published on the website of the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 30, 2020 noted that a huge number of migrant children were stranded in custody for the long haul. Data showed that of the 266,000 migrant children held in government custody in recent years, over 25,000 had been detained for longer than 100 days, close to 1,000 migrant children had spent more than a year in refugee shelters, and some of them had spent more than five years in custody. As reported by multiple U.S. media outlets, dozens of women from Latin American and Caribbean states have filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Georgia, claiming that they were subjected to unnecessary gynecological surgeries without their consent while in ICE custody, including uterus removal in some cases. They said these unwanted surgeries caused severe harm to their physical and mental health. The Guardian website reported on Oct. 22, 2020 that Cameroonian asylum seekers were threatened and forced to sign their own deportation orders. Those who refused to sign were choked, beaten, and pepper-sprayed, with some put in handcuffs to have their fingerprints forcibly taken in place of a signature on orders of removal, by which the asylum seekers waive their rights to further immigration hearings and accept deportation.
疫情期間繼續強制遣返移民。根據美國移民及海關執法局的統計數據，截至2021年1月14日，美國移民拘留機構中共有8848人確診感染新冠肺炎病毒。（注23）《洛杉磯時報》網站2020年11月18日報道，2020年3月以來，美國政府不顧疫情傳播風險，將至少8800名無人陪伴的非法移民兒童強制驅逐出境。聯合國兒童基金會稱，被美國強制遣返的墨西哥和中美洲的移民兒童正面臨危險和歧視。
Forced deportation of immigrant children continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data tallied by the ICE, as of Jan. 14, 2021, a total of 8,848 detainees had been confirmed as COVID-19 cases. According to a report on the website of the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 18, 2020, the U.S. government had expelled at least 8,800 unaccompanied immigrant children despite serious protection risks during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to UNICEF, migrant children who returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America were facing danger and discrimination.
赦免屠殺他國平民的戰爭罪犯。2020年12月30日，聯合國人權理事會雇傭軍問題工作組發表聲明，表示時任美國總統赦免在伊拉克犯下戰爭罪的4名黑水公司雇員違反了美國承擔的國際法義務，呼吁《日內瓦公約》所有締約國共同譴責美國這一行徑。聲明表示，這4名黑水公司雇員2007年在伊拉克巴格達尼蘇爾廣場實施屠殺，造成14名手無寸鐵的平民死亡，至少17人受傷。工作組主席指出，美國赦免黑水公司雇員的行為對國際人道主義法和人權造成沖擊，是對正義和受害者及其家人的侮辱。聯合國人權高專辦發言人烏爾塔多表示，美國此舉會“加劇有罪不罰”，助長他人犯罪。
The United States pardoned criminals slaughtering civilians in other countries. On Dec. 30, 2020, the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, issued a statement, saying that the then U.S. President’s pardon of four Blackwater contractors convicted of war crimes in Iraq violated U.S. obligations under international law. The statement called on all states to the Geneva Conventions to condemn the U.S. action. The four Blackwater contractors were found to have committed a massacre at Nisour Square in Baghdad in 2007, which left 14 unarmed civilians dead and at least 17 people wounded, according to the statement. Pardoning the Blackwater contractors was an affront to justice and the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families, said the Chair of the Working Group. Pardoning them “contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future,” said Marta Hurtado, a spokesperson with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
