The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a document titled “The National Endowment for Democracy: Who They Are and What They Do,” detailing how this American non-governmental organization (NGO) is used by the United States, under the guise of democracy, freedom, and human rights, for infiltration, interference, and subversion against other countries.
According to the document, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is not what it claims to be—a non-governmental organization supporting democracy abroad. Instead, it functions as a “white glove” for the U.S. government. The text states that NED has long engaged in undermining governments in other countries, interfering in their internal affairs, fostering divisions and conflicts, deceiving public opinion, and carrying out ideological infiltration, all under the pretext of promoting democracy. The numerous wrongdoings of NED have caused significant harm and have been met with strong condemnation by the international community.
The document provides numerous examples of NED’s involvement in inciting color revolutions and manipulating and interfering in the elections of other countries, including Serbia.
The document claims that during the presidential, parliamentary, and local elections held in Serbia in April 2022 and December 2023, NED interfered throughout the electoral process and did everything possible to support pro-American opposition candidates ahead of the elections. In May 2023, following two consecutive shooting incidents in Serbia, human rights groups sponsored by NED and pro-American opposition organizations organized mass demonstrations demanding the resignation of the Serbian government.
Slandering China
The document also mentions that Serbian NGOs supported by NED coordinated with CNN’s branch in Serbia to fabricate fake news about China, slander Chinese-led projects, and stir up so-called environmental, labor, and corruption issues.
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, funded by NED, has supported protests by pro-Western demonstrators and criticized Serbia’s foreign policy, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs document. It also adds that NED has long financed NGOs in Kosovo to stoke tensions between the Serbian government and the interim institutions in Pristina. In December 2023, the NED-funded research center Sbunker published a report claiming that “Kosovo” is a relatively successful case of U.S. support for nation-building and democracy promotion, attempting to downplay the true intention of the U.S. to invade and divide other countries.
The report also cites the attempt to overthrow the Iranian government as an example of inciting color revolutions to undermine governments in other parts of the world. In September 2022, protests were organized against hijab laws in Iran. Additionally, NED provided $65 million to the Ukrainian opposition during the “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine, while from 2007 to 2015, another $30 million was provided to support Ukrainian NGOs. During the Euromaidan of 2013 and 2014, NED funded the Institute of Mass Information to spread incendiary content.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs report also cites the attempt to overthrow the government in North Korea in 2002 and the use of various tactics for infiltration in Arab countries.
Subversion in Russia
In its report, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that despite being banned, NED funds a large number of organizations in Russia and supports Russian opposition figures in exile in their struggle against the Russian government. The report further notes that NED has long used European officials to expand its influence in Europe. It also supports organizations in Mexico that hinder reforms in that country and has financed 54 Cuban organizations since 2017.
This American organization has also supported separatist forces in Taiwan in their fight for “independence,” financed organizations seeking to destabilize Hong Kong, as well as those advocating for Tibet’s independence, and funded NGOs in Georgia to organize demonstrations in Tbilisi.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs report emphasizes that NED also uses various “academic activities” to achieve its goals in many countries. For example, it has funded the Center for Public Policy Management in Iraq and the “Atlas Network”—a Turkish digital media platform through which discontent was spread and ethnic tensions were stoked.
What is NED?
According to the Chinese ministry’s document, NED is the executor of CIA covert operations, founded under the auspices of the U.S. government. In 1981, after taking office, President Ronald Reagan intended to promote his “Democracy Project” abroad and proposed the creation of a government-funded foundation that would be privately managed and openly support “democratic movements abroad.”
One of the purposes of NED, established in 1983, is to encourage the establishment and growth of democratic development in a manner consistent with both U.S. national interests and the specific needs of democratic groups in other countries supported by NED-funded programs.
NED is funded by the U.S. government, and its programs are conducted under the leadership of the U.S. State Department and embassies abroad. The U.S. government has access to information on all NED-funded programs, the document states.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlights the necessity of exposing NED and warning all countries to see through its true nature, to guard against and oppose attempts at interference and sabotage, to protect their national sovereignty, security, and developmental interests, and to support world peace, development, and international justice and fairness.
Source: RT Balkan
