A sampling of public opinion about America in 11 nations around the world paints a picture of an arrogant superpower with an enviable economy -- which is a greater danger to world peace than North Korea.
US President George W. Bush failed to impress 58 percent of those asked by pollsters for a BBC broadcast Tuesday night. They said they had a fairly unfavorable or very unfavorable view of the American president. If the American respondents were removed from the sample, the number rose to 60 percent.
The broadcaster emphasized that the poll was not a representative sampling of world opinion , but only of opinion in the 11 countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain Canada, France, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Korea and the US.
Even though 67 percent of those asked said they wouldn't want their countries to copy US economic policies, 67 percent would aspire to US gains in science and technology, and 56 percent to the opportunities for advancement available to people in the US. Forty percent also aspired to US freedom of expression.
But the way the US wields its great power worried many of the 11,000 people polled in May and June for the program, "What the World Thinks of America."
Only 25 percent of those asked -- excluding Americans -- said US military might was making the world a safer place.
Forty-one percent agreed with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's opinion that the US is a force for good in the world, and 55 percent disagreed.
A majority in every country, including the US, said America is arrogant, for a total of 65 percent overall. Forty-seven percent said America is friendly, and 33 percent find the US antagonistic.
Fifty-six percent of those asked said the US was wrong to attack Iraq, including 81 percent of Russian respondents and 63 percent of those in France. Overall, 37 percent said the war was right, including 54 percent of Britons, 74 percent of Americans and 79 percent of Israelis.
The al-Qaeda terrorist organization was ranked as more dangerous than the US, but the Americans were judged to be a greater threat than Russia, China, Syria and two members of Bush's Axis of Evil -- Iran and North Korea.
Even in South Korea, where tensions along the Demilitarized Zone run high, 48 percent of respondents judged the US to be a greater threat to world peace than the communist neighbors to the north, with their nuclear program.
Fifty percent of the poll respondents said they had a fairly positive or very positive view of the US, compared with 40 percent who had unfavorable views, the poll found. Those figures excluded Americans.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese