世界节假日博览 第151期:国际民主日

The International Day of Democracy started in 2007. The United Nations General Assembly decided to have a special day to raise awareness of living in a democracy. They chose September 15th as that day and invited every country and member organization to focus on the benefits of democracy. The U.N. declared there was no single model of democracy. A resolution said all democracies share common features “and that democracy does not belong to any country or region. The U.N. said:“Democracy is a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life.“

国际民主日始于2007年。联合国大会决定专门设立一天来提高人们的民主意识。他们把国际民主日设在9月15日，并邀请各国和组织成员专注于民主的好处。联合国称民主不是单一模式，一项决议称所有民主国家都有个共同的特点“民主不属于任何国家或地区”。联合国声称：“民主是基于人们自由表达的普世价值，人们自由决定自己的政治,经济,社会和文化体系,全面参与社会。”


The International Day of Democracy website claims democracies can have many advantages for their citizens. The main one is to ensure people's basic freedoms. “In a democracy, people are able to think, say and do what they wish within the law and with respect for others, to practice their beliefs and to live the kinds of life they choose.“ Another advantage is that a democracy meets popular needs. The more influence ordinary people have over their government, the more likely government will meet their basic needs. The website says democracies treat people equally and are free from discrimination. It does say many of the world’s democracies fall short of achieving this. There is perhaps no country that has true equality.

国际民主日网站称民主对市民很有利。其中主要是保证人们的基本自由。“在民主国家，人们能够在法律允许的范围内自由思考，自由说话和自由做事。尊重他人，实践他们的信仰，自由选择生活方式。”另一好处是民主满足大众需要。普通人对政府的影响越大，政府越容易满足人们的基本需求。网站称，民主对人平等，不歧视任何人。它也称世界上的许多民主国家远没达到这一点。或许没有一个国家实现了真正意义上的平等。