Democracy
FILE - A 1988 photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency shows Communist Party Leader Xi Jinping, right, then secretary of the Ningde Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), participates in farm work during his investigation in the countryside. Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi enjoyed a privileged youth as the second son of Xi Zhongxun, a former vice premier and guerrilla commander in the civil war that brought Mao Zedong's communist rebels to power in 1949. At 15, Xi Jinping was sent to rural Shaanxi province in 1969 as part of Mao's campaign to have educated urban young people learn from peasants. (AP Photo/Xinhua, File)
President Xi Jinping, China's 'chairman of everything'

By Joe Mcdonald Feb. 02, 2022 08:22 PM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST

Supporters light candles as they offer prayers for former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III Friday, June 25, 2021 in Quezon city, Philippines. Aquino, the son of pro-democracy icons who helped topple dictator Ferdinand Marcos and had troublesome ties with China, died Thursday, a cousin and public officials said. He was 61. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Aquino, Philippine ex-leader who challenged China, is buried

By Jim Gomez And Aaron Favila Jun. 26, 2021 02:46 AM EDT

Honor guards stand next to the urn of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig, Philippines on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Aquino, the son of pro-democracy icons who helped topple dictator Ferdinand Marcos and had troublesome ties with China, died Thursday, a cousin and public officials said. He was 61. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Philippine democracy scion, ex-leader Benigno Aquino dies

By Jim Gomez Jun. 24, 2021 10:49 AM EDT

Pro-democracy supporters display the three-finger symbol of resistance during a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets of Thailand's capital, marking the 89th anniversary of the overthrow of the country's absolute monarchy by renewing their demands that the government step down, the constitution be amended and the monarchy become more accountable. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai pro-democracy activists march against government

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul Jun. 24, 2021 05:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 4, 2012, file photo, a man looks at a photo, believed to be taken by a former People's Liberation Army soldier at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Hong Kong’s second ban on an annual vigil for victims of the bloody June 4, 1989 crackdown on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square protest movement and the closure of a museum dedicated to the event may be a further sign that the ruling Communist Party is extending its efforts to erase the event from the collective consciousness from the mainland to Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
China's silencing of Tiananmen tributes extends to Hong Kong

By Zen Soo Jun. 02, 2021 10:25 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: U.S.

By The Associated Press Jun. 02, 2021 01:03 PM EDT
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: May 31 The Wall Street Journal on ‘melodrama’ in Texas...

Officers from Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ask questions to staff next to a huge photo of candlelight vigil at the "June 4 Memorial Museum" run by The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China in Hong Kong Tuesday, June 1, 2021. The Hong Kong museum commemorating the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 has been shut down days after its opening, as authorities continue to crack down on activities related to the event. The museum, which opened on Sunday and was meant to last until June 4, was closed on Wednesday by the organizers after authorities investigated the venue for not having the relevant licenses required for public exhibition. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Hong Kong's Tiananmen museum shuts down amid investigation

By Zen Soo Jun. 01, 2021 11:42 PM EDT

In this Monday, March 8, 2021, photo, pro-democracy activist Panupong Jadnok raises a three-finger symbol of resistance as he arrived at the Attorney General's office in Bangkok, Thailand. A court in Thailand on Tuesday agreed to release Panupong, one of two key leaders of the anti-government protest movement, on bail on the condition that he refrains from activities deemed to defame the monarchy. Panupong must also wear electronic tags and is banned from leaving the country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai court grants bail to 2 pro-democracy activists

Jun. 01, 2021 07:31 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 4, 2020, file photo, participants light candles during a vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, despite applications for it being officially denied. Hong Kong authorities for the second year have banned the June 4 candlelight vigil to commemorate the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, organizers said Thursday, May 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Hong Kong bans Tiananmen crackdown vigil for 2nd year

By Zen Soo May. 27, 2021 05:25 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2020, file photo, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaks in Detroit. In an interview with The Associated Press, Benson says politicians lying about fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Republican efforts to make voting more difficult and the continued spread of disinformation leave her deeply concerned about the future of American democracy. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
AP Interview: Michigan official warns of democracy threats

By Christina A. Cassidy And David Eggert May. 26, 2021 10:01 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Illinois

By The Associated Press May. 25, 2021 07:00 AM EDT
Arlington Heights Daily Herald. May 22, 2021. Editorial: Time to pass news literacy bill Let’s start this editorial...

Europe's rights body fears virus measures hurting democracy

By Derek Gatopoulos And Lorne Cook May. 11, 2021 12:59 PM EDT
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Europe’s leading human rights body warned Tuesday that threats to democratic rights and personal freedoms have worsened during the...

Anti-coup protesters run after seeing police and soldiers arrive to disperse their demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Demonstrations have continued in many parts of the country since Saturday's meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as have arrests and beatings by security forces despite an apparent agreement by junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to end the violence. (AP Photo)
UN calls for return to democracy in Myanmar, end to violence

By Edith M. Lederer Apr. 30, 2021 01:53 PM EDT

President Joe Biden arrives to speak to a joint session of Congress Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Biden's declaration: America's democracy 'is rising anew'

By Jonathan Lemire And Josh Boak Apr. 28, 2021 05:27 AM EDT

Pro-democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan, second from right, and Yeng Sum, a former chairman of the Democratic Party, third from right, speak to media after being released on bail at a court in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Three veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, including well-known publisher Jimmy Lai, have pleaded guilty to taking party in an unauthorized rally that resulted in violence between police and participants, media reported Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rafael Wober)
Hong Kong activists plead guilty to joining democracy rally

Apr. 07, 2021 08:24 PM EDT

US VP Harris: `status of women is the status of democracy'

By Edith M. Lederer Mar. 16, 2021 01:56 PM EDT
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told the U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality that “the status of women is the...

Supporters of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy wave mobile phone lights outside a court in Hong Kong, Friday, March 5, 2021. Four of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion were released on bail Friday, after prosecutors dropped an appeal against the court's decision to grant them bail. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Hong Kong court grants bail to 5th activist, jails another

By Zen Soo Mar. 10, 2021 11:56 PM EST

Former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Long Hair," second left, shows a victory sign and some of the 47 pro-democracy activists are escorted by Correctional Services officers to a prison van in Hong Kong, Thursday, March 4, 2021. A marathon court hearing for 47 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong charged with conspiracy to commit subversion enters its fourth day on Thursday, as the court deliberates over whether the defendants will be granted bail. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Hong Kong court keeps 47 democracy activists in custody

By Zen Soo And Nicole Ko Mar. 03, 2021 10:23 PM EST

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz answers a question from a reporter during a news conference to debut his state budget plan for the next two years Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 at the Department of Revenue building in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)
'Now democracy starts,' Walz says as deficit becomes surplus

By Steve Karnowski Feb. 26, 2021 05:49 PM EST