US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo File photo: AFP

Freedom House, a US nongovernmental organization that judges the level of freedom in countries around the world, is actually a US government tool used to interfere in other countries' affairs.

Founded in 1941, Freedom House's stated purpose is the "support and defense of democracy around the world." Although it calls itself an NGO, as much as 66 percent of its funding comes from the US government, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State, Taiwan island-based China Times reported in 2018.

Each year, Freedom House publishes a "Freedom in the World" report, which categorizes countries as either "free," "partly free," or "not free." In its 2018 report, it claimed 2.7 billion people in 49 countries were living as "not free."

However, RT reported that 35 of the 49 "not free" countries have "either been customers of the US military-industrial complex, or received some form of military assistance from the Pentagon over the previous three years."

"Washington has a habit of bombing defenseless nations in the name of democracy, but isn't the least bit squeamish about selling weapons and giving military aid to countries its own human rights watchdogs deem dictatorial," read the RT report.

Freedom House also has a long-term habit interfering in China's internal affairs. It was sanctioned by China in December 2019 along with four other US NGOs for their role in last year's unrest in Hong Kong.

Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, was on the list of 11 people that China in August announced to sanction due to their "egregious records on Hong Kong affairs." "China's decision stems from the wrongdoings of the US side," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a press briefing on August 11.

Former vice chairman of the board of Freedom House, US diplomat Mark Palmer, helped build the Friends of Falun Gong in 2000.

China's official anti-cult website Chinafxj.com described the Freedom House's leadership as "dominated by neoconservatives and supporters of American radical foreign policy."

"One of the characteristics of American diplomacy is the so-called human rights diplomacy, ideology diplomacy, and value diplomacy, which are the consistent characteristics of the US from its independence to the present," said Li Haidong a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University.

The activities of US NGOs in foreign countries are actually political and subversive operations in the host countries, Li said.