#拜登##美国总统竞选进入决战阶段##日本##印度##俄罗斯##美国##移民##日本移民#
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拜登参加竞选筹款活动
拜登总统称日本和印度是不欢迎移民的“仇外”国家，他在试图解释对手俄罗斯的经济状况时，将日本和印度与俄罗斯归为一类，并将它们与美国的移民政策进行对比。
拜登是在周三（5月1日）晚上的竞选筹款活动上发表这番言论的。三周前，拜登刚在白宫以盛大的晚宴欢迎了日本首相岸田文雄对美国的正式访问，两位领导人庆祝了拜登所宣称的美日之间“牢不可破的联盟”，特别是在全球安全问题上。
去年夏天，白宫也以同样盛大的仪式欢迎了印度总理莫迪对美国的国事访问。
日本是美国的一个重要盟友。印度是世界上增长最快的经济体之一，尽管与美国在人权问题上存在分歧，但它仍是美国在印度-太平洋地区的重要合作伙伴。
拜登在这次主要针对亚裔美国捐款人参加的酒店竞选筹款活动上说，选举关乎“自由、美国和民主”，美国的经济繁荣“是因为你们和许多其他人”。
拜登说：“为什么？因为我们欢迎移民。听我说，想想看。为什么日本会有麻烦？为什么俄罗斯会有麻烦？为什么印度会有麻烦？因为他们仇外，他们不想要移民。"
拜登欢迎岸田访美
拜登补充说：“移民是让我们强大的力量。我不是在开玩笑。这并不夸张，因为我们有大量想要做出贡献的工人涌入美国。"
日本和印度政府都没有立即对此做出反应。白宫国家安全发言人约翰·柯比说，拜登只是对美国在移民问题上的态度提出了更广泛看法。
周四上午，在被问及拜登的“仇外”言论时，科比说：“我们的盟友和伙伴以切实的方式了解拜登总统如何重视他们、他们的友谊、他们的合作以及他们在一系列问题上带来的能力，这不仅仅与安全有关。他们了解他非常全面重视联盟和伙伴关系理念。"
拜登的上述言论发表在亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民遗产月开始之际，作为两位亚裔美国人参议员之一的伊利诺伊州民主党参议员塔米·达克沃斯在筹款会上介绍了拜登，她是拜登连任竞选委员会的全国联合主席。
莫迪访美
日本已经认识到其人口萎缩的问题，根据日本2月份公布的数据，2023年日本出生的婴儿数量连续第八年下降。日本首相岸田称低出生率是“日本面临的最大危机”，尽管岸田政府近年来改变政策，使外国工人更容易到日本打工，但日本长期以来一直以对移民采取关门政策而全球闻名。
与此同时，印度已膨胀为世界上人口最多的国家。联合国称，印度的人口有望达到14.25亿。它的人口也更年轻。今年早些时候，印度颁布了一项新的公民法，为从阿富汗、孟加拉国和巴基斯坦逃到印度的印度教徒、帕西教徒、锡克教徒、佛教徒、耆那教徒和基督徒加入印度国籍提供快速通道，但排除了在这三个国家都占多数的穆斯林。这是印度第一次为公民身份设定宗教标准。
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants. By SEUNG MIN KIM on Associated Press, May 2, 2024.
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the adversary Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the three with the U.S. on immigration.
The remarks, at a campaign fundraising event Wednesday evening, came just three weeks after the White House hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish official visit, during which the two leaders celebrated what Biden called an “unbreakable alliance,” particularly on global security matters.
The White House welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi for a state visit last summer.
Japan is a critical U.S. ally. And India, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, is a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific despite differences on human rights.
At a hotel fundraiser where the donor audience was largely Asian American, Biden said the upcoming U.S. election was about “freedom, America and democracy” and that the nation's economy was thriving “because of you and many others.”
“Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said. “Look, think about it. Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants.”
The president added: “Immigrants are what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute.”
There was no immediate reaction from either the Japanese or Indian governments. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden was making a broader point about the U.S. posture on immigration.
“Our allies and partners know well in tangible ways how President Biden values them, their friendship, their cooperation and the capabilities that they bring across the spectrum on a range of issues, not just security related,” Kirby said Thursday morning when asked about Biden's “xenophobic” remarks. “They understand how much he completely and utterly values the idea of alliances and partnerships.”
Biden’s comments came at the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and he was introduced at the fundraiser by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of two senators of Asian American descent. She is a national co-chair for his reelection campaign.
Japan has acknowledged issues with its shrinking population, and the number of babies born in the country in 2023 fell for the eighth straight year, according to data released in February. Kishida has called the low birth rate in Japan “the biggest crisis Japan faces” and the country has long been known for a more closed-door stance on immigration, although Kishida’s government has, in recent years, shifted its policies to make it easier for foreign workers to come to Japan.
Meanwhile, India’s population has swelled to become the world’s largest, with the United Nations saying it was on track to reach 1.425 billion. Its population also skews younger. Earlier this year, India enacted a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But it excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations. It's the first time that India has set religious criteria for citizenship.