{"id":932,"date":"2014-05-27T16:20:30","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T16:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/?p=932"},"modified":"2014-05-27T16:21:36","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T16:21:36","slug":"china-change-invites-your-commentswhat-does-it-mean-for-the-world-for-the-us-and-for-us-as-individuals-to-have-an-authoritarian-china-with-the-worlds-biggest-economy-soon-and-15-of-the-w","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/china-change-invites-your-commentswhat-does-it-mean-for-the-world-for-the-us-and-for-us-as-individuals-to-have-an-authoritarian-china-with-the-worlds-biggest-economy-soon-and-15-of-the-w","title":{"rendered":"China Change Invites Your Comments:What does it mean for the world, for the US, and for us as individuals to have an authoritarian China, with the world\u2019s biggest economy soon and 1\/5 of the world population, that rejects universal values?"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 26, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

\"e5a4a9e5ae89e997a8-_-e68c87e59091e5a4a9e7a9ba\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(PHOTO TAKEN FROM TWITTER @PRCHOVANEC. CLICK TO ENLARGE)
\nLately not a day has passed without me stopping in the middle of something, gripped by disbelief: It\u2019s been 25 years since the Tian\u2019anmen democracy movement in 1989, and today, in 2014, I cannot believe that China is still under authoritarianism that seems to be going stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

At China Change, that disbelief is enhanced in other ways as well: young people born around 1989 are now being locked up in jail, or punished, for fighting the same battle. For example, Huang Wenxun (\u9ec4\u6587\u52cb) was born in 1990 and has been detained, now pending trial, during his \u201cBright China\u201d tour last year. Zhang Jialong, the 26-year-old young man, who asked the U. S. to help tear down the Great Fire Wall in his meeting with Secretary Kerry, was fired last Friday by his employer at the behest of the government.<\/p>\n

.\"e5a4a9e5ae89e997a8_e6b091e4b8bbe68891e4bbace585b1e5908ce79a84e79086e683b3\"PEKING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AT A CAMPAIGN RALLY DURING THE ELECTIONS OF DISTRICT PEOPLE\u2019S REPRESENTATIVES IN THE FALL OF 1980. CLICK TO ENLARGE.<\/a><\/p>\n

For much of the 1980s, even though economic reform in China had largely been limited to policy relaxation in the countryside and in cities, China was a place where people for the first time could breathe a little freer and look forward with hope after the grim ten years of Cultural Revolution. On university campuses in particular, the excitement about new books, new courses, new ideas, new art, and new things to do was palpable.<\/p>\n

That hope climaxed in the 1989 movement and in the demands that emerged on banners over a sea of heads, despite earlier clampdowns known as the \u201canti-spiritual pollution campaign\u201d in 1983 and the \u201canti-capitalist liberalism campaign\u201d in 1987 to stem a gathering tide.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Mr. Democracy!\u201d \u201cProtect human rights; oppose political persecution.\u201d \u201cEradicate corruption!\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ll not regret to die for China\u2019s Future!\u201d \u201cDemocracy, our common ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

That ideal was mowed down by tanks and machine guns on the night of June 3rd and the morning of June 4th.<\/p>\n

At the time, I was in Shenzhen, the economic special zone adjacent to Hong Kong and China\u2019s first experiment toward prosperity, and experienced the movement mostly as a viewer of the Hong Kong TV that we were able to receive. I remember the crowds on streets and in Tiananmen Square in Beijing; I remember those young faces whose radiating passion I, a recent college graduate, readily shared; I\u00a0remember the flat-bed tricycles carrying the wounded rushing to hospital; I remember tanks rolling over the makeshift tents on the Square in the flickering orange light and how my heart knotted when the flimsy-looking tent gave way under the tank tracks.<\/p>\n

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\nTHE BANNER READS, IN RUSSIAN AND CHINESE, \u201cDEMOCRACY, OUR COMMON IDEAL.\u201d PHOTO WAS LIKELY TAKEN DURING GORBACHEV\u2018S VISIT IN MAY, 1989. (PHOTO TAKEN FROM TWITTER @PRCHOVANEC)<\/p>\n

Among the most indelible images was a scene broadcast on CCTV \u2013 China\u2019s official mouthpiece \u2013 the day after June 4th. Tian\u2019anmen Square was completely empty without a soul, with the Martyr\u2019s Monument, cleared of any sign of recent agitation, thrusting toward an overcast sky. The ground around the monument, and as far as the eye could see, had been freshly washed, reflecting gray light. Accompanying the shot was a female broadcaster\u2019s voice, severe, stringent, condemning a \u201ccounter-revolutionary riot\u201d and \u201canti-party, anti-socialist bad elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt the chill on that sweltering day in the south. For me, that image of emptied square, gray sky, glinting wet floor, and that razor-like voice is a symbol of Chinese communist rule.<\/p>\n

Into the 1990s, the economic growth rate and GDP became the predominant topics. Politically, after the post-June 4th persecution, people resumed their fear and ducked their head in sand. Staying away from politics once again became the most cherished wisdom for most of the Chinese.<\/p>\n

Since then the world has watched China transform with amazement. When much of the world suffered a financial crisis during 2007 \u2013 2008, China was basking in a grandeur best embodied in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the free world, we have debated the \u201cChinese model\u201d and are envious of its \u201cefficiency.\u201d Some have questioned democracy and wondered whether it is overrated. Many talk about the two political systems \u2013 democracy and the kind authoritarianism practiced by the Chinese communist party \u2013 as if they are two different ice cream flavors and a matter of preference.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile we have become fearful of the Chinese government in real ways. Our politicians are tiptoeing to avoid having an attitude on fundamental questions of what\u2019s right and what\u2019s wrong for fear of upsetting the Chinese government. People whose career involves dealing with China are fearful of saying anything \u201cradical\u201d or \u201cbiased\u201d for fear that they might get on some kind of blacklist and find themselves denied of a visa to China as many foreign journalists have been.<\/p>\n

\u5929\u5b89\u95e8_\u4e09\u8f6e\u8f66People squirmed when I used the word \u201cdictatorship\u201d to describe the Chinese regime, or \u201cpolitical opposition\u201d to describe the pro-democracy movement. I would then promptly point out that these are the very words used by Chinese who are working to change China into a democracy that observes the rule of law, while worrying that people would perceive me as a \u201cradical\u201d if not a lunatic (thank you).<\/p>\n

Twenty-five years ago, if you asked me what China would be in twenty-five years, even at the most despairing and chilling moment, I would readily say without hesitation that, in twenty-five years, China would have become a vibrant democracy. How could it be any otherwise? Twenty-five years is an eternity \u2013 for a young person anyway.<\/p>\n

Now, I am not so sure if you ask me what China would be in another twenty-five years.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that the Communist regime can be a creature capable of continuous metamorphosis, or a virus that will mutate indefinitely.<\/p>\n

This much we know: June 4th represents a defining moment: it defines what the Chinese people want and what the Chinese communist regime does not want the people to have. The latter has been winning.<\/p>\n

This website has always maintained that the China issue is not just a China issue; it is a world issue that concerns every country and each one of us. This website, to some extent, exists to present and help bring home that point.<\/p>\n

The stakes are high. So today, China Change invites you to give us your thoughts \u2013 not your agreement with us – on this question:<\/p>\n

What does it mean for the world, for the U.S., and for each one of us as individuals to have an authoritarian China with the world\u2019s biggest economy (soon) and 1\/5 of the world population that rejects universal values embraced by much of the rest of the world?<\/p>\n

You can leave comment in the comment section, or email it to me at yaxuecao@gmail.com. The discussion is open until June 4th. We look forward to hearing from our readers and we will post your insights as they come.<\/p>\n

(Comments left in comment section go through screening to eliminate commercial spam, so don\u2019t worry if your comment doesn\u2019t show up immediately \u2013 it only means I haven\u2019t had a chance to \u201capprove\u201d it. No, we don\u2019t practice censorship on this site, and all opinions are welcome.)<\/p>\n

\u2013 The Editor<\/p>\n

From http:\/\/chinachange.org\/2014\/05\/26\/china-change-invites-your-comments\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 26, 2014 (PHOTO TAKEN FROM TWITTER @ … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,95],"tags":[94,101],"views":801,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=932"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":939,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions\/939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}