Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A163-W76
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A163-W76
Release Date: November 5, 2005
发布日：2005年11月5日
Topic: We Must Break Through Chinese Communists' Media Monopolies and Blockades
on Information -- by Wei Jingsheng
标题：无权无势的普通老百姓首先要突破的，就是中共的垄断媒体和封锁消息 -- 魏京生
Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
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We Must Break Through Chinese Communists' Media Monopolies and Blockades on
Information
by Wei Jingsheng
Just a while ago, we talked about the free-for-all churning in Taiwan's
Legislative Yuan, the possibility that the island's democratic politics could
regress, and that the focal point of the dispute is freedom of the news media.
Or to say it another way, whether or not the government should control the
media. If the media is controlled by the government, it will only report the
good and none of the bad, and the people will be deceived. Thus the rights to
vote and recall that the people hold in their hands will become like ears on a
deaf person. Consequently, four political freedoms are prerequisites for
protecting the various rights and interests of the people: freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly. These
four main freedoms have safeguarded the people's ability to use votes and
recalls to control the government and have made the government bring benefits,
not harm, to society and the people. The governments thus cannot become
tyrannies that ride on the heads of the people.
The Taiwanese people have already won an early-stage democracy for themselves;
now the issue is taking a step forward in consolidating democratic governance
and preventing the government from regressing into autocracy and dictatorship.
In Mainland China it's different. The people nominally possess the right to
vote and to recall, but these rights have always been like ears on a deaf
person - mere displays. Recently the Taishi village incident in Guangdong
Province has created a huge stir in the media; this is the best proof of the
importance of these freedoms and is also the most typical case. The people of
Taishi village, because they recalled their administrative officials, have
faced suppression from police sent from the government, which even employed the
criminal underworld in its suppression. Some thugs from the criminal underworld
seriously beat a representative of the People's Congress that was concerned
with protecting peasants' rights and that is still being treated in a hospital.
This representative was so scared that he didn't dare to press charges against
the thugs that injured him, voluntarily abandoning the idea of prosecuting
them. Could what he fears be the thugs? No matter how fierce they are, thugs
are never a match for government officials. What he fears is precisely this
hooligan government that has wrapped itself in official clothes; what he fears
is the clan of government bandits that is the Chinese Communist Party in
position combines both thugs and police. In this incident, the lawyer that
filed a lawsuit on behalf of the peasants was arrested and sentenced. Rights
workers from Beijing were driven out of their work office; to this day they
haven't been able to rent out another workspace. If they go back to Guangdong
again, they will face something more than simply have their computers
confiscated and have themselves in detention for a few days. No wonder even the
People's Congress representative was afraid.
In addition to using any and all illegal means to suppress these rights
activists, who directly participate in public affairs, the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) also blocks information on a large scale. In the last a few days,
Chinese websites with reports on this incident have been blocked and wiped
clean on a large scale, and lately not a bit of information has reached out. At
the same time, the government's high-handed policies towards the people of
Taishi village have begun to see results. The organizers that took the
initiative to establish connections with the voters have already been forced to
surrender. In the previous stage they didn't surrender because news from the
region was spreading and they received support from all over the world. With
information unable to spread today, this support has lessened and the pressure
they face has increased. They have passed the limits of their endurance. The
CCP's methods have thus been effective. It can be seen that among all of their
measures, blocking domestic and foreign media is the CCP's main measure for
suppressing the people. The first instinct of all dictators and want-to-be
dictators is to control the media and to block information. Thus the first
things we powerless commoners must break through are media monopolies and
blockades on information. To use the colloquial speech of the common people,
sending out our voice is the first and most important measure. If we can't send
out our voices, nothing else is worth could be in progress.
From this I have thought of another case. For many years, when we go to rescue
political prisoners, we often run into this situation: political prisoners'
family members, due to threats from the Bureau of Public Security, say that
they can't make contact with the outside world; otherwise, they could face
certain consequences. In other cases the police lure the family members by
telling them that as long as they don't make contact with the outside world they
will gain such and such interests. As a result the family members refuse to
supply us with the necessary materials, leaving us unable to work with
international human rights organizations. The different human rights
organizations also have no way to negotiate with the Chinese government in
order to make rescue effort. In the end, the political prisoners didn't receive
any help and although some of these family members feel regret, some were not,
they don't think that they've done anything wrong. It's hopelessly foolish.
This reminds me of a little saying that was popular in jail: "If you tell
the truth in an effort for a lighter sentence, you'll actually be stuffed in
jail for your whole life; if you refuse to confess, you'll actually be let out in
time for the New Year." This is a blood lesson that prisoners have learned
over the last few decades in dealing with the untrustworthy CCP. So these
families of the political prisoners and the citizens in defending their human
rights should learn this blood lesson from the other. If you help the
government to block information, in reality you are harming your close
relatives and yourselves. Those who courageously send out their own voices, who
make emphatic appeals, will gain the sympathy of the public. This will only
bring advantages instead of disadvantages. Moreover, there isn't a single
Chinese law that prohibits you from appealing for the attention of society. Why
do you want to help these who harm you to block information? It would be
hopelessly foolish for doing so.
Let us keep in mind that saying of the untrustworthy CCP tyranny:
"If you tell the truth in an effort for a lighter sentence, you'll
actually be stuffed in jail for your whole life; if you refuse to confess,
you'll actually be let out in time for the New Year."
(Written on October 13, 2005. Partially broadcasted by Radio Free
Asia. The Wei Jingsheng Foundation is responsible for the accuracy of
this version of the English translation.)
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中文版
Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A163-W76
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A163-W76
Release Date: November 5, 2005
发布日：2005年11月5日
Topic: We Must Break Through Chinese Communists' Media Monopolies and Blockades
on Information -- by Wei Jingsheng
标题：无权无势的普通老百姓首先要突破的，就是中共的垄断媒体和封锁消息 -- 魏京生
Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）
如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2005/report2005-11/WeiJS051105voiceA163-W76.htm
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无权无势的普通老百姓首先要突破的，就是中共的垄断媒体和封锁消息
-- 魏京生
不久前我们谈到了台湾立法院大打出手，民主政治有倒退的可能，争执焦点是新闻媒体的自由问题。或者说要不要由官方来控制媒体的问题。如果媒体被官方所控制、报喜不报忧，人民受到蒙蔽。那么人民手中的选举权和罢免权，就变成了聋子的耳朵--摆设。因此，人民保护自己各项权利和利益的前提，是四大政治自由，即言论、出版、集会、结社的自由。这四大自由保障了人民可以用选举和罢免的手段控制政府，使政府有利于社会和人民，而不是有害。不是骑在人民头上的暴政。
台湾的人民已经为自己争得了初步的民主，现在的问题是进一步巩固民主政治，防止倒退回专制独裁。在大陆就不同了，人民名义上拥有的选举权和罢免权，一直就是聋子的耳朵--摆设。最近在媒体上炒得沸沸扬扬的广东太石村事件，就是最好的证明，也是最典型的案例。太石村的人民因为罢免自己的行政官员，却遭到政府派出的武警弹压，甚至动用黑社会，把一位关注农民维权的人民代表大会代表打成重伤，至今仍在医院治疗，吓得这位人大代表不敢追究暴徒的刑事罪，自动放弃追诉。难道他怕的是暴徒吗？再凶的暴徒也不是官方的对手。他怕的恰恰是这个披着官方外衣的暴徒政府，怕的是现在官匪一家的中共集团。就在此案中，为农民打官司的律师被逮捕判刑了。来自北京的维权工作者《仁之泉工作室》被北京赶出了工作室，并且至今租不到另一处办公地点。如果他们再去广东，就不仅仅是没收电脑被扣压几天的小事儿了。你说那个人大代表能不怕吗？
中共除了用各种非法手段压制这些直接参与共事的维权人士之外，也采取了大规模封锁消息的手法。最近一些日子，国内报道此事的网站大量被封杀，最新消息一点儿也传不出来。与此同时，针对太石村民的各项高压政策开始见效了。带头串连选民的组织者们，已开始不得不屈服了。前一阶段他们不屈服，是因为消息外传，得到全球各界的声援。如今消息传不出来，声援也少了，压力却加大了。他们的承受能力也就过了极限了。中共的手法也就奏效了。可见，这各项措施中，封锁国内外的媒体，是镇压人民的首要措施。所有的独裁者和企图独裁的执政者，首先本能地想到的，就是控制媒体，封锁消息。由此，我们无权无势的普通老百姓，首先要突破的，也就是垄断媒体和封锁消息。用老百姓的大白话说，就是发出声音，是最最重要的第一步措施。如果不能发出声音，其他一切都无法谈起。
由此我又想到另一件事。许多年来，我们在营救政治犯时，常常会碰到这样一种情况。政治犯的家属因为公安局威胁说，不得与外界联系，否则如何如何。或利诱说只要不和外界联系就如何如何。结果家属们拒绝向我们提供必要的资料，使我们无法和国际人权机构工作。各国人权机构也无法和中国政府谈判营救工作。最终政治犯没有获得任何帮助，这些家属有后悔的，但也有认为自己没做错，等等。愚不可及。这让我想起监狱里流行的一句口诀，叫做"坦白从宽，牢底坐穿，抗拒从严，回家过年"。这是刑事犯们几十年来体会中共的不讲信用，总结出来的血的教训。如今的这些政治犯家属和维权的百姓们应该吸取别人血的教训。你们帮政府封锁了消息，实际上就是害了你们的亲人和你们自己。要勇敢地发出自己的声音，大声疾呼引起公众舆论的同情。这只会有好处，绝无坏处。况且没有任何中国法律禁止你呼吁社会的关注。你为什么要帮助害你的人封锁消息呢？愚不可及。
让我们记住那句对付不守信用的中共暴政的口诀吧！
"坦白从宽，牢底坐穿。抗拒从严，回家过年"。
（写于2005年10月13日）
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