Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A664-W411
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A664-W411
Release
Date: October 29, 2011
发布日：2011年10月29日
Topic:
Review of the 1911 Chinese Xinhai Revolution -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：辛亥革命的回顾 -- 魏京生
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Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
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Review
of the 1911 Chinese Xinhai Revolution
--
Wei Jingsheng
The
1911 Xinhai Revolution was exactly one hundred years ago now. Recently, many friends often ask the
same question: why was it that the Chinese people created the first Republic in
Asia, but have yet to build a democratic republican system? The one-party dictatorship of the
Communist Party cannot be considered a democratic republican system. It is not a controversy now. Even the
Communist Party itself no longer denies this reality. So the question grows bigger and bigger, and becomes more
controversial.
Some
people blame Sun Yat-sen. This
idea has become a hot topic recently.
I think it is unfair. For a
pioneer who has built a road to a place no others had gone, we should not
demand perfection on the first try.
Let us look at the founding fathers who created the United States. We should not ask either everyone to be
perfect nor everything to be perfect, nor should we or they have the confidence
of success. When one is taking on
an unprecedented task without either examples to follow or experience to
refine, we should expect failures and setbacks despite the enthusiasm and
ideals in searching for the road to reach the destination. Success can be more due to luck than an
inexorable law.
Some
people say that the Chinese people have poor quality and poor culture; only
when we have reached a high enough education level with improved quality, might
we be able to establish a democratic system. But let us look at the United States 200 years ago. It was only a small colony, sparsely
populated with a backward economy.
At that time, most Americans were uneducated farmers, and the USA had a
lower education level than present day China. Yet, they built a democratic system. Furthermore, they developed into
today's number one powerful country in the world. The 'quality' of Americans gradually reached today's level
after it became democratic. So to
claim that the Chinese could only build democracy after the Chinese people
reached a quality equivalent to Americans, one may just as well say that the
Chinese people cannot establish democracy. That claim is reversing cause and effect, taking the harvest
before the farming.
Some
people claim that Asian values are different from Western values, and Asian
values are only suitable for centralization instead of democracy. The premise of this claim has two
possibilities. One is that
democracy is not the system that is most suitable to human nature, but only a
system for European whites. Should
not we call this racism? The other
is that the Chinese have a natural servility, without much humanity. Therefore, the democratic system which
may fit human nature is not suitable for the Chinese people. This is even more outrageous -- it is
just as well to claim that the Chinese people are animals, instead of human.
Therefore,
the popular claim of the special Asian values that is propagated as the truth
all over the world by Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, is
a racism that is even worse than that of Adolf Hitler. According to reliable sources, this
theory was fabricated by the Academy of Social Sciences of the Chinese
Communist Party and then passed to Lee.
Lee only saw money, without realizing that this theory is actually
cursing himself as a non-human.
Sometimes, these politicians are indeed quite ridiculous.
There
are many other claims, such as that the Chinese people cannot be democratic
because they are not Christians, etc.
Most of them are just paranoid sayings which lack common sense, and so
do not deserve to be further commented on. In short, one hundred years ago, The Chinese people did not
believe these crooked sayings, and set up Asia's first democratic republic with
courage and sacrifice. But why are
we still not successful after one hundred years? Now, we are back to the previous question.
Apart
from the democratic countries that established democratic systems under the
bayonets of other democratic countries, let us just take a look at the USA
which is said to have built its own democratic system. Where did it get its good luck? Fortunately, the French supported the
USA. I have heard Americans tell
me that the militia lead by General George Washington was not competitive
against the official British army.
It was the official French army led by General Lafayette who helped the
Americans to defeat the British Army, and thus become able to create an
independent democratic republic.
One
hundred years ago, Sun Yat-sen and his Revolutionary Party of China did not
have such luck. After the
abdication of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the Western powers did not support the
Revolutionary Party, but instead supported Yuan Shikai, who represented the
remnants of the old dynasty. After
the failure of Yuan to restore the monarchy, the warlords setup their own
separate regimes without a clearly defined system. The Revolution Party had to rise again in an effort to
restore the democratic republic system.
Yet, in an effort to guarantee their own commercial interests, the
Western powers once again supported the old dictatorial forces and their
interest in restoration. Thus,
Chinese freedom and democracy were once again postponed due to obstacles from
the commercial interests.
Finally,
there was a country that was willing to support the Revolutionary Party in
restoring a democratic republic system in China, but clearly with hidden
troubles. What will these
gentlemen who now talk eloquently choose when this happens? Of course, irresponsible lip service is
easy, but very few would be brave enough to carry the responsibility as Sun
Yat-sen and the revolutionaries did.
In an effort to clear up the warlords' separate regimes and restore the
republic, they took another risk.
Ultimately, they successfully completed the Northern Expedition and
restored the Republic. That
success resulted in the best decade of development in China in the past
century. With the diligence and
wisdom of the Chinese people, a democratic and free China with a prospective
economy was just around the corner.
But
China really had a bad luck.
Instead of receiving external assistance, external interference
arrived. Whether or not due to the
conspiracy of the Soviets, in short, the Sino-Japanese war broke out in
full-scale. After World War II,
due to the stupidity of the United States and the intervention of the Soviet
Union, China resumed dictatorship.
The Communist Party came to power.
China's disaster officially began.
To
say that the Chinese people have a low quality is unfair. In the six decades of Communist Party
rule, there has been continuous resistance in varying degrees, big or
small. Among all the communist
countries, China has been a country with the strongest resistance and highest
frequency of uprisings. Even the
sudden collapse of the Communist Bloc started from the resistance of the
Chinese people. The reason that
China was not successful in achieving its own democracy is neither due to the
Chinese people's lack of courage, nor to the Chinese people's lack of
understanding of democracy and freedom, but due to the accident of history just
falling at a critical time, with key figures at key locations.
If
Zhao Ziyang and Gorbachev exchanged their positions, China's democratic
progress in the past two decades would certainly be more than that of Russia. Although this "if" has yet to
occur, in the future it will certainly be proved. Although the micro and short-term history is often dominated
by chance, the macro and long-term history often has certainty.
As
long as we continue our unremitting efforts, fate will not keep being unfair to
the Chinese people.
To
hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2011/WeiJS111003XinhaiRevolutionReview.mp3
(Written
and recorded on October 3, 2011.
Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A664-W411
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A664-W411
Release
Date: October 29, 2011
发布日：2011年10月29日
Topic:
Review of the 1911 Chinese Xinhai Revolution -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：辛亥革命的回顾 -- 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/report2011/report2011-10/WeiJS111029XinhaiRevolutionReviewA664-W411.htm
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《辛亥革命的回顾》
-- 魏京生
辛亥革命整整一百年了。很多朋友最近经常问一个问题：为什么中国人创建了亚洲第一个共和国，却到现在还是没有建立起民主共和的制度？共产党的一党专政不能算民主共和制度，这个现在已经没有什么争议了。连共产党自己也不再否认这个现实。所以这个疑问就越来越大，越来越有争议。
有些人归罪于孙中山，而且最近还成了一个热门话题。我认为这不公平。让一个在没有路的地方开创的人做得面面俱到，一次到位，这叫苛求。看看创建美国的先贤们，也是人无完人，也没有面面俱到，而且也没有必胜的把握。前无古人，没有先例可循，也缺乏经验，完全凭着一股热情和理想去探索达到目标的道路。失败和挫折是难免的，成功可以说是运气大于必然规律。
有些人说：中国人的素质太差，文化不高；需要等到教育发达了，素质提高了，才能够建立民主制度。可是看看二百多年前的美国。那是一个小小的殖民地：人烟稀少，经济落后，大多数人都是没文化的农民，远远不如现在的中国。人家也建立起了民主制度，并且发展到了今天的第一强国。美国人的素质是民主以后，发展以后才逐渐达到今天的水平。说中国人的素质要达到今天美国的水平才能够建立民主，还不如换句话说中国人不可能建立民主。这是倒果为因，先收粮食后种田。
有些人说亚洲价值观不同于西方人，只适合集权不适合民主。这个说法的前提有两种可能。一种是说民主不是最适合人类本性的制度，而是只适合白种人的人性的制度。这好像应该归类于种族主义吧。一种是说中国人天生的奴性，没有多少人性，所以适合人类本性的制度才不适合中国人。这就更不像话了，不如直接说中国人是牲口，不是人。
所以，盛行一时被新加坡总理李光耀奉为真理满世界宣传的亚洲特殊价值观，是连希特勒都不如的种族主义。据可靠的消息，这套理论是中共的社会科学院编造出来推广给李光耀的。而李光耀居然只看见钱，而看不见这是自己骂自己不是人的理论。这帮政客有时候确实太可笑。
还有很多说法，例如说中国人不信基督教，所以不能民主，等等。那大多是些缺乏常识的偏执的说法，就不用一一评论了。总之，一百年前的中国人不相信这些邪门歪道的说法，硬是不怕牺牲勇往直前，建立了亚洲第一个民主共和国。可是为什么一百年了还是没有成功呢？又回到了老问题上。
撇开那些在别的民主国家的刺刀下建立起民主制度的国家不说，先看看据说是凭借自己的力量建立起民主制度的美国。它的运气好在哪里呢？好在有法国的支持。来到美国听美国人自己说才知道，凭着华盛顿领导的民兵，根本就不是英国正规军的对手。美国革命很可能像其它许多地方一样被镇压下去。是拉法叶特将军率领的法国正规军，帮助美国人民打败了英国军队，创建了独立的民主共和国。
孙中山和革命党没有这个运气。在满清退位后列强不支持革命党，而支持代表满清残余势力的袁世凯。在袁世凯复辟帝制失败后，就是军阀割据，体制不明。革命党人不得不再次举行起义，试图恢复民主共和国的制度。而列强再次支持了独裁而且有复辟企图的旧势力，以便保证他们的商业利益。中国的民主自由在商业利益的阻碍下不得不推迟。
终于有一个国家愿意支持革命党恢复民主共和的制度，但是带有明显藏有隐患的条件。如果是现在高谈阔论的先生们遇到这种情况，会怎样选择呢？不负责任的空口说白话当然很容易，但很少人像孙中山和革命党人那样，勇敢地承担了责任。他们为扫除军阀割据，恢复民国冒了一次险，最终成功地完成了北伐，恢复了民国。那是上个世纪中国发展最好的十年。以中国人的勤劳和智慧，一个民主自由经济繁荣的中国指日可待。
可是中国的运气确实不好。外部援助没得到，外部的严重干涉却等到了。不管是不是苏联的阴谋，总之爆发了中日全面的战争。战后由于美国的愚蠢和苏联的干预，中国又恢复了独裁专制。共产党上台了。中国人的灾难正式开始了。
说中国人素质低就太不公平了。在共产党执政的六十年里，大大小小程度不等的反抗接连不断。那是所有共产党国家里反抗最强烈，频率最高的国家。甚至共产党阵营的轰然倒塌，也是从中国人的反抗开始的。之所以在中国反而没有成功，不是中国人不够勇敢，也不是中国人缺乏对民主自由的认识，而是历史的偶然恰恰降临在关键的时间，关键的人物，和关键的地点。
如果把赵紫阳和戈尔巴乔夫换一下位置，中国这二十多年来的民主进展肯定超过俄罗斯。虽然这个如果现在还没有发生，但是将来肯定会得到证明。微观和短期的历史虽然常常是由偶然性主导，宏观的和长期的历史却往往有它的必然性。
只要我们坚持不懈地努力，运气不会总是和中国人擦肩而过。
聆听魏京生先生的相关录音，请访问：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2011/WeiJS111003XinhaiRevolutionReview.mp3
（撰写并录音于2011年10月3日。自由亚洲电台播出。）
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