Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A755-W481
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A755-W481
Release
Date: March 24, 2013
发布日：2013年3月24日
Topic:
Is Democracy Feasible in China? -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：在中国民主是否可行？ -- 魏京生
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Is
Democracy Feasible in China?
--
Wei Jingsheng
Is
democracy feasible in China? This
question has been speculated on for more than a century. There has always been a group of
so-called intellectual elite in China, who repeatedly propagate the
"democracy is not feasible in China" theory while holding their
publicity rights. Taking a closer
look of the status of these elite, one will find that most of them are
associated with people in power.
As these elite enjoy their own life, they praise the dictatorship to be better
than democracy. Some of them are
embarrassed to say so too obviously.
So they will say, although democracy is good the quality of the Chinese
people make democracy impossible.
There
is something that went even further.
During the era when Jiang Zemin was in power, he got the Academy of
Social Sciences of China to help him demonstrate a set of sophistry to say that
the unique values of Asia are not suitable for democracy. Singapore dictator Harry Lee Kuan Yew
treasured this theory so much. He
went all over the world to help the Communist Party to publicize this theory of
special Asian values. After I
pointed out that this is a typical racist theory, he had to hide in the hotel
room to avoid seeing me. Since
then, he has not dared to blatantly promote this racism. Of course, he and his son Lee Hsien
Loong, who is governing Singapore, therefore never welcomed me to enter
Singapore. Beyond the pseudo-democratic
government of Russia, only the authoritarian countries of Arabia and Singapore
do not welcome me to visit.
Are
the unique values in Asia indeed not suitable for democracy? In the past, at least one could claim
that there are some problems with the Muslim countries in West Asia. However, the Muslim countries of
Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia have long implemented the democratic
system. And indeed, there is also
the Arab Spring movement that began two years ago showing that people of Muslim
cultures can also get on the road to democracy. Even though there is fierce fighting, even though the
countries and the societies are suffering huge loss, they are still determined
to establish democratic systems.
We cannot say that because these people are not Christian they therefore
cannot implement democracy. This
argument of pseudo-Christians is simply a typical fallacy.
Now
let us talk about the Chinese cultural circle in East Asia. Japan, South Korea and the Philippines
have long established democratic systems.
Even Taiwan of the same Chinese people with authentic unique Asian values
has already established a democratic system. To say that China cannot establish a democracy is totally
lacking in evidence and simply sophistry.
Nevertheless, the various pseudo-theories stating that China can not
establish a democratic system that are manufactured by the Communist Party
still have their market and still confuse many Chinese people.
Both
Chen Guangcheng and Lu Haitao who recently escaped to the USA with a great
sensation in the press, have made similar remarks. Chen Guangcheng claimed that the central government of the
Chinese Communist Party is good, but not the grass-roots officials. Mr. Lu Haitao directly stated that his
a few months experience abroad has already made him lose hope for a democratic
China, claiming China is "too far from a democratic society". What these two well-known human rights
activists said does have some representation, which at least illustrates that a
large portion of the rights-defending intellectual elite does not hold hope for
establishing democracy in China.
This claim is a huge contrast to the strong demand for democracy from
the majority Chinese both in upper and lower classes.
One
reason may be due to the strong governmental pressure against the
rights-defending people inside China.
They have to hide their true thoughts in order to adapt to the
environment. After a while, it
becomes a self-fulfilling lie. In
particular are these grass-roots right defenders who came to participate in the
movement relatively later. It is
relatively easier for them to accept all sorts of pseudo-theory in the
atmosphere that tells lies, and then treat these lies as the truth.
In
contrast, within the Communist Party that is relatively better at
distinguishing the fake from genuine, very few people believe these
pseudo-theories. Recently, during
an interview of the well-known TV program in the USA "60 Minutes",
the wife of a well-known businessman in China suddenly said that all the
Chinese people want democracy.
That really shocked the producer and interviewer of the program. Inside the Chinese Communist Party,
there are also a large number of people publicly making initiatives to
implement a genuine democratic system.
Even the antidemocratic diehards are willing to spend funding that is
more than the military budget to "maintain stability" in China. This also shows that they are very
clear-minded about what the majority of Chinese want.
Knowing
that the whole country wants democracy, yet saying that China is "too far
from a democratic society," is more like an argument from the Central
Propaganda Department of the Communist Party, instead of a statement from a
pro-democracy or rights-defending activist. What do you rely on for defending rights? That is the rule of law. What could maintain a legal system to
function normally? Only democratic
politics. Only when the political
power is in the hands of the people, can we insure that rule of law in not just
a shield for a few, but a shield for all the people.
If
there is no hope to establish democracy in China, then how could rule of law
serve ordinary people? What rights
are they trying to defend? Or is
it simply a rights-defending show with foreign funding? This kind of unhealthy trend within the
rights-defending community in China has made average Chinese very
disappointed. It also makes the
international friends who promote the democratization of China very
disappointed. It makes us, who
strive for democracy in China from overseas, and people who have sacrificed
greatly very disappointed.
I heard
them holding hope for the Communist leaders to discipline the grassroots
corruptive officials even though it was for the purpose of extending the
Communist regime's life; I heard them holding hope to the lies of high
officials who promise reform without sincerity; I heard them not holding hope
to the strong demand of democracy from the Chinese people, and even dampening
people's enthusiasm by pouring icy cold water over others' heads. I have heard enough. These pseudo-intellectuals' running dog
type of philosophy is a major hazard for the Chinese community. It has confused and poisoned many
youths.
If
we let this set of false theories replace the tendency of the whole country
demanding democracy, then after the fall of communism in the future, instead of
democracy, a new type of autocracy will be formed in China just like what
happened in Russia. I want to ask,
what would happen to those of you pseudo-democracy activists? When the rabbits are all hunted, the
dogs will be cooked. When the
birds are all gone, the bows will be stored away. Will you still be able to make a popular and easy life with
foreign aid? Even though one might
get a teaching position overseas to spend the rest of one's life, it will not
be so easy. This world is always
very realistic.
Mr.
Lu Haitao was disappointed after he received some "not just unfair
treatment" in Taiwan. This is
easy to understand. But one should not lose one's ideals and beliefs due to
temporary difficulties, thus unconsciously helping the Central Propaganda
Department of the Communist Party to propagate -- being sold by the Communist
Party yet still counting the money of the sale for the Party. This stupid unhealthy trend must be
corrected. To avoid pressure while
defending rights inside China, one might try to avoid a high-pitched tune of
democracy. However, one should not
go in the opposite way, to pour the cold water over people's desire for
democracy. This conduct of pouring
cold water indeed illustrates that many people do not know who they are.
Especially
when the Western public opinion in support of democracy is focusing on you, you
must weight on your own conscience when you speak. Please do not fail to live up to the expectation of these
friends and people who have supported and assisted you, both inside and outside
of China.
To
hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2013/WeiJS130322democracyinChina.mp3
(Written
on March 21 and recorded on March 22, 2013. Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A755-W481
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A755-W481
Release
Date: March 24, 2013
发布日：2013年3月24日
Topic:
Is Democracy Feasible in China? -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：在中国民主是否可行？ -- 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/report2013/report2013-03/WeiJS130324democracyinChinaA755-W481.htm
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在中国民主是否可行？
-- 魏京生
民主在中国是否可行？这个问题已经反复炒作了一个多世纪了。中国总有那么一批所谓的知识精英们，反复利用他们掌握的话语权宣传民主不可行论。看看这些精英的地位，就发现大多是一些和权势有关系的人。他们自己过得不错了，就说专制比民主好。有些不太好意思这么明显，就说民主好是好，可你们中国人这个素质就搞不成民主。
更有甚者。江泽民执政的时候让社科院帮他论证了一套歪理，说什么亚洲独特的价值观不适合民主。新加坡的独裁者李光耀如获至宝，满世界帮中共宣传亚洲特殊价值观。在被我指出这是典型的种族主义理论后，他吓得躲在旅馆房间里不敢见我，而且从此不敢再明目张胆地宣传这个种族主义理论了。当然，他和他儿子执政的新加坡政府，也因此永远不欢迎我入境。除了俄罗斯这个假民主政府不欢迎我入境之外，只有阿拉伯和新加坡这种独裁国家不欢迎我入境。
亚洲独特的价值观真的不适合民主吗？过去至少可以说西亚的穆斯林国家有点儿问题。且不说巴基斯坦和马来西亚、印度尼西亚这些穆斯林国家早就实行了民主制度，就是前两年开始的阿拉伯之春运动，也说明人家穆斯林文化也同样可以走上民主之路。就是打个昏天黑地，国家社会蒙受巨大损失，人家也坚定地要建立民主制度。不能说人家不是基督教文化就不能实行民主制度。这种伪基督徒的说法根本就是典型的谬论。
再说东亚的汉语文化圈。日本、韩国和菲律宾早就建立起民主制度了。就是同为中国人，拥有正宗独特亚洲价值观的台湾，也早已经建立起民主制度了。说中国不能建立民主制度，根本就找不到证据，根本就是诡辩嘛。可是共产党制造的各种中国不能建立民主制度的假理论，仍然很有市场，仍然在迷惑着广大民众。
最近逃亡到美国，引起新闻界很大轰动的陈光诚和卢海涛，都有类似的言论。陈光诚只是说共产党的中央是好的，基层官员是坏的。卢海涛先生则直接说来到国外几个月的经历，已经使得他对中国建立民主失去了希望，说中国“离民主社会差得太远”。这两个著名的维权人士的说法有一定的代表性，说明至少一大批维权知识精英们对建立民主不抱希望。和全国上下大多数人强烈要求民主形成了极大的反差。
一个原因可能是国内维权人士面对着官方的强大压力，不得不把自己的真实想法隐藏起来以便适应环境，久而久之弄假成真。特别是参加运动比较晚的基层维权人士，在说假话的氛围下比较容易接受各种假理论，并且弄假成真。
反倒是比较善于分辨真假的共产党内部，很少人相信这些假理论。最近有位国内富商的夫人，在美国的著名电视节目《六十分钟》里，突然说中国人都要民主。这倒把美国的节目主持人都吓了一跳。中共党内也有一大批人公开倡议实行真正的民主制度。即使那些反民主的顽固派，也愿意花超过军费的维稳经费。这也说明他们很清楚大多数中国人要什么。
在这种全国上下都知道要民主的情况下，说中国“离民主社会差得太远”，倒像是中宣部的论调，而不像是民运人士或者维权人士的说法。要维权你靠的是什么？是法制。能维护法制正常运作的是什么？只有民主政治。只有政治权力掌握在人民手里，才能保证法律不再是少数人的挡箭牌，才能使法律成为所有人的挡箭牌。
如果在中国建立民主没希望，法律怎么能为普通老百姓服务呢？你维的是什么权呢？是拿外国经费的维权秀吗？在国内维权界流行的这些歪风邪气，的确让老百姓很失望。这让国际上真正推动中国民主化的朋友们很失望，也让我们这些在海外为中国的民主化努力的人们，及付出巨大代价的人们很失望。
对中共为了延缓他们的生命而整治基层贪官抱有希望，对高官们虚情假意地说几句不打算兑现的改革谎言抱有希望，却对人民希望民主的强烈要求不抱希望，乃至置若罔闻泼冷水，这种伪知识分子的犬儒哲学，是中国社会的一大公害。迷惑毒害了多少青年。
如果这套假理论代替了全国上下要求民主的倾向，那么将来共产党倒台之后，就不会去建立民主而是建立起一种新型的专制。就像现在的俄罗斯那样。试问，你们这些假民运人士会有什么下场？兔死狗烹，鸟尽弓藏，还能靠外国的援助吃香的喝辣的吗？就是跑到国外来弄个教职混过下半辈子，也不那么容易了吧？这个世界从来都很现实。
卢海涛先生在台湾受到了一些据说是“岂止不公平的对待”，就产生了失望情绪。这个容易理解。但是不能因为一时的困难和情绪，就丧失了理想和信仰，以致就不自觉地帮中宣部做宣传--被别人卖了还帮共产党数钱。这种愚蠢的歪风邪气必须纠正。在国内维权为了避免压力，可以不去唱民主的高调。但是不能反过来给老百姓的民主要求泼冷水。泼冷水的做法说明很多人真的不知道自己是老几了。
特别是当支持民主的西方舆论聚焦到你们身上的时候，说话的时候要掂一掂自己的良心。不要辜负了支持你们，帮助过你们的国内外朋友和老百姓的期望。
聆听魏京生先生的相关录音，请访问：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2013/WeiJS130322democracyinChina.mp3
（撰写于2013年3月21日，录音于2013年3月22日。自由亚洲电台播出。）
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