Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1171-W800
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1171-W800
Release
Date: December 24, 2018
发布日：2018年12月24日
Topic:
German Sino Expert Dr. Thomas Weyrauch's Speech at the Symposium in Observance
of the 40th Anniversary of the Democracy Wall in the US Congress
标题：德国中国近代史专家韦唐仕博士给美国国会举办的“纪念民主墙40周年”研讨会的书面发言
Original
Language Version: English (Chinese version at the end)
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contains identical information.
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Dr.
Thomas Weyrauch: Chinese Lessons for the Development in Germany
--
Written Speech at the Symposium in Observance of the 40th Anniversary of the
Democracy Wall in the US Congress
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
It
would be a great honor and pleasure to join you today, but my bad health no
longer allows such a long journey.
As
a German I am well aware of the history concerning my own country, the good and
the bad aspects of the past.
The
German post-war generation to which I belong explored the trauma of the Nazi
period between 1933 and 1945 and professed peace in Europe, democracy and human
rights. This was accompanied by an obligation to fight for freedom. Young
people learned solidarity across national borders.
Unfortunately,
however, the eastern part of Germany was not free, not democratic and its state
was a communist dictatorship, which called itself the "German Democratic Republic".
The "international solidarity", propagated to the citizens, was
limited in empty Marxist phrases.
When
I still was a law student, I learned about Wei Jingsheng in the news. It was
the year 1979. Wei was treated like a dangerous felon in a show trial, though
he just wanted to modernize China by the enforcement of democracy. The famous
politician Sun Yatsen had it done so. Because he was a democratic pioneer, Sun
became the first provisional president in 1912, while Wei Jingsheng was
sentenced to a long prison term 67 years later for the same political purpose.
I found this verdict to be inappropriate, unfair and extremely harsh.
I
was not alone with my feelings. Many people in West Germany campaigned for Wei
Jingsheng's release. I was certainly not the only one of them when I took part
in protest events, and in 1983 I wrote my first article on Wei Jingsheng and
human rights in China. My article appeared in a magazine of the International
Society for Human Rights, which was smuggled in large numbers to East Germany.
At
the time, as a young man, it was not clear to me that the people in East
Germany also knew about the events in China via such secretly imported Western
print media and TV broadcasts broadcast across the border. I should not learn
that until 1989!
We
in the Federal Republic of Germany, i.e. in the West, watched the events in
China closely because there were Western correspondents in China who reported
quite critically. When I myself got an opportunity to work in Wuhan, a city of
millions in central China, from January 1989, I accepted with optimism, but
also - in view of my previous human rights activities - with a queasy feeling.
However, I could not foresee that I would witness world political changes in a
short time.
On
March 15, former CCP leader Hu Yaobang, who had been deprived of his position
because of his liberal stance, died. This was the prelude to demonstrations
across China calling for the release of Wei Jingsheng and other political
prisoners. More and more people on the streets of Chinese cities demanded the
abolition of the state's CCP leadership and the introduction of democracy,
which had been eliminated by the 1949 communist revolution.
We
all know the result: the end of that expression of the will of the Chinese
people, which for 40 years has been deprived of basic civil rights: Tank tracks
crushed this beautiful dream of freedom and popular rule!
But
the development in China paradoxically promoted East Germany's own democracy
movement. So it was shocking to the Communist leadership and its so-called
"Socialist Unity Party" when hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands
took to the streets.
Despite
all the ideological differences of recent decades, the leaders of East Germany
and the People's Republic of China reunited in the hour of need. State leader
Erich Honecker even planned to order tanks against the demonstrators, like his
Chinese comrades did. However, he was not fortunate enough - fortunately for
the citizens of his country and fortunately for all Europeans!
Although
knowing well that Chinese tanks had destroyed civil rights, human rights and
even human lives, the East Germans took to the streets in 1989. The
intelligence centers were stormed by the citizens, and his soldiers did not
want to shoot at family members, neighbors and friends. The East German state
finally collapsed under the weight of its despotism. This also dropped the
Berlin Wall and an indescribable border that divided Germany.
In
contrast to my friend Wei Jingsheng, the gentlemen at the head of that defunct
"German Democratic Republic" were accused of real crimes in fair
trials while enjoying all rights of defense. They finally received prison
sentences.
Ladies
and Gentlemen, the Berlin Wall fell, other walls have to fall, but the
destroyed Beijing Wall of Democracy will be kept in our mind!
Photo
of Dr. Thomas Weyrauch of Germany:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2018/newsletters2018-3/WeyrauchTphoto.jpg
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1171-W800
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1171-W800
Release
Date: December 24, 2018
发布日：2018年12月24日
Topic:
German Sino Expert Dr. Thomas Weyrauch's Speech at the Symposium in Observance
of the 40th Anniversary of the Democracy Wall in the US Congress
标题：德国中国近代史专家韦唐仕博士给美国国会举办的“纪念民主墙40周年”研讨会的书面发言
Original
Language Version: English (Chinese version at the end)
此号以英文为准（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/report2018/report2018-12/WeyrauchTspeech181224atDemocracyWall40thA1171-W800.htm
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德国中国近代史专家韦唐仕博士：中国的经验教训促进了德国的发展
-- 给美国国会举办的“纪念民主墙40周年”研讨会的书面发言
女士们、先生们，
能在今天与你们在一起令人感到荣誉和愉快，但我的健康状况却不再允许这么长的旅行。
作为一个德国人，我很清楚我国过去好坏各方面的历史。
我所属的德国战后一代探讨了1933年至1945年纳粹时期的创伤，并宣称热爱欧洲的和平，民主和人权。这伴随的是为自由而战的义务。年轻人学会了跨国界的团结。
然而不幸的是，当时德国东部不是自由的，也不是民主的，那是一个自称为"德意志民主共和国"的共产独裁政权。其向民众宣传的"国际团结"不过是个局限于空洞的马克思主义的字眼而已。
当我还是一名法学院的学生时，我在新闻中了解到到魏京生。那是1979年。尽管魏京生只是想通过民主的实施来使中国现代化，他却在如上演的审判中被视为危险的重罪犯。著名的政治家孙中山就是这样做的。作为民主先驱，孙因此在1912年成为中国的第一任临时总统。而67年之后，魏京生却由于同样的政治目的，而被判处以长期监禁。我认为这个判决是不恰当的，不公平的，且及其严厉的。
我的感觉并不少见。西德的许多人为魏京生的释放而呼吁。当我参加抗议活动时，我当然不是他们中唯一的。1983年，我写了第一篇关于魏京生和中国人权的文章。我的文章出现在国际人权协会的一本杂志上，并被大量走私到东德。
作为当时的一个年轻人，我不清楚东德人民是否也通过这种秘密进口的西方印刷媒体和跨境播放的电视广播了解到发生在中国的事件。直到1989年我才得知这点！
我们在德意志联邦共和国，也就是西方，密切关注中国的事件，因为有在中国的西方记者的非常批判性的报道。从1989年1月开始，当我自己有机会在中国中部数百万人口的武汉工作时，我乐观地接受了这一点 - 而且考虑到我之前的人权活动 - 我感到很不安。但是，我无法预见到在短时间内我会目睹到世界政治的变化。
3月15日，前中共领导人胡耀邦因其自由主义立场而被剥夺职务，之后去世了。这是全中国呼吁释放魏京生和其他政治犯的示威活动的前奏。越来越多的中国城市的人民走上街头，要求废除中共在中国的领导和采用已被1949年的共产革命所消灭的民主。
我们都知道结果：结果是40年来一直被剥夺了基本公民权利的中国人民的意愿表达被结束了：坦克粉碎了这个美丽的自由和民众主治的梦想！
但中国的发展却促进了东德自身的民主运动。因此，当数百、数千、数万人走上街头时，其共产领导层及所谓的"统一社会党"感到极其震惊。
虽说有近几十年来所有的意识形态差异，东德和中华人民共和国的领导人在需要的时刻重新团结。国家领导人埃里希·昂纳克甚至计划像他的中国同志那样订购坦克，来镇压示威者。然而，他并不那么幸运 - 幸运的是他的国家的公民，幸运的是所有欧洲人！
虽然很清楚中国的坦克摧毁了公民权利，人权甚至是人命，但东德人于1989年走上街头。情报中心被公民们所冲击，士兵不想向家人、邻居和朋友开枪。在专制主义的重负下，东德最终崩溃了，同时也摧毁了柏林墙和一个分裂德国的难以形容的边界。
与我的朋友魏京生形成鲜明对比的是，那些已经解散了的"德意志民主共和国"的负责人在享有所有辩护权的同时，在公平的审判中被指控犯下了真正的罪行。他们最终被判入狱。
女士们，先生们，柏林墙倒塌了，其它的墙将最终不得不倒塌，但被毁的北京民主墙将留在我们心中！
德国中国近代史专家韦唐仕博士的照片：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2018/newsletters2018-3/WeyrauchTphoto.jpg
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阁下之所以收到本信，是因为阁下以前曾表示有兴趣了解魏京生先生和中国民主运动。
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