Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition News and Article Release Issue Number: A1613-O371

中国民主运动海外联席会议新闻与文章发布号：A1613-O371

Release Date: November 14, 2023

发布日：2023年11月14日

Topic: As Democracy Activists Issued "the Congress on China’s Direction" Declaration, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Came to Support -- Radio Free Asia report

标题：民运人士发表"国是会议"宣言，美众院议员到场支持 -- 自由亚洲电台报道

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

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As Democracy Activists Issued "the Congress on China’s Direction" Declaration, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Came to Support

-- Radio Free Asia report

2023.11.12 13:14 ET

As Xi Jinping is about to visit the California Bay Area to attend the APEC Summit, well-known democracy activists Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao held a press conference about "the Congress on China’s Direction" at the Canopy by Hilton Hotel in San Francisco on the afternoon of November 11. Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, attended the event and delivered a speech.

Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao Discuss "the Congress on China’s Direction"

Recently, pro-democracy activists such as Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao have launched an initiative to hold "the Congress on China’s Direction" and called on people from all walks of life to join it. The declaration distributed at the press conference stated that the Congress would "explore plans to end tyranny and create a democratic China." The first "Congress on China’s Direction" is planned to be held in February 2024 in Washington DC, the capital of the United States.

Wang Juntao, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Democratic Party, proposed a "three-step plan" for the "the Congress on China’s Direction" at the press conference. He said that they will first hold a conference in order to issue a declaration of convening "the Congress on China’s Direction" and present it to the people of China and the world with relevant topics raised. Then, professionals and ordinary people will be invited to participate in the discussion. He said, "Now the elites in the Chinese government, industry, and academia all know that if China does not have a constitutional democratic system, no one will be safe. No matter how great your achievements are, they can be destroyed overnight. This is the social basis and reason as to why we hope that all walks of life can participate in our Congress on China’s Direction.”

At the press conference, Wang Dan, leader of the 1989 student movement, said when talking about the situation in the Asia-Pacific region: "The authoritarian China led by an authoritarian party leader has become the biggest troublemaker for world peace and the biggest threat to the free and democratic world. The key for world security and development in the Asia-Pacific region is not to reach a consensus in which all countries in the Asia-Pacific region share different dreams, with coordinating countries just deceiving themselves and others; it is to end the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), eliminate the biggest hidden danger to the peaceful development of mankind, create a democratic China, and make China a leader with solid foundation in maintaining world peace and order.”

At the press conference, Wei Jingsheng, the well-known democracy activist, looked forward to the development trend of "the Congress on China’s Direction". He said that "the Congress on China’s Direction" is just a start. As more and more people representing different interest groups and classes join "the Congress on China’s Direction" to express their opinions: "Slowly we will form a real parliament. Then this parliament may return to China from abroad, right? There are all kinds of possibilities.”

After that, more than 20 people from all walks of life spoke and discussed the current situation in China.

Gallagher: Use Humor to Counter the CCP’s Cognitive War and Seeing Some Are Willing to Tell the Truth

Congressman Gallagher gave a speech at the event, saying that although in the eyes of many China observers in Washington, DC, the Taiwan Strait may be the most important battlefield in the 21st century, in fact the CCP does not think so. He quoted Xi Jinping’s words that “the disintegration of a regime often begins in the ideological realm” and said: “In Xi Jinping’s view, the war has already started on the most important battlefield -- your mind, which the CCP calls cognitive domain operations or psychological warfare."

He asked, if the battleground is in people's minds, how do people fight back while adhering to their values? Citing Wei Jingsheng's letter from prison that satirized Deng Xiaoping as an example, he said humor is the most powerful weapon, saying: "If you want to know what the CCP is afraid of, then look at what they censor. They often censor humor. Chinese netizens are funny, clever, and always inventing new ways to evade the internet police and mention banned events.”

During his visit to the California Bay Area to attend the APEC Summit, Xi Jinping will attend a dinner with the American business community on November 15. Rep. Gallagher said one can tell through this dinner: "Look at how effectively the Chinese Communist Party is executing its strategy of capturing elites in our own country. From corporate executives, bankers, university presidents to politicians and their families, Xi Jinping must only see the profit-seeking people in the United States. But gatherings like today show that no matter what the cost, there are people in this country who are willing to tell the truth."

When answering questions from media reporters at the scene, Gallagher said that between the two concepts of "competitor" and "enemy", he thinks that the Chinese Communist regime is an enemy and an enemy wherever freedom exists. He also stated that when President Reagan was negotiating with the Soviet Union, the United States did not hesitate to call the Soviet Union an enemy. He also thinks that a distinction must be made between the CCP and the Chinese people. The Chinese people are often the main victims of the CCP's violations. He said: "I want to draw an important distinction, and we have to make this distinction so that we don't go too far. That is, the Chinese people are not our enemy."

Gallagher spoke of Sitong Bridge protester Peng Lifa who exposed the truth that Xi Jinping's rule is an "emperor's new clothes" style lie, and said millions of Chinese knew this. He quoted the famous saying of Solzhenitsyn, the Soviet dissident writer, "It's nothing to go to court for the truth; you have to go to jail for the truth." He also said: "Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao have one thing in common, that they all were in prisons for a simple truth. The truth is that the Chinese people long for and deserve freedom."

Reporter: Sun Cheng; Editor: Wu Xisu

Link to the original report:

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/sc-11122023131400.html

Related photos:

The related report at RFA’s homepage (as November 14, 2023)

http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2023/newsletters2023-4/WWWpressconference231114RFAhomepage.jpg

Pro-democracy activists such as Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao initiated "the Congress on China’s Direction", which will "discuss plans to end tyranny and create a democratic China." (Photography by Sun Cheng):

http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2023/newsletters2023-4/WWWpressconference231111RFAreport-r.jpg

More than 20 people from all walks of life spoke and discussed the current situation in China. (Photography by Sun Cheng):

http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2023/newsletters2023-4/WWWpressconference231111group-r.jpg

Gallagher said, "In Xi Jinping's view, the war has already begun on the most important battlefield -- your mind. The CCP calls it cognitive domain operations or psychological warfare." (Photography by Sun Cheng):

http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2023/newsletters2023-4/WWWpressconference231111GallagherMspeaking-r.jpg

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中文版

Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition News and Article Release Issue Number: A1613-O371

中国民主运动海外联席会议新闻与文章发布号：A1613-O371

Release Date: November 14, 2023

发布日：2023年11月14日

Topic: As Democracy Activists Issued "the Congress on China’s Direction" Declaration, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Came to Support -- Radio Free Asia report

标题：民运人士发表"国是会议"宣言，美众院议员到场支持 -- 自由亚洲电台报道

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/report2023/report2023-11/WWWpressconference231114RFAreportA1613-O371.htm

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民运人士发表"国是会议"宣言　美众院议员到场支持

-- 自由亚洲电台报道

2023.11.12 13:14 ET

在习近平即将到访加州湾区出席APEC会议之际，知名民运人士魏京生、王丹、王军涛于11月11日下午在旧金山的希尔顿嘉悦里酒店（Canopy by Hilton）召开了"国是会议"新闻发布会。美国众议院"与中共竞争委员会"主席麦克•加拉格尔（Mike Gallagher）议员出席了本次活动，并发表了演说。

魏京生、王丹、王军涛论"国是会议"

近日，魏京生、王丹、王军涛等民运人士发起了举办“国是会议”的倡导，号召各界人士加入其中。本次新闻发布会上分发的宣言表示，这一会议将“探讨结束暴政，创建民主中国的方案”。而第一届“国是会议”，计划在2024年2月于美国首都华盛顿举行。

中国民主党全国委员会主席王军涛在会上，提出了 “国是会议”的“三步走方案”，表示首先会召开新闻发布会发表召开“国是会议”的宣言，并向全中国的人民和世界提出相关话题。接着，再陆续让专业人士和普通民众参与讨论。他表示，“现在官产学三界的精英都知道，如果中国没有宪政民主制度，谁都没有安全。不管你获得多大的成就，一夜之间会毁于一旦。这就是我们希望各界能够参加我们国是会议的社会基础和理由。”

在会上，八九学运领袖王丹在谈到亚太地区的局势时表示：“独裁党魁领导的专制中国，已经成为世界和平最大的捣乱者和自由民主世界的最大威胁。今天的亚太地区和世界的安全与发展的关键，不是达成一个亚太地区各国同床异梦的共识，协调各国只是自欺欺人；而是要结束中共暴政，消除人类和平发展的最大隐患，创建一个民主中国，让中国成为维护世界和平和秩序的坚实基础。”

在新闻发布会中，知名民运人士魏京生对“国是会议”的发展趋势进行了展望。他说道，“国是会议”是一个开始。随着越来越多代表不同利益集团和阶层的人们加入“国是会议”表达意见：“慢慢我们就会形成一个真正的议会。然后这个议会也许就会从国外回到国内去，对不对？各种可能性都有。”

在这之后，又有二十多位各界人士就中国时局进行了发言和讨论。

加拉格尔：用幽默反击中共认知战看到有人愿意说出真相

加拉格尔议员在活动中发表了演说，表示尽管在华盛顿特区的许多中国观察家看来，台湾海峡可能是21世纪最重要的战场，但实际上中共并不这样认为。他引用了习近平所说过的话“一个政权的瓦解往往是从思想领域开始的”，并说道：“在习近平看来，战争已经在最重要的战场打响——你的头脑，中共称之为认知领域行动或心理战。”

他说，如果战场在人们的头脑中，那么人们应该如何在坚持自身价值观的同时并进行反击？他以魏京生曾在狱中致信讽刺邓小平一事为例表示，幽默是最有力的武器，说道：“如果你想知道中共害怕什么，那就看看他们审查什么。他们经常审查幽默。中国网民风趣巧妙，总能创造出新的方式来躲避网络警察，提及被禁言的事件。”

习近平在到访加州湾区出席APEC会议期间，将于11月15日出席一场与美国企业界的晚宴。加拉格尔表示，通过这场晚宴可以看到：“看看在我们自己的国家，中共是如何有效地执行其俘获精英的战略。从企业高管、银行家、大学校长到政客及其家人，习近平在美国看到的一定只有唯利是图的人。但像今天这样的聚会表明，无论付出多大代价，这个国家有人愿意说出真相。”

在回答现场媒体记者提问时，加拉格尔表示，在“竞争者”（competitor）和“敌人”（enemy）这两个概念之间，他认为中共政权是敌人、是任何存在自由的地方的敌人，又表示，里根总统在与苏联交涉时，美国毫不犹豫地称苏联为敌人。他也认为，要在党和人民之间做出区分，中国的人民时常是中共侵犯的主要受害者。他说：“我想划清一个重要的区别，我们必须做这种区分，这样我们才不会走火入魔。也就是说，中国人民不是我们的敌人。”

加拉格尔谈到，四通桥抗议者彭立发揭露了习近平的统治是一个“皇帝的新衣”式的谎言，并表示数以百万计的中国人知道这一点。他引用了苏联异议作家索尔仁尼琴的名言“为真相庭审而出不算什么，为了真相你必须坐牢”，并表示：“魏京生、王丹、王军涛有一个共同点，他们都因一个简单的真相而坐牢，这个真相就是中国人民渴望也理应获得自由。”

记者：孙诚网编：伍檫愙

报道的原始链接：

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/sc-11122023131400.html