CUTTING THE DEVIL’S TAIL: ON DU DAOBIN’S LITERARY INQUISITION

BY ZHENG YICHUN

Du Daobin’s suspended sentence serves as For any advocate of free speech such as Du Daobin, this “lit- an open threat that intimidates not only Du erary inquisition” by “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” remains a Sword of Damocles that can fall on any of us any- Daobin, but all others who fight for free where and at anytime. It is first and foremost an extermination expression in China. order delivered by the Chinese Communist Party against the free thought and free expression of the Chinese people, and a merciless and despicable declaration of war by the Communist The Hubei-based Internet essayist, Du Daobin, was sentenced Fascist tyranny against the historical course of China’s modern- to three years in prison suspended for four years, with two ization! years’ subsequent deprivation of political rights, on charges of “incitement to subvert state power” because of his Internet Du Daobin’s literary inquisition writings.After his sentencing, Du Daobin was allowed to Du Daobin is a well-known Internet essayist. He has frankly return home and reunite with his family.Some people saw this and bluntly criticized current failings, bitterly denouncing dic- as an encouraging sign that the Party has made genuine tatorship, opposing corruption, advocating democracy and progress with respect to human rights. Others, however, saw it pursuing freedom. However, the totalitarian autocracy of the as a means for the Party to implement a policy of control Chinese Communist Party considers Du Daobin’s free thinking through conciliation that will allow it to persist in even more and freedom of speech intolerable.Toward the end of October sophisticated methods of persecution. Even more people saw it 2003, the local Public Security Bureau of Xiaogan, Hubei as the Party’s unwilling capitulation to deafening protests both Province arrested and imprisoned Du Daobin. Xiaogan’s Party domestically and abroad.As this writer sees it, Du Daobin’s Procuratorate maintained that twenty-six essays written by Du “literary inquisition” allows the Party to leave a devil’s tail that Daobin “by slanderous means openly incited subversion of can whip up trouble at any time for Du Daobin and all of state power.” Can it be that simply publishing independent China’s other Internet essayists. views on certain topics can expose one to a literary inquisition Du Daobin’s persecution is extremely serious and shameless, by the Weiguangzheng? but the reverberations of the terror and inexpressible psycholog- Du Daobin’s literary inquisition is part of the barbarism, ical trauma it has caused to China’s Internet writers, including shamelessness and tyranny that characterize Socialism. Literary this author, are profound and even more difficult to estimate. It’s inquisition should have been completely obliterated early on, hard to imagine a more disastrous outcome. Once Du Daobin’s and indeed should never have occurred in the first place; like- four-year probation is completed, he still has two more years wise, this kind of unjust case should never have taken place. during which he will be stripped of his political rights as a citi- Here this writer is compelled to ask once more:Why must zen. During these six long years, Du Daobin will not be able to such injustices occur again and again? We must reflect deeply enjoy the rights of citizenship to which he is entitled, nor will on this question and devote earnest effort to its solution. he be able to enjoy the right to express himself on the Internet that he once enjoyed. Du Daobin can only enjoy what the Party The spiritual legacy of the Qin Dynasty permits him—the right to exist, the right to breathe, the basic The Chinese Communist court has pronounced Du Daobin’s rights afforded a pig. Du Daobin can only survive as a purely 26 essays, including the one entitled, “On the Legitimacy of biological creature, not as a social creature and not as the creator Subverting the Government,” in violation of Article 105 of the of and participant in an intellectual civilization.The totalitarian Criminal Code, the crime of “Incitement to Subvert State and autocratic law of the Weiguangzheng1 government demands Power.”After Dao Daobin’s wrongful conviction, China’s intel- that Du Daobin must sublimate his conscience and abandon all lectuals, headed by Liu Xiaobo, immediately submitted an hope of justice.This is precisely the devil’s tail that the Party has open letter to the Supreme Peoples’ Court requesting a judicial left us with through Du Daobin’s trial! review of Article 105. However, up until now the Communist of rule ontheQinDynasty! of rule of himselftotheQinEmperor hasitsbrazenhooliganlogic. MaoZedong’s comparison Inthissense, dared speakthetruth. who bothinsideandoutsidethesystem, of otherintellectuals, h at osretepbi,exercising power toservethe the Party toservethepublic, establishing in itsemphasisonthenational interest above all, 1920s and1930swas similar totheChineseCommunist Party The Fascism that thrivedinItaly andGermany the during 105isafascistlaw Article Nowonder MaoZedongmodeledhis den. two thousandyears before are two pupsfrom thesamewolf’s Dynasty oftheChineseCommunist Party andtheQinDynasty theRed sion ofpoliticalopinionby theChinesepeople, particularly withrespect tosilencingany expres- Empire.And was indeedtheQinEmperor’s heirintheCommunist spiritual MaoZedong tyranny andsenselessness, ofcruelty, In terms Zhang Zhixin,Yu Luoke,Wang Shenyou andresulting inthedeaths ofLinZhao, cution oftheelite, slaughteroftheinnocentandperse- justifying indiscriminate thereby any actagainst Socialismorthegreat leaders, theParty, Mao’s governmentson,” designated as “counterrevolution” usingtheprecedent of “plotting trea- tion oftheQinDynasty; oninthetradi- Communist Party underhisleadershipcarried Subvert State Power.” and of the crime “Incitement to “Subversion ofState Power” words translated intomodern is offense of “plotting treason” inXianyang.Thesome 460Confucianscholars so-called toburyalive Emperor usedthepretext of “plotting treason” first established the “People’s theQin Republic ofChina,” evil. in noway oftheirsavagery concealtheessentialsimilarity and slightdifferences ofcounterrevolution.The can inform crimes retain theessenceof theformer ment toSubvert State Power” by oflaw. mantosuppressuse rule rule Party anditsleaderstoflagrantly andto suppress humanrights wordshuman life.These servedasthebasicmethodof people through intimidation andacompletedisregard for ing dissentingviews andby allavailable meansexploitingthe attack- theparty, preserving means ofmaintainingtheirpower, words inthemouthsoffeudal leadersofSocialismasa servedasmagic and “counterrevolution” “revolution” history, was labeledtheir rule “revolutionary.” For alongtimeinrecent whilewhatever considered beneficialto therulers kill you, were andthenpersecuteyou acounterrevolutionary, oreven Propaganda”? were Iftherulers they unhappy, couldsay you and “Counterrevolutionary “Counterrevolutionary Offenses” oftheChineseCommunistin thehistory Party onthebasisof false andwrongful convictions haveHow arisen many unjust, and “ Counterrevolutionary Propaganda.” Offenses” lutionary evolved of from theearliercrimes State Power” “Counterrevo- and of “Incitement toSubvert“Subversion ofState Power” not even bothered toreply.The Code’s Criminal crimes current Party’s adeafeartothemandhas hasturned Supreme Court In establishing MaoZedongandthe theirsocialistdynasty, whentheQinDynasty More thantwo thousandyears ago, The new and crimes “Incite- “Subversion ofState Power” 2 and tensofthousands Weiguangzheng system 3 rt ocalne theSocialistempire underthevaliant erate nochallenge, JustastheFascist andNaziempires couldtol- emperor’s head. thatonthe istantamounttodumpingdirt oflegitimacy, lack ofthegovernment’s andopenly pointsoutthetruth ment’s, admits toopinionsandstandpointsdifferent from thegovern- ifonegoeseven andopenly further hostileintent; harboring fascist that personwillberegarded orsocialiststate as power, suggestionoropinionregarding tyrannical theruthlessly cism, ifanyone offers any criti- in thetoxic effluviumofviolence; of Fascism andSocialismsubjectshimselftoalifetime steeped ofdisapprovala grunt at theweighty edictsofthegreat leaders anyone as whoutterssomuch or willfaces inevitable disaster; the Party’s daring plianttool.”Anyone thenecessary wholacks “Willingly become whenhewrote, munist Party Members” Liu Shaoqiadvocated inhisessay “On theCultivation ofCom- revolutionary Itisalsoperhaps screw what that never rusts.” bethe “Always dowhat theParty says; is meantby theslogan, instepwiththeParty.This hadtomarch whole country iswhat the theentire nation, ofsociety, own independentactions.All enjoy independentexpression or have their pendent ideas, under nocircumstancescouldanyone have theirown inde- they hadonetraitincommon: regardless ofwhowas worse, interests ofthenation andpeople.What’s worth notingisthat aboutCCP officialsintheirincessantchatter thenon-existent NazisandFascists andtheirofficials weredled paste.The like the peoplebecameindistinguishable andmerged intoamud- thefundamentally different interests oftheParty and nation, movement ofidolatryandleaderworship that swept the Inthe thepeopleandsoon. wholeheartedly serving people, mainland Chinamove forward? how can forward? Ifthestumbling isnotremoved, block how rotate canthewheelofhistory tiger isnoteliminated, Ifthe theChinesepeople’stiger blocking road toprogress. a stumbling 105isanenormous block, of movement.Article andfreedom freedom ofspeech people’s freedom ofthought, heavy that theRedDynastyusestolimitChinese lock itisthe kill thepersonalliberation oftheChinesepeople; employed by theChineseCommunist fascist government to ism. allfor theenduranceofSocial- thesake ofensuring corpses, produces amountainof butchery civilization untilitscruel againstwill shamelesslystruggle human persistinitsbarbaric government Inprosperous willlast forever. capitalist industri- soitisimpossible that any motionmachine, as aperpetual thing Justasthere is nosuch ofsubversionlack isundesirable. subversion [or overthrow] isallowable anda andnecessary, regardless ofitsnature orform, label placedonagovernment, istosay, regardless ofthe and itwas certainly notillegal.That itcontainednoerrors itwas irrefutable, political knowledge; ment.”What DuDaobinwrote was nothingmore thanbasic “OntheLegitimacyofSubverting theGovern- essays was, based on26essays topicofonethose that hewrote.The The ChineseCommunistpassedjudgmentonDuDaobin court evil lawsViolating indefenseofhumanrights Weiguangzheng Article 105 of the Criminal Code is the sharp weapon Codeisthesharp 105oftheCriminal Article leadership andthedogshit-eating RedDynasty

IN CYBERSPACE 49 CHINA RIGHTS FORUM NO. 3, 2004

alized countries such as the United States, England, France and All of Du Daobin’s rights must be restored Canada, the government is usually subverted [or overturned] Since Du Daobin was unlawfully sentenced, he has been unable every four or five years by the legal means of a general elec- to apply his thinking to the betterment of the country and the tion.As long as it is peaceful, in accordance with human rights people, and his ability to write freely has been abruptly and and the public, and carried out according to proper proce- forcibly terminated. During his long eight months in deten- dures, then subversion of a government should be considered tion, and in the coming four years of parole, the devil’s tail is legitimate and lawful. Du Daobin’s “subversive” writings vio- bound to cause Du Daobin and his family inexpressible lated the evil law of the Chinese Communist dictatorship, but anguish, as well as inestimable financial loss. It must be recog- they powerfully expressed true and independent thought and a nized that Du Daobin’s unjust trial is only a miniature image of deeply meaningful social mentality.The evil laws of the Chi- the social injustice that afflicts all of China.That is to say,when nese Communist government are not in accordance with pub- justice is suppressed, evil swaggers its way along unimpeded. lic sentiment, but only with the needs of the Party and its In order to restore all of Du Daobin’s rights, it is necessary to officials to protect the socialist imperial dictatorship.Article restore Du Daobin’s freedom to express himself as an Internet 105 and all other evil and outdated laws of the Red Dynasty essayist, which means eliminating the four-year parole and that eliminate freedoms, slaughter democracy and destroy subsequent two years’ deprivation of political rights.This human rights are truly unlawful and should be abolished. restoration of justice for Du Daobin will lead mainland China out of the evils of Communism and toward a politically civi- Assigning accountability for wrongful conviction lized paradise of universal justice.A new era of free thought Who exactly is the instigator and executor of the wrongful lit- and free expression can and must arise after the elimination of erary inquisition of Du Daobin? Anyone who endangers the literary inquisition. freedom of others should have his own freedom restricted; The state should make appropriate financial restitution to anyone who acts to the detriment of the human rights of oth- Du Daobin if his wrongful case is to achieve genuine and thor- ers should be similarly stripped of his own human rights; any- ough resolution. Du Daobin’s long detention caused extreme one who brings disaster on the heads of independent thinkers financial hardship for both him and his family.For that reason, and writers should be severely punished without further dis- compensation by the State in accordance with the relevant pro- cussion. It is necessary at this point to determine who should visions of the “State Compensation Law” constitutes an be penalized for creating the wrongful case against Du Daobin. absolutely essential act of benevolence. If it is the Xiaogan municipal authorities who made the deci- Only after all of the above measures have been carried out sion to detain Du Daobin, then the head of the municipal can Du Daobin’s wrongful case be brought to a complete close. authorities should offer his resignation; if the responsibility Only then can the dictatorship’s literary inquisition be elimi- lies not with the municipal authorities but with Hubei nated; only then can China’s Internet essayists live in freedom Province, then the provincial governor and provincial Party and fully apply the full potential of their creativity and imagi- secretary should immediately apologize to Du Daobin and nation to contribute ideas to the vast project of China’s com- resign; if the responsibility does not lie with the Hubei provin- prehensive modernization.When that happens, the great cial authorities, then accountability should be laid at the feet of undertaking of China’s political civilization can finally be real- the emperor of the Red Dynasty,Jiang Zemin, and the Shang- ized! hai clique that he leads; in that case, the power-hungry Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin and the various Written June 26, 2004 major and minor lackeys of his kleptocratic Shanghai clique should immediately step down from the political stage. This is an edited translation of an article originally posted on Regardless of who is found to be responsible, no matter how the Web site of ChinaEweekly.com at: http://www. high of a position he holds and in what department, the heinous chinaeweekly.com/history/gb04060414.htm perpetrator of this literary inquisition must be relentlessly inves- tigated and dismissed without mercy.If the local government is TRANSLATOR’S NOTES responsible, it should initiate a thorough investigation and 1. Weiguangzheng is an abbreviation of the appellation weida guangrong zhengque, implement reforms within a stated period; if the blame is laid at “great, glorious and right,” that the Chinese Communist Party adopted the socialist throne of the central government, the Communist early on. Many dissident writers have in recent years begun to apply this Party and its officials should immediately express appropriate phrase satirically to the current Chinese leadership in their essays. repentance to the people of China and the whole world; 2. Lin Zhao, Zhang Zhixin,Yu Luoke and Wang Shenyou were all dissidents who lost their lives during the Anti-Rightist Movement or Cultural Rev- whether verbally or in writing, it is essential for the Party to olution. decisively and thoroughly express its resolve to completely cut 3. In a notorious essay written in 1969, Mao bragged that during the Anti- itself off from the evil of the wrongful case it perpetrated, and to Rightist Movement he had outdone by “more than a hundredfold” the vow never more to carry out this kind of heaven-offending Emperor Qin Shihuang in his murder of Confucian scholars and burn- socialist literary inquisition.At this juncture, the government ing of books. “I think he killed too few Confucian scholars,” Mao wrote. must then resolutely ban Article 105, the law that serves as the “Those Confucian scholars were genuine counterrevolutionaries.” basis of so many false cases, and all other evil Communist laws that work against humanity,civilization and modernization.