REMEMBERING JUNE 4TH 2005 . 4, FOR ’S FUTURE NO RIGHTS FORUM

BY CHINA

The Chinese people must fight against the

In 2004, after having courageously revealed official decep- 19 officially-imposed amnesia that has almost tion over SARS in 2003, Dr. Jiang Yanyong2 issued an appeal for an official reassessment of June 4th. On the occasion of the obliterated public memory of a crime against 15th anniversary of June 4th, although there had already been humanity that occurred only 16 years ago. a tremendous reaction to his letter both domestically and TTERS internationally,the official response to Jiang’s request was to put him under house arrest for eight long months. AST MA Sixteen years is nearly enough time for a generation of people Right up until his death at the beginning of this year, Zhao to reach adulthood.As far as the souls of those who died on Ziyang3—who earned our respect for his support of democracy June 4th are concerned, it has been a long wait for justice that and peace and his opposition to violent repression during the may never come. From a historical perspective, however, it has 1989 movement—maintained the convictions of a great states- WHY THE P been a very short time, and in the blink of an eye, those man and always saw being a good person as his bottom line, responsible seem to have been absolved of their crimes. In the even during his 16 years under house arrest following the eyes of most Chinese people—whether they personally experi- events of June 4th.The fear and extraordinary weakness in the enced the events of June 4, 1989 or not—the bloodstains on hearts of government officials was so strong that they could not Chang’an Street seem to be growing ever fainter, while June let go of Zhao even in death, just as he could never let go of the 4th and the innocent people who sacrificed their lives seem to memories of bloodshed on Chang’an Street 16 years ago, and be receding further and further into the past. of the terror enveloping under military-occupation. We are a cowardly and forgetful people, long accustomed to turning memorial tombs into palaces. Indeed, long before Public complicancy in historical amnesia there were slave owners, we had already made bowing into an Living under the government’s politics of terror, what we need art form. Even Chinese who live in freedom, when faced with is not brilliant intellect or profound theories, but only our an oppressive power and the temptation to gain profit for basic common sense and the courage of our convictions. Both themselves, can’t resist the urge to kowtow.After all, didn’t we the righteousness of the 1989 movement and the brutality of just see—on a magnificent stage at , in a scene the slaughter are like the moon shining in the sky: we only carefully orchestrated by a skilled director—Lian and Song1 have to raise our heads to see it—we don’t need to prove to come from across the Straits to the mainland to kowtow to the ourselves that it’s there or to defend its existence.The CCP was “ruling Party”? As soon as the two men stepped onto the red the chief culprit, and no matter how many lies or how much carpet of the Great Hall of the People, the fear they felt inside slander it fabricates, it can never discredit the 1989 movement; inevitably expressed itself as lofty words of praise for the rule much less can it deny the criminal nature of mass slaughter. It of the dictatorship and for the Party chief. was my strong beliefs, based precisely on the common sense In fact, the (CCP)—the perpetra- mentioned above, that prevented me from ever feeling the tors of mass slaughter—will never forget June 4th and the way need to defend the righteousness of the 1989 movement, even it escalated into a major public incident. It is just that the CCP’s while I was crouching on the floor of my prison cell. memories of June 4th have been turned upside down by the However, my experiences after being released from prison enormity of its crime, turning a day of slaughter into a subject in October 1999 led me to acknowledge a sad fact: the combi- that is taboo in the public domain; turning the graves of the nation of terror, indoctrination and distortion of history,com- June 4th victims into ground off-limits to the public; and turn- bined with the analgesic effect of prosperity and personal ing the Tiananmen Mothers,who for more than ten years have profit, has effectively washed away national memory.The truth worked to seek justice and restore the truth, into targets of can be hidden by the power of the rod; memories can be strict control.The authorities have washed away everything to replaced with lies; common sense can be warped by clever do with the people and events of June 4th. wordplay; and an individual’s conscience can be bought with

money.It is the same way in which the CCP has all along used “running dogs” of foreign imperialist powers.The end result its monopoly of power and ideological indoctrination to trans- has been the emergence of cynical philosophies such as “do form the past 100 years of China’s history into no more than a nothing” and “the right to abstain from politics.” lie.The generation of people who lived through 1989 is In this way,in post-June 4th China, it seems that “liberty” is unwilling to discuss June 4th publicly,and the vast majority of no longer something for which we should actively strive, but people born after 1989 don’t really understand June 4th. rather something for which we should passively wait. Liberty Within a period of just 16 years, the shining righteousness of is seen as similar to Hayek’s postulation of “spontaneous the 1989 movement has dulled. Indeed, after the death of order”5—it will come about naturally,of its own accord. But , the main person responsible for the mass history shows that without the active struggles of generations slaughter, and after the succession to power of of people, the freedom that now exists in any country would and , the main beneficiaries of June 4th, the tragedy of have never been more than a dream.Although in England and that day seems to have been all but forgotten, and the CCP America the tradition of “negative liberty” has become firmly seems to have washed away its sins. entrenched in people’s hearts, there would certainly be no The blame for this national amnesia, whether voluntary or freedom in those countries today if not for the English Civil involuntary,must be placed with the officials and the people War or the American Revolutionary War,. who personally experienced the 1989 movement. First there are the communist authorities, who after committing the The price of apathy crime of mass slaughter proceeded to commit the further The tradition of “not discussing national affairs” comes from crimes of concealing their wrongdoing and forcing the people an arbitrary authority that does not allow for public debate; it to forget. Secondly,there are those who personally experienced deprives the people of their right to participate, and inevitably the 1989 movement, especially those who were prominent eradicates the individual’s feeling of responsibility for the figures at the time, and who have succumbed to government common good. Over time, people have lost the desire and terror and bribery by keeping silence, or by sidestepping, dis- enthusiasm to pay attention to public affairs, and have instead torting and even slandering the 1989 movement. become consumed by the pursuit of pleasure, keeping up with Of those people, some have become great capitalists, some fashion trends and taking care of their basic necessities.This have become scholarly authorities, and others have become the forcible withdrawal of civil participation has inevitably turned new favorites of the current regime.A few have become so- politics, which is regarded as the greatest of all public duties, called elite pundits-for-hire and have issued all kinds of expla- into the private business of a handful of powerful people, and nations in defense of the mass slaughter.These experts have public rights have also inevitably been transformed into a tool advanced theories ranging from “conspiracy to seize power” used by the elite for their own benefit. For this reason, from to “radicalism,” from “immaturity” to “being used,” from ancient times to the present, China has always shaped the pub- “having no choice but to open fire” to “stability above all else,” lic nature of its politics without a basis of political participa- from “national conditions” to “public order,” from “economy tion by its citizens. Rather, the political participation of our first” to “progressive reform under official control,” and from countrymen has consisted of uprisings as a last resort, of law- “the leaders of the Communist Party are better than the leaders lessness during periods of anarchy,of mass movements organ- of the democracy movement” to “tuition costs”—all of these ized by the authorities for their own aims, or of political theories have censured the democracy movement, and many apathy arising from fear. have defended the mass slaughter.They magically transformed What is significant here is the fact that nobody is shocked a spontaneous mass movement opposing dictatorship and cor- by the way in which the government has forced people to for- ruption and advocating freedom and democracy into a plot get June 4th.The people’s indifference to huge public crises is concocted by a handful of people.They portrayed a movement one the greatest sorrows of China’s political situation, and is for peace and reason as a revolution of radicals; they defended one of the saddest of all human conditions. In fact, June 4th is the killings with excuses such as “there was no choice, we had hardly the only shameful historical event that Chinese people to do it”; and they criticized demands for political reform as have forgotten. Our countrymen’s memories of the numerous inappropriate for China’s current conditions.They even went massacres throughout our history contain very little truth or so far as to turn the phrase “democracy will bring disaster on specific facts.The slaughter in Sichuan by Zhang Xianzhong,6 the country and people” into a pop song. the Eight Banner Army’s massacre in Yangzhou,7 the Taiping The most subtle and deceptive theory is the concept, bor- Army’s bloodbath in Nanjing, and even the more “politically rowed from the West, of the dichotomy between “positive lib- correct” Nanjing massacre—Chinese have little detailed mem- erty” and “negative liberty.”4 Just as the French Revolution, the ory of these events. October Revolution in Russia and other historical events have Especially during the more than 50 years of CCP rule, this been cited to demonstrate the disastrous effects of “positive forced amnesia and distortion of facts has already changed liberty,” the 1989 movement is also used as an example of how China’s contemporary and modern history beyond recogni- “positive liberty” failed in China.The students involved in the tion.Those born in the 1950s do not know that the CCP was 1989 democracy movement have even been compared with once the Chinese branch of the Soviet Union’s Communist the Red Guards of the , and democracy Party and was under their control; they know nothing of the activists and dissidents have been labeled as “careerists” or brutal struggles that occurred in the early part of the CCP’s his- ship that intoday’s world theuseofviolencetoextinguish the dictator- andat totheruling thesametimeasa warning tions, the Chinesepeopletomaintain the strength oftheirconvic- Tiananmen Mothersservesasarallying andinspiration to cry inChina today.Theand noblest humanspirit testimony ofthe the Tiananmen Mothersisatangible expression ofthehighest thetenaciousexistenceandexpansionof mony ofourpeople, hardship.much hassuffered which so conscience for thesake ofthisnation, and andpreserve ourmemories people’s for freedom, struggle the government’s forced amnesiaistojointheChinese toresist touseindividualmemories cent soulsofthosekilled; of June4thistoprayto thetruth for andwatchover theinno- totestify andconscienceeverywhere; to defend humanrights to come.To ofthe1989movement defend therighteousness is preserve afoundation ofhumandignity for thefree Chinayet and onto theirown for country, theirlong-suffering memories they canat leasthold do notyieldtogovernment coercion, aslongthey ofJune4th, memories concealing ordistorting have noway toprevent thegovernment from suppressing, for thepeople freedom istoawaken ourconscience.Although toactively fight for freedom hasbeentemporarilysuppressed, andespecially whilethestruggle freedom stillhasn’t arrived, at atimewhen ceremonies, orfrom holdingmemorial bering freedom isthemasterofourconscience.” actions; Freedom iswhat allowsgrow. ourconsciencetoguide overrules ourconscienceinordertogive ittheconditionsto As thegreat liberalphilosopherJohn Acton Voices ofconscience five evils, movement against thethree evils,viii themovement against the the ment torepress counterrevolutionaries (1950–1952), inthe1960sare unclearaboutborn ofthemove- thehistory ofthewarhistory against Japan orChina’s civilwar.Those andthey are unaware ofthetrue of respect withintheParty; Yan’an rectification movement inordertosecure hisposition they don’t know how MaoZedonghadtogothrough the tory; tory gone onfortory longenough? Hasn’t inChina’s theviciouscycleofautocratic rule his- again. any way toprevent thosekindsof tragedies from occurring norwillwe have knowledgeeral historical amongourpeople, massacre andtheevils systemamatter ofgen- ofthedictatorial we willhave noway aboutwise, tomake theJune4th thetruth science oftheintellectualeliteagainst Other- thoseinpower. ofthecon- amnesia dependsfirstandforemost on thestruggle the millenniumwillhave noideawhat Falun Gongwas. of around theturn thoseborn remains inpower longenough, Ibelieve that iftheCCP movement andtheJune4thmassacre. andthey know very littleabout the1989democracy tion, unclear ofthefacts regarding thecatastrophic CulturalRevolu- people’s inthe1970sand1980sare born communes.Those theGreat Leap Forward orthe Rightist movement (1957), Against this backdrop ofplacingallourhopesonthetesti- Against thisbackdrop that preventUnder officialrestrictions peoplefrom remem- The struggle of a nation to retain its memories andresist ofanation toretain itsmemories The struggle 9 h eomo nutyadcmec,theanti- andcommerce, the reform ofindustry 10 ad “Freedom said, the Web site ofNew Net: Century Chineseversion canbeaccessedon The original ofthisarticle Translated by Raine Roberta amonument.such Tiananmen Motherscanservesasthefoundation stonefor situation—the testimonythe current ofthe andsearching dead require amonument—neitherisallowed ofwhich under andthesoulsofinnocent massacre require amemorial, democracy andrespect for life for nation. ourlong-suffering and courage topreserve thehopeofprogress toward freedom, conscience andfrom theirinnate motherly love, loved ones, from theblood shedby their dying words oftheirchildren, stillgainstrength from the with nopower andnoinfluence, agroup the Tiananmen mothers, atized methodsofviolence, key socialresources andsystem- sess ahugestate apparatus, thedictators pos- cannotbetolerated.Although human spirit 10. Lord John Emerich Edward LordJohn Dalberg Emerich Acton (1834–1902)was anEng- 10. NOTES .Te“ieeis eebiey a vso,teto tt rpry cheat- theftofstate property, taxevasion, were bribery, The “five evils” 9. waste andbureaucracy within the were corruption, The “three evils” 8. were they theQingDynasty whentheManchu cre- During inpower, 7. inthe ZhangXianzhongwas afarmer wholedapeasantuprising 6. thespontaneousemergence that describes Spontaneousorderisaterm 5. Theconceptofpositive andnegative was liberty first putforth by Isa- 4. whowas oftheCommunist GeneralSecretary Party dur- ZhaoZiyang, 3. Asurgeon at thePeople’s Jiang Liberation Army Number301Hospital, 2. KMT(Kuomintang) candidate LienChanandPFP(People FirstParty) 1. If we decidethat the1989movement andtheJune4th dom inChristianity.” and ofFree-“The History tled ofFreedom in “The History Antiquity” hislife’s ofliberty history work anddelivered two famous essays enti- andabsolute power absolutely.” corrupts Lord Acton madethe corrupt, “Power tendsto whomadethefamouslish historian pronouncement: 1952. thismovement beganin practiced by owners ofprivate enterprises; as ing ongovernment contractsandstealing economicinformation, thiscampaignwas heldin1951–52. Party andgovernment; werelace.They asBeijingand stationed inmajorcitiessuch Yangzhou. tosuppress andcontrol thepopu- ated eightdifferent “banner armies” 1600s andwaged Province. war inSichuan kets functionthrough spontaneousorder. have argued that mar- von Hayek, asFriedrich such faire economics, Many advocates oflaissez- context. of orderoutaseemingly chaotic absence ofobstaclesthat mightprevent onefrom achieving one’s aims. refers which tothe asopposedtonegative liberty, one’s own potential, Positive refers liberty totheability toactfulfill iah Berlinin1959. inJanuarydied whilestillunderhousearrest 2005. He afteradvocatingarrest alenientofficial approach totheprotesters. was placedunderhouse ing thedemocracymovement inearly 1989, more severe hadacknowledged. thanChineseauthorities herevealedsional capacity, was much in2003that theSARScrisis inhisprofes- 1989.Also down that beganontheevening ofJune3, oversaw thetreatment thecrack- ofpeopleinjured andkilledduring the mainlandinmid-2005. James Soongof chairman Taiwan bothmadehighly publicized visitsto

WHY THE PAST MATTERS 21 CHINA RIGHTS FORUM NO. 4, 2005