Abstract
Today, 10 December 2010, is Human Rights Day, a day bound to be remembered by many – some with joy, some with dismay. Human Rights Day this year is particularly significant for me and I am moved to write to express the emotions welling up inside me. Freud would have called it catharsis. Sima Qian, the Han dynasty historian, reminds us that the writings of ancient China’s sages were often prompted by anger. I am no sage, but in these dark circumstances what can I resort to but words?
While at university I participated in the 1989 democracy movement. Most of the students in that movement were, like me, full of idealism and hopes for something better – we had no far-reaching goals of opposing the Party or society as a whole. From elementary school onwards we had been brainwashed to believe the Party represented the people, that it was a progressive force. Add in the economic growth of the mid and late 1980s brought about by reform and opening-up, and we were by nature supporters of the government of the time. But we were too trusting of the propaganda. We actually believed we were the masters of the nation, the hope of the future – and so presumed to give the authorities a few suggestions: punish the corruption that was starting to appear, make society a little more free, open up that tightly closed window just a crack. But clearly both the intellectuals and we students were too naive – how could a regime that regarded the realm as its own private property tolerate such a challenge? So the massacre of 4 June became inevitable. Today we see clearly the nature of the regime – but in 1989 many, particularly the students, did not. They believed the government was sure to understand their well meant aspirations.
I was on Beijing’s street in the early morning of 4 June. Nobody could have seen everything that happened, but the tanks and armoured cars charging past, the assault rifles spitting fire, and the students fallen at my side were enough to awaken me from that dream. My understanding of China was shattered. I realised what the authorities strive to hide: we are not the masters of our nation, a one-party dictatorship is, and democracy is no more than a fig leaf. Neither wishing nor daring to implement democracy, they talk of national circumstances and East-West differences. So what if it’s in the constitution? The right to interpret that constitution lies with those who stand against democracy.
Fasting became one weapon to use in my struggle. For many years I was imprisoned, unable to write and tell the world what I thought of this dark system or to mourn the fallen of 4 June. But on that day every year I fasted – that was one right I could not have taken from me.
Twenty years have passed. There has been hardship and confusion, but I have neither regretted nor shrunk from my path. Not because I have courage or lofty ideals – I just want to show that an ordinary man can sustain his contempt for a powerful autocracy; I just want to use a lifetime of persistence to redeem my now weakened conscience. My lack of fear is not because there is no threat – it is because the fear I feel is nothing compared to the call of my conscience. When arrested after 4 June I told myself I would face up to right and wrong – even if I could not speak the whole truth, I would not utter one lie nor ignore my conscience. No matter if I am in jail, no matter how difficult life becomes, no matter if I have to make excuses for an embarrassing lack of money – none of this matters to me. I do not have the power to save everyone in China, but I have saved myself. So I am calm. I stand on unassailable ground.
1989 – China
On 3-4 June, the communist government puts an abrupt end to weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, opening fire and killing hundreds of people. There are mass arrests, with student leaders targeted. The massacre leads to international sanctions.
So much is happening this Human Rights Day I must take things one by one. Liu Xianbin’s detention (human rights activist, sentenced to ten years in 2011 for ‘inciting subversion of state power’) is one of the Chinese government’s gravest breaches of human rights in recent years. On 28 July he was taken and later his home was searched. The police took his hard drive, but he was only charged in connection with several openly published articles. We can imagine how disappointed the police were – they must have been sure Liu had been stirring up human rights incidents and public protests from behind the scenes. Proving the connection would discredit the whole human-rights movement: ‘Look, you’ve been had.’ But they found no evidence, and had nothing to use against him but those articles.
But Liu Xianbin’s arrest ended up with the authorities on the back foot, caught unawares by an unexpected level of protest. ‘I am Liu Xianbin’ groups sprang up in more than 20 provinces, and support came from both China and overseas. ‘Relay Hunger Strikes’ took place in China, in Hong Kong and abroad. This reaction to the detention of a Chinese political prisoner was unprecedented, and we can see this as an uprising of the spirit.
By coincidence I am fasting today at the same time as those fasting for Liu Xianbin – or perhaps fate had a hand in it?
Today can also be considered the second anniversary of the 08 Charter. Although it was actually published on 9 December 2008, its drafters originally planned to release it on 10 December – Human Rights Day. But on the 8th, Liu Xiaobo was arrested, and so the charter was published early to avoid any more unforeseen circumstances. So we can regard the 10th as the anniversary of its publication. Over ten thousand Chinese citizens have signed the era-defining 08 Charter over the last two years, demonstrating the hopes of the Chinese people for constitutional democracy. Liu Xianbin signed the charter less than a month after his release, in breach of the conditions of that release – and was delighted to do so. I was also one of the first signatories. To see the democracy movement develop from an isolated challenge to the regime by a few of the brave to a social movement makes me proud. Society is moving forward.
1994 – Rwanda
An estimated 800,000 of the country’s minority Tutsis and moderate majority Hutus are brutally murdered. Hate speech broadcast on Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines and other media is believed to play a significant role in inciting the violence.
Of course the real focus today is the award ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize. I was on Liu Xia’s (Liu Xiaobo’s wife) guest list for the ceremony – a great honour. As much as I wish to be in Oslo to witness the historic moment, the weakened authorities will not allow it. Nobody on the guest list resident in China will be able to attend – a new historic first for our autocrats.
Liu Xiaobo’s award sent the authorities into confusion, with no response beyond the same old mouldy rhetoric – that Liu is a criminal serving his sentence and the award is a challenge to China’s legal system. But have a look at the verdict in Liu’s case and you will see his crime is nothing more than his writing, and drafting the 08 Charter – a clear admission that his imprisonment breaches international principles. Why only call him a criminal, and not mention what he did to become one? But I cannot blame the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their stupidity – what else can they do?
Today is Human Rights Day, and the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded in Oslo. The Chinese government and its people are normally remarkably fond of international awards. Xi Haifeng became an overnight national hero after winning China’s first ever gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. China’s female volleyball team won five major titles from 1981 to 1986 and created a political slogan as well as a sporting success story – we were exhorted to embody the ‘Female Volleyball Team Spirit’. The Asian Games, the Olympic Games, the World Expo – these are all just games or exhibitions, but the government uses them to unite the nation. Yet one of us wins a Nobel Prize and the authorities panic. The winner is not someone they like – he is a critic of the government, someone they have thrown in jail.
The Nobel ceremony will still go ahead regardless, but an arrogant and disgraced government still intends to save some face. Hence the lies and violence, plots and farce. Many have been put under house arrest, or taken ‘for a holiday’. Others have policemen standing outside their homes watching their every move. Internet and phone lines have been cut. Others have simply disappeared. Never mind international travel, we are not even free in China, in our own homes. Is this the rule of law? Are these Chinese-style human rights?
But silencing voices of opposition is more important than any other task, particularly in the age of the internet. Many know Liu Xiaobo has won the Nobel Peace Prize and are spreading the good news. The more the authorities clamp down, the more the public wants to know the truth. The empty chair at the ceremony shames our weak rulers and can only make them the butt of jokes.
So on Human Rights Day, I fast. For Liu Xianbin, for Liu Xiaobo, and for the future of China. It may do no good, but I express the wishes of one watched and oppressed citizen. The state security police just phoned saying I must see them. I have put them off till the afternoon. I want to share how I feel and what I believe with those on both sides of China’s walls. Remain alert, alert to the harm that is done in your name. We may not be able to resist, but we must never forget to tell them of our anger! ❒
First published in Chinese on Chinaeweekly.com, 19 December 2010