Foundinchina.com

I confidently predict that this fine essay by Geremie R. Barmé at The China Beat will be doing the rounds and inspiring debate among many Sino-bloggers in no time. I’m jumping on the bandwagon at the outset because the piece deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Barmé begins with a look back on China’s ‘year of anniversaries’ before contemplating the Middle Kingdom’s future path now that she finds herself in a position of prosperity and global influence, particularly in the context of the commitments made to the Chinese people when the present CCP dynasty first came to power. Hence the title of the piece. Here’s a small excerpt:

If China is to be a responsible member of the international community, and for its peoples to be a harmonious part of an equitable world order, the citizens of the People’s Republic not only need to be informed and to inform of their views, but be free to debate, disagree and reach social and political consensus in a way that is not determined behind closed doors, or predominantly by a secretive political system with complex corporate connections in which family connections, personal wealth and power form the only basis for true legitimacy.

In the 1940s a number of Chinese writers, reporters and thinkers were wary of the Communist Party’s promises to bring democracy and freedom to the country. In 1956, the noted publisher and writer Chu Anping warned of the rise of what he dubbed a ‘Party Empire’ (dang tianxia ). Like so many others who spoke out as part of a movement that the Party launched so it could ‘correct its mistakes’, Chu was soon purged for his outspokenness. Eventually, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1966. To this day the expression ‘Party Empire’ resonates powerfully among those who are fearful of the swagger and style of a regnant Communist Party that along with a newfound economic clout cleaves to its backward-looking autocratic habits. Some now discuss the baleful consequences that this kind of ‘Chinese story’ could have on a global scale.

This excerpt certainly doesn’t do justice to the essay; nor does it give an adequate sense of the writers direction. It does, however, speak to one of my principle concerns: how are the current actions of a resentful, paranoid, and self-centred authoritarian regime compatible with the freedoms and opportunities promised the Chinese people more than half a century ago? And how does the wielding of power and influence by the CCP improve the chances of a planet in (possibly terminal) decline?

It’s a thoroughly researched and informative article, and reading the whole thing is strongly urged.

Looks like it wasn’t our fault after all.

Hong Kong stands up

Two decades ago on this very evening the world was watching in hope, anguish, and ultimately disbelief as a peaceful demonstration in support of a better tomorrow was about to end in bloody tragedy.  The Chinese leaders have been trying to wash the blood from their hands ever since.

The indiscriminate massacre of innocent civilians twenty years ago in the heart of China’s capital cannot be quite so readily extinguished from the records as the CCP leadership and their apologists would like. This is not to say that the efforts made in that direction have been without success, rendering 1.3 billion people mute with apathy, fear, and ignorance.

History has yet to measure the debt of gratitude that all Chinese people owe to that brave outpost of residents in Hong Kong. For they, and they alone among the wider Chinese community, have never forgotten. They choose not to forget in defiance of Beijing’s revisionist policy, for they love their country as much as any Chinese citizens do and appreciate the importance of truth and accountability better than their mainland counterparts.

The bloody end to the ’89 mass protest is, and – so long as 6/4 is denied its place in Chinese history – will remain, a litmus test of China’s willingness to embrace responsible governance and grant its citizens, among other basic dignities, the right of free expression.

It’s difficult to imagine that China could have made greater economic progress had 6/4 ended differently. Sadly, among so many mainland Chinese who have found their circumstances much improved in the last twenty years, this is proof positive that the government was justified in its actions 20 years ago. This illogical thinking is the way that many Chinese try to rationalise the guilt of their silence. Martin Luther King Jr said it best:

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.

Others will write far more eloquent and moving memorials to the fallen of 6/4 this week. I will link to their sites as the articles and op-eds begin to appear – a kind of roll of honour. I salute them all for remembering. But most of all I salute the people of Hong Kong, because it is only through their efforts in keeping the flame alive that the Chinese people will finally find, and accept, closure on this issue.

Don’t forget to light your candles.

Roll of Honour (in no particular order)

Boston Globe (must see pictures)

Froog

LA times

Peking Duck

The Guardian

Philip Cunningham

The Useless Tree

China Digital Times

James Fallows

Ai Wei Wei

BBC (+video)

John Simpson

Dan Edwards

Black and White Cat

Chinageeks

Frog in a well

The Australian

Timesonline

Amnesty International

New York Times

Invisible Tibet

Granite Studio

Under the Jacaranda Tree

James Fallows

Zhongnanhai blog

Time China blog

Frontline

Guardian (+video interviews/footage)

http://www.mccullagh.org/

Forget the Spring Festival – we tried that last year, and the year before that. Dismiss, I urge you, the overrated end-of-month Superbowl, which is bearing down on us like a hungry pack on steroids. And file last year’s Olympics under ‘M’ for meaningless.  The greatest show on Earth, and the most challenging job description in living memory, begins tomorrow. Get ready.

Anyone whose parents sat them on their knee for Armstrong’s Giant Leap should gather their own offspring, or even their offspring’s offspring, and sit together with their loved ones and neighbours to watch – with popcorn if you really must – the most positive sign of human progress since July ’69.

There is a reason nobody remembers the hand over from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao: because it changed nothing. In 24 hours time,  as Obama officially accepts the keys to the Oval Office, we will witness a moment that changes everything.

The inauguration of Barack Obama is going to be an awe-inspiring occasion, not so much for the spectacle itself, but for what it promises to begin and what it hopes to achieve. In Obama the world has a leader capable of greatness. His speech tomorrow will confirm that.

Fulfilling that potential is the tricky bit, and he’s going to need all the help he can get given the appalling legacy of the previous two administrations. I believe the world needs a strong, fair, and respected America in the coming decades. Obama has a chance – just a chance, mind you – to restore the planet’s faith in the USA.

Democrat or Republican, American or not, Obama deserves our support in his endeavours. So tune in tomorrow (5pm GMT) or watch online. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Update

Seems that China’s loopy leaders took less than a day of the new incumbency to decide that the Obama administration is not for them. I just don’t see the reason for launching such a scathing attack so early. I guess it can only be fear.