Friday, December 1, 2023

Internet Censorship on the First Anniversary of the White Paper Movement

The White Paper Revolution, also known as the White Paper Movement, A4 Revolution, Blank Paper Protests, was a series of protests that occurred across China in November 2022. Protesters used blank sheets of paper as a form of silent protest to symbolize the government's censorship and suppression of free speech, and chanted slogans such as "End zero-COVID," "We want human rights," and "Down with the Communist Party!"Several factors contributed to the rise of the White Paper Revolution:

  • Frustration with the zero-COVID policy: The policy's strict measures, including mass lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mandatory quarantines, had caused significant economic disruption and social unrest. Many people felt that the policy was no longer sustainable and that the government was prioritizing control over people's well-being.
  • Anger over the Xinjiang fire: The protests were further fueled by a deadly fire that occurred in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on November 24, 2022. Ten people died in the fire, which many blamed on the lockdown restrictions that prevented residents from escaping the blaze. The incident sparked public outrage and reignited long-standing grievances about the government's treatment of minorities, particularly Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
  • Erosion of civil liberties: The Chinese government's tightening grip on dissent and freedom of expression in recent years also played a role in the protests. Many young people felt increasingly disillusioned with the political system and saw the protests as an opportunity to demand change.

These screenshots were taken in the morning on November 28, 2022 and show Tencent-owned Sogou and Qihoo, were censoring "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命) and "White Paper Protests" (白纸抗议).


At that time Baidu's censorship was initially harder to spot, so I've annotated these screenshots so its easy to see: these screenshots were taken on November 28, 2022, and shows Baidu was restricting results for "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命) to government and Party operated websites. "Black Paper Revolution" returns many more results from more diverse sources.


This screenshot shows by December 7 Baidu was completely censoring results for "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命).

The following screenshots show how PRC websites were continuing, and in some cases increasing, censorship of this topic one year later.

Screenshots taken on December 1, 2023, showing Sogou and Qihoo were completely censoring search results for White Paper Protest, Movement, and Revolution.

Screenshots showing that in the year since the White Paper Movement Baidu went from restricting search results for that phrase to government and Party operated websites in 2022 to completely censoring search results in 2023.

Screenshot taken on December 1, 2023 showing Sina Weibo censoring searches for the hashtag "White Paper."
 

In the face of this extreme censorship, some Internet users in China nevertheless attempted to commemorate the anniversary online, as shown by these comments that, as of December 1, 2023, had not been censored by Baidu's Tieba (PostBar) forum operators.


Additional Information


Monday, November 27, 2023

Xu Zhiyong's Statement at His Final Appeal

 On November 24, 2023, former PRC civil rights lawyer Teng Biao posted the following statement:

In the cases of lawyers #Xuzhiyong and #Dingjiaxi, the Shandong High Court just announced its second-instance judgment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment. 14 years for Xu and the 12 years for Ding. 

The Council of the Bar Associations in Europe (CCBE) awarded this year’s Human Rights Award to imprisoned human rights lawyers Zou Xingtong, Xu Zhiyong, and Ding Jiaxi. 

Two days from now it will also be the first anniversary of the White Paper Movement.

Dr. Xu Zhiyong said loudly when he arrived at the court that it was almost dawn and the Communist Party only had a few days left. After that he was restrained.
When the judge read out the ruling, Dr. Xu said: Ridiculous!
He also knew he had won the European Bar Association’s Human Rights Award.

#许志永 和 #丁家喜 律师案,山东高院刚刚二审宣判,驳回上诉,维持原判。许14年,丁12年。
欧洲律师协会委员会(CCBE)将本年度的人权奖颁给在囚的人权律师邹幸彤丶许志永及丁家喜。
两天后也是白纸运动一周年

许志永博士在到达法庭时大声说,天快要亮了,共产党没几天了。之后被制止。
在法官宣读裁定书时,许博士说:荒谬!
他也知道自己获得了欧洲律师协会的人权奖。

Ding Jiaxi's wife wrote that the judgment was subject to a confidentiality agreement, and was not provided to the family (判决书受制于保密协议,不得交给家属).

Sources:

https://twitter.com/tengbiao/status/1727902062392779185

https://twitter.com/tengbiao/status/1727913452377616830

https://twitter.com/luoshch/status/1727921120123158958 

The same day the following statement was posted on the China Citizens Movement website (English translation mine):  https://cmcn.org/archives/55286

Whither China? —Xu Zhiyong’s Appeal

Published on November 24, 2023 Editor Ling Jiangfeng

You judge us, and the people judge you. The actual appeal is not to the humble Shandong High Court, but to the people and to history. After the epidemic, with the world's economies booming, why are China's industries struggling? After a short rebound, consumption is shrinking, investment is weak, exports are in decline, employment is dire. What is root cause of this exhausting economic crisis? Where is the way out?

The root cause lies in the decade's reversal and collapse of national confidence.

Economic issues are, in essence, political issues.

Advance the State, diminish the people. State-owned enterprises are made bigger and stronger, the living space for private enterprises is made smaller, high-tech private enterprises are made state-owned, and outstanding private entrepreneurs are retired. Everywhere bureaucratic capital and one dominant family compete with the people for profits. Resources, energy, communications, electricity, and even tourism and travel are all profitable industries with state-owned enterprises. Bureaucratic capital dominates and competes with the people for profits. They keep claiming fair competition, but the ideology of the Communist Party is to eliminate private ownership. They keep saying that all subjects are equal, but without democracy, how can officials and citizens be equal?

Distort the market. There are high subsidies for electric vehicles and relentless promotion of 5G communications, the authorities lead banks around by the nose and the stock market is manipulated to death by black hands. The hand of power can do whatever it wants, so where does the market play a decisive role?

Deplete the people's energy. Monopolize land, riase housing prices, and turn people into housing slaves. Monopolize oil, raise oil prices, and turn citizens into car slaves. A truck costs 1,000 yuan a day for gasoline and 1,000 yuan for tolls. Logistics costs are seldom seen in this world. There are central enterprises at the top and city investment at the bottom. The national economy and people's livelihood are monopolized are wielded as blood-sucking tools. How can the people consume when they are heavily in debt?

Make waste with haste. The financial crisis of 4 trillion yuan in 2008 came at just the right time. If the market had been respected and the society had been opened, China's economic growth rate would have been degraded, but more sustainable, until it became a developed country. But economic growth is the only basis for the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. If you care too much about GDP figures, high-speed rail, highways, and cross-sea bridges, no matter how redundant they are, and no matter how valuable they are, they far exceed 4 trillion yuan every year. Fifteen years of destructive efforts have hollowed out China with fiscal overdrafts and bank deficits, which have been passed on to the people, leaving China heavily in debt.

Three years of prevention and control. On New Year's Day 2020, CCTV refuted the rumors eight times a day. The totalitarian system successfully blocked the news, causing the epidemic to spread globally. Once again its the totalitarian system, and with a single order cities, villages, and countries were sealed off. At first, the overreaction was understandable, but half a year later, the global mortality rate was very low, and the world economy began to recover. Why did it take three years for China to get the message? Such is the curse of dictatorship. Thousands of companies have closed down and hundreds of millions of people have become unemployed, leading to a full-blown crisis today. God willing, the novel corona virus has dealt the final blow to the communist totalitarianism.

When all is said and done, there are no restrictions and power is arbitrary. If Hitler had lived forty more years, his empire would have declined and perished, which is the inevitable fate of a totalitarian system.

The fundamental problem is one of direction.

Through reform and opening up, China has emerged from the abyss of a publicly owned planned economy and moved in the direction of a modern civilization, private property rights, and a free market, bringing about more than thirty years of prosperity and progress. But in the past ten years, we have gone against the grain, holding high Marx, and following the example of Kim Jong Un. The people are confused and their confidence has collapsed.

Where is China going? Is it a market economy or a planned economy? Is it democracy and freedom or dictatorship? Is it the United States or North Korea? Is it a broad road or a cliff? Should we thrive with the tide or perish against it?

China has a clear future with true democracy, multi-party competition, universal suffrage, independent judiciary, and freedom of speech. In a true market economy, private property rights are the main body, and the market determines resource allocation. It is a universal trend of human civilization, and China cannot be an exception.

Of course China has its own characteristics, this is a fact common to every nation. The United States has a president, Japan has an emperor, and India has a prime minister. However, the four fundamental principles of the democratic system are everywhere the same. Democracy does not distinguish between doctrines, between East and West, only between truth and falsehood. There is competition among multiple parties and the people have choices. This is true democracy. One candidate getting 100% of the votes is fake democracy. What we oppose is not so-called socialist democracy, but fake democracy. What we pursue is not so-called capitalist democracy, but true democracy.

The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is by no means a combination of Marxism-Leninism and imperial power, or Western dross contaminating Chinese dross. Rather, it is scientific democracy supported by benevolence, justice, propriety, trustworthiness, and Western civilization complementing Chinese civilization. After the end of autocracy, a China that is free and democratic with 1.4 billion people will burst out with passion and vitality, creating the most advanced technology, the most prosperous economy, and the most splendid culture in the world. A glorious China will lead a new era of human civilization.

Originally, they had the right direction, privatizing state-owned enterprises that competed with the people, gradually withdrawing their power over the market and opening up democratic elections. The general direction was correct, and the people  regained hope and confidence.

Twenty years ago, I made sincere suggestions, and ten years ago, I spoke out loudly. But it seems that China is going further and further in the wrong direction. Advocating for people to conduct themselves as true citizens is punished with severe sentences, and calling for active participation in the election of National People's Congress deputies can also be used as evidence of guilt. All democratic sprouts have been strangled, and all room for improvement has been blocked. Their destiny and role is to be the last generation of totalitarianism, and no one can stop them from running towards the cliff.

Economic collapse. State-owned enterprises have monopolized people's livelihood, distorted the market with the help of power, and drained the national treasury. The Xiongan New Area is riding a tiger, and the Belt and Road Initiative has yielded no gains. Three years of harsh epidemic prevention and control and a series of major and continuous wrong decisions have led to economic collapse. But they could not help themselves, and continued to make waste in their haste and  and to quench their thirst with poison.

Political regression. Village-level democracy has been reduced to a Party monopoly, separation between the government and the Party has been reduced to comprehensive Party leadership, and collective leadership has been reduced to a one-man dictatorship. Political regression has been comprehensive, totalitarianism continues to expand, stability maintenance continues to swell, and these mountains are crushing China.

Cultural decay. Cultural prosperity is not about digging ancient tombs and building monuments, but about creating splendid culture to share with mankind. Freedom is the lifeblood of culture. The Communist Party regards freedom as its enemy. Once upon a time, this Western evil spirit took as its mission the destruction of Chinese culture, destroying the mausoleum of Emperor Yan, digging up the tomb of Confucius and disinterring China's ancestors. Nowadays, its layers of censorship are like a dismemberment, and film, television, art, and culture are on the verge of death.

Societal suffocation. There can be no self-confidence without democratic elections. The closer you come to the end of the line, the more sensitive you become, the more taboos you have. Actors, Internet celebrities, writers, singers, etc. are all blocked for the slightest infractions. Everyone lives in fear, like a thousands of horses standing lifeless and mute, and the Chinese nation is gradually losing its vitality to the point that it is practically a zombie.

Marxism elevated. A ghost, a ghost wandering aimlessly through Europe, a virulent infectious disease, was transmitted to China through Soviet Russia, bringing with it a huge tragedy of more than 30 million people starving to death, and a decade of catastrophe that destroyed Chinese culture. In the twentieth century it brought unprecedented disasters to mankind, and it still brings endless slavery, famine and suffering to the North Korean people. Is it possible for a dystopian doctrine, a doctrine of total failure, to be held up as a model for all mankind?

Those who were born from the Cultural Revolution are now obsessed with a return to the Cultural Revolution. Woe to China!

The Constitution amended. Can anyone be so virtuous as to be a dictator for life? The fate of the country and the nation depends upon a single person, and the sages are still worried, so what is wrong with this blockhead? In the past, there were changes of leadership every ten years, and even though it was a single party, there remained a glimmer of hope. Now there is endless darkness and complete despair. One person's dictatorship has reversed course for ten years, causing hundreds of industries to wither and become trapped in innumerable difficulties. The evil spirit of Marxism-Leninism has poisoned China and gone against the tide of the times, making people resentful and angry. An emperor has once again ascended the throne, and the sky is filled with yellow sand. Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin are in hot water, suppressing all efforts and oppressing people's livelihoods. All under heaven is confusion and worry, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The country is misled by a dictator, such is the peril facing China!

China needs a revolution.

Revolution in China is inevitable. Only revolution can destroy autocracy, only revolution can save China, only revolution can bring democracy and freedom, only revolution can bring fairness and justice, only revolution can bring human dignity, and only revolution can bring the rebirth of China. Only when there is no Communist Party will there be a New China.

Not a violent revolution. If the people are unarmed, violence will hardly bear the fruits of freedom. When the communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed, there were no violent revolutions, only peaceful civil revolutions, without exception.

In August 1991, the conservative forces of the Soviet Communist Party launched a coup, and troops took to the streets of Moscow. However, there was no strongman in the ruling group, and the military hesitated and waited. Three days later, the Communist Party collapsed and the democrats won. At the last moment of the end of communist totalitarianism, the only mission and role of the military was to wait and see.

Revolutions are fueled by anger. But the color of the raging flames is not hatred but love. Drive out the evil spirit of Marxism and Lenin, save our Chinese compatriots, redeem every Chinese, do not hate any individual, do not attack others, do not destroy property, and do not give excuses for brutal violence and suppression. The greater power is ours, and it is not hate, but love.

China will not fall apart. The provinces in the mainland are highly integrated and have a deep-rooted national identity, but some border areas have deep grievances. During the transformation, our philosophy is clear and firm: freedom is the direction, and all regions will have democratic autonomy. Justice must be defended and no violence will be allowed. Negotiate the future peacefully and heal wounds with love.

China will not become turbulent and disorderly. Soviet Russia was undergoing political transformation, and its economy and society were unprepared. China has had a market economy for 40 years and has gradually matured forces yearning for freedom and democracy. Massive rallies and marches will assemble, the Communist Party will disappear, and within a few months a referendum and a constitutional election will be held.

The 1989 Tiananmen democracy movement failed. At that time, the ruling group had a charismatic strongman, and the vast majority of the military obeyed. The democrats had no leader, and lacked direction and rhythm. The international community still has hope for China's reform and opening up. Social conditions are not yet mature, as the people can still share the dividends of reform and opening up.

Today, there is no strongman in the ruling group. At this turning point in history, soldiers will hesitate and wait and see. Should they follow him? It will be sufficient to remain on the sidelines. The democrats have a mature leadership team, a clear direction, and a feasible path. The international community has clearly seen the nature of the CPC, and the Cold War has resumed. Social conditions have matured. In these last days of totalitarianism there is depression, unemployment, poverty, despair, people's resentment is boiling, and the tinder lies everywhere. No one knows when, where ,or which spark will ignite the revolution, but that spark will definitely appear.

My compatriots, the dawn in the east is about to break through the sky, the earth's fire is rushing, and the lava is gathering. China will not perish in silence, but will explode from silence.

The most precious thing is courage.

The courage to tell the truth, the courage to defend freedom, the courage to go to jail, the courage to take to the streets.

Thanks to the lone brave man Peng Lifa for coming forward. In the darkest hour before the dawn, the smoke column on the Sitong Bridge was a dazzling light. Thousands of citizens have been awakened, and you never were, and never will be, alone.

Thank you young students. Thirty-three years later, the Chinese nation has heard your cry again. Upon the white paper you held up will eventually be written a vast history. To the girl holding a sign at the door of the Peking University cafeteria, thank you. I am proud to have a classmate like you. Thirty-four years later, the Chinese nation is once again placing its hope in you. Peking University, your soul has returned!

Thank you to our democratic predecessors, from the Democracy Wall in 1979 to Tiananmen in 1989 and then to the Democratic Party in 1998. Generations of people with lofty ideals and benevolence hold high the banner of democracy and freedom. At that time, you needed more courage. Wei Jingsheng, Qin Yongmin, Liu Xianbin . . . serving out so many years in prison, paying such a price for China to be reborn? I'm honored to join you.

Thank you Christians. For decades, you have silently preached the love of Christ in this land of suffering, injustice, and anxiety. I once witnessed the prayers in the heavy snow at the entrance of Haidian Park when Shouwang Church was being persecuted. Both the Haotian God worshiped by the Chinese ancestors is like Jehovah, they are both the one true God of mankind.

Thank you to the practitioners of truthfulness, kindness, and patience. In December 2021, Mr. Liu Jinguo in the cell next to mine was shackled and fixed to the bed board for a month because of his hunger strike. For more than two decades, the suffering all of you have endured is shocking, but it has enriched the history of the Chinese nation.

Thank you to all those who fight for freedom, democracy, justice, and dignity. Under autocracy, no matter how humiliating it is, the majority remain silent. However, tens of thousands of brave Chinese people have still stood up and said no to power. Their posts were deleted, their accounts were blocked, and they were thrown into black jails, detained, and imprisoned. It is these brave people who have created the unyielding backbone of China.

Thank you to the citizens who have walked with me over the past twenty years. Have the courage to resist and the wisdom to build a glorious China of freedom, justice, and love. One day, every Chinese will become a true citizen and enjoy universal freedoms such as freedom of speech and the right to vote. That will be a China that truly belongs to the people, our lifelong dream and struggle.

My fellow citizens,

One hundred and twelve years ago, the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Manchu Dynasty and established the Republic of China, Asia's first republic. Unfortunately, after decades of internal and external troubles, the Republic of China fell and autocracy returned. Another seventy years have passed. The political landscape of the world has been turned upside down. The tide of democracy has swept across the world, and dictatorial regimes have come to an end. Even Africa has had universal suffrage for many years. My ancestral land, however, remains under the dictatorship of one party and one man. It is this which is truly the Chinese nation's greatest shame.

The people of China live a life of suffocation.

There was a time when pots and pans were melted to make steel and the fields were left barren. During three years of good weather more than 30 million people died of starvation. Now this unprecedented famine is gently brushed away by the textbooks as "three years of natural disasters." During the great revolution in Chinese culture, countless cultural relics were destroyed. Ask for instructions in the morning and report in the evening, dance the loyalty dance, and raise loyalty pigs. Amid great terror, the whole country went insane.

There was a time when "unauthorized birth strike teams" roamed the land. When a woman was seven or eight months pregnant, a team of men would be forcibly pushed her to the ground and drag her to the backyard of the county hospital. They injected poison into the child's head. If the child was still alive after birth it was tossed into a nearby  large pot of boiling water. For forty years, thousands of Chinese mothers have watched their children being brutally killed, crying without tears and wailing silently.

The grave removal movement has arrived, and ancestral graves have been bulldozed, and the dead who have been laid to rest in their graves have been forcibly disinterred. Except for high-ranking officials, everyone's destination is a small half-meter square grid, densely packed and without dignity.

An environmental storm has arrived, and the coldest month of winter, heating stoves are forcibly dragged away. Thousands of private enterprises are ordered to close down. For those have spent most of their lives struggling and lose everything there is no recourse to the law.

The epidemic has arrived, and with one order they silenced the doctors and CCTV "refuted the rumors." The whole country was rendered speechless, and with another order cities, villages, and countries were locked down. Work, life, and dreams, everything was shattered by idiotic prohibitions.

Another order was given, and without any preparation, everyone was suddenly released. One billion people were unable to find medicine, and a long queue formed in front of the funeral parlor.

A plane crashes, and no one is qualified to know the truth, let alone reflect on it. There is a flood, and no one is qualified to know how many people lost their lives. If you want to donate to earthquake-stricken areas, you can only donate to a few government-run organizations such as the Cross Society, and you are not eligible to check the whereabouts of the donations. Discussing national affairs already leaves you on the verge of breaking the law. Praise the emperor's new clothes loudly, even though everyone knows that he has no clothes on. Facing unbearable injustice I sought to petition. I turned off my mobile phone and didn't take the train. I was like a guerrilla who snuck into the imperial capital, only to be caught in front of the National Bureau of Petitions and Calls.

People are political animals. We are not qualified, however, to live a normal human life, because without elections, the country does not belong to the people, but rather to the Communist Party. We are still on our knees with pigtails on the back of our heads. Even if in the past few years one could say that  we have been able to have just enough to eat to console ourselves like pigs, today even that proposition has become questionable. When will the time come when we no longer endure this?

What kind of China should we leave for future generations? Let them continue to kneel as slaves, or should we step forward bravely today?

This absurd nation, this shameful nation, this nation where power runs rampant, this nation where humanity is lost, this nation where the dictator is aloof and the people are as humble as ants, this nation of sadness, numbness, despair and sinking into the abyss of hell. This nation is my ancestral home. I will devote all my life to saving her, saving my Chinese nation, and ushering in the glorious rebirth of Chinese civilization.

The curtain has already opened on an era of greatness. In the darkest hour, dawn is approaching. When despair lies flat, passion must fly. This is our era, the era of citizens, the era of the people. Say goodbye to the ghost of communism, say goodbye to the millennium of autocracy, and welcome in the civil revolution. This is the most magnificent chapter in human history. Compatriots, are you ready?

Citizen Xu Zhiyong
August 2023 

中国向何处去?——许志永上诉书

发表于 2023年11月24日 编辑 凌江峰

你们审判我们,人民审判你们。真正的上诉,不是面向卑微的山东高院,而是面向人民,面向历史。疫情过后,世界经济欣欣向荣之际,为何中国百业凋敝一片萧条?短暂反弹之后,消费萎缩,投资乏力,出口下降,就业艰难,衰竭式经济危机,根源何在?出路何在?

根源就在十年倒车,国民信心崩塌。

经济问题本质是政治问题。

国进民退。做大做强国有企业,压缩民企生存空间,高科技民企被国有,优秀民营企业家被退休。官僚资本,一家独大,处处与民争利。资源、能源、通讯、电力、甚至旅游、出行,凡赚钱行业均有国企。官僚资本一家独大处处与民争利。口口声声公平竞争,可共产之党的意识形态,是要消灭私有制的。口口声声主体平等,可没有民主,官民何曾平等?

扭曲市场。电动汽车高额补贴,5G通信强硬推广,银行被权力牵着鼻子,股市被黑手操纵致死。权力之手呼风唤雨为所欲为,市场到哪里起决定作用?

耗竭民力。垄断土地,推高房价,沦国民为房奴。垄断石油,抬高油价,沦国民为车奴。一辆货车一天汽油费千元,过路费千元,物流成本世所罕见。上有央企,下有城投,国计民生皆被垄断,皆成吸血工具,人民负债累累,何以消费?

拔苗助长。2008年金融危机四万亿恰逢其时。如果之后尊重市场,开放社会,中国经济增速降格,更为持久,直到成为发达国家。可经济增速是共产党执政合法性的唯一基础。过于在意GDP数字,高铁、高速公路、跨海大桥,不管是否重复,不管多大价值,每年远超四万亿。十五年拔苗助长掏空了中国,财政透支,银行亏空,转嫁到人民头上,负债累累。

三年防控。2020年元旦,央视一天八遍辟谣,极权体制成功封锁了消息致疫情爆发祸及全球。又是极权体制,一声令下,封城、封村、封国。起初过激反应尚可理解,可半年后全球死亡率很低,世界经济开始复苏,为何中国一封三年?独裁之祸。万千企业倒闭,亿万国民失业,至今日全面危机。天意吧,新冠给共产极权最后一击。

一言蔽之,没有制约,权力任性,假如希特勒多活四十年,他的帝国也一定衰竭而亡,极权体制的必然宿命。

根本问题是方向问题。

改革开放,中国走出公有制计划经济深渊,朝向现代文明方向,私有产权和自由市场,带来了三十多年的繁荣进步。可过去十年,倒行逆施,高举马克思,看齐金三胖。国民一片迷茫,信心崩塌。

中国向何处去?是市场经济还是计划经济?是民主自由还是独裁专制?是美国还是北朝鲜?是康庄大道还是悬崖绝壁?是顺潮而兴还是逆流而亡?

中国有清楚的未来,真正的民主,多党竞争,全民普选,司法独立,言论自由。真正的市场经济,私有产权为主体,市场决定资源配置。人类文明普世潮流,中国不可能例外。

中国当然有自己的特色,各国皆有。美国有总统,日本有天皇,印度有总理。但民主制度根本四原则,天下大同。民主不分主义,不分东西,只分真假。多党有竞争,人民有选择,是真民主。一个候选人,得票百分百,是假民主。我们反对的,不是所谓社会主义民主,而是假民主。我们追求的,不是所谓资本主义民主,而是真民主。

中华民族现代文明,绝不是马列主义同流帝王权术,西方糟粕合污中华糟粕,而是民主科学相辅仁义礼信,西方文明相成中华文明。专制结束之后,自由民主的中国,十四亿人迸发出激情活力,创造出世界上最发达的科技,最繁荣的经济,最灿烂的文化。美好中国,引领人类新文明时代。

本来他们有正确的方向,与民争利的国有企业私有化,权力逐步退出市场,逐渐开放民主选举。大方向对了,人民重见希望,重拾信心。

二十年前,我曾真诚建言,十年前也曾大声疾呼。可眼看中国在错误方向上越走越远。倡导国民做真正的公民被判重刑,号召积极参选人大代表也能成罪证。所有民主萌芽都被扼杀,所有改良空间都被堵死。他的天命和角色就是极权末代,无人阻止其奔向断崖。

经济衰竭。国有企业垄断民生,权力之手扭曲市场,拔苗助长掏空国库,雄安新区骑虎难下,一带一路不见收获,疫情防控苛政三年,一系列重大的持续的错误决策使经济衰竭。而他们束手无策,继续拔苗助长,饮鸩止渴。

政治倒退。村级民主退到“一肩挑”,政党分开退到全面领导,集体领导退到一人独裁。政治全面倒退,极权全面扩张,维稳不断膨胀,一座大山压垮中国。

文化凋残。文化繁盛不是挖古墓建古迹,而是创造灿烂的文化为人类分享。自由是文化的生命线。而共产党视自由为大敌。曾经这个西方邪灵以毁灭中华文化为己任,毁炎帝陵,挖孔子墓,掘中华祖坟。如今,它的层层审查宛如凌迟,电影、电视、艺术、文化奄奄一息了。

社会窒息。没有民选,极不自信。大限将至,愈加敏感,愈多禁忌。演员、网红、作家、歌手等等,一不留神就被封杀,人人自危,万马齐喑,华夏民族渐失生机活力,几近僵尸矣。

高举马克思主义。一个幽灵,一个在欧陆无处徘徊的幽灵,一种烈性传染病,经苏俄传染到中国,带来了三千多万人饿死的巨大悲剧,毁灭中华文化的十年浩劫,带给人类二十世纪空前的灾难,至今仍给北朝鲜人民无止尽的奴役、饥荒与苦难。一个荒诞的主义,彻底失败的主义,高举此赤旗向全人类示威乎?

从文革中来,念念不忘回到文革中去,哀哉中华!

修改宪法。何德何能妄独裁终身。国家民族命运系于一人,圣贤尚忧,草包何堪?过去每十年换人,虽是一党,总还抱有一线希望。如今黑暗无尽彻底绝望。一人独裁,十年倒车,百业凋敝,千重困局。马列邪灵,荼毒华夏,倒行逆施,人怨天怒。帝再登基,黄沙漫天。河北京津,火热水深,率扼众力,民生多艰。昏忧天下,长夜无边。独裁误国,中华危矣!

中国需要革命。

中国必将爆发革命。惟革命才能灭专制,惟革命才能救中国,惟革命才有民主自由,惟革命才有公平正义,惟革命才有人的尊严,惟革命才有中华重生。没有共产党,才有新中国。

不是暴力革命。人民没有武装,暴力也很难结出自由的果实。苏联、东欧共产党政权垮台,没有暴力革命,无一例外都是和平的市民革命。

1991年8月,苏共保守势力发动政变,陈兵莫斯科街头。然统治集团没有强人,军人犹豫观望,三天后共产党垮台,民主派胜利。共产极权终结的最后时刻,军人唯一的使命和角色就是犹豫观望。

革命为愤怒点燃。但熊熊烈焰的颜色,不是仇恨而是爱。驱马列邪灵,救中华同胞,救赎每一个中国人,不仇恨任何个体,不攻击他人,不破坏财产,不给野蛮暴力打压的借口。更强大的力量属于我们的力量,不是仇恨而是爱。

中国不会四分五裂。内地各省高度融合,国家认同根深蒂固,但个别边疆地区积怨太深。转型中,我们的理念清晰而坚定:自由是方向,各地区都会民主自治;公义必须捍卫,绝不允许任何暴力;和平协商未来,用爱抚平创伤。

中国不会动荡失序。苏俄政治转型,经济社会几乎没有准备。中国有四十年市场经济,有逐渐成熟的向往自由民主的力量。大规模集会游行,共产党烟消雾散,几个月内全民公决宪法大选。

1989年天安门民主运动失败了。当时统治集团有魅力型强人,绝大多数军人服命。民主派没有领袖,缺少方向和节奏。国际社会对中国改革开放还抱有希望。社会条件还不成熟,人民尚能分享改革开放的红利。

今天,统治集团已没有强人,历史转折时刻,军人会犹豫观望,跟他行吗?犹豫观望就够了。民主派已有成熟的领导团队,有清楚的方向,有可行的道路,国际社会已看清中共本质,冷战再起。社会条件已经成熟,极权末世萧条失业、贫困、绝望,民怨沸腾,遍地干柴。没有人知道何时何地哪个火星引爆革命,但那个火星一定会出现。

同胞们,东方黎明即将划破长空,地火在奔突,熔岩在汇聚,华夏不在沉默中灭亡,必在沉默中爆发。
最可贵的是勇气。

说真话的勇气,捍卫自由的勇气,不怕坐牢的勇气,走上街头的勇气。

感谢孤勇者彭立发挺身而出。黎明前的至暗时刻,四通桥上的烟柱是一束耀眼的光。万千国民已被唤醒,你绝不孤单。

感谢青春学子们。三十三年后,华夏民族再次听到了你们的呐喊。你们举起的白纸,终将汇成浩瀚历史。北大食堂门口那个举标语的女孩,谢谢你,我为有你这样的学妹而骄傲。三十四年后,华夏民族再次寄望于你们。北大,魂兮归来!

感谢民主前辈们,79民主墙到89天安门再到98民主党。一代一代志士仁人高举民主、自由的旗帜。那个年代你们更需要勇气。魏京生、秦永敏、刘贤斌……千年刑期啊,华夏要多少代价才得新生?我很荣幸加入你们的行列。

感谢基督徒们。数十年来,你们在这苦难、不义、焦灼的土地上,默默传扬基督的爱。我曾见证守望教会遭逼迫时,海淀公园门口漫天大雪中的祈祷。我信仰华夏祖先信仰的昊天上帝和耶和华一样,都是人类唯一的神。

感谢真善和忍耐的修炼者。2021年12月,隔壁监室刘金果先生因为绝食,被镣铐固定四肢于床板上长达一个月。二十多年来,你们承受的苦难惊天地鬼神,厚重了华夏民族的历史。

感谢所有为自由、民主、公正和尊严抗争的人们。专制之下,无论多少屈辱,沉默的是大多数。可还是有千千万万勇敢的中国人站起来了,向强权说不,被删帖、被封号、被黑监狱、被拘留、被判刑,正是这些勇敢的人铸就了华夏不屈的脊梁。

感谢二十年来陪我一起走过的公民们。有勇气反抗,有智慧建设,一个自由、公义、爱的美好中国。有一天,每一个中国人都会成为真正的公民,享有言论自由、选举权等普世的自由权利。那是真正属于人民的中国,我们一生的梦想和奋斗。

同胞们,

一百一十二年前,辛亥革命推翻满清王朝,建立中华民国,亚洲第一个共和国。不幸的是,数十年内忧外患之后,民国沦陷,专制重来。又七十多年了。世界政治版图天翻地覆,民主大潮席卷全球,独裁政权纷纷落幕,连非洲也已普选多年,可我的祖国依然在一党专制、一人独裁之下,实为华夏民族最大耻辱。

中国人活得太憋屈。

曾经,把锅碗瓢盆拿去大炼钢铁,任田地荒芜,风调雨顺的三年里,三千多万人饿死,亘古未有的大饥荒,被教科书一句“三年自然灾害”轻轻带过。大革中国文化之命,无数文物亦惨遭浩劫。早请示、晚汇报,跳忠字舞,养忠字猪,巨大恐怖中,举国癫狂。

曾经,“超生游击队”遍布天南地北,怀孕七八个月了被几个男人强行按倒拖到县医院后院给孩子头上打毒针,生下来还活着,扔进旁边的大开水锅里。四十年,千千万万中国母亲、眼看自己的孩子被残忍杀死,欲哭无泪,哀嚎无声。

扒坟运动来了,祖坟被推平,入土为安的逝者被强行扒出,除了高官,人人的归宿都是一个半米见方的小格子,密密麻麻,毫无尊严。

环保风暴来了,寒冬腊月,取暖的炉子被强行拖走,千千万万民营企业被勒令关停,大半生奋斗血本无归,状告无门。

疫情来了,一声令下,医生封口,央视“辟谣”,举国哑然,又一声令下,封城、封村、封国,工作、生活、梦想,一切的一切都被这愚蠢至极的禁令破碎。

再一声令下,毫无准备,突然放开,十亿国民求药无门,殡仪馆前,排起长龙。

一场空难,没有资格知道真相,更没有资格反思。一场洪水,没有资格知道多少人失去了生命。想给地震灾区捐款,只能捐给十字会等少数几个官办机构,没有资格查询善款去向。谈论国家大事,就已经到了违法犯罪的边缘,高声赞美皇帝的新装如何华丽,其实所有人都知道他没穿衣服。遭遇不公忍无可忍去上访,关闭手机不坐火车,像游击队员潜到帝都,结果还是在国家信访局门前被抓获。

人是政治性动物。可我们没有资格过正常人类的生活,因为没有选票,国家不是人民的,是共产党的。我们至今依然双膝着地脑后留着辫子。如果说过去一些年能吃饱饭,还能像猪一样聊以自慰,如今连饭碗也成问题了。我们还要忍耐到何时?

给子孙后代一个什么样的中国?让他们继续跪地为奴,还是今天的我们挺身而出?

这荒诞的国度,这耻辱的国度,这强权横行的国度,这泯灭人性的国度,这独裁者高高在上人民卑微如蝼蚁的国度,这悲哀麻木绝望沉沦坠向地狱深渊的国度,就是我的祖国。我以毕生所有拯救她,拯救我的华夏民族,迎中华文明辉煌重生。

大时代已拉开序幕。至暗时刻,黎明将至。绝望躺平,必将激情飞扬。这是我们的时代,公民的时代,人民的时代,永别共产幽灵,永别千年专制,迎接公民革命,人类历史上最恢弘壮丽的篇章,同胞们,准备好了吗?

公民 许志永
2023年8月
本文发布在 12.26公民案, 公民立场, 本站首发, 许志永. 收藏 永久链接.


Tuesday, November 14, 2023

From the Archives: Censorship of "Civil Society"

Recently I've been reviewing my archives of screenshots illustrating Internet censorship in the PRC. I've got images going back to 2008, and one of the most interesting things to me is to find screenshots showing what was NOT being censored back then, but is being censored now. For example, the screenshot below  was taken on January 12, 2011, and shows that a search on Baidu for "Civil Society" (公民社会) returned results from a variety of sources including social media (tieba.baidu.com is Baidu's "PostBar" forum website) and overseas websites (nccu.edu.tw is the website of National Chengzhi University in Taiwan).

The following image was taken on November 14, 2023, and shows that the same search on Baidu now only returns results from a whitelist of websites under the direct control of the PRC central government and Communist Party. 

The following screenshot shows the same restricted results on the last page of Baidu's search results.

The following screenshot illustrates another interesting facet of Internet censorship in the PRC - it does not always strive for perfection. In the case of this query, it is possible to find results from non-Party/non-State controlled sources by adding the "site:" operator.

Baidu is not, however, willing to take any chances when it comes to censoring its own social media platforms. For example, the left screenshot was taken in 2011, and shows that at that time a search for "Civil Society" on Baidu's "Zhidao" Q&A platform returned many results. The right screenshot was taken in 2023 and shows the same search returns no results, just a notice saying "Sorry, no answers related to 'civil society' were found." (抱歉,没有找到与 “公民社会” 相关的回答。)


Saturday, September 16, 2023

Tencent's Weixin Censors 1980's People's Daily Article on Cult of Personality

On September 3, 2023, an article titled "People's Daily: Exaggerating the Personal Role of Leaders to an Extreme Level will Lead to Superstitious Belief in the Individual" (人民日报:把领袖个人的作用夸大到极端的程度,就会出现对个人的迷信) was posted on the "The Reading Drawer" (抽屉读书) public Weixin account. It was censored within 24 hours and replaced with a notice saying: "This content cannot be viewed due to violations. Complaints were made by users and audited by the platform. This involves the use of words, pictures, videos, etc. that exaggerated, seduced and violated objective facts to maliciously incite, confuse and mislead users. Check the corresponding rules."

I checked, and the Weixin article is a word-for-word copy paste of the referenced People's Daily article, which was published on Page 2 of the July 4, 1980 edition, according to the copy I found here: https://cn.govopendata.com/renminribao/1980/7/4/2/#542014 - with one exception, which I don't this is material:
  • Weixin Article: 马克思主义者承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。
  • govopendata: 马克思主义者承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。

The only other difference is the addition of the photo at the top of the Weixin article. Based on some online research, this is a photo of Nikita Khrushchev during his trip to the United States in 1959. 

Below are selected translations from the article (emphasis added by me).

Deification of, and superstitious belief in, the individual begins with exaggerating the role of the individual. Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" engaged in modern superstition, not only taking advantage of people's simple feelings, but also taking advantage of these loopholes in people's understanding.

A Profound Lesson in Personal Deification

The communist movement and our own experience show that when the role of individual leaders is exaggerated to an extreme level, superstitious belief in individuals will emerge.

For many years, we have been accustomed to using superstition to explain the history of our struggles. Now, as Marx said, we should "use history to explain superstition." (The Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 1, p. 425) That is to say, we should take a look at history, how did a man become a "god"? How did people come to deify and superstitiously believe in individuals? In this way, the necessary lessons can be drawn. This is a rather complex and difficult task. Here are just a few examples, briefly.

. . . .

Our Party is organized according to the principle of democratic centralism. According to this principle, the Party line must be discussed and formulated by the Party's national congress or central authority. Although the Party's line is sometimes put forward by a certain person, once it is decided, it becomes the Party's line and cannot be attributed to an individual, it is called the line of so-and-so. Of course, when summing up historical experience, calling the opposing lines the lines of a certain person, and comparing and analyzing them will help distinguish right from wrong and educate the entire Party. But this is a special situation. From the perspective of organizational principles, within the Party, all Party members must implement the Party's line, rather than the entire Party following the line of a certain individual.

However, for a period of time, people have often attributed the Party's line to individuals, and also promoted all the opinions and propositions of individual leaders as lines, or believed that they have the same authority as the Party's line, and the whole Party must unconditionally implement it. In this way, in the life of the Party, in fact, some abnormal practices gradually took shape: obeying the Party's leadership means listening to a certain person, implementing the Party's line means doing what a certain person says, and thinking that as long as you act "in accordance with every sentence," you will be invincible. This actually regards the individual as a sacred authority over the entire Party.

. . . .

We must be highly conscious and take various measures to prevent the situation where the top leaders look down at the masses from above, while the masses can only squint and look up at the leader from below, so as to prevent the leader from becoming a figure that ordinary people cannot approach. The guidelines for political life within the Party passed by the Fifth Plenum of the Party Central Committee have made a series of specific regulations to prevent leaders from becoming special in their political life and from praising leaders without principle. This is undoubtedly necessary. However, in order to achieve what Lenin said, to make the leaders and the class, and the leaders and the masses form a whole, we still need to make efforts in many aspects and have a series of effective methods. For example, restore the system that our Party advocates that senior leading cadres must spend a certain amount of time at the grassroots level in a year; establish a system for leaders to communicate directly with the people; put senior leaders in fixed electoral districts to maintain regular contact with voters and accept voter supervision; cancel all kinds of unreasonable regulations that completely separate senior leaders from ordinary cadres and the masses in daily life (such as housing, transportation, shopping, entertainment, etc.); and we must use newspapers and radio to exert the supervisory power of public opinion, etc. In short, we should continue to adhere to the methods that have worked well in the past, and at the same time, we should continue to adopt some new methods based on new situations. 

. . . .

To gather the experience and opinions of the broad masses and the entire Party and form correct leadership ideas and opinions, it is necessary to adopt democratic centralism and collective research and discussion. The view that "the first secretary has absolute truth, the second secretary has relative truth, and the others have no truth" is not in line with the facts.

. . . .

Second, we must treat the right of one vote correctly. In the leadership team, the top leader has more responsibilities but no greater power. He has only one vote in deciding major issues, while other members have the same vote. Why do some leadership groups form a "one-man-talk" situation? The first is that the top leader lacks a democratic style and engages in personal arbitrariness. At the same time, it is also an important reason why each leading member cannot exercise his right to vote seriously and responsibly. If every leading member can responsibly exercise his right to one vote, especially when some people put forward wrong propositions, everyone can stick to the principles and not support or veto them, then can "one word" be achieved? Can personal arbitrariness prevail unimpeded? Can those wrong and confusing decisions be made easily? Therefore, every leading member must exercise his right to vote with the utmost solemnity when deciding major issues.

. . . .

Marxists must recognize and value individual authority, but the first thing we must emphasize is collective authority. Only when personal authority is combined with collective authority can it play its role better.

神化个人、迷信个人,是从夸大个人的作用开始的。林彪、“四人帮”大搞现代迷信,除了利用人们的朴素感情外,也钻了人们在认识上的这些空子。

神化个人的深刻教训

共产主义运动和我们自己的经验说明,把领袖个人的作用夸大到极端的程度,就会出现对个人的迷信。

多年来,习惯于用迷信来说明我们的斗争历史,现在,应该象马克思说的那样,“用历史来说明迷信”。(《马克思恩格斯全集》第1卷第425页)这就是说,应当从历史上看一看,人是怎样成为“神”的?人们是怎样神化个人、迷信个人的?这样,才能得出必要的经验教训。这是一项相当复杂而艰巨的任务。这里仅举几个例子,简略地说一下。
. . . .
我们的党是按照民主集中制的原则组织起来的。根据这个原则,党的路线必须由党的全国代表大会或中央权力机构讨论制定。党的路线尽管有时是由某个人提出来的,但一经作出决定,就成了党的路线,而不能归之于个人,称为某某人的路线了。当然,在总结历史经验时,把对立的路线分别称之为某某人的路线,加以对比分析,这样做,有利于分清是非,教育全党。但这是一种特殊的情况,从组织原则说,在党内,所有党员必须执行党的路线,而不是全党执行某一个人的路线。

但是,一个时期以来,人们却常常把党的路线归之于个人,而且,又把领袖个人的一切意见主张都上升为路线,或认为具有党的路线那样的权威性,全党必须无条件地执行。这样,在党的生活中,实际上就逐渐形成了某些不正常的准则:服从党的领导就是听某一个人的话,执行党的路线就是照某一个人说的去干,而且认为,只要“句句照办”,就能无往而不胜。这实际上是把个人看成为凌驾于全党之上的神圣权威了。
. . . .
我们要以高度的自觉,采取各种措施,防止出现领导上层从上面向下看群众,而人民群众只能眯着眼睛从下面向上望领袖的状况,防止领袖成为普通群众无法接近的人物。党的五中全会通过的党内政治生活准则,对防止领导人政治上生活上的特殊化,防止对领导人无原则的歌功颂德,已经作了一系列具体的规定。这无疑是很必要的。但是,要做到列宁讲的,使领袖与阶级、领袖与群众结成一个整体,则还要作多方面的努力,还要有一系列有效的办法。比如,恢复我们党提倡的高级领导干部一年要有一定时间下基层的制度;建立领导者与人民群众直接对话的制度;把高级领导人放到固定选区保持与选民的经常联系并接受选民监督;取消在日常生活中(如住房、坐车、购物、娱乐等)把高级领导人与一般干部和群众完全分开的种种不合理规定;各种代表大会作为权力机构,要切实加强对领导工作人员的监督,并要利用报纸、广播,发挥舆论的监督力量,等等。总之,凡是过去行之有效的办法应当继续坚持,同时,要根据新的情况,不断采取一些新的办法。
. . . .
要把广大群众和全党的经验、意见集中起来,形成正确的领导思想和领导意见,就必须通过民主集中制,通过集体研究讨论。那种“第一书记有绝对真理,第二书记有相对真理,其他人没有真理”的看法,是不符合事实的。
. . . .
第二,要正确对待一票的权利。在领导班子中,第一把手负有更多的责任,但并没有更大的权力,在决定重大问题时,他只有一票的权利,而其他成员也有同样一票的权利。为什么有的领导班子形成“一言堂”的局面呢?首先是第一把手缺乏民主作风,搞个人专断。同时,各个领导成员不能严肃负责地行使自己一票的权利,也是一个重要原因。如果每一个领导成员都能负责地行使自己一票的权利,特别是在某些人提出错误的主张时,大家都能坚持原则,不予支持,或给以否决,“一言堂”能搞得起来吗?个人专断能畅行无阻吗?那些错误的、颠倒是非的决定,能够轻而易举地作出来吗?因此,每一个领导成员,在决定重大问题时,一定要以极其郑重的态度行使自己一票的权利。
. . . .

马克思主义者要承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。个人权威只有与集体权威相结合,才能更好地发挥其作用。




Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Science with PRC Characteristics: CAS Academics Must "Toe Party Line"

 On September 6, 2023, the state sponsored media outlet Caixin published an article titled "China’s Top Academics Told to Toe Party Line With Public Statements." https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-09-06/chinas-top-academics-told-to-toe-party-line-with-public-statements-102101001.html

Some excerpts:

China’s top science academy has updated its code of conduct with new rules that require members ensure their public statements are “in line with the general policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” and prohibit openly expressing academic views unrelated to their field of expertise.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) code of conduct, which consists of 33 articles in six chapters, is an update of a version released nine years ago.
. . . .
Compared to the 2014 version, the latest code adds a chapter that specifies what CAS scientists are prohibited from doing.
Specifically, the new version the Chinese Academy of Sciences Code of Conduct (中国科学院院士行为规范(试行)) contains the following provisions:

Article 2: Abide by the Constitution, laws and regulations, improve political standing, enhance awareness of responsibility, respect moral integrity, model love of the Party and love of country, and be an example for scientific researchers.

Article 3: Set an example of cherishing the fatherland and serving the people. To improve our country's independent innovation capabilities, enhance our country's comprehensive national strength, promote our country's scientific and technological progress, economic development, ecological protection, and improvement of people's livelihood, and serve national security and national decision-making.

Article 19 Consciously accept social supervision and correctly address doubts and criticisms. When making public statements, be consistent with the major policies of the Party Central Committee.

第二条 遵守宪法和法律法规,提高政治站位,增强责任意识,尊崇道德操守,做爱党爱国的模范和科研人员的榜样。

第三条 做胸怀祖国、服务人民的表率。为提高我国自主创新能力,增强我国综合国力,推动我国科技进步、经济发展、生态保护、民生改善,服务国家安全和国家决策作出贡献。

第十九条  按规定出席评审会议,超脱部门、单位和学科的利益,郑重负责地履行选举权利。关注新兴和交叉学科的发展,注意学科平衡。

The previous version of the Code of Conduct (available here: http://www.jskx.org.cn/web/artlist/777928) did not contain any mention of the terms "Party" (党), "fatherland" (祖国), "national security" (国家安全) or "love the country" (爱国).

Friday, September 8, 2023

Academics Criticise Proposed Public Security Administrative Punishments Law Revisions

 As noted previously on this blog, in early Septmber 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress solicited public comment on proposed revisions to the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law through September 30, 2023. One of the most drastic proposals was the addition of a new Article 34:

Anyone who commits any of the following acts shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days, or fined not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 3,000 yuan; if the circumstances are relatively serious, they shall be detained for not less than ten days but not more than fifteen days, and may also be fined not more than 5,000 yuan:

(1) Engaging in activities in public venues that damage the environment and atmosphere of commemorating heroes and martyrs;

(2) Wearing or adorning, or forcing others to wear or adorn, clothing or symbols in public venues that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation;

(3) Producing, spreading, advocating, or disseminating articles or remarks that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation;

(4) Blaspheming or repudiating the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, advocating or beautifying aggressive wars and acts of aggression, disturbing the peace, and disrupting public order;

(5) Insulting, defaming, or otherwise infringing on the names, likenesses, reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, harming the public interest of society;

(6) Occupying, destroying, or defacing memorial facilities for heroes and martyrs.

On September 6, several PRC academics published statements criticizing Article 34.

Tong Zhiwei (童之伟), Professor of Constitutional Law, East China University of Political Science and Law

https://weibo.com/1837869620/Ni1q3pSIU

It is recommended that paragraphs 2-3 of Article 34 of the "Public Security Management Punishment Law" (revised draft) not be reviewed for the time being. Who determines what is the "spirit of the Chinese nation" and what procedures are followed? Who determines what are the "feelings of the Chinese nation" and what procedures are followed to recognize and determine it? These are huge problems that are almost impossible to implement in accordance with the principles of the rule of law. If the National People's Congress Standing Committee adopts this article according to the current draft, the practical consequence of its enforcement and adjudication will inevitably be the arrest and conviction of people in accordance with the will of senior officers, which will lead to untold troubles. The law is something that regulates human behavior, and scientific legislation requires legislators to always avoid making regulations on matters of "spirit" and "feelings."

建议暂不审议《治安管理处罚法》(修订草案)第34条第2-3款。“中华民族精神”由谁确认,按什么程序确认?“中华民族感情”由谁体认,按什么程序体认和确定?这都是极大的、几乎无法循法治原则操作的问题。若全国人大常委会按现在的草案通过该条,执法司法上必造成循长官意志抓人、定罪的实际后果,会贻害无穷。法律是调整人的行为的,科学立法要求立法者永远避免就“精神”和“感情”问题做规定。

 

Lao Dongyan (劳东燕), Professor of Criminal Law, Tsinghua University

https://weibo.com/7740539018/Ni1gijcyR 

A few days ago, I saw the content stipulated in Article 34 of the "Public Security Management Punishments Law (Revised Draft)". To be honest, I couldn't believe it. Today I went to the National People's Congress website to check the content of the draft, and I found out that it was indeed true. The draft is currently in the stage of soliciting opinions, and comments can be submitted on the "Draft Law Soliciting Opinions" column of the People's Congress website (www.npc.gov.cn/flcaw/).

Regarding the provisions of Items 2-3 of Article 34, I hold an objection and suggest that they be deleted. The main reasons are:

First, "harming the spirit of the Chinese nation and hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation" is a concept with extremely vague connotations. Different people will have completely different understandings and grasps. If it is used as a legal penalty standard, the problem will be the penalty standard will inevitably be too vague, which can easily lead to arbitrary expansion of the scope of administrative penalties.

Second, due to the ambiguity of punishment standards, it will inevitably lead to selective enforcement of administrative power, which is prone to abuse of power, thus creating a new space for the breeding of corruption, and may intensify conflicts between the police and the public, bringing new risks to social stability.

Third, state power will directly interfere in area of daily clothing of individual citizens, which raises  the obvious suspicion that there will be excessive intervention. National spirit and national feelings are matters at the cultural and spiritual level. The State can advocate them, but they should not be promoted through legal coercion.

Fourth, such legislative provisions may stimulate the wanton spread of populism or extreme nationalism, further deteriorate the public opinion environment in the public sphere, and unduly suppress the freedom of individuals to dress and speak in their daily lives. At the same time, it may also intensify antagonism with some countries, leading to diplomatic passivity.

些天就看到《治安管理处罚法(修订草案)》第34条规定的内容。老实说,我有些不敢相信,今天特地到中国人大网上查了草案的内容,才知道确实是真的。草案目前正处于征求意见阶段,可以在人大网“法律草案征求意见”栏提意见(www.npc.gov.cn/flcaw/)。

对于第34条第2-3项的规定,我持反对意见,建议删除为妥。主要理由是:

其一,“有损中华民族精神、伤害中华民族感情”是内涵极为模糊的概念,不同的人会有完全相异的理解与把握,将其作为法律上的处罚标准,必然面临处罚标准过于模糊的问题,容易造成任意扩张行政处罚的范围。

其二,由于处罚标准模糊,势必导致行政权力的选择性执法,容易出现滥权现象,从而为腐败的滋生创设新的空间,并且可能激化警民矛盾,给社会稳定带来新的风险。

其三,国家权力直接干预公民个人的日常穿着领域,明显有过度干预之嫌。民族精神与民族感情属于文化精神层面的事务,国家可以进行倡导,但不应通过法律强制的方式来推行。

其四,这样的立法规定可能会刺激民粹主义或极端民族主义情绪的肆意蔓延,进一步恶化公共领域的舆论环境,不当压制个人在日常穿衣与言论的自由空间。同时,也可能加剧与一些国家的对立情绪,导致外交上的被动。

Zhao Hong (赵宏), Professor at China University of Political Science and Law

https://i.ifeng.com/c/8SrCr8t1itK

An expansion of the scope of punishable offenses also means an expansion of the authority of the public security agencies. The law must establish corresponding restraint mechanisms for this expansion of authority, otherwise the crackdown on and suppression of emerging illegal activities is likely to breed unconstrained and uncontrolled powers.

The modern rule of law has never advocated a doctrine of creating felonies in the pursuit order and unity through heavy punishment. On the contrary, it is always vigilant against the expansion of state power. Expanding the scope of punishable offenses under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, the most punitive departmental law in the administrative field, must be approached with caution. It is necessary to clearly delineate the areas that require the intervention of the State's power to punish, and to avoid blurring the boundaries between law and morality.
. . . .
The newly added Article 34 inevitably brings to mind the precedent of a girl in Suzhou last year who accused of disturbing the peace by wearing a kimono. In that case, the individual was reprimanded by the police for wearing a kimono and taking photos in a Japanese-style street in Suzhou. After the individual expressed doubts, the police took her to the police station for investigation on suspicion of disturbing the peace. In the end, the party involved was not punished, but after the case was exposed it still had a relatively adverse social impact. Many Internet users commented that if taking pictures in a kimono can be understood as something damaging to the national spirit that should be punished by the police, then eating Japanese food, watching anime, or even learning the Japanese language will most likely be considered to offend national sentiments. If public officials can expand the interpretation and application of laws at will based on their personal preferences and ideas and creeds, then we are not far away from the situation where "if the authorities want to punish someone, they can always find grounds to frame them."

扩大处罚圈同样意味着公安机关权限的扩张,对这种权限的扩张,法律上必须配置以相应的约束机制,否则对新兴违法行为的打击和压制很有可能滋生出不受约束和控制的权力。

现代法治从来不倡导借由重罚重刑来追求秩序统一的重刑主义,相反它对国家权力的扩张时刻保持警醒。《治安管理处罚法》作为行政领域惩戒力度最重的部门法规范,在扩大处罚圈时必须慎之又慎,既要清晰地划定需要国家惩罚权介入的领域,也要避免法律与道德边界的消弭。
. . . .
新增的第34条不免让人联想到去年苏州女生穿和服被寻衅滋事的旧案。在该案中,当事人因在苏州日式风情街穿和服拍照遭到警察训斥,在当事人表示质疑后,警察以涉嫌寻衅滋事为由将其带至派出所调查。尽管当事人最终并未被处罚,但案件曝光后仍造成了较为恶劣的社会影响。许多网友评价,如果穿和服拍照都可以被理解为有损民族精神,就应被治安处罚,那么吃日料、看动漫,甚至是学日文,都极有可能会被认为是冒犯民族感情;如果公职人员可以凭个人偏好和观念信条,随意扩张解释和适用法律,那么我们距离“欲加之罪、何患无辞”也就不远了。


 


Saturday, September 2, 2023

Proposed Revisions to the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law and Their Impact on Freedom of Speech

Based on my research in compiling "State Prosecutions of Speech in the People's Republic of China" (https://ssrn.com/abstract=4168412), three of the six offenses commonly employed by the PRC government to prosecute speech appear in the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法). They are:

Article 25 (Disrupting Public Order by Disseminating Rumors). Example: In 2015, a court held the police did not violate Zhang Guanghong's rights when they jailed him for seven days and confiscated his computer on the grounds that he "used his own Sina Weibo to spread rumors and posts about the 'Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain' and distorted the image of those revolutionary martyrs." See "State Prosecutions," pp. 540-546.

Article 26 (Other Acts Disturbing the Peace). Example: In 2018, court found that police did not violate Feng Zhouguan's rights by subjecting him to five days administrative detention for referring to Xi Jinping as "fat pig," "steamed bun," and "spendthrift" in WeChat posts. The court rejected Feng's claim that "If the country's leader or his appointed attorneys want to play at litigation with [Feng] then [the police] should maintain a neutral stance because the [police] are agents of the country's judiciary." See "State Prosecutions," pp. 426-435.

Article 42 (Flagrantly Insulting or Concocting Facts to Defame Another Party). Example: In 2014, a court found that police did not violate Cheng Huaishan's rights when they subjected him to administrative detention for a single QQ post that the police decided "flagrantly humiliated leaders of the Party and the State" including Xi Jinping and other members of the Politburo Standing Committee. The court acknowledged that Cheng's post did not explicitly name any State leader, but "nevertheless included content that was clearly insulting and defamatory, and its target was both specific and unique, and based on the timing of the post and the related content, it was entirely obvious who it was about." See "State Prosecutions," pp. 416-420.

The Public Security Administrative Punishments Law is also used to punish individuals for using VPNs to access websites that the PRC government blocks using the Great Firewall. For examples, see "State Prosecutions," Chapter 16, pp. 641-643.

On September 1, 2023, the NPC Observer published an article (https://npcobserver.com/2023/09/01/china-npc-consultation-public-security-administration-company-vat-education-law/) stating that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) is soliciting public comment on proposed revisions to the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law through September 30, 2023. That announcement included a link to a PDF outlining the proposed revisions: https://npcobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Public-Security-Administrative-Punishments-Law-Draft-Revision.pdf.

In the table below I've pulled out the provisions that could potentially be used to prosecute speech related activities, along with English translations. Some initial impressions:

There are no significant changes to Articles 25, 26, and 42.

The draft adds new language stating explicitly that "The comprehensive management of social security adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China."

The draft adds this new language to Article 27 (now Article 30): "Producing, spreading, or possessing for the purpose of spreading items, information, and materials that promote cults and sects." This will no doubt be used to punish Falun Gong practitioners and house church members. For an example of how these acts have been punished under Criminal Law, see the case of Geng Doe, who in 2020 was found guilty of "Using a cult to undermine law enforcement" on the grounds that she invited three other people to come to her home to "practice Falun Gong and share their knowledge of Falun Gong with one another." "State Prosecutions," Chapter 7, pp. 252-255.

The draft adds an entirely new provision devoted to offenses against the image of the State, Article 34. Some of the draft language closely mirrors the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs Law (英雄烈士保护法), for example "Engaging in activities in public venues that damage the environment and atmosphere of commemorating heroes and martyrs," and "Insulting, defaming, or otherwise infringing on the names, likenesses, reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, harming the public interest of society." The remainder of Article 30, however, creates new offenses which will allow to the government to punish a broad range of pure speech conduct simply on the grounds that someone might find it offensive:

  • Clause (2) makes it illegal to wear or adorn clothing or symbols in public venues that "harm the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation." It is easy to see how this provision could be used by police in the PRC to jail individuals who engage in protest activities outside of the PRC who then return to the PRC.
  • Clause (3) makes it illegal to produce, advocate, or publish any remarks that are "detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation." It is easy to see how this provision could be used by police in the PRC to jail individuals who publish anything critical of the Communist Party of China or its leaders outside of the PRC who then return to the PRC.
  • Clause (4) makes it illegal to advocate or beautify "aggressive wars and acts of aggression." It seems unlikely that this will be used by police to punish state run media when they advocate aggression against Taiwan (see, e.g., "PLA Conducts Mock Strikes on Taiwan Island on 2nd Day of Encirclement Drills" https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202304/1288744.shtml). But it is easy to see how this provision could be used by police in the PRC to jail individuals who express support for freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.

ORIGINAL

REVISED

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

第六条


各级人民政府应当加强社会治安综合治理,采取有效措施,化解社会矛盾,增进社会和谐,维护社会稳定.

第二条


社会治安综合治理工作坚持中国共产党领导.


各级人民政府应当加强社会治安综合治理,采取有效措施,化解社会矛盾,增进社会和谐,维护社会稳定.


县级以上人民政府有关部门应当在各自职责范围内,做好社会治安综合治理相关工作.

Article 62


The comprehensive management of social security adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China.


People's governments at all levels shall strengthen comprehensive management of social security and take effective measures to resolve social conflicts, enhance social harmony, and maintain social stability.


Relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall carry out work related to the comprehensive management of social security within the scope of their respective responsibilities.

第二十五条


有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处五百元以下罚款;情节较轻的,处五日以下拘留或者五百元以下罚款:

()散布谣言,谎报险情、疫情、警情或者以其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的;

()投放虚假的爆炸性、毒害性、放射性、腐蚀性物质或者传染病病原体等危险物质扰乱公共秩序的;

()扬言实施放火、爆炸、投放危险物质扰乱公共秩序的.

第二十八条


有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处一千元以下罚款;情节较轻的,处五日以下拘留或者一千元以下罚款:

()散布谣言,谎报险情、疫情、警情或者以其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的;

()投放虚假的爆炸性、毒害性、放射性、腐蚀性物质或者传染病病原体等危险物质扰乱公共秩序的;

()扬言实施放火、爆炸、投放危险物质等行为扰乱公共秩序的.

Article 258. A person who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 500 yuan 1,000 yuan; and if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan 1,000 yuan:


(1) intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumors, making false reports of dangerous situations and epidemic situations or raising false alarms or by other means;

(2) disturbing public order by putting in fake hazardous substances such as explosive, toxic, radioactive and corrosive substances or pathogens of infectious diseases; or

(3) disturbing public order by actions such as threatening to set fire, set off explosions, or put in hazardous substances.

第二十六条


有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处五百元以下罚款;情节较重的,处十日以上十五日以下拘留,可以并处一千元以下罚款:

()结伙斗殴的;

()追逐、拦截他人的;

()强拿硬要或者任意损毁、占用公私财物的;

()其他寻衅滋事行为.

第二十九条


有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处一千元以下罚款;情节较重的,处十日以上十五日以下拘留,可以并处二千元以下罚款:

()结伙斗殴的;

()追逐、拦截他人的;

()强拿硬要或者任意损毁、占用公私财物的;

()其他寻衅滋事行为.

Article 269. A person who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 500 yuan 1,000 yuan; and if the circumstances are relatively serious, he shall be detained for not less 10 than days but not more than 15 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 1,000 yuan 2,000 yuan:


(1) gang-fighting;

(2) chasing or intercepting another person;

(3) forcibly taking and obstinately seizing, or willfully damaging and occupying public or private property; or

(4) other provocative acts.


第三十条


()制作、传播、为传播而持有宣扬邪教、会道门内容的物品、信息、资料的.

明知他人从事前款活动,为其提供条件的,依照前款的规定处罚.

Article 2730


(3) Producing, spreading, or possessing for the purpose of spreading items, information, and materials that promote cults and sects.


Whoever knowingly provides the conditions for others to engage in the activities in the preceding paragraph shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.


第三十四条


有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留或者一千元以上三千元以下罚款;情节较重的,处十日以上十五日以下拘留,可以并处五千元以下罚款:


()在公共场所从事有损纪念英雄烈士环境和氛围的活动的;

()在公共场所或者强制他人在公共场所穿着、佩戴有损中华民族精神、伤害中华民族感情的服饰、标志的;

()制作、传播、宣扬、散布有损中华民族精神、伤害中华民族感情的物品或者言论的;

()亵渎、否定英雄烈士事迹和精神,宣扬、美化侵略战争和侵略行为,寻衅滋事,扰乱公共秩序的;

()以侮辱、诽谤或者其他方式侵害英雄烈士的姓名、肖像、名誉、荣誉,损害社会公共利益的;

()侵占、破坏、污损英雄烈士纪念设施的.

Article 34


Anyone who commits any of the following acts shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days, or fined not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 3,000 yuan; if the circumstances are relatively serious, they shall be detained for not less than ten days but not more than fifteen days, and may also be fined not more than 5,000 yuan:


(1) Engaging in activities in public venues that damage the environment and atmosphere of commemorating heroes and martyrs;

(2) Wearing or adorning, or forcing others to wear or adorn, clothing or symbols in public venues that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation;

(3) Producing, spreading, advocating, or disseminating articles or remarks that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation;

(4) Blaspheming or repudiating the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, advocating or beautifying aggressive wars and acts of aggression, disturbing the peace, and disrupting public order;

(5) Insulting, defaming, or otherwise infringing on the names, likenesses, reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, harming the public interest of society;

(6) Occupying, destroying, or defacing memorial facilities for heroes and martyrs.


Translation: Xu Zhiyong's Statement in His Own Defense

 Source: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/694913.html China Digital Times: On April 10, 2023, Xu Zhiyong, a well-known human rights de...