Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1118-W750

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1118-W750

Release Date: June 23, 2018

发布日：2018年6月23日

Topic: Retrospect of the 1989 Democracy Movement in China -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：八九年民主运动回顾 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

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Retrospect of the 1989 Democracy Movement in China

-- Wei Jingsheng

Older people still remember the massacre that took place on June 4th in 1989 and the democratic movement that touched the hearts of people throughout China and the world. Twenty-nine years have passed and many young people may not have any impression. In short, it was a great democratic movement which ended with an extremely tragic massacre. The reason for its failure is still the subject of people's thinking and discussion.

At that time, I was still serving a sentence in prison and I did not personally participate in this movement. In recent years, I often am recognized on the street and in restaurants. Yet many people mistakenly thought that I participated in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, even praising me as a hero of Tiananmen Square. Actually, I was just watching the news on Tiananmen Square in front of the TV at that time. Later, I listened to many witnesses telling the story of that year.

Although I did not attend in person, this democratic movement is indeed related to me, because it started with Professor Fang Lizhi and other celebrities in the scientific, technological, cultural and art worlds to wrote to Deng Xiaoping and asked him to release me. Therefore, the authorities treated all my relatives as "family members of turmoil" -- refusing to allow them to study abroad and even sending special agents to monitor them day and night, which wasted a lot of hard-earned money by the Chinese taxpayers. According to reliable sources, the task force established in charge of my case since 1979 is still there. How much taxpayer's money has been wasted? But this account should not be counted under my name. After all, I am a victim.

The old policemen who were accompanying me watching TV at that time were worried: how could the young students in TianAnMen Square be wasting their time there without taking measures? Do not they know that the Communist regime would open fire against them? They asked me: How could these young people be so ignorant that they may think that the Communist Party will really negotiate with them, and think that they are all good children? I was speechless. Was it not true that we were all so naive when we were young? These policemen also asked: Why are there are no adults helping them with advice and taking the helm? I was still speechless and had no choice but to say: I have been locked up for ten years. How do I know?

After a long time and some thoughtful thinking, I found that these old guys inadvertently told about the basic mistakes of this movement. The first was: Most people at that time had an illusion about the Communist Party, and thus adopted the strategy to reason with unreasonable authority. As Mahatma Gandhi once said: When a group of bandits enters the village, you cannot reason with them. But you can only use weapons to expel them. The objects of pacifism are gentlemen. The bandits only recognize violence.

The second mistake was the irresponsibility of the intellectual elite. They led the ideological trend of democracy and freedom. They were credited with setting off a campaign to strive for democracy and freedom. However, when young people were facing the danger, when the movement went further into the need for strategic guidance, they should not have just stood by watching the excitement going on and even declaring that they were only responsible for thinking and not responsible for actions. This kind of cowardly act of renunciation of responsibility is an important reason why this massive movement lost its direction.

Of course, cowardice was not just limited to the intellectual elites. The weakness and incompetence of the reformists within the Communist Party was also an important cause of the loss of direction of the movement and resulted in the eventual tragic ending. This group mainly refers to Zhao Ziyang, the general secretary who was continually being touted, as well as the officials in his faction. Among them, there were even informers who jumped into the opposite camp and thus got promoted and even made a fortune, which itself illustrates the unreliability of the people who are really speculators in the officialdom in China.

Even if it was not for the sake of democracy and freedom, and was just for the sake of survival and the interests of the reformists, they should not have given up their responsibilities. Their concessions to Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng led to the annihilation of all the reformists. The result was a political backsliding, an economic retrogression, and a backward of culture and arts, and even more retrogression of ideology and speech that resulted in terror in the whole country. The mainstream trend of China's reform and opening up came to an abrupt end, with these reformists coming to a miserable end. So the weakness and incompetence did not only harm others and themselves, but also mislead the country and the people.

When we were called as the Sick man of East Asia, it was not referring to the physical body, but was referring to this kind of national wimp character. If this nationwide wimp character does not get reformed and making progress forward, then indeed this nation has no hope. With the past lesson so close to us, Xi Jinping dared to restore a set of policies for fascist autocracy. That is because he precisely knows the slavish nature of the Chinese people, along with their wimp character.

To hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2018/WeiJS180530on1989movement.mp3

(Written and recorded on May 30, 2018. Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)

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中文版

Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1118-W750

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1118-W750

Release Date: June 23, 2018

发布日：2018年6月23日

Topic: Retrospect of the 1989 Democracy Movement in China -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：八九年民主运动回顾 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问：

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2018/report2018-06/WeiJS180623on1989movementA1118-W750.htm

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八九年民主运动回顾

-- 魏京生

年纪稍长的人都还记得，一九八九年六月四号发生的大屠杀，以及在这之前牵动全中国乃至全世界人心的那场民主运动。已经过去了二十九年，很多年轻人可能没什么印象。总之那是一场伟大的民主运动，也是异常惨烈的大屠杀。而其失败的原因，至今仍是人们思考讨论的话题。

我当时还在监狱中服刑，没有亲身参与这场运动。最近这些年，经常在大街上和餐馆里被人认出来，不少人误以为我参加了八九民运，还说你们都是天安门的英雄。其实我仅仅是在电视机前关注着天安门广场上的事情，事后听许多亲历者讲述了当年的故事。

我虽然没有亲身参加，但这场民主运动确实和我有关。因为它的起因，就是从方励之先生和许多科技界、文化艺术界的名人，给邓小平写信要求释放我而起。所以当局把我的亲属都当作动乱家属处理，不准他们出国留学，并派特务日夜监视。浪费了不少人民的血汗钱。据可靠消息，针对我的专案组从1979年至今仍未撤销，这得浪费多少纳税人的钱呀？不过这笔帐可不能记在我头上，我是被害人。

当时陪着我看电视的老警察们都很着急：那些小青年们怎么没完没了的耗在广场上撒娇，就不知道采取措施，就不知道共产党会开枪？他们问我：这些小青年这么不懂事，可能以为共产党真的会和他们谈判，以为他们都是好孩子吧？我无言以对。我们年轻的时候不是也这么天真吗？他们又问：就没有成年人帮他们出谋划策，掌掌舵吗？我还是无言以对，只好说：我关了十年了，怎么知道？

又过了很长时间，经过思考，我发现老家伙们无意间说出了这场运动的基本错误。第一条就是：当时的大多数人都对共产党抱有幻想，采取的策略是和不讲理的人讲道理。就像圣雄甘地说过的那样：当一群土匪进村烧杀抢劫的时候，你不能和他们讲理，只能拿起武器驱逐他们。和平主义的对象是君子绅士，土匪只承认暴力。

第二条错误，就是知识精英们的不负责任。你们引导了民主自由的思想潮流，掀起了争取民主自由的运动，功不可没。但是当年轻人面对危险的时候，当运动深入到需要策略指导的时候，你们却站在旁边看热闹。甚至说我只负责思想，不负责行动。这种放弃责任的懦夫行为，是这场声势浩大的运动陷入看不清方向的重要原因。

当然，懦夫行为不仅仅是知识精英们的问题。党内改革派的软弱无能，也是造成运动失去方向，最终悲惨落幕的重要原因。这主要指的就是不断被人吹捧的赵紫阳总书记，以及他这一派官员。其中甚至有跳槽告密，升官发财之人，说明靠投机拍马构成的官场中人的不可靠。

就算不为了民主自由，为了你们改革派自身的生存和利益，也不应该放弃责任，首鼠两端。你们向邓小平、李鹏让步，导致改革派全军覆没。结果是政治倒退，经济倒退，文化艺术倒退，思想言论更是倒退以至于全国上下一片恐怖。中国改革开放的大趋势戛然而止，你们自己也没有什么好下场。懦弱无能不仅害人害己，也误国误民。

人家骂我们东亚病夫，其实不是指的肉身，而是指的这种全民窝囊废性格。这种国民性不改革进步，这个民族确实没什么希望。习近平敢于在殷鉴不远的情况下，恢复法西斯专制的一套政策，正是看准了中国人的奴性，以及窝囊废的性格。