ON THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR THE OPPOSITION
blatantly
WANGDAN
and
arbitrarily
Although the freedom of speech is an important principle contain in the constitution. it has been violated. fested in actual political life by the illegal and violent suppression of opposition voices by the authorities. These inci- dents
suppression reveal this
world
This is clearly mani-
of
formula: truth
.
+
view of the proletariat = Marxism world view of the Party the pronouncements of the Party's leading institutions the high- est leader. Obviously such an argument does not hold and there is no need to elaborate. Restrictions on the opposition's freedom of speech may be due to the following reasons:
1/ the ruling Party or the autho- rities represent the interests of the people because they grasp the truth:
27 the views of the opposition are entirely ridiculous and would lead to the most undesira- ble consequences in society, therefore as quide to the people's
thinking.
the Party should restrict the spread of these opposition ideas.
3/ the growth of the opposition into
a major force will disturb prosperity and unity and the normal order of political develo- pment will be disrupted. The following
truth.
or the
a
can
Lo
may be said refute the first argument: A/ There is no absolute truth and truth is not the singular possession of one group. Certain- ly, the proletariat may grasp the
Yet the capitalist class
minority
also grasp
truth. This is the meaning
"everyone of
is equal front in
of truth". Even if views of Che opposition obviously flawed. it cannot be said with certainty that there exists no element of truth in their ideas. The truth ought not to be suffocated and truth should not be weakened by monopa- listic means.
the
are
B/ Anyone who grasps the truth will not suppress opposing views. the contrary. the spreading fallacious thinking should recognition
On
of
lead
of
to the
all truths
conflicts
there
were
wider a truth. This is because
arise
their out of with fallacies.
no confrontation
with fallacies, truths
If
would
lose the base for their forma- tion. It can be seen.
therefore,
that the suppression of oppost- tion voices is sign both of
a weakness and
lack a
of confi- dence. It obstructs the spread
of the truth.
C/
The
people's interests are diverse. All strata of society
harbour
their vested interests.
of
The ruling Party that represents the interests
the people cannot represent the interests of everyone. At most it represent only the majority of the people. However the legitimate interest
any citizen should
not
of
he
denied.
through
Who
can
view of
It should be represented channels. permitted
certain that the opposition may not some
of the people?
be the represent the interests of small section
Under such circumstances uncertainty, the
of
be
can they be punished? With oppos- ition views not allowed to circu-
inte freely.
is
any political system which stable and unified. On
ones
are
we
ten
years
the of
suppression of opposition views would the suppression of the people's demands to have their own interests satisfied.
own
a
D/ No party is made up of identi- cal individuals. As political organisation of the masses, it will contain people of differ- ent sorts, including those who would want to use power to dis- Lort the truth and to fool the masses in order to satisfy their greed and ambition. If no outside voices exist to criticise and to supervise, then those people, hungry with ambition, will fearlessly
their pursue course to distort the truth. Even if there is
Internal an checking mechanism within Party, it
be controlled may by them and thus become ineffect- ive. In reality, China is monopo- listically governed by one Party and it is not possible to evolve
an
а
Thus
effective supervisory mecha- nism within the governing Party. That is to say the suppression of opposition views provides fertile ground for those bad elements who operate by infiltra- ting the Party. What most damages the governing authority of Party originates within from its own decay and corruption. This is especially true for autocracies in peace-time. we can see that the suppression of opposition views
promotes the distortion of truth. E/ It is permissible to criticise truth. In actual fact, truth does not just refer to grand macro theories or behavioural principles. Truth can include "statements that are self-evident" like "when man has eaten enough, he will not be hungry": As far as truths like these are concerned. I could go anywhere saying that man can be hungry even if he has eaten enough, and I still would not be punished or restricted. At worst 1 would be treated as an idiot and ignored. Why is this so? Obvious- ly, because this kind of opposi- tion view is so absurd. However if opposition views generate confusion in thinking, it necess- arily means that certain aspects of those views are acceptable. Thus two questions arise. Firstly a minority can grasp the truth. Secondly, fallacious views which hove 3 certain value, but not absurd views.
punished by being restricted. This is very unfair. Communism is also truth; yet it cannot be criticised. This too is unfair. These two states of unfairness arise out of decisions made arbitrarily by authority. And how can things that have to be bolstered by arbitrary force be regarded
as truth?
are
The following may be said to refute the second argument:
A/ Even if We recognise that the
government, and the ruling Party have the responsibility to punish deviant and unhealthy ideas and to provide the called "political leadership".
SO-
bc
of
deviant not being punished in ge time with the result that the ple's thinking may suffer subsequently. Shouldn't the suppression the freedom of specch by the government and the ruling Party held responsible for this? We can see that the suppression of opposition views succeeds only in condoning any fallacious ideas contained in opposition views. B/ The government rules as repre- sentative of the will of the citizenry. It should
based be on mutual trust between the government and the citizens. The fear that opposition views may create undesirable conse- quences obviously shows 21 mis- trust of and contempt for the judgement of the citizenry. Only a government that does not subscribe to the idea that "the people's eyes are clear and bright" will attempt to suppress the views of the opposi~ tion.
C/ No matter how fallacious the views of the opposition, they should be allowed to freely propagate them,
Whether or not they are falla- cious is only the judgement
of the censorship authorities until such time as they become known. The value judgement on તે Cheory or belief varies and no single person or group can represent all. As a result the judegment of the censorship authorities cannot be representa- tive of the judgement of the majority of the people. It can be seen therefore that only when ideas are freely allowed to circulate will it be possible identify whether they are correct or not.
في انا
D/ The freedom of speech, like the right to own personal proper- ty, is an inviolable human right. Marx himself likened the freedom to associate, to publish and to assemble (certainly the free- dom of speech is included) to "soil. air. light and venue". This is a very apt analogy. So even views opposing the exist- ing system should be allowed to circulate freely. Even vandals, idiots and the mentally ill enjoy the right to air. soil and light; surely they should have the freedom; everyone should have freedom.
E/ If the views of the opposition create extremely undesirable
it
consequences,
the government can wield the power vested in by the people to reprimand and to punish. But there should not be any prior restraint or limitation.
The following may be said to refute the third argument: The functioning of อ political structure will involve a lot of contradictions and only when these contradictions are mutually checked can the structure operate properly. On the contrary, if one contradiction backed up by violence prevails over another contradiction,
Imbalance structure inevitable results. And society will experi- Lurmoil. For forty years have suppressed opposition views and struck at dissenting forces and yet We have not sot
in
ence
IS
when opposition views are suppressed, and their propagation denied, such views will be har- poured secretly without general knowledge. The consequence that it is not clear which "houghts are deviant. How then
the
an
contrary,
had Curmo The Cultural Revolution), IL Cá thu be scen that only when opposition views are allowed to freely circulate and opposi- tion parties as well as opposi- tion within the Party are allowed to exist will democratic politics be guaranteed. Only then will society be able to maintain the normal orderliness of politi- cal life properly. On the contrary. the suppression the
of the
freedom of speech is real cause of social turmoil. It is to be pointed Out that we do not support absolute free- dom of speech. Given that inter- nal restraints always exist in any development. it is not possible to have absolute freedom But we object to all restraints imposed from the outside, especi- ally those imposed on US by violent means.
In the present new enlightenment movement in China, the educated elite must first be concerned with
the freedom of speech. They must have the courage to level criticisms at injustices including the decisions and behaviour of political parties and the government. This is because we intellectuals can through our ideas and speeches, effect social changes. If the freedom of speech is lost. intel- lectuals will have no way to promote the process of democrati- sation. We shall not be able to maintain our critical attitude and independent standpoint. We shall just be adjuncts to the Party and the government and our fate will not have improved over the last forty years.
This essay originally appears in "New May Fourth" no. 1 published by Wan Dan and friends in April 1989.
A POEM BY WANG DAN
On the days without cigarettes I am never by your side As in my heart You
have
always
as my one, my only Only ray of hope
been regarded
In
darkness the road does stretch to meet the dawn
not
My streams of thought are down
laid
On the street of the grey little
town
You don't seem to like the flight of the doves without а blue sky
No cigarettes in the hand Strike match and reluctance
а
To smoke what will Drizzling
smoke
your
never
return
When you think of me Again on this day without cigarettes (Wang
name Written 1989.
Dan "The
used
the pen Son of Star") before 4th June
the
THE STAR OF HOPE RISES IN EASTERN EUROPE
WANG DAN Thirty-three years ago. secret report of General- Secretary Kruschev to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Polish-Hungarian Incidents and the "Hundred Flowers" Movement were brilliant lights in the International Communist Movement which was then on the verge of darkness. What is regrettable is that there followed a prolonged period of militaristic autocratic rule. Today, what is happening in Eastern Europe enthuses us once again that freshness of spring 1456 is permeating the air. On the tenth of Feb 1789, the Social Workers' Party of Ilungary held its plenum session and,
in
its communique, the 14 56 Nagy Affair was acknowledged as a "genuine people's uprising". The same congress affirmed the place of the multi-party system and pluralism within the
political system. In Hungary, many parties announced their formation or resumption of their activities. The non-Party members of the parliament even formed "non-Party faction". What should be noted is that these develop- ments have taken place with the approval of the Party and after appeals from the people. In Poland. the round table meet- ings have entered а stage of concrete negotiations. Opposition like Solidarity organisations and the Writers' Union have been legalised and they have
massive actions. organised
On the 10th of February, Polish Prime Minister Jaruzelski indicated in a speech that the United Polish Workers' Party is "giving
monopoly On up political power.
In
its
Czechoslovakia,
Europe
should
two
ways: firstly.
or
although
the authorities have been cautious and somewhat indecisive, the masses have acted frequently and forcefully. Recently over one thousand cultural workers petitioned the Prime Minister to demand the release of the students arrested in the Prague demonstrations in mid-January. What is
in happening
Eastern inspire US in dictatorship by one party
any similar system of rule by whatever name) should be abandoned. The imple- mentation of democratic politics is the major trend in socialist It is obvious that development. the refusal to thoroughly reform the political system in an attempt to protect vested interests against the tide of the day. Secondly, the very promising developments in Poland,
and Czechoslovakia must Hungary be attributed to the unceasing efforts of the opposition forces
the inside
and
within Party the population. Their untiring efforts over a long period pursuit of freedom of speech and the protection of human
is rights
for responsible creation of a healthy political
Once
this atmosphere. forcefully testifies
the fact that democracy is not given from above but must
fought for from
the below by
people.
process. the elite must act as the
is running
In the
again,
to
be
garde and play a leading role. We fcel that the
road taken by the Eastern European nations of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslo- vakia is tho only Way through
which socialist
be saved
China
countries
may from a serious crisis. should learn from the political development of these three countries. Let us be direct if and only if in the near future China steers itself step by step onto road of development like that of
Eastern European countries, will it be to successfully highly democratic developed country.
3
possible establish a
and
highly
This essay originally appeared in "New May Fourth" po. 1 published by Wan Dan and friends in April 1989.
Wang Dan was one of the prominent student leaders of the democracy movement. He is twenty-one years old and was a first year student in the History Department of Beijing University. Before the April/May movement, Wang was already known as an organiser
of "Democracy Saloon", a discuss- ion forum at the Beijing Univer- sity. Wang and his fellow students
also published the New May Fourth magazine in April, exploring the theory and practice of democracy. The two articles published here have been taken from the first and only issue of the New May Fourth magazine. Wang was one of the major parti- cipant of the
strike hunger and occupation at Tiananmen. After the June 4th crackdown, Wang Dan
on the most wanted list of 21 students. He was on the run in the provinces but decided to return to Beijing. Seeking help from Taiwanese journalist Huang Debei. his whereabouts became known to government agents. He was arrested
on 2nd July. It is believed that he is being held at Chin Shing Prison and has been severely tortured.
was
Please write
the Chinese embassy in your country to demand Wang Dan's immediate release. Take
also other
necessary and appropriate actions.
to
Democracy Wall is an occasional poster/information sheet support of the democracy ments in China and Hong Kong.
in
move-
in
the
民主牆
WALL
educated
avant-
DEMOCRACY
No:2