Kevininfuckinpudong

Came across this letter by Ding Zilin, and figured I'd translate it for a different perspective on Gao Zhisheng's hunger strike. Don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but guess it's worth a read. Dear Honorable Gao Zhisheng, Even though we don’t know one another, I’ve still decided to go ahead and write this letter to you. I’ve already pondered this for quite a few days now. Every time that I read about your hunger strike to oppose government oppression and protect our civil rights, I can’t seem to escape having a type of ominous feeling. It is as if I have returned to those restless days sixteen years ago, when the sirens of ambulances carrying hunger striking students rushed from Tiananmen Square to hospitals all around the city, as the sharp cry of each siren strained my heart and soul. Eventually, the army entered the city of Beijing and slaughtered thousands of peaceful people with machine guns and tanks. Amongst the dead was my son, who was just 17 years old at the time. This event had such an impact on my life. If we are talking about loathing for this evil government, I can assure that my hatred is even a hundred times stronger than yours; if we are talking about loss of hope for freedom in China, I can assure you that my sense of despair at the current situation is even a hundred times stronger than yours; and if we are talking about sympathy for the weak and downtrodden victims of our society, I can assure you that I am no less sympathetic for their cause than you are. I recognize the brutality of this government clearly, and when I see you and others around you being persecuted, I empathize with you. This is because from the 1990’s to this day, I have had similar experiences. However, I must say that I would still encourage you not to go on with this hunger strike. Why? I am not sure what will come of this hunger strike: is a life-and-death struggle really what we are looking for at this moment? Have you considered this? What if another tragedy occurs like the massacre of 16 years ago? How could we explain another tragedy like that to the mothers and wives of those killed? Gao Zhisheng, you are a lawyer, an outstanding human rights lawyer. We certainly can’t say that there are many people like you in China today: in fact, there are not enough. I must say that I don’t believe that your hunger strike will help us reach the goal of protecting the people’s rights. However, I do believe that every human rights case needs to be resolved according to proper legal procedures. So it’s really hard for me to understand why you have abandoned your legal work and begun this political campaign. It seems like you have mixed your rights work together with politics. In my opinion, such politicization is not an ideal choice. This will create risks for people trying to protect our rights, risks that they will find hard to bear, while also moving you further and further away from the grassroots, from the people that really need your help. You have said that your hunger strike will fight the declining morale and disgrace of those fighting to protect our rights. But in my opinion, lawyers who dedicate all of their talent and intellect to their work, and really give all that they have to each of their cases, are the ones who are really worthy of our respect. They don’t always succeed, but every case they participate in contributes a little to the goal of building a society ruled by law. Fundamentally speaking, a lawyer-based drive to protect people’s rights can serve to awaken people’s knowledge of the law and their understanding of their rights, moving beyond all of the beautiful-sounding and grandiose concepts of the past. In the long term, there are no good prospects for a nation lacking respect for the law. Such a nation will never be able to escape the vicious cycle of order and disorder that characterized the history of imperial China. Gao Zhisheng, perhaps from your perspective, we mothers and wives who lost our relatives 16 years ago may seem totally useless: we have a profound sense of hatred for this government, yet we do not go out and actively seek any type of real revenge. It’s true, ever since members of our family were killed 16 years ago, we have not set a foot in Tiananmen Square, we have not organized the relatives of massacre victims to petition outside Zhongnanhai, and we have never encouraged anyone to go on a hunger strike. Our methods may seem ridiculous: every year we write one or two letters to the NPC, CPPCC, and the leaders of the state and government, requesting that the NPC review the issue of June Fourth in accordance with the law, and find a just resolution to the issue of June Fourth through consultations and dialogue. We have, accordingly, made three requests: 1) a reassessment of June Fourth; 2) reasonable compensation to June Fourth victims and their families; and 3) punishment in accordance with the law for those responsible for the 1989 Massacre. These requests will form the basis of any future dialogue with the government. However, eleven years have passed since our first letter, without a single reply from the government. So, the question is, should we continue? The answer to is “of course we should.” Because we believe that there will eventually be a day when the government will have to sit down and have a dialogue with us… Gao Zhisheng, China can’t take another mass movements. Even something like the democracy movement in Tiananmen in 1989 just can’t be repeated. You have said that abandoning this hunger strike would be equal to abandoning the dignity of mankind and the defense of truth; and equal to submitting to a despotic government. I think that this statement of yours was a little too extreme. There are others who say that if people can’t even do a hunger strike for 24 hours, then what good can they do? There are even those who say that, in this hunger strike, a moment of weakness can determine the difference between a real man and a dog. Such comments are, in my opinion, irresponsible. As I see it, freedom will be won inch by inch, and civil rights will be won in a step by step manner. The era of individual heroics, in which a new world is supposed to suddenly come crashing down from the sky, has already passed. The dynamics of our current era could be described as a chess match between different interest groups: the key is how you play. Everyone knows that the Party has begun to resemble a Mafia: there’s no denying this. But we need to replace their savagery with more civilized behavior, applying pressure until those in power have no choice but to obey the rules of human civilization. It will be hard, but we can’t stop trying. Gao Zhisheng, I have noted that people throughout the entire world have joined the ranks of your hunger strike. This must be very encouraging, and thanks should be given to them for their support. However, it’s clear that the true burden is not on their shoulders. They are unable to share any of the risk and possible outcome of all this, which, should any arise, we here in China would be unable to avoid. Here, I would like to take this opportunity to call on all of our friends overseas to care for Gao Zhisheng, and to not give him any more pressure. Give him some room to take a step back from what he has been doing, and to make some changes. We still have a long road ahead of us before we can reach a truly free China: there’s no express route to our final destination. Finally, I would like to say that everyone has the right to make their own choices in life, and I don’t want to try to force you to do anything. All that I said above is a recommendation, based on some concerns that I have. I hope you can give them some consideration. Ding Zilin