Don’t Postpone the Question of Freedom to the Question of Free-trade

On the December 27, 2009 the Chinese Premier (the same one in my essay “Shoe, Prostitute and Dictator”) had a rare interview with the state-run Xinhua news agency. In this more propaganda razzle-dazzle interview show, which, according to Xinhua, had nearly two months of preparation and more than 300 participants, the Premier of this People’s Republic did everything he could: defend China’s role in Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 2009; resist the calling on Chinese Yuan appreciation; blame protectionism in trade; but no topics on freedom. The message is clear: the world is wrong, only the Chinese Communist is right; if anything goes wrong in China, blame it to the world. Many Chinese buy it for they are so eager to restore their ancient exalted position that they would rather be blind loyalists and sacrifice their freedom.

Yes, there is a voice of protectionism in America, but the free trade policies have been America’s trade policies for a long history. The Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854 played an important role in Japan’s modernization; but not the Open Door Policy in 1899, until the neoliberalism, China becomes a modernizing country except for democracy. Despite when Japan was booming, America had the Great Depression, and despite when China is booming, America has the Great Recession, the policies of free trade in America will continue. Sure, the Americans love free trade; but don’t forget that the Americans love freedom more. Protectionism is a new way referring mercantilism and China is practicing mercantilism all the time.

The Chinese Communist does not talk about freedom because it lacks conscience. The Chinese people don’t dare to talk about freedom, not because they lack conscience (although it usually needs to arouse), but the Chinese Communist doesn’t allow them to. In America, when the people’s consciences are aroused, people defend their freedom, like the Boston Massacre in 1770. That is why Henry Thoreau (1817 – 1862) focused on conscience for his appeal to anti-slavery and anti-war. He questioned, “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?” But, in China, just having conscience to fight for freedom is not enough; don’t you see those Chinese conscientious dissidents living in dungeon for their “subversive” convicts? To add courage on this cause is not enough, too; don’t you see that bloodbath on the June Fourth Massacre in 1989? An international society coalition is necessary; but it constantly pains me when an American “Yoda” was swiftly sent for these Chinese Communist butchers after the June Fourth Massacre. Consistency is essential, not only because it is a virtue, it is a duty; but also because we know that government come and government gone, it is people who are still there. With “Conscience”, “Courage”, “Coalition” and “Consistency”, the Chinese people definitely can let the Chinese Communist learn: one “subversive” convicted by the Chinese Communist is too many; one drop of blood shed by the Chinese Communist is too much; don’t “postpone the question of freedom to the question of free-trade,” (Henry Thoreau, 1817 – 1862) now.

Silence from the Chinese people and the international society only emboldens the Chinese Communist. The world saw the Chinese Communist behaved badly: It acted like a demagogue in Copenhagen 2009 with those poorer countries, even played a walkout; one of the Chinese delegates said that China came to Copenhagen was to declare, not to negotiate. This reminds me Yosuke Matsuoka (1880 – 1946) of Japan, who walked out of the League of Nations in 1933. It acted like a paranoid on the calling on the Chinese Yuan appreciation; it accused that such callings are a conspiracy to keep China under-developing, ignoring the world economy is suffering by this China’s stand. It acted like a sophist for blaming other countries playing protectionism while it itself is practicing mercantilism, and wanted free trade by postponing the question of freedom. It “plainly did not know how to treat me [a Chinese dissident], but behaved like persons who are underbred” (Henry Thoreau, 1817 – 1862): it committed the Christmas Day sentence to him in 2009. This type of done nasty things on Holiday reminds me that Huang ShiRen in the Chinese play “White-Haired Girl”, who committed horrendous things at a Chinese New Year.

Yes, the Chinese Communist is a leviathan, yet, “we do not believe that a tide rises and falls behind every man which can float the British [now the Chinese Communist] Empire like a chip, if he should ever harbor it in his mind.” (Henry Thoreau, 1817 – 1862)