A Few Words - In Thinking of Zhu Chengzhi
Dec. 19, 2012  @Arundahti

It has been 194 days since Zhu Chengzhi was detained by the police in Hunan Province China. His “crime” was to upload several photos and videos of his late friend who died in a suspicious way. Days ago, people in twitter said Mr. Zhu was expected to be released on Dec. 15, 2012. I checked daily and he was still detained and people are calling for his release daily.

In the past 194 days, many things happened in the world. Mr. Obama got re-elected; Mo Yan won Nobel literature prize and Tibet continues burning.

If it seems that ordinary people’s attention shifted along the news, these few words I am writing is to say: No. We cannot forget all these righteous people.  

People such as Zhu Chengzhi, Hu Jia, Ai Weiwei, Liao Yiwu (and the list can go long)  are the conscience of China. Some call them “dissidents” which I completely disagree. These are the best of the people who stand for courage, morality and everything that should be mainstream values.

Ordinary people like me can get intimidated easily. If I sense any danger, my instinct is to disappear and to hide somewhere. I often excuse my cowardliness by providing myself numerous justifications. And the number 1 justification is: look, how cruel the regime treated people. Accounts of the brutal treatment of female prisoners in culture revolution made me puke. Solzhenitsyn said: the soviets rule the society by two measures: violence and lies. When lies were no longer effective, people see only violence, ugly violence.

And there is no 2 justification: there are many people around. Other people are more brave and more powerful. Let’s wait for them and give support.

So I pass my days with such thoughts in my mind and shift my attention and explore new interests. Yet, there is deep guilt and fear for their wellness: we cannot lose these people. They are like our fathers and our brothers. If we let this happen, what are we? What is the meaning of our life? To be completely devoid of meaning, to count how much money, how many houses you can own, or to see how many women or men you can attract? Will this be a good life in America? Maybe, it is a “good” life. But it is a life with phantom. We do not have souls.

Just look at Mo Yan. What a miserable creature. What is he afraid of? He has won Nobel Prize and he has certain freedom to say things and do things. But now look at him, in his fat shapeless body hides a timid little serf without dignity -- and he delivered a speech: I want to tell stories. What kind of stories can a man without any courage tell?! Lust, violence, lust lust,  violence violence in some fictitious world. That is all this eunuch can tell.

Do we want to be Mo Yan? Certainly not.

Or do we want to be consumed by guilt for not speaking out or thinking about people we respect?

Therefore we all face these choices: to be a person we despise, to be silent and suffer guilt and suffer depression. Or to voice our concern and show our solidarity with these “dissidents”.

I have no choice but solidarity with these “dissidents” - the best of the best.

Free all these people - the conscience of China.