三月以来，随着奥运火炬在各国传递的过程中因西藏事件而不断受到抵
3·14事件后，中共高官张庆黎在镇压藏人的动员报告中号召民众对
4月9日，在旧金山的火炬传递活动中，一个名叫郭平的抗议者被一群
4月19日，火炬传到泰国的曼谷,名叫岑冠和李志刚的两个民运人士
来自中国山东的王千源年仅二十岁，现在美国杜克大学读书
更让我惊讶的是，昨天在我的中文课堂上，有个学生告诉我
以上的事实说明，中共政府对人权的侵犯已遍及全球
请各位向那边看，就在我们身边，耶鲁的中国留学生正在利用他们在自
通识教育要把你们培养成善于思考的公民，要你们对任何集团的主张和
Human Rights Torch Rally, April 26, 2008, New Haven
Zhengguo Kang
In 2001, when the Chinese Communist government made its bid for the Summer Olympic Games, the leadership promised to the international community that they would improve China human rights practices and allow greater freedom of the press in China. Eight years have passed and the Olympic Games is about to take place in Beijing. So far, we haven’t seen any improvement in Beijing’s human rights record. On the contrary, the situation there has deteriorated. To position itself as a rising power and showcase to the world its newly gained prosperity, the Chinese government rounded up dissidents and tightens its control of information flow on the internet.
Since March, the protests that followed the Olympic torch by human rights and pro-Tibetan activists have embarrassed and angered the Chinese government. The leadership not only initiated crackdown on dissenters at home. They have also expanded their attacks against those who are critical of the regime to overseas.
In a recent speech relating to the riot in Tibet, Zhang Qingli, a senior Chinese Communist Party official called on the Chinese public to start a people’s war against Tibetans. What is a “people’s war?” It will be like the Mao’s Cultural Revolution when young people were mobilized to use violence against individuals who dared to challenge Mao. You can now see the “People’s War” is being played out overseas. Many so-called “patriots” or pro-China activists in the United States blatantly abuse the freedom of speech granted in this country by stifling the free speech of others.
On April 9, during the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, a group of “patriotic” Chinese assaulted a human rights activist Guo Ping. The pro-China group punched Guo severely. His neck suffered serious swelling and bleeding. Two American torch bearers were forced out of the procession after they attempted to show a Tibetan flag. They also received phones threats at home.
On April 19, as the Olympic torch reached Bangkok, Thailand, two pro-democracy activists named Cen Guan and Li Zhigang were arrested by the Thai police when they staged a peaceful protest. It is reported that the Chinese government is pressuring the Thai police to extradite these two protesters. I sincerely hope that Amnesty International could launch a rescue mission as soon as possible. If those two brave activists fall into the hands of the Chinese police, their lives would be jeopardized.
Wang Qianyuan is a 20-year-old student at Duke University. She came from China’s Shandong province. Two weeks ago, when she attempted to mediate between the pro-Tibet and pro-China student protesters, she was immediately under attack from the university’s pro-China student organization. They posted her picture and personal information online. As a consequence, Wang has received many death threats. Her parents back in China have been forced into hiding. There is report saying that the Chinese student organization is the true culprit. They were the ones who instigated these retaliatory attacks because the organization once received funding from the Chinese embassy. The case is now under investigation.
I also heard something more shocking. At my Chinese language class yesterday, a student told me that a Yale graduate teaching English in China printed a few pro-Tibetan essays and offered his students as reading assignments. Someone reported him to the Chinese authority and they immediately deported him out of the country.
From what I have mentioned, we can see that violations of human rights by the Chinese Communist government have spread throughout the world. If Western governments and international media do not exert pressure and take action, this “People’s War” initiated by China will end up encroaching upon our freedom of speech and expression here.
If I ask you to look in that direction, you will see that, right here, the Chinese students at Yale have been demonstrating and protesting, which would have never been possible if they had been living in China. Yet, those demonstrators are taking advantage of the freedom here to vigorously promote a government that would deny such rights to its citizens. I don’t have to agree with what they are saying or doing but I’m glad that they can express their views and opinions freely, without worrying about detention or imprisonment. This will be an excellent experience for them to take home to China. As their teacher here at Yale, I would like to quote a portion of a speech given by President Richard Levin to conclude remarks:
A liberal education will prepare you to be thinking citizens for a lifetime, to subject the claims of all groups and interests to critical scrutiny, to resist those who would substitute the emotional appeal of prejudice for the use of reason. Given the blessing of free and independent minds, you will have the burden of defending freedom and independence for all.
Thank you.
Zhengguo Kang, senior lector of Chinese at Yale University. His memoir Confessions: an Innocent Life in Communist China was published in Norton Press, 2007.
