明報社評﹕為民族提升國家發展 中共應推動平反六四
【明報專訊】THIS is the 23rd anniversary of the June 4 incident. Over all these years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to sweep the matter under the carpet, making no official mention of and forbidding public discussions about it, trying to obliterate the whole thing from the memories of the people. However, in mainland China, there is still occasional news of people getting into trouble with the police because of the incident. And even those in authority have not been able to forget it, especially those closely associated with the event in 1989: One by one, they are trying to disown responsibility for what was done.
Following the publication of Li Peng's June 4 Diary in 2010, Chen Xitong, mayor of Beijing in 1989 who is said to have contributed to the rapid worsening of the situation by misleading Deng Xiaoping into believing that the patriotic democratic movement was an insurrection, has recently published outside mainland China a book titled Conversations with Chen Xitong, giving his version of the story.
Both Li and Chen are regarded as prominent figures in the June 4 incident who, taking a hard line against the students, engineered the bloody crackdown. Now both of them are trying, while they are still alive, to rid themselves of the stigma of the crackdown by publishing their accounts of the incident.
And while the villains in the incident are busy trying to exonerate themselves, this year has seen social activists, for example in Jinan of the Shandong province, Guiyang of the Guizhou province, and Fuzhou of the Fujian province, holding public rallies on the eve of June 4 to commemorate the crackdown. Whereas in the past the authorities would vigorously suppress such activities, no immediate action was taken against them this year. Some believe that the central government is getting more tolerant in handling such matters. In fact, in the past few months, there have been rumours that premier Wen Jiabao has asked for a reversal of the June 4 verdict, though the request has been turned down.
We do not know if Wen is really working for a reversal of the June 4 verdict, but an objective examination of the effects of the June 4 incident shows clearly that though China's economy has developed by leaps and bounds in the past 23 years and become the second largest in the world, the country's political system has not undergone a corresponding development, as a result of which there is widespread bribery and corruption, and the country is always in danger of large-scale social unrest.
Political structural reform is a solution to the social and economic problems facing China today. The June 4 incident has brought about a serious severance between the government and the people all these years. If the cause of this severance is removed, the authorities will find it much easier to construct a harmonious society, and, more significantly, the nation and the country will further thrive and grow.
Political structural reform has come to a standstill after the June 4 incident. The absolute power commanded by the CCP has led to absolute corruption, which is the root cause of China's many social and economic conflicts. If anything untoward happens in China today, it may have to do with the survival not only of the CCP, but also of the nation. As the ruling party, the CCP has the responsibility to lead the nation safely out of this danger. Officially reversing the June 4 verdict is an important step in this direction, and is in accord with the demands of the changing times.
明報社評2012.06.04﹕為民族提升國家發展 中共應推動平反六四
今年是六四事件23周年。中共對於六四事件,23年來「冷處理」,官方不再提及,禁止民間討論,意圖藉時間畄擦,洗去人民對事件的記憶。不過,內地偶爾仍然有人因為六四事件涉案,所以,有理由相信六四仍然在很多人的記憶裏,即使連當權者也未忘記。特別是當年與六四事件關係密切的人,相繼為自己開脫。
繼前年《李鵬六四日記》出版之後,1989年任北京市長的陳希同,被指有份向鄧小平謊報軍情,使鄧將一場愛國民主運動定性為動亂,導致事態急速惡化,陳希同近日也在境外出版一本《陳希同親述》,就六四事件講他的版本。
李鵬和陳希同在六四事件,被認為是主張強硬對付學生,導致暴烈血腥鎮壓的頭面人物,他們在有生之年,出書為自己立此存照,目的為力圖洗脫個人生平中的巨大污點。
除了六四事件的反派角色忙於為自己開脫,今年六四前夕,已知內地一些地方,例如山東濟南、貴州貴陽、福建福州等,都有民間人士公開舉行悼念六四的活動。往年,當局對這類活動大力打壓,今年未見即場採取行動,有人認為,這是反映中央對處理六四出現了鬆動。最近幾個月,不時傳出總理溫家寶提出平反六四但未獲接納的消息。
溫家寶是否推動平反六四,我們不得而知。事實上,只要以客觀取態審視六四事件的影響,都會認知過去23年中國經濟雖然飛躍發展,成為全球第二大經濟體,但是政治體制未能相應發展和調適,導致貪污腐敗成風,社會潛藏巨大不穩定因素。
內地社會、經濟所面對問題,政治體制改革是出路。六四事件是橫亙在官方和民間的一條巨刺,若實事求是地使之消融,大焉者可以使民族提升、國家發展,小焉者,於構建和諧社會,也會事半功倍。
六四事件之後,政治體制改革停滯,中共掌握絕對權力導致的絕對腐敗,是內地社會、經濟深層次矛盾的根源,中國若現在發生什麼事故,已非中共存亡的問題,而是涉及國家民族生機的大事,作為執政黨,中共有責任帶領人民安然渡過險境,平反六四是適應時代轉變和需求的重要一步。
■Glossary
insurrection﹕a situation in which a large group of people try to take political control with violence
exonerate﹕to officially state that somebody is not responsible for something that they have been blamed for
severance﹕the act of ending a connection or relationship
untoward﹕unusual and unexpected, and usually unpleasant