The Value of Liberty and Freedom in China and the World
At the conference "Cina e libertà" (China and Freedom) organised on September 22-23 by the Fondazione Liberal in Siena (Italy), the "father of Chinese democracy", the dissident Wei Jingsheng* was awarded the Stefano Bellaveglia Prize. Following the 'laudatio' and the motivations behind the award read by journalist Aldo Forbice, Mr Wei delivered a speech which we publish here in its entirety.
Siena (AsiaNews) Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for the honour to speak you. I will take this opportunity to tell everyone a few personal stories. These stories were very instructive for me; they taught me what liberty and freedom are, as well as their cost.
Today everyone is discussing freedom. Philosophers are discussing it, literary scholars are discussing it, and more than a few politicians play with the term as well. But what is freedom really worth to us? Why do we pay such a high price for freedom? I trust many friends (in the audience) are like me, often asking themselves this sort of question.
I recall when I was still in prison. There was a convict who had previously been a public official who asked me this question. He said that while he was an official he never realized freedom was so precious. At that time he was very influential, and of course, because of the habit of corruption in Chinese official circles, he was also very rich. Many people were deprived of freedom at his hand. Some were carelessly deprived of freedom without a second thought; he did not think freedom was of any significance. Even when his own freedom was about to be taken away, he still did not think it was of importance. So he willingly took on the blame for the actions of another, standing in for a greedy official and adding a few extra years to his sentence. He enjoyed hearing praise for his actions.
He knew others had greased the wheels for him at the prison. He did not have to receive the mistreatment ordinary prisoners received. He did not have to suffer the punishment received ordinary prisoners endured. He enjoyed benefits ordinary prisoners did not received, including special treatment not permitted by prison regulations. But he still felt unhappy; it was a sort of unexplainable unhappiness. Not only was his heart heavy, his health was also worse than before. He always felt his health and life were lacking something.
I suggested to him that he was probably lacking freedom. Freedom is something man is born with, like the air we breathe; it is something we should have naturally. So people do not notice freedom! Only when people have lost it, and when they feel unhappy, only then do they understand that it is the most precious thing of all.
After a while he came again to ask: "You were locked in solitary confinement, where freedom is even less than for us here. Why does it seem you do not look that unhappy? Everyday you seem brimming with happiness." I said, "In losing my freedom I am as sad as you are. Then I remember that although I lost my freedom, one billion Chinese will, because of my loss, gain a little more freedom. This sort of joy overcomes my unhappiness. He told me that he still did not understand, because other people's freedom certainly could not compensate for the freedom I had lost. "You still do not have your freedom," he said.
I thought for a minute, and then I told him a story about a police officer and me. There was an old police officer who saw me in a dark prison cell; aside from reading there was only a five step long cell in which to walk. As I walked I pondered problems, my face lit up with a smile, I looked very relaxed. He thought it was strange, so he asked me: "You fought for other's freedom, but now you have lost yours, can it be true that without freedom there is still something worth being happy about?" I responded in an instant: "I do not feel I am without freedom. You tell me, of the two of us, who is freer?" As soon he heard that he laughed, "I tend the prison, you live in prison, and of course I am freer than you."
I said: "Not necessarily." When he heard that he started to laugh again; he made me tell him why. I asked him: "I may be locked up in prison, but if I want to say something, I dare say it, do you dare?" He stood there stupefied, giving no response. At that time I suddenly realized a principle: a person's foremost freedom is one's inner freedom. A body without freedom can be due to others, but freedom of the spirit is something others cannot deprive you of. But a weak temperament often leads us to deprive ourselves of that inner freedom. We lock ourselves up in an inner prison of the spirit.
This especially happens under tyrannical rule or when tempted by enormous gain. People often suppress their own conscience to adapt to tyrannical rule or to meet the needs of their selfish interests. To go and do things against one's convictions, even to the point of helping a tyrannical government deprive countless numbers of people of their freedom. At the same time there are also some other people, who for their own and everyone's liberty go and resist the tyrannical government. Thus freedom becomes political. Depriving freedom and fighting for freedom have become the main themes of politics. In fighting for their own and others' freedom, thousands and thousands of people have lost their lives or their freedom to tyranny. Prisons have many of a new kind of prisoner: political prisoners. Political prisoners are the result of tyrannical and corrupt governments.
What is a political prisoner? I have heard many definitions. I always feel they are not quite right. While in prison I met a prisoner. He came from a mountainous region. He could not read and had committed a very disgraceful crime. He was sent by prison officials to watch political prisoners. On one occasion he felt wronged and came and found me to complain. He blurted out: "We are not like you political prisoners, even the police respect you." I was amazed at what he said, so I asked him: "Do you understand what a political prisoner is? Tell me what a political prisoner is." He said: "Of course I understand. We criminals have harmed others for our own benefit; you political prisoners have harmed yourselves for the benefit of others."
This is the simplest and most precise definition I have heard. Over the last several thousand years, humanity has been able to resist evil powers and tyranny because there is a group of this sort of people, people who will sacrifice themselves for others' benefit and freedom. Under tyrannical rule, these saints and martyrs sacrifice themselves or become political prisoners, so that others may gain freedom. Under a free system they would not become political prisoners, but they still would sacrifice their own gains solely to benefit others.
Without this group of people, our freedom would be less than it is today. With this group of people working, the world's tyranny and suffering will be reduced. The friends present are all working to increase freedom in the world and reduce the suffering of humanity and in doing so they are paying a greater or lesser price for it. Thank you everyone. We will work hard together, without stop.
* Who is Wei Jingshen?
Wei's role in the struggle for human rights and democracy in China goes back a long way. On April 5, 1976, aged 26, Wei took part in the first anti-government action in Tiananmen Square. Two years later, the Wall of Democracy (see photo) was set up near one of the main crossroads of the capital: a corner where democracy activists could post their dàzìbào. On December 5, 1978, Wei posted the text which would make him famous "the Fifth Modernisation" where he developed the idea that the country's economic progress (the "four modernisations" upheld by the Communist regime) must pass through democratisation; otherwise the people would not enjoy any benefits. Wei denounced detention for political reasons, the misery endured by segments of the population, the political roots of youth crime, the sale of children on the streets of Beijing. From 1979 to 1993, he was interned in prison on the orders of Deng Xiaoping. On December 13, 1995, a year and half after his re-arrest, Wei reappeared before the People's Court in Beijing, where he was condemned to 14 years in prison for "plotting against the government". One November 16, 1997, he was released by the Chinese authorities following very strong pressure from the international community. Wei was sent abroad for "treatment"; in reality he was condemned to exile. Currently, he lives in the United States and is the chairman of the Overseas Joint Committee for China Democratic Movement.
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