The anniversary of the June 4th Incident each year always affects me very deeply. I think to myself: "Why does the path to democracy and the rule of law have to be so long and difficult for the Chinese people?" Nevertheless, changes now taking place are beginning to make me cautiously optimistic. Perhaps now is the moment when democracy and the rule of law can take root in the Chinese mainland.
Back when the father of our nation, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, was struggling in the cause of revolution during the closing years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the quest to "establish a republic" was the "Chinese dream" shared by people of Chinese descent across the globe. Then during the May Fourth Movement (1919) a few years later, the call to bring on "Mr. Democracy" inspired and moved a generation. And finally, after decades of fitful starts and setbacks, constitutional government flowered, bore fruit, and grew to maturity in Taiwan, proving that the soil of Chinese culture does not reject imported democracy and rule of law.
But the June 4th Incident of 1989 showed us, a full 70 years after the May Fourth Movement, what a terrible price the Chinese people would still have to pay to achieve freedom and democracy. Looking back on that great historic wound, I sincerely hope that the mainland authorities will think hard about the incident, and act quickly to restore the good names of those who have been wronged. And I call on them to ensure that such a tragedy will never recur.
Lu Xun (魯迅) once said: "A person's life is precious, but the truth of an entire generation is more precious still. To lose one's life so that the truth might be known to all, is to have died a worthy death." As a result of the many painful experiences of the past in both Taiwan and the mainland, we here in Taiwan believe all the more firmly that social conflicts can be laid to rest through institution of democracy and the rule of law.
Controversy and conflict have arisen fairly frequently here in Taiwan in the 27 years since the lifting of martial law, yet our society is increasingly able to tolerate and even accept the dialogue and introspection triggered by differences of opinion. A healthy system of democratic constitutionalism allows for the full expression of all types of opinion. In the course of interaction, communication, and even conflict, we are actually working through our differences and resolving conflicts and dissension among people who hold radically opposing views. The lesson of "the Taiwan experience" is this: Only through steadfast adherence to true democracy and rule of law can we come up with timely solutions to societal anxiety, and provide timely responses to the people's demands. And only in this way can we earn the lasting and stable support of society.
At the same time, the democratic concepts of "tolerating dissent, accepting the will of the majority, and respecting minority viewpoints" are now deeply embedded within the fabric of Taiwanese society. The fact is, democracy is not just a political system; it is also a way of life. The younger generation in mainland China is gradually coming to see things in precisely this way. Today, 25 years after the June 4th Incident, I truly believe that there has never been a more opportune time for the Chinese mainland to achieve political reform, or for democracy and the rule of law to take stronger hold there. Why do I say this?
More than 2,000 years ago, the Chinese statesman Guan Zhong (管仲) once said: "People cannot concern themselves with questions of honor or disgrace until their need for clothing and food is first taken care of, nor can they take any interest in matters of propriety until their granaries are full." The Chinese mainland has experienced galloping economic growth over the past 30 years. In this respect, they have followed in Taiwan's footsteps, but on a much vaster scale. In the process, they have attained a level of prosperity beyond anything ever before seen in the 5,000-year history of the Chinese people. Indeed, the mainland has become one of the world's great powers. Per capita GDP in the mainland now stands at US$6,747. In the year of 1987, when Taiwan lifted martial law, our per capita GDP stood at just US$5,291. Moreover, the people of mainland China have reached a level of education and modernity that would definitely allow for freedom of expression, an independent judiciary, governance in accordance with the law, and a government that protects human rights.
Actually, looking back at history, we find that even during the Republic of China's Period of Political Tutelage (1928-1947), when our nation was quite poor and backward, public-spirited intellectuals of the day fully exercised freedom of speech in criticizing the government and handing out praise or denunciation for this person or that. Dr. Hu Shih (胡適) even went so far as to criticize the highest authority in the land, writing: "He does not rule as a dictator, but busies himself with mere trifles; he does not stand astride the top of the power pyramid, but meddles in matters that ought to be left to the bureaucrats." And of politicians in general, Hu wrote: "Such people have never spent a moment imagining what a republican form of government would be like" and should therefore "go back to school" and study up on democracy. Regardless whether such criticisms were on the mark, the unelected Nationalist Government of that time did not crack down on or arrest dissidents who truly had the best interests of the nation at heart. So if the mainland Chinese people of the 21st century, with all their education and affluence, cannot even enjoy the freedom of speech that was available 80 years ago, then the authorities there are not going to win over the people's support with protestations about how the status quo somehow exhibits Chinese characteristics.
I've stated repeatedly on previous anniversaries of the June 4th Incident that the best way to lessen the feeling of "otherness" between people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is for the mainland to treat dissidents well. By tolerating differences of opinion, the mainland authorities would actually be elevating their own stature and strengthening their legitimacy. Moreover, they would be sending a clear signal to Taiwan that the mainland is serious about political reform. Such a course of action would certainly be very well received by the people of Taiwan. The approval and respect that such an approach would elicit, both internationally and among the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, would be far more than anything that's been gained through concessions granted in the economic sphere. And without a doubt, it would greatly change the stereotypical image of mainland authorities that has so long held sway in the minds of the Taiwanese people.
The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all ethnically Chinese. We are all descendants of the ancient emperors Yan and Huang. I firmly believe that the Chinese people have the wisdom to shape history. I also have hope that the mainland Chinese authorities can take the same forceful leadership that they've shown during 30 years of economic reform, and apply it in the pursuit of political reform to usher in democracy and the rule of law. The mainland authorities earned universal praise both at home and abroad last December when they did away with their 45-year-old system of re-education through labor. We hope to see more actions taken to implement democracy, the rule of law, and human rights protections. That would bring the people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait closer together. I do sincerely hope that democracy and the rule of law will become a "language in common" shared on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and that freedom and equitable distribution of wealth will become our shared dream.