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For one year now, an incisive editorial has been spreading amongst Chinese, in China and abroad, effecting great changes and setting up even more—a just cause for a celebration, which took place in San Francisco this weekend.
At Portsmouth Square on Nov. 19, The Epoch Times put on an event to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, a series of editorials on the history and the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since the first commentary appeared in print on Nov. 19, 2004, the Nine Commentaries has brought about the renunciations of over 5.7 million Chinese from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and has also spurred several defections by officials overseas. In addition, over 400 seminars and forums have been held, with speakers that include China experts and scholars, as well as government officials.
This has not gone unnoticed by the CCP. An article published by the CCP refers to the Nine Commentaries as "the most serious challenge to the Chinese government in history." Additionally, the Nine Commentaries is the most widely blocked subject on the Internet in China, according to a study done at Harvard University.
The event on Saturday consisted of a photo display, capturing different revealing and heinous scenes from the 56-year rule of the CCP, along with several speeches, a parade, and cultural performances. These cultural performances are more than just celebratory, but also reveal a critical angle of the Nine Commentaries .
Sherry Zhang, a talk show host with Sound of Hope Radio, explains, "The Nine Commentaries basically reviews the history of the CCP, but also aims to awaken people's conscience and morality. The starting point is morality, and traditional culture is deeply tied to that morality."
Zhang continues, "The Nine Commentaries does not advocate a specific political system, but rather looks towards traditional culture as a guide."
An example of this perspective from part six of the Nine Commentaries : "Unlike law, which prescribes hard rules, culture works as a soft constraint. The law enforces punishment after a crime has been committed, while culture, by nurturing morality, prevents crimes from happening in the first place."
Speakers at the event warned listeners not to be deceived by the appearance of China and the hype often surrounding it. They noted that while some may believe that China's growing economy is due to the good management of the CCP, the credit really belongs to the hard work of the Chinese people, who revived the country after being allowed a small amount of freedom by the government.
As the West looks towards East, the CCP may appear to have an insurmountable grip on China. But regimes like the CCP have a history of falling quickly, explained Steve Ispas, a representative for the English version of The Epoch Times . During his speech, Ispas said, "And then, when things started to heat up, it was all a matter of days. It started during a speech by the former dictator Ceausescu, when the audience started to chant pro-democracy slogans. Within 4 days Ceausescu was captured and executed. That is how long it took. The army joined the revolution and defeated the internal government forces."
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