WASHINGTON, D.C.—Americans are paying far too much attention to China's phenomenal economic growth while ignoring the worsening social foundation of the Communist led society. Americans are really getting an illusory view of China, says Chinese dissident Wang Dan.
The new freedom that some Chinese are now enjoying is fragile and could be suddenly eliminated, Wang said in a speech given November 29th at the National Press Club.
Mr. Wang said the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) need to compromise and become democratic if a worsening of social unrest is to be averted. But, he doesn't see that happening.
"I don't see any genuine political reform in China today," said Wang, speaking through an interpreter. Later, he said, "The problems facing China today are caused by the leadership in China not willing to change."
Wang Dan repeatedly said when answering questions that the solution to China's social conflicts is democracy, and that the only way to make it right is a "brand new political system." In resolving the issues of Tibet, Xinjiang or Taiwan, negotiations cannot be realistic under China's one party rule.
The apparent progress towards more freedom in China is an illusion and "not true freedom," explained Wang Dan. "It's not supported by institutions. The [regime] can terminate it at any time."
Mr. Wang said that social conflicts in China have become "more intense" than even at the time of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989. China is entering into a phase where sharp conflict is emerging between the communist "elites" benefiting from the economic growth and "vulnerable" groups who have lost standing in the regime. The only solution for these ills is democracy, says Mr. Wang.
Wang Dan is a well-known pro-democracy advocate who was one of the original, underground student organizers of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. He was only 20-years-old at the time. Perhaps 1 million people were demonstrating on the Square when on the morning of June 3rd, the military attacked the unarmed protesters, probably killing thousands. For his pro-democracy work, Wang has twice been arrested and sentenced to the Liaoning Prison in 1989 and 1995 for a total of 7 years of confinement.
Between the two prison sentences, the police harassed him constantly, according to Human Rights Watch. He was not allowed back into Beijing University. Police threatened to kill him. When he was arrested the second time in 1995, Wang was sentenced to an eleven-year term for "conspiring to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party." In 1998 he was released and exiled to the U.S. Now 38, he is not allowed to return to China. Mr. Wang is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Harvard University.
Comments on Tiananmen Square Massacre
When the communist regime sent Wang Dan to the U.S. in 1998, there was much U.S. media coverage, and large crowds greeted him. He was interviewed by CNN and appeared as a guest on the PBS News Hour. He expressed a strong sense of responsibility for his role in the Tiananmen protest and in bringing democracy to China. According to the CNN broadcast, Wang said in 1998, "And for those people that died, I really feel deeply sorry for them because I was the leader. I led them to go to the square."
Mr. Wang spoke of his companions at Tiananmen protest who were exiled and haven't been allowed to return. "After [almost] 20 years, it's not fair, they are older now, and they need to go back."
Asked to reflect on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations, Wang said it should have been made more inclusive. It began as only a student movement but "we did not calibrate or change our mentality in time." Wang said his students needed to make contact with other sectors in the society, including reformists in the Party, labor leaders, and others to bring about change.
Asked about the number slain by the regime Tiananmen Square, Wang said the China's Red Cross on June 6th put the number at more than 2,000 killed. The regime immediately denied it. Then it fired or moved out the persons who published the number. Wang is certain that the regime has investigated the incident, but naturally isn't providing any access to its findings.
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