On Becoming an American Citizen in Spirit
(Associated Press via Washington Post) China Jails Reporter Over Essays on Graft. By Joe MacDonald. July 13, 2006.
A Chinese reporter who posted essays on foreign Web sites criticizing the ruling Communist Party was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison on subversion charges, his lawyer said. ...
Li Yuanlong, a reporter for the newspaper Bijie Daily in the southern city of Bijie, was detained in September after posting essays on foreign Web sites. Li was convicted by the Bijie Intermediate People's Court of "inciting subversion" and sentenced to two years, said his lawyer, Li Jianqiang, who is no relation.
Foreign journalism groups had appealed for Li's release. His lawyer said Li pleaded innocent at his 2 1/2-hour trial in May.
Li's essays, written under the pen name Ye Lang or "Night Wolf," included "On Becoming an American in Spirit" and "The Banal Nature of Life and the Lamentable Nature of Death." They were published on Web sites that are banned in China, including Boxun News, the Falun Gong-affiliated Epoch Times, ChinaEWeekly, and New Century Net, according to earlier reports.
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As is usual with western media coverage, you can read all of the above and you will have no idea what Li Yuanlong (李元龙) actually wrote. In the following, there is a translation of "On Becoming an American Citizen in Spirit." You go read it yourself and think about it. Was this "inciting subversion"?
(Boxun) On Becoming an American Citizen in Spirit. By Night Wolf (夜狼). May 6, 2006.
(in translation)
Before and during the cultural revolution, novels and movies often have the following scene: A certain "active element" requested to join the party but the organization has not finished its "test" of him so the request was not approved for the moment. But the active element is not discouraged, because he has found a perfect way to console himself: "It does not matter. The party organization can continue to test me. In any case, I have already joined the Chinese Communist Party in spirit."
The beauty of the environment, the development of the economy, the freedom of speech and religion and especially the democratic political system has made it the object of admiration of all those people who love beauty and goodness -- America, just like its name, is a beautiful and wonderful country.
While I admire America, I was not born there and so I do not have the opportunity to become an American of Chinese descent who enjoys the air of democracy and freedom. What can I do? I furrowed my brow and I came up with an idea. Many years ago, I figured out an excellent method. I announced to my friends: "I have become an American citizen in spirit."
This "deed" that risks being criticized by everybody will obviously draw the condemnations of patriots and nationalists -- lover of foreign people and things, Chinese traitor, collaborationist!
In Jiao Guobiao (焦国标)'s essay "Two old ladies from Henan: Chang Xiangyu and Gao Yaojie," he wrote these words: "If the American army had seized the Korean peninsula back then, crossed the Yalu River and drove straight into Beijing to overthrow the Mao Zedong government in the way that the Manchurians chased away Li Zhicheng, then all the later disasters could have been averted. Today, the people of mainland China would be happy and wealthy like the people of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. There would be no need for Deng Xiaoping to do any reform several decades later." As soon as he said that, many people were shocked. Xian Yan (冼岩) and Guo Feixiong (郭飞熊) condemned Jiao Guobiao: "Support the disarming of China which was besieged by the foreign powers in order to facilitate the 'free countries to use their powerful arms' to 'overthrow totalitarian regimes.'" "Directly stomping on the basic values of our society -- our insistence with respect to nation, people, sovereignty, dignity, respect and principles. On this point, the 'hero' Jiao Guobiao has lowered himself to lower than 'human'."
These kinds of logic and opinions obviously suit the totalitarian regime and the dictators. If America really sent its soldiers to drive for Beijing, then this is more than 'interfering internal politics of other countries' and it is really the invasion by the 'world police.' I have been pondering why interfering in the internal politics of other countries and being the world police man have become terms of denigration that are natural and indisputable in "our" vocabulary. If your internal politics is a totalitarian regime covered up by dark curtains, then why should not the police in charge of maintaining world peace come and show you? As a common example, I am beating my wife and kids at home and someone else (such as the police) comes to stop me. I yell: "I'm beating my wife and my kids. What is this to outsiders? Why are you entitled to mind my family business?" Is that acceptable? As another example, a Chinese person falls into the river, or his house catches fire. There is an American on the side, but the patriots won't let the Chinese person accept the help of the American. Instead, the Chinese person must wait for other Chinese to save him. The Chinese person will have to "sacrifice himself for the greater good." Is this not the modernized version under the cover of patriotism of the old saying "It is a minor matter to starve to death; it is a major matter to lose your chastity"?
The Japanese militarists massacred more than 20 million Chinese persons in China. The United States killed three Chinese Communist reporters by mistake. It is natural for the people to be angry. Before 1949, the Chinese Communists seized political power by killing (together with the Kuomintang) with several million Chinese persons. Since 1949, under the brutal fascist regime of the Chinese Communists, the number of "abnormal" deaths in mainland China reached a stunning 80 million plus. On June 4, 1989 at Tiananmen square, the Chinese Communists used tanks and machine guns to massacre patriotic students. Most incredibly, while the angry youth condemn the massacres conducted by the foreigners, they turned their backs on the past and current massacres done by the Chinese Communists. It is absolutely unforgivable for foreigners to kill Chinese people. But when the Chinese Communists massacre Chinese people, then why is that "understandable"? What kind of logic is this? What kind of standards of right/wrong are these? If you or your relatives died under the tanks and butchers knives of the Chinese Communists, would you be able to deal with the "butchers" in this schizophrenic way?
According to the logic and attitudes that prevail under the banner of patriotism and nationalism, it would be treason for France, Poland and other countries to be liberated by the Americans and British, and for northeastern China to be liberated by the Russians during World War Two. When China sent soldiers into the Korean peninsula and then provided money to support the "revolutions" in Asia, Africa and Latin America, it was violent interference into the "internal politics" of other countries. Right now, the presence of the Chinese military among the United Nations Peacekeeping forces at the various hot spots around the world must mean that the United Nations is trampling upon the "internal politics" of these sovereign countries.
According to that system of thought, the deeds of myself and Jiao Guobiao are acts of treason. If so, then the presence of so many Chinese officials overseas with their children having so much money kept overseas and especially with people like C.N. Yang living in America must mean that their crimes are also unforgivable.
Whether inside or outside China, there are three groups of people who praise the Chinese Communists and their system. The first is the interest groups which hold crucial positions. They are rich and powerful and they hold the decision of life or death over 1.3 billion Chinese people. In order to guarantee that the "red nation shall never change color" and their children can continue to rule for ten thousand generations, they will obviously look in the mirror and admire themselves. They are also afraid of western democracy, capitalist liberalization and peaceful change. They are obviously afraid of America, the lighthouse of democracy and freedom. The second group are people who obviously know about the evil nature of the Communists, but they are able to gain something from the Communists now. For the sake of current interests, they will turn their backs on truth and sunshine and live on. They will swallow the flies together with the milk (ha ha ha, that was wonderfully written -- I must applaud myself). The third group are the simpletons who will always be slaves. These people are simple-minded and they have been subjected to propaganda all their lives. Lies that are repeated thousands of times are truth to them. They will listen to the Party on everything. Even if the Communist Party sells them out, they will count the money from the sale. They are pathetic and pitiful.
Rotten corpses and muck allow maggots to live. On this earth that is ruled by the Communists who are hated by men and gods, only those people whose conscience has been eaten by dogs and have no moral bottom lines can prosper and advance. When the ducks rise to the skies while the eagles fall to the ground, this world is cursed.
Jiao Guobiao said that in his vocabulary, there are no great or small rights but only democracy and totalitarianism. I say that in my vocabulary, there is no China versus outside but only justice versus injustice; there is no Chinese versus foreigners but only good versus evil. There is no inside or outside, no east or west. I will dedicate myself to pursue truth, goodness and beauty; I will oppose all that is false, evil and ugly. I will never compromise.
When I was young, I only read the Chinese Communists books that reverse black and white, right and wrong. I saw and heard the movies and songs that the Communists created to praise themselves. In my mind, Mao and the Communists were sacred and magnificent and I devoutly regarded them as the highest deities. When I grew up, I was shocked to find out that the "magnificent, glorious and righteous" Communist Party and the savior Mao were the most evil and base interest group that said all the good things but did all the bad things like prostitutes who conducted their business underneath the chastity memorial archways. When I was eighteen, I recognized the shameless nature of the Maoist Communists. From that moment on, I was ashamed to be in the company of the greatest criminal organization of the world and with all the amoral and soulless fools who have been castrated of their manhood by the Maoist Communists. In this life, I am ashamed to have yellow skin; in my next life, I am too guilty to be a descendant of the dragon.
When I think about the Flying Tigers who have practically been forgotten by the Chinese people, when I think about the angry youth who believed in the one-sided presentation by the Chinese Communists and attacked the American embassy and consulates and when I think about the ugliness of the many Chinese who were delighted with 9/11, I deeply felt that the Chinese have wronged the Americans. As a member of the Chinese race, I deeply apologize here to the American people for the ugly words and deeds of my compatriots.
I live in the dark new China under the filthy red flag. I am proud that I was not misguided by the twisted evil talk of the Maoist Communists, that I was not contaminated by the filth, that I did not need the <<Nine Critiques>> to see the light and that I was able to use my own observations and contemplations to see through the shamelessness, baseness and amorality of Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists and recognized their hideous looks and poisonous hearts.
"The door that lets people enter and exit was locked; the hole that lets dogs enter and exit was wide open. A voice cried out aloud: you can crawl out and get your freedom. While I long for freedom, I am also deeply aware that a man's body cannot crawl through a dog's hole." I say: I am proud of my wonderful idea and invention of "I have become an American citizen in spirit" that will shock the world and draw thunderous condemnations.
Bravo, Jiao Guobiao!
Bravo, Mr. Night!Postscript: I believe that this day will come soon: The Chinese Communist dictators will disintegrate.
When a Chinese used a hunting rifle to shoot at birds on a university campus, he shot a hole in the Communist's red diaper cloth by accident. As a result, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail. In America, "publicly" burning the American flag on the street is regarded an expression of thought and an exercise of freedom of speech, and is constitutionally protected.
The day that I can burn the Chinese national flag at Tiananmen Square will be the day when mainland China becomes an "America" with democracy and economic wealth -- a beautiful, good and wealthy country. When that time comes, I will take out an advertisement in newspaper to announce that Mr. Night who had to bitterly "become an American citizen" reluctantly is now coming home. His thoughts and soul no longer need to wander in exile in a foreign country!
Related link: The Counterattack Against Jiao Guobiao