by Fong Yuen

In the CCP’s governance during the past decades, the entire country has been turned upside down, and hundreds of thousands of Chinese people have been sacrificed on the Marxist-Leninist altar. Not only has Communism been unrealized, but it has also even flipped everything around like there is no tomorrow.

During this, Taiwan, the neighbor across the Strait, has been silently working hard. Economically, it has propelled; politically, it has reformed. As the last century concluded, Taiwan’s democracy had already taken shape. Both the economy and people’s livelihood had made great progress. At that very same time, the mainland had not really stood itself up from the dumpster of the Cultural Revolution.

The capitalist market economy rescued the CCP, and the assistance of the Western countries fattened up the dictatorship. As wealth accumulated rapidly, the powerful families gained pride. At that very moment, Taiwan has safely passed the minefield of political transformation. Its high-tech field has been well-prepared. Today, as the diplomatic ties between China and the U.S. severs, Taiwan has stood up before the world on the international stage, demonstrating its powerful vitality of a young, democratic country.

How did Taiwan manage to transform itself from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one, without shedding blood, while the economic take-off of the mainland has not only brought no political enlightenment but going backward rapidly?

The Kuomintang (KMT) has been immersed in Western culture from the very beginning. Under the influence of Soong Mei-ling, Chiang Kai-shek was a Christian. A large number of officials in the military and government had received Western education. After the KMT settled in Taiwan, it learned from the painful experience, reflected on its mistakes, and with the blow of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., it was determined to govern well.

Deeply influenced by Japanese culture, the Taiwanese civil society is orderly, while the traditional Chinese Confucian culture has not been destroyed. The Taiwanese have a long tradition of striving for freedom and democracy. The seeds of democracy, planted by the sages of the intellectuals that came before, have prepared the soil and conditions for the peaceful transition of political reform in the future.

Of course, Taiwan had Chiang Ching-kuo, the only political leader with a historical vision in contemporary Chinse history. With the mindset that people are brothers and the sharing of life with all creatures, he was a dictator with the grandeur to steer the country, and possessed the insight to flow with the trend of the era. With the supreme power he held, he could reverse the direction of history and pave a new path for the country.

On the other side of the Strait, under the rule of the CCP, the country was busy with political campaigns for many years. Private properties were nationalized. The Great Leap hurt the people and damaged properties. The Great Famine starved forty million to death. The Culture Revolution destroyed people’s livelihoods. The CCP used brainwashing to enslave its people to suppress civil resistance. It was not until Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening up had the country survive the crisis of governance.

The CCP is a total opportunist. The so-called reform was but an expedient measure to avoid the immediate collapse of the regime. To save the regime was the truth, and to realize Communism was a lie. Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang did not end well, for they had touched on sensitive political issues. The June 4th incident extinguished the Chinese people’s enthusiasm for reform.

Jiang Zemin’s “three represents” promised to be a representative of advanced production. It would allow capitalists to join the party, sending out a signal of political easing up. However, it turned out to be a blank check. Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao were busy allocating among the spheres of influence of the powerful families. They made big money abroad, and Wen Jiabao had repeated said to “look up to the sky”, giving the Chinese people an illusory vision of political reform. Yet the CCP has continued to hold tight onto its dictatorship, and kept the Chinese people out.

When it was Xi Jinping’s turn, the CCP was already rich and powerful. The overall allocation situation of the powerful families was determined, and there was nothing to stop the unscrupulous political reversal and blatant external expansion. The lie of political reform was long thrown out of the window.

As of today, it is impossible for the CCP to perform any political reform. The interests of the powerful families have been demarcated, each with their own spheres of influence, and each making big money in silence. Any occasional discord would be settled quickly. Based on the shared, common interests, not a single party would want to tip the existing balance. Therefore, political reform is but an unrealized dream.

In the many political movements and economic crises, the CCP has owned the people a huge blood debt. Should political reform happen, the CCP could lose its regime. Without the dictatorship and violence to protect itself, the CCP would face historical liquidation, and the rich and powerful families would be destroyed. This is another reason why there cannot be political reforms.

Decades of authoritarianism has allowed the CCP to select and eliminate. Those ruling “elites” at the top of the pyramid have long been trained into mediocre yes-men. At every level of the government, profit-seeking bureaucrats flood the place. There is no place for reform leaders with real aspirations and commitments. The CCP has long lost its backbone for political reform and self-reliance. All they can do now is to retain power.

The historical tragedy of China has long been scripted. Hong Kong is unfortunate to be wedged in the middle of this historical tragedy. Hong Kong’s destiny can only be changed by universal values, the trend of the era. Hongkongers must keep within our hearts our yearning and passion for democracy and freedom, and wait for history to move forward. At times, history moves fast, and other times slow. Despite the twists and turns, it is always moving in a predetermined direction. This is not something that any force could ever stop.

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