A video showing policemen in Shenzhen walking into a young woman\u2019s apartment last month and taking her away in the middle of the night went viral in China.<\/p>\n
The police had no arrest or search warrant, and when the woman demanded an explanation, the police responded by asking, \u201cWhat have you posted on the internet lately?\u201d<\/p>\n
This video clip, which was subsequently removed by authorities, has angered many Chinese netizens who were able to view it, and sparked the mocking of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doctrine of the so-called \u201cFour Self-Confidences\u201d as being so fragile that an online post could undermine the regime.<\/p>\n
At the CCP\u2019s 18th National Congress in November 2011, then-Party General Secretary Hu Jintao came up with the doctrine of the so-called \u201cThree Self-Confidences\u201d \u2014namely, self-confidence in China\u2019s socialist path, theories, and system. In 2016, current General Secretary Xi Jinping added self-confidence in socialist culture.<\/p>\n
The doctrine of \u201cFour Self-Confidences\u201d has become so crucial that, in May 2017, the China State Council Information Office, in an unusual move, distributed an article titled \u201cThe Four Self-Confidences Are the Spiritual Foothold for the \u2018China Dream,\u2019\u201d which was originally published in a journal of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.<\/p>\n
The Information Office said that Xi\u2019s \u201cChina Dream\u201d can\u2019t be achieved without the doctrine of \u201cFour Self-Confidences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plato once said, \u201cAn empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.\u201d<\/p>\n
No other ruling party on the planet boasts of anything such as the \u201cFour Self-Confidences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apparently, the CCP leadership has paid no heed to Confucius\u2019s precept, \u201cOne must stop when one\u2019s act borders on shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
People might wonder where the CCP\u2019s self-confidence in the socialist path comes from. Former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, who opened up the Chinese economy, said on a number of occasions that his \u201csocialism with Chinese characteristics\u201d was an uncharted course.<\/p>\n
In Deng\u2019s own words, his socialist journey was like \u201cwading the river by feeling the stones underneath\u201d\u2014a description that gives little indication of self-confidence. Many Chinese netizens, accordingly, have mocked Deng\u2019s socialist adventure.<\/p>\n
In one cartoon online, a CCP official is shown standing on a boat ashore while ordering everyone to line up and step into an uncharted river. Two people waiting in the line ask, \u201cWhy aren\u2019t we using the nearby bridge and boat instead?\u201d Another shouts back at the two, \u201cWhat do you know?! Had we used the bridge and the boat, there wouldn\u2019t have been any Chinese characteristics, would there?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Such Soviet-styled dark humor perhaps exemplifies vividly how much faith the public truly has in China\u2019s socialist path.<\/p>\n
As for the CCP\u2019s self-confidence in socialist theories expressed by their Party leaders\u2014from Mao\u2019s thought to Deng\u2019s theory, Jiang Zemin\u2019s \u201cThree Represents,\u201d Hu\u2019s \u201cScientific Development,\u201d and now Xi\u2019s new thought\u2014these hollow propositions are at best self-deceiving.<\/p>\n
No matter how they are labeled, all aim to maintain the CCP\u2019s dictatorship in a changing world environment. Yet each CCP leader has been eager to leave a legacy of his own by incorporating his peculiar doctrines into China\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n
Mao\u2019s familiar calligraphy \u201cServe the People\u201d might be the most visible slogan on the wall at the entrance of Zhongnanhai, the seat of the CCP\u2019s headquarters in Beijing, but few Beijing residents who pass by this Ming Dynasty imperial gate would seem to be particularly impressed.<\/p>\n
In Beijing, people are familiar, however, with this joke:<\/p>\n
A customer once complained to a restaurant owner, \u201cWhy can\u2019t I find any beef in this bowl of \u2018roasted beef noodle\u2019?\u201d The owner shrugged and said, \u201cWhy are you so fussy about the name of the food we serve here? Do you expect to get a wife from eating a \u2018wife cake\u2019 (lao po bing)? Or better yet, have you ever seen any everyday people in the Great Hall of the People?\u201d<\/p>\n
Qin Hui, a former Tsinghua University professor, wrote about how the CCP hasn\u2019t moved out of the shadow of the imperial system, in the insightful best-seller \u201cMoving Away From the Feudal System\u201d in 2015.<\/p>\n
Drawing lessons from major events in modern Chinese history, Qin argued for a republic based on constitutional democracy that respects fundamental freedoms and protects diversity. Not surprisingly, his book was banned soon after it was published.<\/p>\n
A journalist teased, \u201cHad his book been called \u2018Moving Into the Feudal System,\u2019 it would have all been fine.\u201d Qin is now teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Socialist ideology is a foreign import, and certainly not part of China\u2019s 5,000-year civilization. It is totalitarian and repressive by nature. With China now becoming part of globalization, more people are being exposed to and hailing Western liberal democracy.<\/p>\n
While boasting its self-confidence in socialist culture, the CCP might have a difficult time explaining to avid Chinese fans of Winnie the Pooh why this popular cartoon figure and the movie \u201cChristopher Robin\u201d are banned in China. Unlike leaders in open societies, the CCP rulers are thin-skinned and certainly aren\u2019t to be teased by the masses on the internet, let alone when being compared to a puffy-looking bear, cute or not.<\/p>\n
The CCP is paranoid about all sectors of society. On Aug. 6, Shaolin Temple, one of the best-known Buddhist pilgrimage sites in China, raised a national flag for the first time since the temple\u2019s establishment some 1,500 years ago, to pledge loyalty to the CCP.<\/p>\n
In some places, people must show personal identification cards to purchase a kitchen knife, reminiscent of what was required in the Yuan Dynasty (1271\u20131638), when the Mongols ruled the Chinese.<\/p>\n
King Li, the 10th king of China\u2019s Zhou Dynasty, was known for his tyranny during his reign from 877 B.C. to 841 B.C. He sent agents to spy on people\u2019s private conversations and would execute those who dared to air any negative views about his rule by terror. As a result, people would hesitate to express themselves.<\/p>\n
With much satisfaction, King Li told Zhao Gong, one of his senior ministers, \u201cNow, I am finally able to gag all critics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zhao Gong replied, \u201cMuzzling the public is much more dangerous than attempting to block a deluge. A deluge can be best handled by guiding it to flow away, not by building a dam\u2014and this is true with governing your people, who should be allowed to express themselves one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n
King Li didn\u2019t listen and later ended up living in exile when his people rose up in revolt.<\/p>\n
The collapse of the USSR in the 1990s is another example, as few Russia experts in the West anticipated its fall, given its powerful appearance. Interestingly, dictators, in China and elsewhere, aren\u2019t good students who learn lessons from history.<\/p>\n
A European diplomat once pointed out, \u201cIf you wish to know which country or political system is better, just look where immigrants are heading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the CCP\u2019s relentless propaganda against Western democracies, CCP officials appear to be among the most zealous about sending their children and assets to America.<\/p>\n
Multiple Chinese media sources reported that Beijing is hoping to seek cooperation from foreign governments to retrieve some $21 trillion in hidden assets and unpaid taxes overseas. No one, however, seems to know the exact amount of capital flight from China since Deng Xiaoping pioneered his economic reforms in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
If one looks at the long line every day outside the U.S. consulate visa offices in China, one can\u2019t help but wonder about America\u2019s self-confidence on multiple levels, which goes unproclaimed.<\/p>\n
Propaganda posters touting the \u201cChina Dream\u201d might be visible everywhere in China, but for many Chinese\u2014and young people in particular\u2014their dreams might actually include an opportunity to come to the United States, the land of the free, where they hope to fulfill their American dream.<\/p>\n
Instead of transitioning to an open society so as to better address a variety of social ills, including widespread unrest, corruption, income disparity, and social injustice, the CCP often, by its predatory instinct, resorts to repression or even violence against dissenting voices. What the CCP leaders don\u2019t realize is that their suppression, in turn, amasses still greater retribution that will shorten their rule in the end.
\nPerhaps, one should never have expected to turn a wolf into a vegetarian.<\/p>\n
Genuine self-confidence originates in compassion. As wisely put by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, \u201cKindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.\u201d<\/p>\n
These appear to be the last things on the minds of CCP rulers.<\/p>\n
(Sept 10, 2018)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A video showing policemen in Shenzhen walking into a young woman\u2019s apartment last month and taking her away in the middle of the night went viral in China. The police had no arrest or search warrant, and when the woman demanded an explanation, the police responded by asking, \u201cWhat have you posted on the internet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3878,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[295525],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-erpings-writings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3878"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1488"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/erping999\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}