Beast Press: I slept at two o'clock last night and woke up at five this morning. When I woke up, I lay in bed and read the media, and read many old articles. Then I swiped Chen Chun's " Chen Chun: Reporting, Pink Frenzy, and Totalitarianism Outside the System ", which I thought was very good. So I decided to share it with more mainland book friends, and by the way, I also introduced Chen Chun, a scholar.

Mainland scholar Chen Chun came to Hong Kong in mid-July 2019 to observe the anti-revision demonstrations. After returning, he was reported by a big V on Weibo in early August, and he was quickly topped on Weibo's hot search. The reason for the report was "support". Hong Kong Independence", "evidence" is a screenshot of his WeChat Moments. He was invited to the police station for interrogation that night. He spent one night at the police station and was released the next morning. After he came out, he was searched twice again due to the pursuit of big V and the support of friends. This article is Chen Chun's self-report on the experience of that day and an analysis of the mechanism of the current pink frenzy in mainland China. He believes that the "brainwashing theory" has no explanatory power for this pink frenzy. The deeper question is why extreme politics is generated in the present and where will it exert its force.

This morning, I found another article in Matters published in January 2019 [Writer] File 004 Chen Chun: With so many things in daily life, writing brings me the greatest pleasure!

January 28, 2019

On the second floor of the Redang Island Malay Restaurant in Futian District, Shenzhen, Chen Chun was sitting in the middle of the place across from the stairs and typing, with the computer screen almost covering his entire face.

When three dishes and one soup came up, Chen Chun glanced at it, "You guys eat first." After the article was successfully posted on the WeChat platform, he explained apologetically, "I must write until I feel OK before I stop and do my goodbyes. If you don’t finish writing in the middle and then do something else, you will be very distracted.”

In 2018, the Me Too movement emerged in mainland China. From the academic circle to the public welfare circle, it was stopped abruptly when the trend hit the more sensitive upper-level figures. Chen Chun also mentioned feminism many times in his articles to support Me Too. Many left-wing youths he knew also actively participated in this action to support women, which made him very excited.

At the same time, Chen Chun also contributed to Caixin Weekly, Duan Media, The Paper, Zhihu, Duoweiwang and other media or content platforms. His profile on the writing platform was "The Philosophy of Sun Yat-sen University. PhD, Young Scholar, Teacher, Research in Ethics, Political Philosophy and Phenomenology".

Among Chen Chun's readers, some people know him because of his " Those who have been let down by us" published on Douban in 2013. That article about love received more than 6,300 "likes" and nearly 2,000 "recommendations"; he later wrote a prose book of the same name combining love and philosophy, which was published in 2016.

Another part of people know Chen Chun because of his left-wing liberal ideas. For example, in 2013, he wrote "The Force of Shi Pai ", which criticized the Strauss School of China and Liu Ganmen, and " Schmidt's Poison in Our Generation " published in The Paper in 2014.

He admitted that because he has met many feminists, he will now pay more attention to issues related to women and minorities. As of January 26, 2019, seven of the ten statuses on his Weibo chronologically related to sexual assault, Me Too, and women.

For Chen Chun, it is a pleasure to clarify his thoughts through the form of writing, and only in the process of writing will his thoughts become more profound. The significance of insisting on writing lies in, "I do so many things in my daily life, and it is the writing that brings me this kind of pleasure that is the strongest."

That's the fourth writer to be introduced to in Matters' "Keywords to Write 2018" series. Below, please listen to Chen Chun's experience.

<Serious question and answer>

> Why did you start writing?

The most direct meaning of writing to me is that I do so many things in my daily life, and it is the writing that brings me the greatest pleasure.

Once I write something, the whole person will be completely controlled by the article, and even if I have to teach students, I may take time off. I have tried to go to class without writing an article, and I will find that I am particularly out of shape.

Writing also has a meaning for me, it allows me to explore a problem deeper, how to organize language, how to revise, and to re-present. If I don’t write some opinions, even if I just write them in the circle of friends, I think it may be about the same level, but later I found that if I write it as something, I can definitely dig very deep. .

If it's the same subject, I can't write more deeply than any of the articles I've read, and I don't think it's necessary to write. But sometimes when I finish writing, I will find that it is not only clear, but even helpful for the next research, I will be very excited.

I feel this way a lot of writing, and it pushes you to move on to something else. I sometimes even feel like my life is made up of these meaningful moments, and a lot of what I've been through in between is designed to get me to the next one. As long as I can always have the inspiration to write, the external situation or my own situation may not be particularly important.

> In 2018, what was the most memorable writing experience?

What impressed me the most was the article "Pros and Cons of Liberalism and Political Virtue ". At that time, #MeToo was spreading to the public welfare and public circles. At that time, my basic judgment was that left-wing youth should be more closely integrated with #MeToo. .

During that period, I wrote a series of articles about left-wing youth. Soon after I finished writing, the "Jasic Incident" became more and more troubled, so in the eyes of some people later, what I wrote would have a certain degree of foresight!

Looking at those articles now, I also agree that the new generation of left-wing youth is still very different from the older generation of "Mao Zuo". Their attention to vulnerable groups will not only be limited to workers, but will also pay more attention. To women, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, etc., but it is also this way to win wider sympathy.

Of course, there are some similarities between them and Lao Mao Zuo's behavior, which I discovered later. They will like to treat differences in a moral and political way, rather than simply as differences in strategy; there is also a particularly strong sense of collectivism, requiring all aspects of your life to conform to the collective arrangement.

> Who do you think your readers are?

There are many overseas students!

My personal WeChat account "The Myth of Sisyphus" was launched in early 2016. I didn't take it too seriously at first, but slowly a few people gathered. When there were 5,000 or 6,000 fans, one day I was a little bored and asked them in the background, "What kind of people are you?" In the replies, overseas students accounted for a large proportion, many of them studied philosophy, and secondly People who do charity work.

Later, I asked them, "What do you hope to get from my official account?" I found that the more unified idea is that they hope to communicate with more people of the same kind and share some knowledge. Later, I gave them the WeChat account and then pulled up four WeChat groups to let them communicate and chat on their own. Later, I pulled friends to give a lecture on "Qianchao". (The lecture) originally planned to continue, but later A keynote speaker was invited to have tea, and our plan was over.

> How do you view your readers?

I've added a lot of readers this year, and it's not so much that I'm guiding them, it's that the two sides are pushing each other in a certain direction.

For example, what I found myself improving than before is that my feminist concept is stronger. I have a lot of feminists among my readers that I didn't expect when I first wrote it. Because I was a bit "straight" a few years ago, including now, and I position myself as a liberal, and many feminists will criticize liberals for not paying enough attention to women's issues, and there will be a little male chauvinism Tend to it!

But after I get to know these readers, I will correct some aspects of "straight man cancer" that may not have been shown in myself. And I will pay more attention to disadvantaged groups, because many of my readers are doing public welfare, and I am greatly influenced by them.

Some people will say that what I write is helpful to them, but I think they help me in the same way.

> In 2019, what are your writing goals?

Most of the things I have written in recent years have been biased towards academic research, but there is a topic I have always wanted to write about, which is about the "Second Generation Deeper".

Our generation witnessed Shenzhen's fastest growing period. When I was a child, people spoke Cantonese. At that time, the Shenzhen highway had not been built, and it was just a lot of potholes and dirt. My good friend at that time lived near Tianxin Village. At that time, I felt like a backcountry. But now Shenzhen is basically like a northern city because of its rapid development, and everyone speaks Mandarin.

And if you go back to your old school now, you will find that everything has changed, and there is nothing to remember. This is actually a common experience of many young generations in China.

At the same time, we are very close to Hong Kong, and in fact, to a certain extent, we have also witnessed its decline at the same time. I think this kind of subject is quite worth writing, but I don't have enough materials at hand, and I don't want to write it in the form of a personal memoir.

<Q&A>

> The record for the longest draft in 2018?

Less procrastination, will be completed on time.

But there is a case where the editors themselves procrastinate, such as the Me Too topic. In the end, they also felt that they couldn't finish it, so they extended the time for us.

> The most frequently used writing and publishing platform?

WeChat. (Not happy with it though == )

> How long does it take to create a single article?

The Me Too article was 15,000 words, two to three thousand words a day for almost two weeks.

I actually spend a lot of time writing, but I think most things other than writing are pretty boring anyway, so it doesn't matter if I spend more time.

> Where do you usually go to write?

On the bed, if the family is out, they will also go to the sofa. ( Editor 's note: I can't even write about falling asleep, it's really weird...)

> What's your quirk in writing?

There must be something to eat, but generally speaking, you can't eat too much, so drink it instead. It's better to have a diet Coke that makes you feel like you're enjoying something without getting fat so easily.

> What do you do when you can't write it?

Seriously, there are very few times when I decide to write but can't. ( Editor 's note: Domineering!)

If you write hard, you can always write it out, just slow down, and you can write it out as you write it.

Interview : Zhang Xiaoya, Jiang Weiqi

Written and organized : Jiang Weiqi

Chen Chun: whistleblowing, pink frenzy, and totalitarianism outside the system

Why does extreme politics arise in the present, and where will it exert its force.

2019-08-29

[Editor's note]: Mainland scholar Chen Chun came to Hong Kong in mid-July to observe the anti-revision demonstrations. After returning, he was reported by a big V on Weibo in early August, and he was quickly searched on Weibo. The reason for the report It is "supporting Hong Kong independence", and the "evidence" is a screenshot of his WeChat Moments. He was invited to the police station for interrogation that night. He spent one night at the police station and was released the next morning. After he came out, he was searched twice again due to the pursuit of big V and the support of friends. This article is Chen Chun's self-report on the experience of that day and an analysis of the mechanism of the current pink frenzy in mainland China. He believes that the "brainwashing theory" has no explanatory power for this pink frenzy. The deeper question is why extreme politics is generated in the present and where will it exert its force.

When I came out of the police station on August 5, I felt that I could no longer keep up with the changes in the world.

I went to Hong Kong on July 14 to observe the media parade. It was actually very simple. Some local media workers were silent in black-clothed parades. Legal activities, nothing happened except walking. After participating, I posted two photos related to this on the Moments, but after a few hours I locked it out (set it to be visible to myself, I have always had this habit). However, within a few hours, someone saved these two photos and took screenshots of my Moments.

At around 12:00 on August 4th, a Weibo big V named "Guyan Muchan" posted these two photos of me and a screenshot of my circle of friends, and affixed the label of "Hong Kong Independence Doctor", urging people to quickly Forward. Soon, within an hour, my Weibo account, my previously deleted remarks, and the books I published were all fleshed out. Many other big Vs also followed the trend and forwarded these photos and information, without exception, they all shouted "Hong Kong independence", and one of the big Vs also added: "If you can't cure foreigners, you can't cure you a local doctor. ?"

At first, I didn't take this smear to heart, and I still went out to meet friends. But in the evening, I watched on my trumpet account (my trumpet has been banned), only to find that thousands of vicious comments had been collected under each Weibo account. One of my teachers followed the whole process of the fermenting of the incident. Privately told me not to open Weibo, otherwise I would be "extremely uncomfortable". At the same time, dozens of people who I have never dealt with sent me private messages on Weibo. Apart from insults, the most frequent threats were personal threats, and even threats to harm my family.

Seeing that these people scolded me to no avail (I ignored it), they started to post @Shenzhen and Guangzhou law enforcement agencies on Weibo, including @shenzhen public security, @shenzhen network police and @guang public security, and later I saw someone leave a message saying, Also made a special call to call the police. Some friends advised me to go abroad to avoid the limelight. I ask myself that I have never made any remarks in support of Hong Kong independence (when the idea of "Hong Kong independence" first appeared, I criticized it, believing that it would not help solve any problems in Hong Kong, and would only lead to further confrontation between land and Hong Kong. ), and did not believe that the public authority would take such a report seriously, so neither went home to get a passport nor contacted any lawyers. At about 5:00 pm, the police came to my house to find me, but I was not there. At 8 o'clock in the evening, a police officer from the city bureau called me, and we agreed to meet at the police station near my house at 9 o'clock.

At the time, I wasn't so worried because I didn't support Hong Kong independence, and I didn't think I would be deliberately wronged.

It turned out that this matter was more serious than I thought, and even if it was actually not the "direct detention" my friend was worried about. I arrived at the police station about 10 minutes earlier. While waiting for the police officer from the city bureau, I chatted with the police officer who received me at the police station and briefly described my situation. During the chat, the police officer also sighed, saying that now some people have nothing to do, and they are stalking people's pigtails everywhere on the Internet. I was about to answer when he continued, "What if you are a Hong Kong independence? You are a Hong Kong independent, and your legal rights must be protected as well. If someone inside leaks your personal privacy, you have the right to pursue their legal responsibility according to law.

Of course, the police officer who received me didn't know the specific nature of the matter, so he just talked about the case itself. It's just that I know that the matter involves cross-strait politics, and I'm a person whom Yousi once looked for, and they think that "a person with a certain influence", so this matter will not be that simple. But I didn't think at the time that it would be as complicated as it would be after that.

But to be fair, during the ten hours at the police station, I did not suffer any abuse. The interrogation time did not exceed three hours in total. The interrogation questions included: when did I go to Hong Kong, when did I come back, and did I do it in the middle? What, did you go to the parade (in fact, I also participated in the Sha Tin parade), why do you wear a mask and wear black clothes, why do you drink Pocari, why do you take pictures and upload them on Moments, who you go with, and whether there is any violence in the middle. The rest of the time is waiting for the copy of the information in my mobile phone to be completed. All chat records on social media such as WeChat are copied, but there are 7 million records, and the technician told me not to read every one of them, but to search for keywords. As for my personal situation, I have almost nothing to hide, because I believe they can know those things even if they don't ask me.

In the end, they took all kinds of considerations and decided not to deal with me. They just warned me, but the matter of warning me has nothing to do with Hong Kong independence and the march. They just warned me not to post in the circle of friends such as Hong Kong university students scolding the principal photos etc.

During the copying process, the mobile phone cannot be used, otherwise the copying speed will be affected, and the interrogation is also carried out intermittently during this period. During these long hours of waiting, they basically did not restrict my movements. I went in and out of several offices, taking drinking water and lunch, and sleeping on one of the sofas for two hours. I chatted a lot with the leaders of the police station, one of the middle-aged police officers who interrogated me, and the technical staff member. I saw other police officers handle two cases reasonably and I also listened to a few young civilian staff joking with each other. joke. Before I left, a police officer who looked a bit like a strong bald head told me in Cantonese, make good money, and it is best not to touch such matters as politics.

Compared to those who reported me online, these living components of the system of violence were not at all "violent" in front of me, although I have always wondered how much "rule of law" is possible under a one-party dictatorship , but from my many contacts with these law enforcement officers, they really believe that the system is moving in the direction of "rule of law", so they like to emphasize the legal basis for their law enforcement, and they feel special about their compliance with legal procedures. pride. In a way, they fit very well with Weber's description of the "bureaucracy" of "rationalization."

This does not mean that these civil servants are "politically neutral". After I came out of the police station, I was sent to the Weibo hot search twice. The first time was because Guyan Muchan and other big V continued to chase me, and the second time was because many friends came out to support me after I came out. It angered those who were unhappy with me, which led to inquiries from two departments; some of my friends, readers, and students, because of helping me speak, their Weibo was compromised, and some people were fleshed out with quite detailed personal information. information, subject to various threats. But in the police station before, after I explained my situation, I asked to deal with those marketing accounts that abused me on the Internet (among them, "Gu Yan Mu Chan" may have a background in the system), the attitude of the police officers of the city bureau is like this : This is the spontaneous patriotic enthusiasm of netizens. You have to understand, who told you to hit the gun? And because these accounts have not been cancelled, the Weibo that abused me is still there, and there are still people who attacked me to this day.

In the past half month, I have seen more and more people who have been reported inside and outside the wall: one person expressed sympathy for the young people in Hong Kong in the process of arguing with his colleague, and the colleague immediately reported it. Police: A student who should be still studying forwarded an article on the abuse of force by the Hong Kong police in the circle of friends. A student directly told her in private, I and other students reported you together, we don’t deserve a friend like you ; There are also some unlucky people who have a retweet or a like on Facebook and Twitter related content, and they are collected by "acquaintances" with ulterior motives, and they are exposed as evidence of "supporting Hong Kong independence". inside the wall. These people who have been reported and abused by human beings and the Internet are not only unable to defend their rights, they are also actively harassed and punished by public power agencies. Many of them have been harassed more severely than me. If the family is in the system or running a business, the whole family will face a huge disaster.

pink frenzy

Some people think that this shows that the young people in the mainland have been brainwashed too thoroughly. This is of course also an interpretive path, but in my opinion, things are far more complicated than that.

In this "reporting frenzy", the performance of "fan circle girls" is also quite eye-catching. August 14th is known as the "814 Fanquan Unity", because on this day, the fangirls put aside the grievances between their idols and went out on Instagram and Facebook as "Brother Ah Zhong" (China) fight.

This "expedition" was supported by the veteran expeditionary army "Emperor Bar", but the organization of the girls in the fan circle trained in the previous "escort" process has played a great advantage: slaughtering, accusing and criticizing, anti-black The techniques are familiar with ease; in addition, there are technical guidance and art teams, copywriting teams, and translation teams dedicated to overcoming the wall and overseas publicity. You know, this is the quality that has been cultivated in previous rice circle battles.

In fact, in recent years of political austerity, the girls in the fan circle have gradually learned to "borrow" politics. For example, because "patriotism" is the bottom line, if an idol has made remarks that are "not politically correct", or is not active enough on "National Day", "Party Founding Day", and "Army Founding Day", it may be criticized. Home fans report. A common operation is to spread screenshots on a large scale, a large number of "Communist Youth League Central", "Ziguangge" and "People's Daily" on Weibo, or hashtag, send that artist to the hot search (honored, I also enjoy this operation once). Hong Kong and Taiwan stars are not yet familiar with this set of "rules" in the mainland, and occasionally become victims. Charmaine Sheh, Miriam Yeung and Wang Zulan have all been brought to the forefront because of minor "mistakes". Among them, Charmaine Sheh quickly issued an apology statement to be forgiven, and Wang Zulan did not repost "I am a flag bearer" on Weibo, which became an important evidence for mainland netizens that he was "unpatriotic".

Officials such as the "Central Committee of the Communist Youth League" have a very wonderful relationship with these fangirls. On the one hand, the editors who take care of these official microblogs are far more familiar with the ecology of the fan circle and the discourse of the fan circle than the general official media, which makes some of the content posted on these microblogs very interesting to the girls in the fan circle and even the post-95s and post-00s. Young people are particularly friendly and therefore more mobilized. On the other hand, the girls in the fan circle are also respectful and afraid of these official microblogs. They are afraid that some small mistakes of their idols will be targeted by the "Central Committee of the Communist Youth League", etc. of contempt. But more often, they regard these officials as objects they can trust, rely on, and use. After the "814 Fanquan Unity", the "Central Committee of the Communist Youth League" praised the girls in the Fanquan with great fanfare on Weibo. The "fan circle girl" ushered in her own highlight moment.

Within two days, Chinese students in Australia and Canada stole the limelight from the girls in the fan circle. Hong Kong young people in Australia launched a rally in support of Hong Kong's anti-extradition campaign. Some girls shouted "Hong Kong Stay Strong!" The crowd of Chinese students on the other side shouted "CNMB" and "Call Dad" tit for tat. In Canada, Chinese students planted the Chinese flag on their Ferraris and shouted "poor" to young people in Hong Kong, showing the true nature of the upstarts.

Although these two incidents of international students seem disorganized and humiliating, they may not be completely spontaneous. It is an open secret in the world that Chinese embassies in various countries have close ties with local Chinese students. These embassies not only provide assistance in life and study to overseas Chinese students, but also give special care to some of them. In return, these international students help them pay attention to the "ideological trends" of other Chinese students, record and report them regularly. Some activities that are inconvenient for the embassy to appear in may also be organized by these international students on their behalf.

In the past two months or so, the various machines within the system have clearly guided mainland public opinion: those non-establishment Hong Kongers (the so-called "yellow silk") have been portrayed by the (self-) media inside the wall as overachieving, ungrateful, and ungrateful. The scum who are lazy, forget their ancestors, collude with foreign enemies, and split the country are all called "waste youth" and "thugs". Reporting, human flesh, and cyber violence, which are considered despicable acts in general morality, are also favored and maintained by the system.

However, the manipulation and bias of the system alone cannot fully explain this "pink terror": many mainlanders can jump over the wall at any time, but they are still reluctant to believe that the media from Hong Kong and the West convey more truthfully than the mainland media. the way things were. Of course, foreign media do have some stereotypes about China, or they have their own agenda settings. In the past, there were some off-ground or deviated expressions on some issues related to China, which may have accumulated a kind of mistrust for a long time. But in general, in a free speech society, these issues can be corrected without affecting the professionalism of the media in conveying the facts. But what is more special now is that many people do not look at these facts and think that when the official WeChat releases a signal of relaxation, they will in turn question whether the official WeChat has been instigated.

Some people think that this shows that after years of "patriotic education" and nationalism, mainland young people have been brainwashed too thoroughly. This is of course an explanation path, but in my opinion, things are far more complicated than this - this wave of "pink craze" has both reasons from Hong Kong (for example, many mainlanders have the experience of being discriminated against in Hong Kong) ), there are also reasons for patriotic education and system manipulation, but the root of the problem is still buried in the deep political and cultural structure and social organizational structure of the mainland.

Hollowing out, making extreme politicization possible

Stable "enforced nihilism" is not a state that can be maintained for long, it is either a healthy "rational pluralism" or a "nihilistic mania". Obviously, the former is simply impossible now.

The first three decades of reform and opening up were called "depoliticization" by some New Leftists. This definition is not unreasonable in the light of the following: During this period, political movements in China declined sharply, and leaders abandoned the "class struggle" as their program and replaced them with "economic development," "four modernizations," "National prosperity" and "national rejuvenation"; various departments of the Chinese system are becoming more and more "administrative", and the admiration for "performance" overrides the requirement for absolute "political correctness"; communist beliefs are rapidly lost in China, and the great Some people take "living a good life" as their pursuit in life; with the reform of the economic system, the Chinese have gradually separated themselves from "work units" and other grass-roots organizations to strictly control themselves.

Under this trend, "politics" began to lose its ideological color in the understanding of ordinary people, and became similar to "power struggle". Although patriotic education has tended to be strengthened in primary and secondary schools in recent years, social control has become more stringent due to political trends and technological progress, the system has become more and more "political", and policies on private enterprises have also been like a roller coaster. It is impossible for China to go back to the period of "communism". If the concept of "communism" that includes both political institutional arrangements and personal life arrangements is called "strong ideology", there is currently no "strong ideology" in China, so this wave of "pink frenzy", strictly speaking Nor is it an "ideological frenzy".

However, this does not mean that China has no chance of returning to "totalitarianism". This "hollowing out" of the political and cultural structure and social organizational structure left after "depoliticization" is precisely the favorable condition for "repoliticization" or even "extreme politicization".

From the moment the regime was established, it had a strong distrust of organizations other than itself. From the land reform to the Cultural Revolution, China's traditional social organizations have been destroyed. After 1978, some spontaneous associations appeared sporadically in China, but they have always been monitored by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2015, the "civil society movement" came to an end, and social organizations also quickly shrink. Chinese society is divided into two parts, organized people (members of the system) and unorganized people. In the past, China's liberals had more frictions with people in the system, but in the long run, the most dangerous group of people did not necessarily come from "organized people".

Our society is mass producing "atomic" individuals and egoists immersed in the private sphere. Some vulgar liberals were delighted by this, as if it made the movement of collectivism impossible. They forget, however, that people are political animals, born with a desire to connect with others in action, especially when atomization and life in the private sphere no longer provide them with a source of meaning. At a certain moment when these people are hiding in their own world and watching variety shows, Korean dramas and star chasing, a pursuit of "sublime" will suddenly arise in their hearts. The real sublime is a self-chosen "must be so", it is based on self-identified transcendental beliefs, devoted to some intrinsic value, and willing to pay the price for it. However, for a nation that has no conditions to pursue true nobility, the only nobility is "patriotism".

In the post-Tiananmen era, the state has a compromise to the growing spiritual need for transcendence, acquiescing to various "integrity doctrines" without jeopardizing mainstream values ("patriotism," "development," and "stability"). Existence - liberalism, Christianity, Confucianism, feminism... but after 2012, this tacit understanding has been broken. The authorities feared that the people of this country would be connected in a way that had nothing to do with its organization and propaganda, so they suppressed all holistic doctrines, including Marxism in the original sense. That is, the authorities do not allow any kind of holistic doctrine to be truly disseminated, nor can it provide an attractive holistic doctrine of its own (such as ancient Confucianism and Mao-era communism), This is equivalent to throwing all citizens into a "coercive nihilism". And stable "forced nihilism" is not a state that can be maintained for a long time, it is either a healthy "reasonable pluralism" or a "nihilistic mania". To go to the former is to allow the free development of various holistic theories and various organizations. Obviously, this path is simply impossible now.

"Nihilistic fanaticism" does not require knowledge of intrinsic value, only "loyalty". In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt writes: "This type of loyalty can only arise from people who are completely isolated, who have no other social connection, such as family, friends, comrades, or just acquaintances. Loyalty makes them feel , only when he belongs to a movement, he is a member of a political party, can he have a place in the world." (p421) When the girl in the fan circle said "Brother Ah Zhong has only us", the meaning is exactly the opposite, Brother Ah Zhong is not only them, but they only have "Brother Ah Zhong".

This kind of "nihilistic fanaticism" also needs an enemy, or an object of hatred. The object of hatred was vague before, but now it has a very specific direction, which is "waste youth". Like "Jews", "waste youth" are identified as destroying economic production, betraying national interests, and sucking the blood of their own people (Hong Kong has received so many preferential policies from the central government). Just calling for "patriotism" cannot mobilize so much energy. Only when "patriotism" has specific enemies can the energy be gathered. To establish such an enemy does not require much effort by the system, and this enemy may not even be chosen by the system. After July 14th, we saw some self-media inside the wall spreading the "news" of "waste green pliers breaking the fingers of the police". It does not need to be fabricated by the system itself. ' manufacture and dissemination.

What makes people terrifying is that, judging from what my friends and I have experienced recently, the extension of "abandoned youth" has expanded to include all mainlanders who sympathize with the Hong Kong protesters, and further, all those who have criticized the Chinese Communist Party. Mainland citizens should also be targeted. Considering that the possibility of "abandoned youth" going north is very small, the government also does not encourage mainlanders to go to Hong Kong to start films with "abandoned youth". If this "pink movement" expands, not only will the "abandoned youth in mainland" become "abandoned youth" in an all-round way. political pariah", and the lives of ordinary mainlanders will also be significantly affected - all will be forced to prove their position on the Hong Kong issue, and to prove that they have never criticized the ruling party, their social accounts and real-time The chat records of the communication tools will be strictly scrutinized, and they will always doubt whether the people around them will sue and report them. Those unfortunate enough to make "wrong speeches" have their lives ruined easily.

totalitarianism outside the system

How can we face the reality that more and more young people are more reactionary than the system itself?

The relationship between the system and this trend is complex: on the one hand, in many senses, the trend is spawned by the system, although it may not necessarily have this intention. The system destroys the possibility of any social organization, does not allow the dissemination of any holistic theory, refuses to establish any benign public culture, and prepares the necessary social conditions for this trend; All real information disseminated in the wall is deleted, and those who spread this information are punished; the system has always shaped the political nature of fan circle girls, and mobilized them at critical moments. ; The system bribes, monitors, coerces and manipulates young elites studying overseas, so that they can always maintain their loyalty and avoid being "brainwashed by Western ideas"; finally, the system also favors those little pinks who report, human flesh, and online violence against others , to escort their fanatical activities from being counteracted by their victims.

On the other hand, the system has many unrealistic illusions about this movement. For example, it hopes that the little pinks who participate in it will obey orders, not to affect social stability, and not to turn the blame on themselves.

There was a university teacher in Guangzhou who was reported by his students for his "pro-Hong Kong" remarks. The school did not deal with it. Don't you think it's really ironic to lose your job as a university teacher? In the end, you are protected by this system that you despise." This student did not write to the teacher to teach a lesson: Look, this system still has speeches Free, right? Don't keep talking bad about it. From this example, the student believes that the "system" (at least this school) is sheltering Hong Kong independence activists, and he believes that the "system" can no longer represent the interests of the patriotic masses.

This is the situation we must face: how do we face the reality that more and more young people are more reactionary than the system itself?

Some researchers argue that totalitarianism is only possible when there is a combination of an aggressive ideology, a Karisma leader, and a highly disciplined and mobilizing organization. Because of the "depoliticization" of the ruling party itself in the first three decades of reform, many liberals believe that totalitarianism is no longer possible in China.

However, one possibility they didn't think of was that totalitarian movements could also emerge outside the system. It may have been conceived by the system, but in the end it will swallow the system, assimilate the system, and become an even more maddened machine.

Let us not think that this possibility is a fantasy. A few days ago, the official WeChat account of the "People's Daily" wanted to ease the conflict, and sent a message "Hello, my Hong Kong friend". The little pink in the message did not buy it, and questioned that the "People's Daily" position was not firm enough. The "Leslie Cheung" that can pull the navy into a full screen. This shows that this "pink movement" has begun to have its own "life" and may be out of control in the near future. Outside of the system, Little Pinks already have their own organizational model. The set of mechanisms they have learned in the fan circle and “going out” that pays great attention to hierarchy, discipline, division of labor and mobilization efficiency can be easily used in the next big event. A large-scale "witch hunt" operation. Through this "Pink Terror", their ideology and enemies have been gradually constructed by them: the confluence of "nationalism", "anti-Western democracy" and "anti-Hong Kong model" is only one step away from a strong ideology The "waste youth" and "supporters of Western democracy" are their eternal enemies and sinners who undermine the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the ages.

As for the leader of this movement, his presence was not a prerequisite for the movement, as Arendt said: "The totalitarian leader is essentially a function of the masses under his leadership; he is not a desire An individual in power who does not impose tyranny or arbitrary will on his subjects. He is only an enforcer, ready to be replaced at any time, and he relies on the 'will' of the masses that he manifests, and the masses rely on him. Without him, they If there is no external representative, there will always be a mob; if there is no mass, the leader will become insignificant." If this movement continues, there will definitely be careerists who are more "conscious" than Little Pink in the future, and they may have one The holistic doctrine that he believes in, emerges from inside or outside the system, and takes over the baton of the movement from Little Pink.

Some people will think that I am unfounded, thinking that these little pinks may be only a very small number of young people, or this frenzy will soon be saved. Honestly, I don't believe it's going to be small enough for a group that can get someone like me on the trending search twice in a few days, not to mention the frenzy among young people They will infect each other, and will spread like a prairie fire in extreme environments. As for whether it will pass soon, it depends on whether the Hong Kong affair will end soon, which has to be said to be a historical paradox: a struggle for democracy in one region may trigger the beginning of a totalitarian movement in the other.

For such a catastrophic movement, the system itself is the most responsible and capable of eliminating it, but in the external environment of the economic downturn and trade war, the leaders of the system may not be able to resist the temptation to drink poison to quench their thirst, nor do they dare to go Go against this trend that is more politically correct than yourself. What they are most likely to do, however, is to direct the disaster on liberals and other progressives. At such a juncture, intellectuals stand up to resist this frenzy, not only to save themselves, but also to save the country. If you only want to protect yourself because of your life, then the pink tide will eventually submerge all this land.

Such a "breakthrough" is probably the worst outcome we can imagine.