A letter to Alliance Tonyee Chow Hang-tung(also talking about the history and connection between the mainland and Hong Kong, the situation of Chinese women, and the future of the mainland and Hong Kong)

Another letter to Tonyee Chow Hang-tung

 Hello Ms.Tonyee Chow Hang-tung :

 I am Wang Qingmin, a writer living in Europe.  Two years ago, I wrote you a relatively brief letter expressing my support for you.  I don't know if you received and read it.  Maybe there are too many people sending letters, and there are many restrictions in Hong Kong prisons, so you haven't read them.  But it doesn't matter.

 Another two years passed.  You were sentenced by the judiciary controlled by the CCP and the Hong Kong government and are still in custody.  And I am also in various displacements, struggles, confusion, and thinking.  I think, I still have to write you another letter, which is this letter.  I don't know if you will read this letter.  Whether I read it or not, I will write about it.

 As a new star of the Stake Association and a new star of the Hong Kong social movement, you would have inherited the behest of Mr. Si Tuhua and the mantle of Mr. Li Zhuoren who had struggled for decades, and became the new leader of the patriotic and democratic movement in Hong Kong.  You will also have a great career in the legal field.

 However, the countercurrent after the anti-extradition law movement interrupted the progress of Hong Kong's democratic progress. You, Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan, Mr. Ho Chun-yan, Mr. Leung Kwok-hung, etc., all suffered from prison.  Like the giant invader Goliath, the CCP is trampling on the rule of law and prosperity in Hong Kong, and like Leviathan, it is suppressing the freedom and democracy of the Pearl of the Orient.  From the violent suppression of the police to the promulgation of the "National Security Law", the civil society in Hong Kong disappeared overnight, and Hong Kong people remained silent.

 Against such a cruel backdrop, you not only did not give in and refused to betray those who helped Hong Kong's patriotic and democratic movement, but also made a generous statement in court, telling the significance of commemorating June 4th and denouncing the shamelessness of totalitarian tyranny.  This is the backbone of the nation and the role model of women.

 The current situation in mainland China and Hong Kong clearly tells us that there may still be a long period of darkness.  You still have to suffer in prison, and it is still difficult to leave Hong Kong after you get out of prison, and you will be suppressed and silenced.

 In such a situation, you are likely to be miserable, depressed, and sad.  I can probably empathize.  A few years ago, I was imprisoned in the closed psychiatric ward of Hong Kong Eastern Hospital, and I also experienced the situation of losing my freedom.  Prison is hard, day and night longing for freedom.

 But these painful experiences, the various injustices and ugliness that they have heard and seen will objectively enrich the knowledge and thoughts of those who have experienced it.  Fuel, motivation for progress.

 Regardless of mainland China, Hong Kong, or many countries and regions, there are various tangible and invisible barriers between people, classes and classes, and groups.  It is often difficult for people from the elite class to empathize with the common people and the bottom.  For example, Tian Beichen, a Hong Kong tycoon and legislator, experienced the daily work and life of cleaners for two days before he realized how hard the bottom of Hong Kong is.

 But that kind of "experience" is not completely empathetic.  Because this is just an "experience", not a real and permanent subalternation from birth, formal occupation, daily necessities of life.  Moreover, Tian Beichen ended the experience early without persevering to the end.  He obviously has the initiative to choose.  And only when you really have to sink into the bottom society or special environment (such as prisons, mental hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers) when you have no choice but to resist, can you fully understand the sufferings and hardships of the civilians, the weak, and the bottom.

 For example, I used to have a life stage where I didn’t have to worry about basic necessities of life.  At that time, my knowledge of the dark side of society came only from various books and movies. When I saw the poverty and injustice in the world, I only saw the flowers in the fog, and I was quite separated from the bottom.

 It wasn't until later, because of family accidents, school violence, cyber violence, various violations, and later rights protection and exile, especially being locked up in a mental hospital for a period of time, that I deeply realized what suffering and despair are.

 For example, when I was accompanying my father, I slept on the hospital floor, and it was difficult to fall asleep because of the cement tile floor. I turned over and over again;  On the one hand, the front and back of the seat were too tight to lie down, and my spirit almost collapsed. I left the seat several times and lay directly on the sidewalk between the two rows of seats. I was reprimanded by the driver for throwing me down;  Calling and drinking, bossing around, I can only endure and obey; when I first came in, because I didn’t like sweets and didn’t want to eat, I didn’t eat for a day, I was hungry, and I had nothing to do, so I was anxious, so I wolfed down whatever meal I had the next day  ;After being discharged from the hospital, he went back to the mainland. Because of family conflicts, he was unable to go home.  It is not a coincidence that the so-called "house leaks happen to rain continuously at night" and "bad luck only looks for the poor". Because of weakness and injury, without support and help, it must be a series of sequelae.

 In addition to personal experience, I also heard, witnessed, and witnessed many people and things of the bottom and marginal people.  For example, in Hong Kong, I saw helpless old people in "cage houses" without air conditioning and in a smelly environment; in mental hospitals, there were yelling, dull and stupid patients, and even long-term incontinence patients;  Suspected mainland smugglers and sex workers in the detention room of the immigration department... In Shenzhen, mainland China, I saw innocent and kind children in the school for children of migrant workers; also in Shenzhen, I saw them eating clear water  Dami Tang is a salesperson of a mobile business hall who is working hard to make a living; at a friend’s house in Shaanxi, he sees that life is poor but still sticks to kindness, manages the family well, and fulfills the duties of a husband’s wife and a son’s mother.  Chinese rural women who don't ask for anything in return…

These people and things, if you live in the upper middle class for a long time, you can't see or ignore them; even if you see them, it's not easy to empathize with them, it's just a shallow sympathy from others.  Only when you are in trouble, become a part of them, feel sorry for each other or be on the same plane, can all kinds of feelings and empathy pour into your heart.  Especially in a situation of losing freedom, being at the mercy of others, and being powerless to resist, you can experience the despair and resentment of the bottom people, and you can better understand the last resort of the wicked among the marginalized, the value of the good, and how to change all these injustices.  necessity and urgency.

 In addition, after experiencing loss of freedom, poverty, and despair, you will think about many things that you would not normally consider at all, or you may have knowledge but one-sided cognition and not deep thinking.  For example, the issue of death and the value of life, the balance between freedom and order, and the deviation between experience and rationality.  After thinking about these, we can roughly understand what people should do in life, and how not to waste a limited and precious short life.

 Of course, most of these thoughts are systematic and sound only after regaining freedom, tranquility, and relatively less scarce conditions, and recalling the previous sinking and despair.  If there is only poverty and violence, and there is no struggle behind, then one is that there is no energy to think carefully and only feels pain, and the other is that even if you think about it, you cannot express, write, and spread it.

 But if you don't have those experiences, you can only have peace and quiet, and of course you can't experience and think about all this.

 When I say this, it can be regarded as a "predecessor" experience.  Ms. Zou is now in prison, and she will not be completely free for a long time after being imprisoned.  This reality is difficult to change for the time being.  Perhaps, we can only experience and think in this suffering, intuitively feel the experience and feelings of those who lose their freedom, the disadvantaged, and the lacking, and seek the enrichment of thoughts and the sublimation of the soul in adversity.

 Of course, suffering is suffering, and it is not suffering just because it is possible to get some special experience and thinking.  I also don't think that in order to gain some experience and sublimation, one must enjoy suffering and take pleasure in suffering.  As far as Ms. Zou is concerned, I still hope that you will be released from prison as soon as possible, regain your freedom, and finally get rid of all kinds of shackles and haze.

 I also deeply hope that Ms. Zou can stick to her ideals and fight unremittingly not only for Hong Kong, but also for the dignity, rights, and well-being of the people in mainland China.

 I understand the difficulty of Hong Kong people and the pain of facing the persecution by the CCP and the Hong Kong government.  But in fact, what the people of mainland China have suffered is hundreds of times and thousands of times that of Hong Kong people.  After all, Hong Kong people used to have some freedom and democracy, and today they still enjoy the weakened but still surviving rule of law, materially far superior to most cities and villages in the mainland.  In mainland China, freedom and democracy are gone, and the rule of law is a state of "I find it funny when you say the law".  In material terms, former Premier Li Keqiang once said: There are 600 million people in China whose monthly income does not exceed 1,000 yuan (RMB).

 Among the Chinese people who are poor, have no dignity, and lack a sense of security, women account for more than half, and they are the weakest among the weak.  In the cruel social Darwinist environment, resource allocation and discourse system dominated by patriarchy, the middle and lower classes, especially girls and women at the bottom, are the biggest victims.

 Many mainland Chinese women of your age have lived in poor, patriarchal, violent families since they were young, and the schools and society are also bad and cruel.  Domestic violence, school violence, discrimination and bullying are common occurrences.  And sexual assault is also heard from time to time, and people are more contemptuous of the girl victim than the rapist.

 Some finished primary and junior high school and dropped out of school directly.  They have to do farm work, or enter factories/workshops, and if they have older brothers and younger brothers, they have to use their own labor to support their studies.  And by the age of 20 or so, many of them are married.  And most of the new families will only be worse than the natal family.  Serving your husband and in-laws takes up most of your time and energy.  When it comes to women's rights, they've never even heard of it.  When you are promoting words in Yinghua and Cambridge, they are hoeing in the fields, breastfeeding their children, facing violent husbands, and being forced to painfully fulfill some obligations as wives.

 Some got better and went to high school or even college.  But most of these women can only accept one of the limited job options after graduation, and get some meager wages.  And their marriages are indeed better than those of women who dropped out of school and married in the first place, but not much better.  Under the dominance of the patriarchal social environment and discourse system, without the rule of democracy and the rule of law, discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment and infringement are almost unavoidable.

 Even women of considerable status are not immune to the danger of humiliation.  There is a colleague of yours in mainland China, a female lawyer, Sun Shihua, who you may have heard of or even know.  When she was investigating the case, the police made excuses to take off her clothes and inspect her naked (although it was inspected by a female police officer). Although it was reported later, it was still ignored.  For example, He Siyun, a female teacher who reported that a male teacher sexually assaulted a girl, was also forced to do blood and urine tests by the railway police under the pretext of investigating whether she was taking drugs.  You should know better what happened to the wives of 709 lawyers.

 Obviously, not only will public power not become a barrier to protect women, but it is infringing on women's dignity and freedom.  In such an environment, Chinese women cannot even guarantee their basic safety, and all kinds of misfortunes may happen at any time.  Even when there is no violation, the possibility of being violated, the precedent and the reality that perpetrators are generally not punished, the insecurity caused by it is itself a lasting and hidden harm to women.

 Not only women, but workers, farmers, the elderly, LGBT groups, children, and the physically and mentally disabled... Most vulnerable groups in China are in a situation similar to women in poverty, being hurt, insecure, and without dignity.  All vulnerable groups including women account for at least 80% of China's population.  She/they have been struggling and enduring in pain.

 Due to the power of the autocracy and its own weakness, as well as being trapped in poverty and anxiety, as well as long-term brainwashing education and information blockade, most people in mainland China have lost the consciousness and ability to think about the root of their own suffering, to speak out, and to find a way out.

 Just like the migrant girls sweating profusely on the assembly line, the migrant workers who carry bricks and mud on the construction site, and the housewives who coax the crying children and take care of their husbands and in-laws at home, they are devastated every day and have no time and energy to think, read, and travel.  It is more difficult to express fully and forcefully.

 Naturally, she/they are the insulted and damaged persons in this society, the objects of bondage and bullying, and they most need awakening and liberation.  But from a real point of view, although she/they need awakening and liberation the most, they lack the conditions for awakening the most and are the most difficult to break free from the shackles.  Even if they speak out, like Gao Yanmin and Ma Panyan who were kidnapped, raped and imprisoned by human traffickers, they are still living in pain and have been harassed and attacked by evil people from the government and the Internet for a long time.  More unknown female rights defenders were tortured after they resisted, and were imprisoned in black jails and mental hospitals. Their voices and resistance were persecuted even more.

 Hundreds of millions of people from generation to generation have lived and died in such a muddled way.  Even if there are occasional rebels, it is even more tragic, dying in the violence of the perpetrator and the ridicule of the bystanders.

 Existence does not equal rationality, injustice needs to be changed.  Especially Chinese women and other oppressed groups should be awakened and liberated.  And it is difficult for them to break free in the shackles, so they need the strength of others even more.

 And Hong Kong is the hope of the mainland; many people with lofty ideals in Hong Kong, including you, are the hope of the people of the mainland.  Your knowledge, vision, sense of responsibility, and ideals are beyond the reach of people in mainland China.

 Although today's Hong Kong is also under the pressure of Leviathan, you and many people with lofty ideals are also imprisoned.  However, the various tangible and intangible resources, wealth, insight, and courage you possess are still unmatched by the generally ignorant and cowardly mainlanders, and will eventually reappear in the future and benefit the people of the mainland.

 Taking a million steps back, even if the CCP’s dictatorship cannot be overthrown within a hundred years, there is still hope and infinite possibilities in the longer future.  You and your relatives, friends, comrades and colleagues can pass the spark to the next generation, the next generation, and countless generations.

The voice of resistance in the street is annihilated, but the whispers in the pillow can still be passed on for a long time;

 Public publications were banned, but word-of-mouth transmissions could not be cut off;

 The Pillars of Remembrance are removed, but the proofs of memory are still rooted in the brain and heart;

 Victoria Park can no longer host the June 4th Memorial Gala, but the memorial and connection in the small room and on the rock are hard to shake off;

 The turmoil of millions of people in Central has subsided, and the sparks of thousands of households cannot be extinguished...

 However, these things do not happen naturally, but need to be done by people, and echo each other in the soul and even in reality, connecting and growing like streams converging into rivers and seas, and becoming the source and foundation of future revival.

 Ms. Zou, think about the life trajectories of those mainland Chinese women of your age.  The same person, because of different environments and systems, is very different.  And they should also have self-esteem, freedom, autonomy, and spend their lives happily.  They are unable to speak out, unable to speak out, and even their basic understanding of the motherland and the world are deprived and distorted by the autocracy.  Those who want to speak for and fight for them.

 The language, culture, and history of Hong Kong are also inseparable from the Chinese civilization and the historical changes of the mainland.  From the Sino-British War to the Revolution of 1911, from anti-Japanese riots to land and port restoration, from the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to the Cultural Revolution and the extended June 7 riots, from reform and opening up to the return of Hong Kong, to the Beijing Olympics, the Wenchuan Earthquake, political reform and Occupy Central, and the mainland  A retrograde movement and Hong Kong's anti-extradition law movement...No matter the glory or the disaster, the land and port are inseparable.  Although the people on both sides have discord from time to time, most of them are instigated by the regime and low-ranking elements.  Although Hong Kong people also have extreme anti-mainlanders, it is still understandable to think carefully.

 In the future, Hong Kong and the mainland will still be closely linked and share ups and downs.  The former Hong Kong awakened the sleeping and locked mainland and connected it to the world. It contributed to the victory of China's national democratic revolution, helped the economy of mainland China to take off, spread Chinese culture and promoted Han civilization.

 Archimedes said: "Give me a fulcrum to move the earth."  Hong Kong is the "fulcrum" for the rejuvenation of mainland China, the Han nationality, and Chinese civilization.  The past is, and the future should be, will be, and must be.

 Mainland China needs democracy, human rights, and women's rights.  The heroes of the past, Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Zou Rong, Zhang Taiyan, Wu Yue... Although their lives are gone, their ambitions remain unchanged.  There are also many heroines, Qiu Jin, Tang Qunying, Xiang Jingyu, Lin Zhao, Zhang Zhixin, Gao Yaojie, Guo Jianmei... You must remember their names and deeds, so that China's democracy, human rights and women's liberation can be truly realized.

 Your predecessors in Hong Kong, Szeto Wah, Lee Cheuk-yan, Ho Chun-jen, Anita Mui, Anson Chan, and Ailing Fung, have also worked tirelessly for the cause of democracy and progress in the land port.  Mr. Situ Hua and Ms. Anita Mui have passed away, but their spirits are immortal, setting an example of sincerity and integrity for future generations and guiding the way forward.

 You are familiar with all the men and women who have struggled in Hong Kong and Kowloon for decades, and you should understand their aspirations and dreams.  He/They are not reconciled to the abrupt end of everything, they must be looking forward to the rebirth of the dry port.  This requires inheritance and persistence.  You've done a lot, and they should be quite relieved.  But in the future, there is still a long way to go.  Nuisances are like thorns, and slander is like mosquitoes, sometimes more corrosive to the mind than Leviathan's shackles.  But the more this is the case, the more we must persevere, and we must not let the wicked succeed.

 A person, isolated, must have limited influence, and one day will disappear in the future (of course, everyone will usher in the end of life, sooner or later).  Therefore, it is necessary to continue to sow, spread, and pass on.  Behind you, there will also be new torchbearers.  Although this seems to be a long time later, the long history makes decades only a snap of the fingers.  What's more, all kinds of uncertainties are even more disturbing.  If the fire is not extinguished and the salary cannot be exhausted, there are lamp burners and night watchmen from generation to generation.  We need as many colleagues and close friends as possible to form an indestructible network.

 Many of your peers and descendants in Hong Kong, such as Joshua Wong, Law Kwun Cong, and He Guilan, have embarked on a path that is both opposite and biased.  I used to be disgusted, but now I understand.  Who forced them to choose nativism and even Hong Kong independence?  It is those monastery beasts and villains who have turned the mainland into a mess, plundered Hong Kong, and instigated conflicts between the mainland and Hong Kong.  "If the emperor has no way, the people will vote for other countries" and "When the most helpless, relatives will help them" are in line with the way of Chinese civilization.

 But Joshua Wong's pursuit of ideals is narrow after all.  People in the mainland are even less free and democratic, and they need freedom and liberation even more.  "On the road of greatness, the world is for the public. Don't just kiss your relatives, and don't only have your sons and your sons."  The recovery of a city and a corner is not as good as the glory of a country with thousands of miles of rivers and mountains.  What's more, Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories have their material prosperity and civilization at the Jinjiang Belt Bay, all relying on the Nanling and Xijiang Rivers, and even the farther Jiangnan, Central South, and Central Plains.  "Flying snow shoots the white deer in the sky, and the hero of the laughing book leans on the green mandarin duck", all of which are humanistic anecdotes of Zhongzhou.

 How can the stability and happiness of 6 million people compare with the freedom and liberation of 1.4 billion people?  Of course, the democracy and the rule of law in mainland China are another cornerstone and stepping stone for the world's equality, fraternity and great harmony.  Regardless of the bright prosperity of economic globalization and the universalization of human rights, or the crisis pressure of climate warming and terrorism, we all need world peace, progress, integration, cooperation, equal wealth, and great harmony.

The values ​​and behaviors of some people in mainland China seem to share evil with the CCP.  But except for a few powerful elites, most people are just brainwashed and blinded.  No one is born with low quality and ugly heart, but the influence of the environment and the shaping of the system.  Chinese people need enlightenment and change, and Hong Kong people should also communicate and understand more with mainlanders.

 Conscious people in mainland China will never forget the once "Democratic Songs Dedicated to China".  People with lofty ideals such as Li Zhuoren risked their lives and worked hard, and the people who understand the history are also grateful.  We need to let more people know about these things, their causes and consequences, and the ins and outs.

 If the slogans of the anti-extradition law movement in 2019 were not "anti-extradition to China" and "recover Hong Kong, revolution of the times", but "patriotic democratic movement" like the 1989 democracy movement and "love and peace" like Occupy Central, maybe  Will the ending be different?

 But I also understand that after repeated persecution by the CCP and the accumulation of various conflicts in mainland China and Hong Kong, it is difficult for Hong Kong people who have been suppressed for a long time to persist in patriotism and peace.  And even if Hong Kong people played the banner of patriotism and democracy, at least at that time, they could not get the general sympathy and practical support from the mainland.

 But the more this is the case, the more valuable and necessary it is to communicate, understand, and tolerate.  People's hearts are subject to change, and mainlanders are not ruthless.  My own attitude towards Hong Kong and nativist trends and participants has changed a lot in just a few years.  During the "white paper revolution" at the end of last year, many mainlanders who once hated the demonstrations in Hong Kong were forced to take to the streets.  Several years of epidemic blockade and extensive human rights violations have also taught them the value of freedom and the rule of law.

 And some Hong Kong people responded with blank papers in Hong Kong, becoming one of the few large-scale non-prohibited civil collective actions after the National Security Law.  "No separation" should not only be between the pan-democrats and the local faction, between the Helifei and the brave faction, and between Hong Kong people, but also between Hong Kong and the mainland, between the Chinese people, and all peace-loving people in the world  between people of democracy.

 Although, the suppression after the anti-extradition law movement and the prohibition of the National Security Law have caused many people with lofty ideals, including you, to be imprisoned, tried, and suffered.  I also suffered quite a bit in my personal struggle.  But if we go back to history and remember the former protesters, we are lucky and happy too much.

 Shi Jianru, a revolutionary at the end of the Qing Dynasty, used Hong Kong as his base to haunt and assassinate the dignitaries of the Qing court.  After he was arrested, his nails were pulled out, various tortures continued, and he was finally executed.  What happened to Qiu Jin, Zhang Zhixin and others is even more unbearable to say.  Compared with these martyrs who suffered corporal punishment and died in the end, what is the suffering we have suffered?

 What is really worrying and painful is how to end the CCP's dictatorship and the various "comas and rapes" that Chinese people are suffering today, so that the people can get freedom and democracy?  And, what kind of country will be built in the future?  The totalitarian power of modern technology seems to be unshakable.  The corruption of people's hearts and the tearing of society also make people unable to be optimistic about the future destiny of the nation.  Even if it is democratized, it may not be much better, and there may even be more violent turmoil.  So, how to make the future China free and democratic, but also peaceful and orderly?

 All of these require the thinking of many people as a basis for future practice.  Whether you're in prison or out, you might want to think more about these questions.  And the treasure house of thought in ancient and modern China and abroad, especially Chinese culture and historical humanities, is an inexhaustible heritage library for self-cultivation, family governance, state governance and world peace.  For example, one of your colleagues, a well-known barrister, is immersed in traditional calligraphy, expressing his aspirations through ancient times, and putting his love in poetry and prose.  But it would be even better if it was more "sophisticated and practical".

 What I said is just a personal suggestion.  How you live your life no matter what is your personal freedom.  But I still want you to think about the sad situation of more than one billion people in the country, especially the unspeakable and unspeakable pain of hundreds of millions of girls and women.  Equality and fraternity have been the tenets of revolutionaries since the French Revolution, the principles and vision of Sun Yat-sen, the father of the nation, and the foundation and core of the progress of human civilization.  We need to speak up for those who cannot speak up, speak for those who are silenced, "empower the powerless, and let the pessimistic move forward."

 Even if we cannot change the course of history and the direction of the nation's destiny, we still have to do our best.  Zhuge Wuhou "does it knowingly that he can't do it", he went out of Qishan six times and devoted himself to it. Although "success or failure cannot be reversed", he must "keep his loyalty and reflect the history".  "The mountains, rivers and the earth have fallen, but the truth is still there."  Of course, what we abide by is not the "reason" of feudal ethics and the rules and regulations of monarchs and ministers, but the worldly axioms based on conscience and truth, and based on the principles of equality and justice.

 Speaking of this, I also "don't know what to say".  There are still many things to say, but it is impossible to finish them all.  I hope you are well, and look forward to the end of the long dark night, and the return of light to Lugang.

 Wang Qingmin

 2023.4.16

 Bud Moon Autumn Peony Day in 231 Year of the Republican Calendar