By KYNA RUBIN
Wang Ruowang, a
satirical essayist and longtime critic of the Chinese government, was released
from prison in
Those of us familiar with Mr. Wang's relentless struggle for the right to dissent cannot but rejoice that he has been permitted to spend the winter of 1990 and the winter of his life---for he is now 73 years old--in the warmth of his home and family. But this joy should not be carried too far for at least two reasons. The first reason concerns the present environment in China for Mr. Wang and others like him; the second concerns the still grim reality for those political prisoners whose lack of fame and international recognition have brought them a less fortunate fate.
Mr. Wang's blunt criticism of the status quo and his colorful personality have made him a thorn in the side of China's establishment--be it the Kuomintang who ruled during his youth or, later, his own Chinese Communist Party--for over half a century.
Even many of his sympathizers feel his criticism of Chinese leaders has been too direct, too "un-Chinese," which may explain why he does not enjoy universal respect among Chinese intellectuals, who are generally apt to couch their broadsides against the government in a more traditional, subtle manner.
A case in point:
Six months before
Mr. Wang is no rookie when it comes to paying the price for political dissent. As far back as 1942 he was banished from wartime Yan'an for criticizing the dark side of life in the communist base through a newspaper called "Light Cavalry." Before that he had been thrown in prison by the Kuomintang for his underground communist activities at the tender age of 16; and during the Cultural Revolution he nearly starved to death in the very same prison he had been locked up in as a youth, this time at the hands of the communist regime whose cause he had fought for all his life.
Like other spring 1989
“bourgeois liberalization” advocates still in
His activities are being closely monitored, he must report to the
authorities on a regular basis, he is unable to leave
But there is a second reason we should not overly rejoice in the release
of one noted personage, special as he is. There are thousands of less-renowned
Chinese political prisoners who remain in detention, some of whom, unknown to
the public, have already been tried and have received stiff sentences for their
democratic activism. Others, slightly more known to the outside world, such as
Economic Studies Weekly editors Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming, recently have been
charged with plotting to overthrow the government. In this regard, the
I refer here not only to those arrested for participating in or supporting the student movement of 1989, but also more generally to those such as Wei Jingsheng and Xu Wenli, whose imprisonments pre-date the spring 1989 democracy movement by a decade. Furthermore, under the cover of an "anti-crime campaign," Chinese authorities continue to arrest people whom they charge with "criminal" rather than "counterrevolutionary" offenses, but many of whom, according to a recent Asia Watch report, are actually being thrown in prison because of their 1989 pro-democracy activities.
And, contrary to what many people assume in the West, it is Chinese workers rather than students or intellectuals who have suffered the heaviest tolls since June 4. Asia Watch lists twice as many named workers as it does named students in its current report of detainees; eight times more workers than students brought to trial; and only one worker, in contrast to 38 students and intellectuals, released.
One can only imagine that Mr. Wang himself, though greatly relieved to be back home, is nonetheless deeply concerned for .the fate of his former fellow prisoners.
And while he believes in the value of dissent as a means to affect
If reports from former Chinese political prisoners are accurate, how many "healthy bodies" can we expect to see emerge from Chinese prisons? Equally important, as Chinese history has shown, young people who enter jail with their idealism, enthusiasm and patriotism intact are not apt to leave that way. And what good will a generation of cynical and jaded young people be to a nation whose future progress will no doubt require further sacrifices?
By continuing to persecute its critics, the Chinese government is only repeating past errors, which--for a country with such ambitious aims for modernization in the 21st century--is tantamount to shooting itself in the foot. In such a political environment, one cannot help but wonder if this last stint in prison for Mr. Wang is indeed his last.
Ms.Rubin is Editor/Writer at The Urban Institute in