Seventeen years after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massa-cre, public events commemorating the incident are still banned in Beijing and the rest of China, a reflection of its appalling human rights situation. Some have called China's current human rights situation the result of the worst of socialism combined with the worst of capitalism.
China's abominable human rights conditions are entirely the result of the authorities' insistence on one-party autocratic rule. The Chinese leaders are also well aware that their authority is anchored in fear, and they know they must maintain this fear if they are to keep their grip on power.
Since coming to office, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) has demonstrated ruthlessness in cracking down on dissent with a view to extending the coercion and intimidation that Beijing has long employed, since before the Tiananmen Square Massacre. China hopes to crush any rebellion before it gets a chance to take hold, thereby avoiding the need for bloodshed.
There is no doubt that a staggering number of Chinese dissidents have been arrested, and this figure is likely the highest of any country in the world.
Since freedom of the press does not exist in China, there is no way the outside world will be able to obtain precise figures on the number of dissidents that have been arrested. The majority of statistics obtained by other countries are bound to fall far short of reality.
What are the prospects for China's human rights situation? Many have predicted that a succession crisis might emerge in China's top leadership, which would change the overall political scene in China. There are also many who believe that an economic crisis, particularly in the financial sector, is sure to take place in China, which would also lead to political changes. It seems safe to say that these two types of crises are highly likely.
There are also many who support the idea of economic determinism, believing that the deepening of economic reforms and the development of the middle class in China are bound to bring about freedom and democracy. The Tiananmen Square Massacre just goes to show that clinging to the idea that economic development will change things in China is little more than wishful thinking on the part of people with their heads firmly in the ground, ostrich style. The truth couldn't be more different. Given the present resilience of communist rule, China's dictatorship could remain for another two decades.
But if the Chinese Communist Party remains in power for another two decades, the future of the world, rather than that of the party, would be in jeopardy.
China is not the same as Cuba, and it is no North Korea. If the dictatorial regime in China reaches superpower status, it will certainly constitute a threat and bring disaster to the world. In this regard, China's human rights situation is an issue that concerns not only all Chinese, but the whole world. Only a few people around the world have realized this. It is of paramount importance that we make the whole world aware.
Hu Ping is the editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring, a US-based Chinese-language monthly magazine dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy and social justice in China.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
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