Today is the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. What a spirit-lifting glory -- to take a look back at the time when Mao Zedong (
Fifty years have passed like a snap of the fingers. Instead of putting on a spectacle to show off their achievements, Beijing would do better to reflect on the lessons taught during the half-a-century path it has walked.
Confucius said: "One knows the will of Heaven at the age of 50." In the age of feudalism, "the will of Heaven" meant either one of the following two things:
First, it meant the will of the "gods," which can be extended to mean the "saints," or those held in high esteem by the imperial court. During those days, you knew the will of Heaven when you became a cultivated man -- physically and mentally -- by being in a state that does not contradict the will of Heaven and the teachings of the wise.
Times have changed. Humanity has entered an age of technology and democracy. Today, the will of Heaven should be found in human society and in Mother Nature. Those who follow this path will prosper; those who go against it will perish.
Knowing the will of Heaven should mean following the rhythms of societal development and understanding what the people desire.
For the Chinese communists, the word "people" should equally apply to all citizens and not the "proletariat populace" that excludes the "five dark classes" (
Being China's absolute ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party might possibly have some hope of understanding the will of Heaven if it could see the errors of its ways.
How could anyone think that during the Great Leap Forward (
It is also important to point out that the anti-rightist movement, the Cultural Revolution (
Reflecting on these events, China should begin to implement comprehensive reforms -- not just economic reforms based on free market principles and aimed at breaking the layers of restrictions and improving productivity in full force, but also a gradual establishment of a political system based on true democracy and the rule of law.
Only then can it avoid a the accumulation of conflict and social unrest, which may ultimately lead to a national tragedy.
The People's Republic of China is now 50 years old, which means it should know the will of Heaven by now. But undeniably, some people who have lived to be very old indeed still cannot figure out what on earth the will of Heaven is. Have the cadres of the ruling communist party seen the light? Or is the party just marching towards senility and decay?
As a saying goes: "A thousand ships pass by one sinking boat; ten thousand trees thrive before one sick shrub" (
Will the communist party's current leaders and its membership rather march into the new millennium as "sick trees" and "sinking boats?" Or will they be among the one thousand sailing ships and ten thousand thriving trees? A rigorous ordeal awaits them.
Xu Jiatun is a former director of China's Xinhua Agency in Hong Kong and former Communist Party general secretary for Jiangsu province. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
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