Sun, Mar 04, 2001 page8

• Dissidents newly unify democracy movement

  • By Wang Dan 王丹
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  THE OVERSEAS CHINESE democracy movement began in the mid-1980's. In 1989 the movement achieved international recognition, but after that it gradually declined. In 1999, the highly publicized clashes between two of the movement's leaders, Wei Jingsheng (魏京生) and Wang Xizhe (王希哲), severely tarnished the image of the movement as a whole. Some began to express their doubts about and their disappointment in the movement.

  Recently the situation has improved. Last December, during the Conference for the Overseas Chinese Democracy Movement Coalition in which Wei acted as the chairman, the most prominent headline was that Wang also attended. The two reconciled, and promised to work together towards realizing democracy in China. When we analyze this turn of events, there are several points that deserve our attention.

  1. The basis for this reconciliation was external pressure. On Nov.15 last year, The Wall Street Journal published an article that severely criticized Wei Jingsheng. The article had obvious biases as well as a lack of objectivity, and there was an outcry in the overseas Chinese community. Immediately afterwards Wang Xizhe publicized his support for Wei, and Wei also quickly responded. This was what brought about Wang's attendance at the above conference, a turn of events that the paper probably had not foreseen.

  What this means is that, although the overseas Chinese democracy movement might have some internal divisions, it can nonetheless unite and respond effectively when there is sizable external pressure. This ability is in fact a prerequisite for opposition parties. One only needs to look at Taiwan's DPP, whose extensive internal divisions and factional conflicts did not prevent its working as one to secure the presidency. It is therefore obviously premature to declare the cause of the overseas democracy movement a lost one simply because there are dissenting voices within.

  2. The reconciliation between Wei and Wang served both to boost morale and to combine forces. Since 1998 the movement has reorganized into many different loosely associated coalitions. These include the Conference for Overseas Chinese Democracy Movement Coalition with Wei as chairman and the Overseas Chinese Democracy Movement Roundtable organized by Wang Xizhe and Wang Bingzhang (王炳章). The two organizations have established a rapport, on the basis of which they might coordinate joint actions in the future.

  3. Finally, Wei and Wang's reconciliation has provided the movement with considerable insight. The Chinese exile community in recent years has not accomplished any significant achievements. This, of course, deserves criticism. Yet it has only been 20 years since the overseas Chinese democracy movement first began, and there is still much to be learned and much training to be done. It is thus unrealistic to expect that they will already function in the manner of an opposition political party and that qualified political leaders will quickly emerge from their midst.

  Wang and Wei's reconciliation thus has symbolic significance: It means that the overseas Chinese democracy movement, silent for way too long, has found its beginning point once again, and is preparing to cover new ground.

  When the political situation in China changes, the Overseas Chinese Democracy Movement will obviously have an important role to play. There is of course still much preparation to be made for that day's arrival, and the search for unity is but the first important step.

  Wang Dan was a student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing. He is currently a graduate student at Harvard University.
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