The Last Ten Years Part 2 by Xu Zhiyong Lyrics
rule of law through legal assistance and civil actions such as demanding
that officials disclose personal assets. Through these collective activities,
we want to grow to be a healthy force outside the existing structure and
to help eventually transition China peacefully toward a constitutional
civilization. It is a movement for social change, but more importantly, it
is a political movement for democratic constitutionalism. We don’t shun
politics; in a jungle-like society where power is uninhibited and
corruption rife, conscience is politics. We strive to tread out a new path
for the Chinese nation, a path toward liberty, justice and love. Fear and
hatred are the foundation on which tyranny has thrived, but
overthrowing tyranny doesn’t necessarily mean the disappearance of its
foundation. Until we dispel the fear and hatred that cloud over the
deepest recesses of our hearts, we will not have a free and democratic
China.
We have been the opposition throughout the last ten years. We oppose
authoritarianism, we oppose autocratic culture, and we oppose lies, false
accusations, and unscrupulousness whether they are on the part of the
power holders or anyone else. We have been pious builders promoting
social progress and building rule of law and civil society rationally. In
the Investigation on the Mechanism of Letters and Calls in China that we
issued, we pointed out that the authoritarian system was the root of the
petition problem, and recommended judiciary independence and
initiation of political reform through direct election on the county level.
In our Report on the Investigation over the Truth about the Death
of Qian Yunhui, we published our findings that Qian’s death was a tragic
accident despite overwhelming public opinion that believed otherwise,
and criticized the unfair land policies that were the underlying causes of
the incident. In our Legal Opinions Concerning Compensation for
Personal Injury in the High-Speed Train Accident on July 23rd, we
criticized the government for offering too little compensation, of RMB
500,000, and recommended compensation over RMB 900,000. Public
opinion forced the government to quickly accept our recommendation. In
the equal education movement that fought against hukou segregation,
our Plan for Children Living with Parents without Local Hukou to Take
the National College Entrance Exam Locally has been accepted by most
provinces and cities. Just before the ten citizens were arrested in Beijing,
we had been preparing to draft a law concerning publishing officials’
personal assets. We are a group of responsible citizens. We oppose for the
sake of building.
For ten years we have persevered to build the foundation, next to the
decaying palace of the dictatorship, for a lasting democracy and
constitutionalism. In our ght for freedom over the last ten years, it has
become a commonplace for many of us to lose our own freedom fighting
for freedom of strangers. We are proud to be living in this era. From the
“citizens’ rights movement” to the “new citizens’ movement,
” we have
been walking on the same road, the road of conscience, the road toward
liberty, justice and love.
The last ten years have been years of progress. With the reworks of
the Olympics, China continued to mix with the world; new immigrants
have settled down; high-speed trains have compressed time and space;
that officials disclose personal assets. Through these collective activities,
we want to grow to be a healthy force outside the existing structure and
to help eventually transition China peacefully toward a constitutional
civilization. It is a movement for social change, but more importantly, it
is a political movement for democratic constitutionalism. We don’t shun
politics; in a jungle-like society where power is uninhibited and
corruption rife, conscience is politics. We strive to tread out a new path
for the Chinese nation, a path toward liberty, justice and love. Fear and
hatred are the foundation on which tyranny has thrived, but
overthrowing tyranny doesn’t necessarily mean the disappearance of its
foundation. Until we dispel the fear and hatred that cloud over the
deepest recesses of our hearts, we will not have a free and democratic
China.
We have been the opposition throughout the last ten years. We oppose
authoritarianism, we oppose autocratic culture, and we oppose lies, false
accusations, and unscrupulousness whether they are on the part of the
power holders or anyone else. We have been pious builders promoting
social progress and building rule of law and civil society rationally. In
the Investigation on the Mechanism of Letters and Calls in China that we
issued, we pointed out that the authoritarian system was the root of the
petition problem, and recommended judiciary independence and
initiation of political reform through direct election on the county level.
In our Report on the Investigation over the Truth about the Death
of Qian Yunhui, we published our findings that Qian’s death was a tragic
accident despite overwhelming public opinion that believed otherwise,
and criticized the unfair land policies that were the underlying causes of
the incident. In our Legal Opinions Concerning Compensation for
Personal Injury in the High-Speed Train Accident on July 23rd, we
criticized the government for offering too little compensation, of RMB
500,000, and recommended compensation over RMB 900,000. Public
opinion forced the government to quickly accept our recommendation. In
the equal education movement that fought against hukou segregation,
our Plan for Children Living with Parents without Local Hukou to Take
the National College Entrance Exam Locally has been accepted by most
provinces and cities. Just before the ten citizens were arrested in Beijing,
we had been preparing to draft a law concerning publishing officials’
personal assets. We are a group of responsible citizens. We oppose for the
sake of building.
For ten years we have persevered to build the foundation, next to the
decaying palace of the dictatorship, for a lasting democracy and
constitutionalism. In our ght for freedom over the last ten years, it has
become a commonplace for many of us to lose our own freedom fighting
for freedom of strangers. We are proud to be living in this era. From the
“citizens’ rights movement” to the “new citizens’ movement,
” we have
been walking on the same road, the road of conscience, the road toward
liberty, justice and love.
The last ten years have been years of progress. With the reworks of
the Olympics, China continued to mix with the world; new immigrants
have settled down; high-speed trains have compressed time and space;