Social Movements in Greater China – Five Poisons (thesis), and Memoir on Struggle for Democracy in China

Abstract

Thesis abstract This study focuses on social movements in Greater China, and mainly refers to Mainland China including Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan. The social movements in Greater China came out successively in the PRC under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. The ruling CCP regards them as a political threat and forcefully outlaws them. The Chinese government treats these five prohibited social movements in Greater China: the Democracy movement, the Independence of Taiwan, the Free Tibet movement, Uyghur protests and the Falun Gong with disdain and labels them derogatorily the 'Five Poisons' unofficially. This study employs political opportunity theory to explore the decisive influence and role of political opportunities on the success or failure of the 'Five Poisons'. As political opportunity theory interprets social movements more in open society, while China is a closed society, so a significant difference emerges. Therefore, the Chinese traditional philosophical thought and perspectives of “tianshi, dili, and renhe" i.e. “being at the right time in the right place with the right people in holding a favorable position and receiving strong support” is introduced to analyze the feasibility of the ultimate outcome of the Five Poisons. The study concludes that in spite of a full unification in action of the Five Poisons themselves, they will be still too weak alone to overcome the Chinese Communist regime. The common goal of Five Poisons would be reached only when the USA wakes up to recognize the real nature of the CCP, and then discards the former pro-Beijing China policy which has been implemented since the Nixon administration. If it succeeds and the CCP is no more and a post-CCP era emerges, firstly the Five Poisons would take separate routes because they have been bedfellows with different dreams; and secondly, to rebuild a united and constitutional democracy with all ethnic minorities remaining in Greater China as before is highly unlikely. Keywords: China; democracy; Five Poisons; political opportunity; social movement; tianshi, dili, and renhe Memoir abstract ‘Struggle for Democracy in China’ gives an account of the author's childhood in China during the Cultural Revolution, early events, choices and experience, later full blown involvement in the author's life experience, and in particular, precious historical details of his deep commitment to China's modern democracy. The author's unusual navigating experience and deep thinking have recorded step by step his perseverance in his lifelong quest since the age of 30. Thirty years ago, when he left China to come to Australia, he wanted to have a life change, harboring a noble aspiration to change China's existing authoritarian system. When China's overseas democracy movement experienced a briefly glorious period from 1989 to 1993, and the vast majority of participants had left, the author chose to stick to this movement with firm belief, waiting for the reappearance of political opportunities, that would complete long-cherished wishes for the eventual introduction of universal democratic values and institutions into China. The author has long been aware of the difficulties faced by China's democracy movement as the result of the mainly US-led West democracies’ appeasement strategy to boost the capacity of the CCP. Realizing this situation would remain for quite some time, the author made up his mind to devise effective long-term plans and an overall strategy for his engagement in the Chinese democracy movement. In view of this, the author actively sought interaction and cooperation with different political sectors and stakeholders relevant to Chinese political changes, especially building up direct relationship and co-campaigning closely with those well-known leaders or their offices such as Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan movement, and Martin Lee, Anson Chan, and Trios of '2014 Hong Kong Occupy Central' for Hong Kong. Also the author does his utmost to seek for tacit understanding and support from politicians in Western democracies and former Taiwanese leaders such as Lee Teng-hui, Ma Ying-jeou, and incumbent Tsai Ing-wen for Taiwan, in order to maintain an incremental momentum for the Chinese democracy movement. 'The river runs to the East for 30 years, the river runs to the West for 30 years, and good fortune takes turns'. The political opportunity for a transformation within China that slipped away in 1989 is now seen reemerging beyond the horizon. The author strongly believes that the one who destroys the CCP is the CCP itself. The current Chinese leader has clumsily awakened the entire world to realize the true nature of the CCP; therefore, China is already on the eve of stunning political change. Keywords: China; democracy; Hong Kong; political change; Taiwan; Tibet