Writers, deaths and official indifference

ZI YUE

BEIJING, China, Nov. 29

"Writers are the engineers of the human soul," said former Soviet Communist Party leader Joseph Stalin. Perhaps in recognition of this, China requires professional writers to join the Chinese Writers Association and to produce works in alignment with government policies and priorities.

According to Chinese Communist Party official Li Changchun -- whose academic background is limited, yet who dominates the ideology of the 1.3 billion Chinese people -- writers should take the opportunity after last month's 17th Party Congress to generate good work based on the spirit of that meeting. If one doesn't dance to the tune of the Chinese authorities, he or she cannot be granted the status of a writer.

Take Zhang Yihe for example. Her works are considered among the best produced since the founding of New China, yet her books are banned as "rightist" and her name is barred from official media, let alone her designation as a writer.

Another example is Gao Xingjian, the French Chinese émigré novelist, dramatist and critic who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Chinese government should be proud of him, but instead, the Chinese Writers Association described his win as a Western plot against China. This illustrated that to qualify as a writer in China one must keep the same political position as the Chinese Communist Party.

Another special writer that deserves mention is political commentator Liao Zusheng. He is not known for his literary works, but for his attempts to identify the murderer of his bright, outstanding and innocent only son, who died suddenly and mysteriously last July at his middle school. Since that tragedy, Liao and his family have tried every means to find out the truth of his son's questionable death.

Local authorities claim that Liao's son was to blame and took his own life. The authorities made no effort to properly handle this case; instead, they quickly burned the child's body, closed the case, and stopped Liao from receiving further information or taking further action. The family couldn't accept this.

This incident has torn Liao's family apart. Liao is no longer a writer singing the Party's main theme but has become a "dissident" because of his efforts to investigate his son's case on his own.

Liao posted the story on the Internet in an effort to interest the public and possibly discover some clues as to what happened to his son. However, all of his postings were removed by Internet supervisors, including the contents of his own blog. He wrote more than 200 letters to dozens of officials and sent them by express delivery or registered mail, questioning the murder, but received no reply.

He wrote open letters to national leaders, begging for assistance, but all in vain. Under the strong sun and heavy rain, Liao's wife wept and knelt in front of so-called public servants, appealing for justice. However, as usual, the "public servants" showed no concern.

His experiences have left a huge question in the mind of the writer Liao Zusheng: Where are those people-friendly officials described in the media? How could they be so cold and heartless in reality?

Is this a weird and complicated society? No. These are exactly the characteristics of the "post- totalitarian" society described by Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic and celebrated writer and politician. This is an absurd world in which you can get in trouble and lose not only your personal rights, but also your name, your face and your identity; all that remains is the so-called "people" or a certain "class." Havel said that those living in a post-totalitarian socialist society appear to have no worries and to enjoy a comfortable, casual and free life. But only those who survive this kind of society can truly know what a horrible and oppressive life it is, living in a world of lies.

No one will come to your rescue if you encounter unexpected disaster or injustice. For example, your home might be torn down and your family forced to relocate at the whim of some powerful figure. There is no hope for a writer such as Liao Zusheng. Even former President Liu Shaoqi and former Communist Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang could not be protected once targeted by the brutal dictatorship. The law is nothing but useless paper and there is no escape, even from death.

Havel described the ruling power in the post-totalitarian society as an inflated and anonymous bureaucracy. Far from taking responsibility, the authorities set aside their conscience and justify their deeds by some ideology that exists everywhere and rationalizes anything, no matter how divergent from the truth. Their power to manipulate, oppress and horrify, to control and confine the moral and individual life, is totally dehumanizing.

A handful of despotic rulers wield this power. It catches and swallows everyone, and absorbs all individuals. No one really possesses this power, for it actually possesses every one. It is a monster.

Now the writer Liao Zusheng has dared to challenge this monster. Some may say it's just because Liao suffers from the pain of losing his child. But let's not forget that this monster possesses the power to deprive you of your rights so that no one will help you when bad luck strikes. You could be in the position of Liao Zusheng , without hope.

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(Zi Yue is the pen name of a Beijing-based freelance writer, critic on current affairs and medical doctor. This article is edited and translated from the Chinese by UPI Asia Online; the original can be found at www.ncn.org. ©Copyright Zi Yue.)

http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Human_Rights/2007/11/29/commentary_writers_deaths_and_official_indifference/9055/