( Summary )

By Lu Keng

May 4th and June 4th were two prominent landmarks in the History of China in this century. To build a democratic new China was the common aim pursued by these two patriotic pro-democracy movements. The crux that democracy is still unsuccessful in China lies in the inveterate feudal autocratic tradition.

The Chinese Communist Party, while struggling with Chiang Kai-shek and his KMT Government, used modernization and Democracy as their weapons. However as soon as they won the political power and established their regime, they became alienated and dispensed with democracy. Mao Zedong launched an ‘all-round politics’ in the name of ‘the people’, changing the traditional feudal autocracy into a full modern fascist personal autocratic dictatorship. In the Deng Xiaoping era, through glasnost, great economic success was achieved. However Deng denied political reform. He pulled down Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang one after the other, and he cracked down brutally on the Tiananmen Pro-democracy Movement, resulting in that China still pays a heavy cost for this even today. Now China has begun a new ‘Jiang Zemin Era. However Jiang Zemin can only follow Deng’s established rules. He is keen on power struggle. There is no sign he has the sincerity to make any substantial political reform in democracy.

When Hong Kong was a colony, although democracy was inadequate, its free environment and its rule of law had embraced massive escapees in history who fleed the country in the 1911 Revolution, in the Sino-Japanese War, in the civil war between the Communists and the KMT Government, and after the June 4th crackdown , and it also had its contribution to the Glasnost in China. However after the return of sovereignty in 1997, it has retrograded in political election and freedom of the press. The refusal of entry of the pro-democracy activists to take part in an international forum by the SAR Government has greatly undermined ‘one country, two systems’.

Taiwan, in the past 20 years of economic development, has at the same time achieved its democracy transformation. However democracy is not built in a day. There is still room for improvement in the development of democracy in Taiwan.

From May 4th to June 4th, it has been proven the effort of the Chinese people pursuing democracy has never discontinued. Today the fact that Hong Kong can hold activities commemorating June 4th embodies the vitality of democracy and liberty. Democracy in Taiwan is advancing , which is a propelling and precipitating force to China, and coupled with the common efforts of overseas Chinese, the future of democracy in China is optimistic.