中国社会民主党代表团与欧洲社会党联盟代表团会谈报告
A Brief Report on the Meeting with the Delegation of the Party of European Socialists
The Office of Secretary General of the Chinese Social Democratic Party
On June 18, 2007, Mr. Yanfeng Zhou, Director of International Communications of the China Social Democratic Party (CSDP), received an email from the Party of European Socialists (the PES). In the email, the PES stated that their delegation would visit mainland China in early July and stop by Hong Kong on the return trip, and that they would like to take the opportunity to meet with the Hong Kong branch of the CSDP for a discussion on important issues of mutual interest.
Mr. Zhou immediately reported the PES message to the Party’s Central Committee, which promptly held a phone conference to discuss the matter. After a deliberation, the Central Committee decided that not only the Hong Kong branch would receive the PES delegates, but the party leadership from New York and Los Angeles would also attend the meeting. Also included in the response, the Central Committee encouraged leaders of the party’s other branches to join us in the meeting in Hong Kong.
At 3:45 pm, July 7 2007, members of the CSDP and the PES delegates held a meeting at the Business Center Conference Room at the Empire Hong Kong Hotel. The meeting lasted an hour and five minutes.
The PES delegation comprised of four members and was led by Mr. Thomas Ouster, the PES’s International Secretary and a member of the European Union Parliament. Our fourteen attendees included Secretary General Liu Yingquan, Zhou Yanfeng, Hong Kong branch Director Ren Yangzheng, Deputy Director Chen Zhao, Secretary Huang Zhong, Hong Kong and Macao Region Out-reach Director Wu Guoxiong, Central Inspector Committee Members Zhong Tang and Chen Shi, the Great Britain branch Director Qin Hui Fan, and Japan branch representative Tian Zhongwen. In addition, three party branch leaders from mainland China evaded surveillance and joined us in secret at the meeting. We also welcomed special guests who were Liang Guoxiong, member of the League of Social Democrats and Hong Kong legislator, and Zhen Canggang, President of Hong Kong Democratic Foundation.
Thomas Ouster from the PES opened the dialogue with his presentation. He described the trip to mainland China, first meeting President Hu Jingtao and Commerce Secretary Buo Xilai, and bringing to their attention certain outstanding issues, then visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. He believed that many current problems stem from globalization, and as economies grow, government should also focus on environmental protection. He said the PES suggested that Beijing balance the economic development, with labor rights and environmental conservation and protection. By pointing to the successful development of social democracy in Europe as an example, he briefed Beijng on the development of European social democratic parties and wished to see social democracy flourish in Asia. In addition, Mr. Ouster also talked about the meeting with the union leaders in Hong Kong and the Department of Labor of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, learning the labor situation in Hong Kong.
For the CSDP, Chairman Liu Guokai delivered the speech. He thanked the PES for initiating this visit and welcomed the PES’s delegation to this meeting in Hong Kong. He expressed optimism that through this meeting and many more bilateral communications in the future, the CSDP and the PES not only would develop a deeper mutual understanding, but also help shape the future of democracy of China.
Mr. Liu pointed out the fundamentally unhealthy and destructive growth of China’s economy. In 2005, China spent 27% of the world’s Iron, 36% coal, 40% cotton, 42% cement, 50% wood, but only produced 4.4% of the world’s GDP. Also, according to a report from a Boston-based Chinese affairs consulting firm, 0.4% of the Chinese population owns 70% of nation’s wealth. China is a country with rapid social and economic stratification where the rich gets much, much richer, and the poor much, much poorer, without any meaningful social or legal recourse. The so-called “Socialism of Unique Chinese Characteristics” trumpeted by the Chinese Communist Part’s propaganda is nothing more than an evil combination of the early inhumane and unregulated capitalism with all of its excesses and the aristocratic oligarchic authoritarianism as the CCP rules China with the same one-party iron hand. The result of this reckless Chinese-branded socialism is a savaged environment, a polarized society, and an amoral people who are pre-occupied with striking it rich by any means available.
The corrupt CCP regime notwithstanding, we, the Chinese Socialist Democrats, maintain the following positions:
1) The CSDP does not regard ANY party as an enemy, only the authoritarian regime;
2) Once before, there arose a generation of pioneers from the CCP who were willing to follow their dream and make the ultimate sacrifice when necessary. For instance, Zhao Ziyang, Hu Yaobang, Li Rui, Ren Zhongyi, Hu jiwei and many more. Despite their heroic sacrifice, the current situation under the CCP has left people little hope for better.
3) The current generation of leadership has no direct connection with the crimes the CCP has perpetrated against the Chinese people before. If they are willing to reform and open the door for democracy, they would surely be embraced by the people once again.
4) The CCP has the right to exist and operate under a pluralistic democracy. If the CCP wins an open and democratic election, its right to lead the country will be legitimate.
5) The CSDP strongly advocates the idea of a thorough and stable democratic reform in China from the top down. The CSDP is willing to cooperate with the CCP to implement this program orderly.
Based on this platform and given the current economic and sociopolitical conditions in China, the CSDP does not wish to create a western democratic state where there exist three independent branches of government with checks and balances, open and fair political campaigns among various political parties, parliamentary elections, and a military under the civilian leadership rather than under the ruling party.
The road to an open and democratic China takes many incremental but significant steps. The first step we advocate is for the CCP to stop political persecution of innocent democratic and human rights activists and religious practitioners. Therefore, The CSDP demands that the CCP stop interrogating, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating CSDP members and other democratic activists and dissidents, human rights activists, and Qigong and other religious practitioners. Specifically, the CSDP calls for the immediate release of CSDP Central Committee Member Wang Xiaoning who was secretly put through a sham trial and has been imprisoned sinceSeptember 2002.
At the meeting, the CSDP also delivered three documents to the PES, as follows:
1) The documents on the Second General Assembly in LA, March 2007
2) The documents on the visits to Belgium, Demark and France Social Democratic Parties, May 2007.
3) The document on the CCP’s persecution of Wang Xiaoning.
Chairman Liu Guokai also stressed the significance of the party members from mainland China attending this meeting. He said, “They are under extreme danger to join us. The CCP views social democracy, an ideology that advocates a gradual and peaceful progress to form democracy in China, which is a fundamental threat to the CCP’s one-party authoritarian regime, thus the China Social Democratic Party, an enemy organization that must be rooted out. To protect the members and their families and preserve the strength of the party, the mainland CSDP members operate in a state of secrecy. To prove their identity, please let me give you the photocopies of their IDs. If they are going to face persecution because of attending this meeting, I hope the PES will come to the aid of these members.” And he also added, “After you sent us the email on June 18, and we notified our members in mainland China on the 20th. Our members were all very enthusiastic and would like to attend this meeting despite the danger. Because of the process of obtaining visa to Hong Kong from mainland China takes 15 business days, we were not able to have more members from mainland China to join us today. If we had been able to set up this meeting a week earlier, we would have had more mainland members joining us.”
Thomas Ouster asked, “How many members do you have in mainland China.”
Secretary General Liu Yingquan responded, “Around 2,000.”
Ouster asked again, “How do you communicate with the members from mainland China.”
Mr. Liu answered, “Mainly through Internet and email”
Ouster asked, “Is that not very dangerous? How do you recruit members through web so quickly?”
Chairman Liu responded, “Our Central Committee only has connections to the regional director, and only they have connections to the local members. Since 2000, we have recruited 2000 members. The recruitment is not a fast but deliberate and discreet process due to the unrelenting and ruthless political persecution by the CCP. If people were free to associate and organize, we believe we should have had several millions of members already because the idea of social democracy appeals to the Chinese people across the social classes.”
Having addressed Mr. Ouster’s questions, Secretary General Liu continued the presentation. He stated that our party’s chairman, Liu Guokai had a thorough understanding of social democracy. In 2000, Liu Guokai wrote the book “The Destiny of History -- Social Democracy”. It is the first book in Chinese that concisely explains social democracy. General Secretary Liu also said, “Members of the CSDP are confident in their beliefs and determined to achieve our goals. We will succeed in mainland China and hope we can have the PES’s support. Of course, what I meant by support is moral and political support. We do not want to receive any financial support. All of our expenses are born by the members’ own voluntary contribution. Every party member has a full time job and pay party dues.”
During the whole conference, Mr. Zhou served as the interpreter. At the conclusion, the CSDP presented a party flag as a gift while Chairman Liu explained the meaning in each color. In the middle, the color blue means sky, symbolizing freedom; white means cloud, symbolizing justice; green means grass steppe, symbolizing prosperity; yellow means earth, symbolizing democracy; red means sunshine, symbolizing compassion. The party flag parallels the sky, cloud, steppe and earth shone by the sun, meaning the justice in a free society; the prosperity in a democratic state, and all these are sitting in the womb of love.
The conference was concluded in a friendly environment and both sides shook hand to bid farewell.
07、17、09