转：致奥巴马总统公开信(An Open Letter to President Obama)——杨建利&胡平

致奥巴马总统公开信

尊敬的奥巴马总统：

我们强烈地希望您能在和中国副主席习近平的会谈中，公开地，明确地提出中国的人权问题。人们越来越清楚，中国的人权问题不只是中国的问题，而且也越来越成为世界的问题。

不少人总是一厢情愿地以为，中国政府既然在经济上取得了骄人的成就，它理当有更大的自信在政治上更开明些，在人权问题上有所改进。但问题是，二十多年来，中国政府正是逆世界人权民主潮流而动，凭着六四屠杀造成的威慑效应，在改革的旗号下肆无忌惮地实行权贵私有化，从而迅速地形成了一个极端腐败的暴富集团；另外，中国政府更以“低人权”的优势，人为地压低人力，土地，资金和非再生资源价格，以不许讨价还价、限制乃至取消许多交易权利的办法“降低交易成本”，以拒绝民主、压抑参与、漠视思想、鄙视信仰、蔑视正义、刺激物欲来促使人的能量集中于求富冲动，从而在全球化的经济体系中，表现出自由民主国家难以匹比的惊人竞争力，居然成就了“辉煌盛世”。 自六四后这二十多年来，自由世界在拥有极大优势的情况下陷入盲目的乐观与短视，掉以轻心，居然坐视一个本来已陷入重重困境的专制政权的迅速崛起。整个人类的自由与和平都面临严重的威胁。这使得中共变得更骄横，更加迷信强权迷信暴力，更加蔑视正义蔑视人权。与此同时，中共又深知，无论它们的权力看上去多么强大，骨子里却是十分脆弱的，因为它完全是建立在不间断的压迫之上，一旦压迫机器失灵，庞大的专制权力就会顷刻瓦解，就算不提多年政治迫害犯下的罪过，单单是在经济上对广大民众的疯狂掠夺，就使得他们很难避免被国人清算。这两条加在一起，就使得今日的中共比以往任何时候都对人权与民主更敌视也更恐惧。

我们深知，在当前的情况下，要通过公开的人权对话促进中国人权的改善并非易事，不会一蹴而就；但唯其如此，这种公开对话才更有其必要，更应该持续地强化。

众所周知，习近平将很快成为中国的第一号领导人。虽然，我们不会、也提醒国际社会不要对任何中共领导人抱有不切实际的幻想，我们坚信民间民主力量的成长壮大才是中国民主变革的最可靠保证，但是，我们仍然需要强调，中国目前艰难的政治状况对一个政治人物来说既是困境也是机遇，处于习近平的权力位置，只要顺应民意和服膺人权普世价值，是可以成就一番影响世界的民主事业的。也正因为此，2010年12月我们在奥斯陆出席我们的朋友刘晓波的诺贝尔和平奖颁奖典礼时，曾经向记者表示：希望下一个获诺贝尔和平奖的中国人是中共的领导人。假如您和我们有相同的良善愿望，那么就请您以诺贝尔和平奖得主的身份向习近平表达您的这个期待，但是请不要忘了重申：目前中国是唯一关押诺贝尔和平奖得主的国家。

杨建利  公民力量发起人

胡平    《北京之春》主编

2012年2月10日

An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President:

We strongly hope that, in your talks this week with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, you will forcefully and publicly raise the issue of human rights in China.  It is increasingly clear to the world that the problem of human rights in China is not merely China's problem; instead, it is increasingly becoming the world's problem.

Most people are willing to believe that the Chinese government, given its remarkable economic achievements, would logically become more liberal and confident in politics, and so the condition of human rights should be improving.  However, the issue is that for two decades the Chinese government has gravitated contrary to the trend of democracy in international human rights.  The deterrent effects of the Tiananmen massacre have led to the privatization of rights and wealth in the name of reform, quickly leading to the formation of a deeply corrupted group of ruling elites.  The Chinese economic success was achieved as the government took advantage of extremely low standards of human rights; artificially lowered the price of labor, land, capital and non-renewable resources; reduced transaction costs by disallowing bargaining; restricting and dismissing trading rights; and in the process rejected democracy, reduced political participation, disregarded independent thinking, harbored contempt for faith and disdain for justice, stimulated desire for material goods in order to focus the people's capacity for the pursuit of wealth, and as such, has accomplished "the Golden Age" in the global economy by displaying a shocking competitiveness that even free and democratic countries find hard to challenge.  

For twenty years after Tiananmen, the free world, with its advantageous conditions, entered into blind optimism and short-sightedness, taking things for granted, and actually sat back to watch the rapid rise of an authoritarian regime already riddled with many problems.  The entire humankind's freedom and peace is now faced with a serious threat.  This makes the Chinese Communist Party more arrogant, worshipful of power and violence, and contemptuous of justice and human rights.  Yet at the same time, the CCP understands that no matter how strong their reign appears, its backbone is extremely fragile since it is built upon the continuous oppression of others.  Once oppression gives way, large autocratic powers will collapse instantly.  Without mentioning the crimes of many years of political persecution, it is difficult to avoid the people's judgment taking into consideration merely the economical plundering of the general population.  With this in mind, the CCP today is more hostile and fearful of human rights and democracy than ever before.

We deeply understand that in such situations, it is not an easy matter to seek to bring about change to human rights in China via public dialogue, and it will not happen overnight.  Yet, this sort of open dialogue is necessary and should be strengthened.

As we all know, Xi Jinping will soon become the top Chinese leader.  Although we cannot help but remind the international community not to have unrealistic fantasies of any Chinese Communist leaders, we firmly believe that the most reliable guarantee of democratic change in China is the civil force.  We must emphasize that the current difficult political situation of China is both a plight and an opportunity for a politician.  With Xi Jinping in a position of power, an influence in the cause of democracy can be achieved as long as there is conformation to public opinion and adherence to the universal values of human rights.  This is the reason why in December 2010, when we attended the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo honoring our friend Liu Xiaobo, we told reporters that we hope the next Nobel Peace Prize would go to leader of the CCP.  If you have the same hope as we do, then please, in your own capacity as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, express your expectations to Xi Jinping.  But please do not forget to reiterate:  at present, China is the only nation to imprison its Nobel Peace Prize Award winner.

YANG Jianli, 

Founder and President of Initiatives for China, Former Political Prisoner of China (2002-2007)

HU Ping, 

Editor-In-Chief  of Beijing Spring