二○○七年感言
◎ 金 鐘

我們懷著感恩的心情,迎接二○○七年降臨大地。新年伊始,是本刊的二十週年刊慶,這樣一本非主流的硬性雜誌,能夠在香港生存二十年,我們要致謝的支持者實在太多。包括眾多的作家、記者,各方的朋友和同行,對我們以各種形式在不同方面給予的援助、奉獻和鼓勵。他們有的身在香港、台灣和美國及海外,有的處於受壓抑的甚至充滿風險的制度下。還有先後在本刊就職的編輯、記者和職員,他們和我們風雨同舟,分享苦樂。還有我們多次表示過的:衷心感謝香港,感激這塊給現代中國以無可替代的同情與關愛的治外之地,成為我們二十年來,安身立命追求夢想的依托。

今年的大日子,首推香港回歸十週年。十年前改變香港歷史的那些日子,淚水和傾盆大雨交織的回歸日,恍如昨天。我們慶幸一黨專政尚未在香港如大陸那樣為所欲為,也看到香港人忍受了莫大的屈辱:如此高度文明的國際大都會,在過渡十年之後,要求實行民主普選,北京主子們竟然宣稱,還是「條件不成熟」!這是香港人被迫接受中英協議付出的一項沉重代價。也使香港人看到,中港命運共同體的趨勢無可避免,香港自由的最終保證,在於中國的民主化。

今年第二個值得紀念的日子,是一九五七年六月開始的反右派運動五十週年。那場反右、被稱為「陽謀」,乃是毛澤東策劃指揮,鄧小平前台協助的一場空前的以言入罪的陰謀。把上百萬善良、單純的知識份子推入萬劫不復的深淵,不僅毀了個人,也令國家的人才資源嚴重損傷,最大的後果是從此無人敢說真話,中國變成一個虛偽的國度,直至今日,乃至永遠!可悲的是被捧為改革開放大師的鄧小平,至死對其負責的反右運動毫無反省,更無道歉。實則不怪,在他文革後主政的二十年間,一再反自由化,即是反右運動的翻版。

第三個日子是將於今秋舉行的中共十七大。因為中共是中國的獨裁黨,壟斷著國家權力與資源,人們自然不能不予關注。本刊已有多次報導十七大權力鬥爭的內幕消息。最近中共高層胡錦濤、曾慶紅主導的反貪行動實質上包含著和江系人馬的權力爭奪。本期提到中共最高權力接班的「人事指定權」,是一個獨家的新概念。指定權的出現,破解了許多觀察家的一個疑團:中共第一代權威大於天,鄧可以隔代指定胡錦濤接班,無人敢有異議。那麼江、胡之流的權威在哪裡?原來就在他們手中,極權主義者,豈有不敢獨裁之理?本欄上期將兩岸制度,比若天上人間,並非誇張。地上競選亂糟糟,天上獨裁樂陶陶。

 


2007
By Jin Zhong

This magazine whole-heartedly welcomes the arrival of 2007, which marks our 20 th anniversary. There are just too many people we need to thank for the long-term survival of a non-mainstream hard-news magazine in Hong Kong to the present day. Numerous writers, reporters, friends and fellow journalists have given us their assistance, contributions and encouragement in various ways. Some of them are in Hong Kong , Taiwan , the United States and other various places overseas, while others continue to live under a suppressive, risk-bound system. There are also the editors, reporters and staff members who have served this magazine over the years; they sailed through the storms with us, sharing our joys and hardships. And as we have said many times before, we thank Hong Kong with all our heart, and are deeply grateful to this non-mainland city, which has bestowed upon modern China a sympathy and caring that no other place can match. It has let us take refuge and pursue our dreams in safety for the last 20 years.

Looking forward from Hong Kong, the biggest event of 2007 will be July 1, the tenth anniversary of its reversion of sovereignty to China . That day ten years ago, which changed the history of Hong Kong, and the tears and the downpour that dominated the hand-over, remain in our memory as vividly as yesterday. We are glad that the one-party dictatorship has not had its way in Hong Kong as it has had on the mainland, but we have witnessed the enormous humiliation that people have suffered here. When this highly civilized intern ational metropolis asked for universal suffrage to be implemented 10 years after the hand-over, its Beijing masters dared to say conditions “are still not ripe.” The people of Hong Kong have been forced to accept the heavy price that accompanied the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984. But this has also made people here realize that it is inevitable for Hong Kong to shape a common destiny with the mainland. The guarantee of Hong Kong's freedom ultimately lies in the democratization of China .

The second note-worthy day in 2007 is the fiftieth anniversary of China 's anti-rightist movement, launched in June 1957. An “overt plot” in the eyes of Mao Zedong, the movement was an unprecedented conspiracy to persecute people on the basis of their views, conceived and commanded by Mao with the crucial assistance of Deng Xiaoping as front-man. Millions of well-intentioned and naive intellectuals were thrown into an abyss of sufferings with no way out. The movement not only destroyed individuals, but also severely damaged the human resources of the country by making everyone mortally afraid of speaking the truth, turning China into a country of hypocrites till all eternity. It is pathetic that Deng, extolled as the engineer of China 's opening up and reform, never explicitly reflected on, much less apologized for, his key role in the anti-rightist movement. But perhaps this is not surprising, given that Deng continued his anti-rightist role during his 20 years of rule after the Cultural Revolution by repeatedly suppressing any trend toward liberalization.

The third day to watch for in 2007 is the 17 th Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party to be held this fall. Since the Communist Party is a dictatorial party, monopolizing national power and resources, its meetings are inevitably a matter of public interest and concern. This magazine has on more than one occasion in the past divulged inside information about the power struggle surrounding the plenum. The recent anti-corruption crackdown imposed by Party bosses Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong actually involved a power struggle with the camp of former Party chief Jiang Zemin. As pointed out in this issue, renshi zhiding quan , the power to designate succession at the top, is an exclusive new concept. The revelation of this power solves a puzzle that has bewildered observers: the authority of the first generation leaders was no less than that of god. Deng was able to designate Hu Jintao as the “alternate generation successor,” that is, the top man after Deng's successor stepped down, and no one dared refuse him. But if that is the case, where does the authority of people like Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao come from? It can only be from their own hands. Being totalitarian, can their rule be anything but dictatorial? We did not exaggerate in our last issue when we compared the systems on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits to heaven and earth. Political campaigns on earth bumble along in chaos, while dictatorship provides a paradise for its rulers.