英國十九世紀作家狄更斯以法國大革命和英國工業革命為背景的小說《雙城記》開篇就說：「這是一個最好的時代，也是一個最壞的時代。」這個名句似乎也適用於今天的中國。
八月奧運在北京成功舉辦之後，近年流傳的一句話：「現在是中國歷史上最好的時期」，更為時興了。從新華社到各種代言人，從海外僑領到回國的流亡人士如劉再復，都是這句話的推銷員。溫家寶最近來紐約聯大發表演講，開口就說中國今年的兩件大事：汶川地震和北京奧運，都解決了困難，取得了成功。如果拿這兩件事和毛時代相比，毫無疑義，中國是進步了，至少顯示了開放和鎖國的鮮明對比。中國大城市和許多地區的經貿繁榮與景觀，也確是歷史上沒有見過的。
但是，這種進步只能用相對的標準加以肯定，讚其「最好」，便是言過其實。以最近的毒奶粉事件而言，其影響之惡劣，不僅世界各國沒有，中國歷史上也沒有。和四川地震暴露出來的大量校舍倒塌一樣，傷害的是人類最珍惜的數以萬計的兒童和嬰孩，這是不可原諒的罪過。毒奶之害，已經損害到世界一些國家食品業乃至北美的旅遊業。一個現代國家，竟然因食品不安全而被人視為惡土，不願前往。大陸網民罵得好：「如果食品安全要靠公民個人像測孕一樣測毒，這個政府也該下台了。」但是，這個政府比世界上所有的政府都堅強穩定，百毒不侵。
奧運之後，中國政府又成功地發射了神舟七號載人飛船，實現了「太空漫遊」，這更是歷史上「最好」的證明。傳媒說，酒泉一聲巨響，崛起的硬實力，電視機前「中國加油」的吼聲，毒奶事件的負面消息便被拋在腦後了。在這個最容易控制的國度，沒有敏感智識人的言論空間，誰也不會知道當權者的治國奧妙。他們習慣「集中力量辦大事」，可以推行美國要花費數百億美元的太空計劃，卻不能解決關係普通百姓食品安全，這樣最起碼的民生問題，這種「最好」的成就難道不值得質疑嗎？
楊繼繩在他的新著《墓碑》中形容六十年代大飢荒三千六百萬餓殍，相當於四百顆廣島原子彈扔到中國農村造成的死亡。張戎毛著則披露中國六十年代第一顆原子彈的造成，周恩來說只花了幾十億人民幣，專家估算是四十一億美元，「可以使大飢荒中餓死的三千八百萬人一個都不會死。」那時代的原則當然也是集中力量辦大事，這是極權政府的傳家寶。
中共治下不僅訓練出一個健忘的民族，而且造就了一個虛偽的民族。從上海浦東要爭世界第一高的環球金融中心到北京奧運，再到神七上天，這就是今年三件具象徵性的最好的面子工程，讓全世界老外叫好。你玩大洋樓，我玩毒奶粉，這樣上下一條心，弄虛作假、欺世盜名，維持一個空前和諧的社會。這樣的時代有多好？這樣的統治壞不壞？
2008/9/28
Concentrating Effort on Major Tasks
By Jin Zhong
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”; the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities, a historical novel by Charles Dickens set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, may seem applicable to today’s China.
With the success of the Beijing Olympic Games in August, the wide-spread saying that “It is the best of times in the history of China” has become even more popular. From the Xinhua News Agency to spokespersons of various organizations, from leaders of the overseas Chinese community to returned exiles such as Liu Zaifu, everyone is promoting this idea. Referring to two great events in China this year, Premier Wen Jiabao started his speech at the recent UN General Assembly meeting in New York City by observing that China had successfully overcome difficulties in both the Sichuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics. Without a doubt, China showed improvement in its handling of these two incidents, compared with its performance in the Mao era. They at least demonstrate the sharp contrast between the policy of openness today and the closed-door policy of the past. There is no denying that the prosperity in China's major cities and regions is unprecedented in Chinese history.
Still, this improvement is only relative, and “the best of times” is an overstatement. Take the recent tainted milk product scandal. The negative effects of the scandal are unprecedented in the world and in the history of China. It is no different from the collapse of numerous school buildings in the Sichuan earthquake, which resulted in the needless death and injury of thousands of children. The milk scandal has seriously damaged China's food industry throughout the world, and even tourism. It is incredible that China, as a modern country, is losing tourists to fears over unsafe food. “A government that requires people to test the safety of their food should be run out of office," complained a mainland netizen. But this Government is much more stable than almost any other in the world.
Immediately after the Olympic Games, the Beijing Government successfully launched Shenzhou 7 and achieved what it considered the ultimate historical endorsement: a “spacewalk.” The media hold that the burst of applause for the success of China’s space program almost drowned out the negative news of the toxic milk incident. In a country where the people are easily controlled with no forums for expression, no one knows the authorities' secret of governance. The authorities use the method of “concentrating effort on major tasks,” which allows them to launch a space program that costs the state billions of dollars, but fails to manage a basic livelihood issue such as food safety. Doesn't that cast some doubts on the “best” achievements of the authorities?
In his recent book, Tombstone, Yang Jisheng compares the 36 million deaths caused in the Great Famine of the 1960s with “dropping 400 atomic bombs into China's rural areas,” while Zhang Rongmao’s essay details the development of China's first atomic bomb in the 1960s. Former Premier Zhou Enlai claimed that it cost only a few billion RMB to make the bomb, but experts estimated the cost at US$4.1 billion, which “could have saved 38 million lives in the Great Famine.” Certainly, the principle at that time was also to “concentrate effort on major tasks,” the timeless motto of totalitarian governments.
The CCP has not only trained its people to forget, but also to be hypocritical. This is evidenced by the three symbolic “image projects” this year, including the Beijing Olympics, the Shenzhou 7 mission, and the competition of the Shanghai World Financial Center as the tallest building in the world. All three projects earned China international acclaim. With a skyscraper completed and milk powder tainted, the whole nation is united in presenting an image of unprecedented harmony. How good, really, is such a time?
Translated by Isabella Lam
