天安門２５年―改革になぜ踏み出せぬ

June 04, 2014
EDITORIAL: 25 years after Tiananmen, China must heed calls for democracy
天安門２５年―改革になぜ踏み出せぬ

"Remember June 4" is a slogan that is banned in China. But in Hong Kong, Tokyo and other cities around the world, Chinese citizens and their supporters are chanting this mantra.
　６月４日を忘れるな。
　中国で許されぬスローガンを、今年も香港、東京、世界各地で掲げる中国人とその友人がいる。

On June 4 exactly 25 years ago, China's Communist Party regime ordered the military to suppress pro-democracy students who had gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
　民主化を求める学生を中国共産党政権が武力で封じた天安門事件から、２５年が過ぎた。

We must never forget this date because the students' demands were absolutely spot on. Another reason is that Beijing is set on erasing the Tiananmen Square bloodbath from history.
　なぜ忘れてはならないのか。彼らが提示した民主化の方向性は正しいからであり、政権が事件を歴史から消そうとしているからである。

Around the time of the crackdown, socialist countries around the world were undergoing painful restructuring of their systems. But the Chinese regime of the time survived the transition, and later spearheaded the country's rapid economic rise.
　あのころ社会主義圏の国々は次々に変革を余儀なくされた。その中で中国の政権はもちこたえ、急速な経済成長を遂げた。

Probably emboldened by this, President Xi Jinping said in a speech during his visit to Europe in April, "Constitutional monarchy, imperial restoration, parliamentarism, a multiparty system and a presidential system, we considered them, tried them, but none worked," adding, "Finally, China took on the path of socialism."
　その自信ゆえか、習近平（シーチンピン）国家主席は４月の訪欧時こう講演した。「立憲君主制、帝政復活、議会制、多党制、大統領制、みな試したがうまくいかない。最後に中国が選んだのが社会主義の道だ」。

But this assertion is nothing more than a simplistic perception of history from the Communist standpoint.
しかしこれは、共産党の観点から歴史を単純化した議論にすぎない。

Now that China has abandoned a planned economy to allow market forces to rule, Xi's brand of socialism comes down to a system that does not tolerate any criticism against single-party rule by the Chinese Communist Party. The ranks of the oppressed do not consist only of political activists and intellectuals. All over China, ordinary citizens are unable to speak out against administrative and judicial corruption involving senior party members.
　計画経済を捨て去った今、習氏のいう社会主義とは、共産党の一党支配への批判を許さぬ体制を意味する。弾圧されているのは活動家や知識人だけではない。各地で、党の幹部が絡んだ行政や司法の不正に庶民が声を上げられずにいる。

But Wang Dan, a leader of the democracy movement who played a prominent role in the Tiananmen Square protest, points out that, as a result of the bloody crackdown, Beijing can no longer ignore the public's awareness for human rights. According to a provision written into the Constitution in 2004, the state "respects and guarantees human rights."
　それでも事件の主役の一人、王丹氏は、「人権」の意識を権力が無視できなくなったという成果を指摘する。０４年には憲法に「国家は、人権を尊重し保障する」と書き込まれた。

Former Premier Wen Jiabao used to reiterate that Beijing would gradually expand the public's participation in politics and seek to promote individual freedoms through education.
　前首相の温家宝氏は、政治参加を徐々に広げ、教育によって個人の自由と発展を重視することを度々表明していた。

But the direction seems to have been reversed since Xi came to power. Beijing certainly did not act "normal" when it began clamping down rigorously on activists and their supporters prior to June 4, and even applied pressure on foreign media.
　習政権になってから、それが逆流しているようにみえる。６月４日を前に、活動家らの拘束を徹底し、外国メディアにも圧力をかけてきたのは異常だ。

Over the last 25 years, citizens groups have kept alive their resolve to change politics. The popularization of the Internet has promoted solidarity among citizens, enabling them to keep speaking out despite censorship and oppression. And in urban areas, citizens movements are being organized against factory construction and other issues.
　政治を変えようという意思はこの２５年、民間で受け継がれてきた。ネットの普及は市民の連帯を促し、監視や弾圧に屈せず発言を続ける人々がいる。都市部での工場立地反対など、市民運動も芽生えている。

Steadily and surely, the ranks of politically and socially aware Chinese citizens are growing. It has been argued that the intellectual level of the public is still too low for democracy and that democracy is not the right system for China. But such arguments are no longer tenable.
　社会にかかわり、政治を考える人びとの層は着実に厚みを増している。国民の水準が低いとか、国情に合わないといった、民主化尚早論は通用しない。

The Xi regime must heed the voices of the people seeking freedom. It is simply wrong to send people to jail for just criticizing the regime.
　自由を求める民の声に、習政権は耳を傾けねばならない。権力批判の発言だけで投獄するのは正義に反する。

Beijing must allow free speech and accept the people's right to form associations to encourage healthy dissent. By skipping such phases of gradual democratization, China will never become a stable nation.
　言論と結社の自由を認め、健全な批判ができる幅を広げる。そんな民主化の段階的な発展なくして、国の安定はない。

The shouted demands of students of 25 years ago are even more legitimate today. They must never be forgotten.
　四半世紀前の学生らの叫びは今なお価値を増している。決して忘れるわけにはいかない。

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 4