"Authoritarianism and Patriarchy go hand in hand"

The new generation of Chinese democracy fighters and leaders grew up in the time of LGBTQ and "MeToo" movements across the world. As a woman, I'm so moved to see the young Chinese guys recognizing that fighting for democracy and fighting against patriarchy goes hand in hand. 

The way they admit themselves as "collective patriarchal perpetrators" besides being "totalitarian victims" is so refreshing and encouraging. The way they openly claim themselves to be "hard-core feminists" make me and women like me feel safe to claim ourselves one of them and would love to fight with them shoulder by shoulder. 

Below is the auto translation by Google of CitizensDailyCN's organizer's speech in LA, addressing the recent sexual assault allegations against one of the key student leaders during "1989 movement" and now a key activist for Chinese democracy movement - Wang Dan. 

"CitizensDailyCN" "Northern Square" "Democracy Wall" are countless social media accounts and chat groups across various platforms such as Instagram and Telegram. They were created by young Chinese who were inspired by the White Paper Revolution in November 2022. Young Chinese democracy fighters, mostly anonymously, gather around these new accounts to discuss all topics, organize protests, and much more.

Hello everyone, I am an ordinary young man, and like everyone here, I look forward to democracy and freedom for every Chinese. 

My friends and I, like Wang Han, are from the Bay Area. We have seen many predecessors of the "eight and nine" generation in the Bay Area, such as the "white paper revolution", we met Mr. Fang Zheng in front of the San Francisco embassy, Wang Han when he was on hunger strike at Apple's headquarters, and Mr. Chen Weiming and Zhou Feng locked them. So thank you very much to our "eight-nine" seniors Always keep up with the times with the attention to current affairs, care about the struggle of our generation. 

I would like to first share the legacy of the "89 Student Movement" for us. Of course, we can't represent every young person, but we think that many people may resonate with us. For us, the "August Nine Democracy Movement" has shown us the brilliance of Chinese's struggle for democracy, the brilliance of courage, and a source of courage from which we can always get it. During the White Paper Revolution, young people across the United States, and even communities organized around the world, were named after the "Wall of Democracy." We have the "Northern California Democracy Wall" and the "Southern California Democracy Wall", and this is the role of the "89 Democracy Movement" as a beacon for us. 

And at the same time, the "89 Democracy Movement" is also something that happened before we were born. Its legacy, is as much a result as it is something that our generation of young people has no choice to undertake when they are born. The political awakening of our generation and our political growth have been influenced by countless overseas protests and political trends in addition to China's local struggles. Especially those of us young people overseas, many of us are influenced by the progressive trend of thought in Europe and the United States, and we support ethnic equality, gender equality, and sexual equality. In the past decade, we have not only been infected by the struggle for democracy and protection in Hong Kong and Taiwan (my own democratic awakening was the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong in 14 years, I believe that many people were infected by the "sunflower" and "anti-extradition center"), but we were also infected by the progress made by East Asian society in terms of sexual minority rights, for example. Over the past few years, Chinese mainland's "MeToo" and feminist movements have deeply influenced our generation and aroused the determination of more friends to come out and join our struggle. 

I don't know if you know that there is a very popular Taiwan drama called "The Chosen Person - Wave Maker", Wavemakers, its English name is this. This is the first film and television work in history to be set in democratic elections in Chinese society, and takes place in the only country with democratically elected Chinese culture, which is Taiwan. I think every friend here who cares so much about the practice of democracy I should like this show very much, and everyone can watch it on Netflix. While depicting the politics of democratic elections, this drama uses a female perspective to fully depict the occurrence of a sexual harassment case, the victim's feelings, reactions and resistance, and how justice can ultimately be achieved. After the appearance of this drama, a round of "MeToo" in political circles was set off in Taiwan. The former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party and the current president, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, have come out to take responsibility and apologize for the sexual harassment cases that occurred in the DPP. 

I hope you can understand the context of this incident. These events are a bottom-up democratic process in society, not some malicious foreign force. And the DPP, as a ruling party, can face up to the ruling party that takes responsibility for mistakes and publicly apologizes, isn't this what we have dreamed of in the past 34 years? Isn't this the embodiment of the democratic spirit of the "August Nine Democratic Movement"? No organization or anyone is perfect and never makes mistakes, but we should all take responsibility for what we have done. Our younger generation still remembers the "MeToo" cases in recent years, especially in China. Like the case of Xianzi v. Zhu Jun, the case of Minnesota, Jingyao v. Liu Qiangdong, and the sexual harassment allegations against screenwriter Shi Hang in China a while ago. This is also the struggle of our generation. 

We deeply understand and deeply empathize with the victims who stand up and accuse; We understand that it is very difficult to obtain and preserve evidence in such sexual harassment and assault cases; We understand that even if the court cannot give a guilty verdict, it is likely that it is only because of insufficient evidence, but this does not necessarily mean that the incident did not really happen; We know better how much courage it takes for victims to come forward with real-name accusations – a great courage for being alone in the face of the entire patriarchy. 

We understand that our enemies are not only totalitarian, but also patriarchal. We understand that our politics and our struggles are not only with the Communist Party, but also around us. 

As a man, I myself am a straight cisgender man, and I hope that every man like me will realize that we are part of the "victims of totalitarianism" collective, and we are also part of the "patriarchal perpetrators" collective. The reflection and review of the mistakes and injuries we have made are the same as the transitional justice we will do when China democratizes if we are lucky one day. Confronting one's past, the harm we have caused, is transitional justice that belongs to each and every one of us. If we can pick up one ten-thousandth of the courage we had in the face of tanks and guns, to face ourselves, to face the problem itself, it is the first step towards reconciliation and unity. Thank you. 

We hope that Wang Dan will come forward and face his sexual harassment allegations. Thank you. 

大家好，我是一个普通的年轻人，和在场的各位一样，都期待每一个中国人都能获得民主和自由。 

我和我的朋友们，像王涵，我们都是从湾区过来的。我们在湾区见到过许许多多的"八九"一代的前辈，像"白纸革命"的时候，我们在旧金山大使馆面前见过方政老师，王涵在苹果公司总部绝食的时候，也见过陈维明老师还有像周锋锁他们。所以非常感谢我们的“八九”前辈们 一直与时俱进地对时事的关注，对我们这一代抗争的关心。 

我想首先来分享一下，“八九学运”对我们来说的legacy。我们当然就不能代表每一个年轻人，但我们觉得可能很多人都跟我们有类似的共鸣。对我们来说，“八九民运”，向我们展示了中国人争取民主的光辉，是勇气的光辉，是我们永远可以从中获取勇气的一个源泉。白纸革命期间，年轻人们在美国各地，甚至说世界各地组织的社群，不一而同地都以“民主墙”命名。我们有“北加州民主墙”、“南加州民主墙”，这个就是“八九民运”对我们来说一个灯塔的作用。 

然后同时呢,“八九民运”也是我们出生以前发生的事情。它的遗产，它的legacy和它的结果一样，都是我们这一代年轻人出生之后没有选择、必须承担的东西。我们这一代人的政治觉醒以及我们的政治成长，在中国的本土抗争之外，还有无数的海外抗争和政治思潮的影响。尤其是我们这些在海外的年轻人，我们很多是受欧美的进步主义思潮影响，我们支持族裔平等、性别平等、性向平等。在过去的这十年里面，我们不仅仅被香港、台湾对于争取民主、保护民主的抗争所感染（我自己的民主觉醒是14年香港的雨伞运动，相信有很多人被“太阳花”、“反送中”所感染），而同时我们也为东亚社会在比如说性少数权益上所取得的进步所感染。过去几年来，中国大陆的"MeToo"和女性主义运动，都是深深地影响了我们这一代人，也唤起了更多朋友走出来参与我们的抗争的决心。 

不知道大家知不知道最近有一部很火的台剧叫做《人选之人——造浪者》，Wavemakers，它的英文名是这个。这是有史以来第一部在华人社会以民主选举为背景的影视作品，发生在唯一一个有民主选举的华人文化的国家，就是台湾。我觉得在场每一位这么关心民主实践的朋友 应该会非常喜欢这一部剧，在 Netflix 大家就可以去看。而这一部剧呢它在描绘民主选举的政治同时，它用一种女性视角完整地描绘了一起性骚扰案件的发生，受害人的感受反应以及反抗，以及正义最终可以如何实现。这一部剧出现之后，在台湾掀起了一轮在政治圈的“MeToo"风潮。民进党的前党主席同时也是现在的总统，台湾总统蔡英文，都出来为发生在民进党的性骚扰案件担责、致歉。 

我希望大家能够理解这个事件发生的脉络。这些事件发生是一个社会自下而上的民主的进程，而不是什么不怀好意的境外势力。而民进党作为一个执政党，能够直面错误承担责任、公开道歉的执政党，这不就是我们这34年来梦寐以求的东西吗？这不就是“八九民运”的民主精神的体现吗？没有哪一个组织或者是哪一个人是永远完美永远不犯错误的，但是我们都应该为自己做过的事情承担责任。我们年轻一代对这几年的"MeToo"案例，尤其是中国的，记忆犹新。像弦子诉朱军的案例，发生在美国明尼苏达，Jingyao 诉刘强东的案例，以及前阵子国内对编剧史航的性骚扰指控。这也是我们这一代人的抗争。我们深深理解、深深共情站出来指控的受害者；我们明白这类性骚扰、性侵犯案件的证据获得与证据保存是非常的困难；我们明白就算法庭无法给出有罪判决，也很可能只是因为证据不足，但这不一定代表那件事情就真的没有发生；我们更明白，受害者站出来实名指控需要多少的勇气——这是独身一人面对整个父权制的巨大勇气。 

我们明白我们的敌人除了极权、除了共产党，还有父权。我们明白我们的政治、我们的抗争也不仅仅在共产党，也在我们的身边。 

作为一个男性，我自己是一个顺性别直男，我希望和我一样的每一个男性都能认识到，我们在作为“极权的受害者”这一个集体的一员的同时，我们也是“父权的加害者”这一个集体的一员。对我们曾经犯下的错误与伤害的反省和检讨，是和将来如果有哪一天幸运的我们能够见到的，中国民主化的时候我们所要做的转型正义是一样的。直面自己的过去、过去直面自己所造成的伤害，就是属于我们每一个人的转型正义。如果我们能够拿起当年面对坦克枪炮的勇气的万分之一，去面对自己，面对问题本身，才是走向和解与团结的第一步。谢谢大家。 

我们希望王丹能够站出来直面对他的性骚扰指控。谢谢大家。