Wildfire Collection: Thirty Years Anniversary Edition

Chapter 1 Preface to the 30-Year Commemorative Edition of Wildfire (1)
the eyes of history

1
The first article of "Wildfire", "Chinese, Why Are You Not Angry", was written in [-].

In Taiwan in [-], art museums may directly alter the works of artists for fear of being accused of being "pro-Communist"; authors who criticize current affairs are always worried about being invited to "drink tea" by relevant units; There is often no legal way to establish an association, and even if it is permitted, it will be difficult in every possible way.On the surface, it may be food fraud, environmental pollution, individual police bullying, or a simple judicial injustice, but digging deeper, it is all related to centralization.Because of centralization, information is incomplete, procedures are opaque, conclusions can be manipulated, and those in power can abuse power without the people being able to challenge it.

Centralization, in fact, has clear characteristics.What kind of attitude do people wearing uniforms on the street talk to people who don’t wear uniforms; how many agencies do you have to go to and how many official seals are stamped to do a simple thing; What kind of monuments and bronze statues of people are erected on the grand square; what tone and words are used by news anchors to describe what kind of events; victims of the disaster...

However, there are more that cannot be seen or heard.The rotting figure in the dark cell with its head hanging, cannot be seen.What a person who has broken his youth in the entanglement wants to say cannot be heard.The words written on the rough straw paper by the person on execution cannot be read.The official documents and instructions locked in the file cabinet behind the fake milk powder, fake wine, fake food and various environmental disasters are out of reach.

The wind is blowing, the clouds are walking, people are thinking, the game is seeing, the forward and backward are intertwined, and the value is reversed in surprise.In the big script of the long history, Taiwan's 30-year chapter has buried too many deep details. In the past 30 years, Taiwan's ruling party and opposition party have changed several times; some political prisoners have become leaders, and some leaders have gone to jail.The solemn becomes ironic, the trivial suddenly great, sincerity may be called cowardice, and hypocrisy may be called pragmatism.Every simple detail in the text requires ten times as many footnotes.

2
In 30, the Information Bureau, which was once in charge of ideological control and government propaganda, was disbanded and incorporated into the "Ministry of Culture", which shed its previous censorship and control tasks and became a supporter of culture. The author who wrote "Wildfire" 20 years ago became a civil servant and held countless meetings from morning to night to review the previous laws one by one, repeal them one by one, and revise them one by one.For example, the "Film Law" stipulates that every film must obtain the government's permission to show in advance, and it cannot be released without permission.During the law revision meeting, the "critical" No.[-] six articles were revised, which made me smile during the meeting:

No.20 Six films must not have any of the following circumstances:

[-]. Damage to national interests or national dignity.

[-]. Violating national policies or government decrees.

[-]. Inciting others to commit crimes or violate laws and regulations.

……

Sixth, promote nonsense or heresy or confuse the public.

Seven, slandering ancient sages or distorting historical facts.

This "Film Law" originated from the "Film Censorship Law" enacted in the 19th year of the Republic of China. It has been tinkered with until today, and it is still a tool of control, with a total of 58 articles.In 24, we trimmed it down to [-].

Dealing with "film law" made me laugh in meetings, but dealing with human rights history made me laugh. In Taiwan in the 50s, many people were shot because of "Left deviation". The "Ministry of Culture" intensively made oral histories for the surviving parties and the families of the victims from south to north. Forgotten diaries and suicide notes for many years.Gao Yisheng, a young man of the Tsou ethnic group in Alishan, was shot to death in 60. [-] years later, this suicide note, which had never been exposed to sunlight, was suddenly spread before my eyes:

What I miss about Chunfang:
So relieved to know you are well.

"No matter how much gold, silver and precious jade, they are not as precious as precious children!"

Remember this song?As long as there is a home and land, because there are many excellent sons and daughters.

It doesn't matter if the items are confiscated, my injustice will be made clear in the future.

Before the sewing machine was confiscated, I wanted to wear the clothes you sewed yourself,

White underpants, shorts with belts, and the bottom looks like trousers.

Sew a four-foot-square white furoshiki.

In the field and in the mountains, my soul is with me anytime and anywhere.

Don't sell paddy fields!
Gao Sheng

One after another, the family members never received the suicide notes, and we bowed and returned them one by one after 60 years.

3
When it gets dark, push your bike out of the office.The music of the garbage truck is playing, approaching from a distance, and then the truck stops in front of me.In the night lights, people from every household poured out from the deep alleys, carrying large and small garbage bags in their hands, walking towards the garbage truck while exchanging greetings, in an orderly manner.Every night at exactly seven o'clock, millions of citizens across the city go to the alleys to dispose of garbage at the same time. There are almost no garbage cans in the whole city, and there is no overnight garbage on the ground.When foreigners come to Taipei, one of the "sightseeing" programs is to go to the streets and alleys at [-] o'clock in the evening to watch Taipei people throw garbage. They are dumbfounded and say, "How is that possible?"

I really think there is no such thing as an end to history.It has body temperature, breathing, its slight sigh and the eyes that want to call, as long as you look at it, it is there, so clear.

February 28, [-]
Taipei
Where does the new "wildfire" start?
——Written to college students in the 21st century
The online "Wikipedia" is an amazing creation: anyone can go online to write their opinions and knowledge into entry definitions, and anyone can also revise the definition made by the guy in front, and then wait for the people behind—if he There are more accurate information and more incisive insights to overthrow you.It may also be that the latter is a rare "big liar" who usurps explanations and subverts truth and wrong, but there are always people who oppose it. The "Los Angeles Times" is bold enough to take out its own editorials, and readers are welcome to rewrite the editorials in the way of "Wikipedia". (The idea was withdrawn two days after it was proposed. Revolutions often involve the danger of overthrowing or consuming themselves.)
"Wildfire" 20 years.A 20-year-old who was full of ideals and determined to change society is now 40 years old. Where are you today?Romantic idealism is still the driving force of life?Or, has it been worn and cooled by ordinary life?Or, completely replaced by skepticism and indifference?
During my 20 years of roaming, I have encountered several people: those who went deep into the tribe to fight for the rights of aboriginal children, those who returned to the isolated island of Wuqiu to work hard for the poor villages, and those who joined forces to organize environmental protection campaigns... from Taiwan A large part of the cultural heritage is the accumulation of thickness through the persistence and efforts of these people.But aren't there also a lot of people, tired and defeated?defeated by what?
Our previous generation, suffering from war and poverty, expects our generation to have food, clothing and stability.Our generation is well-fed and stable, but suffers from authoritarian rule, expecting the next generation to grow up in a free environment without fear and control.

People who are 20 years old today were born in those years, and they really grew up in the environment we worked hard and prayed for. Today, we stand at the same height as us, and our eyes are at the same level as ours.I am curious, what was the "Kindergarten University" back then?College students back then, under the long-term control and manipulation of the authoritarian regime, often had "tearful eyes", "no opinion" and "don't know" when they encountered problems; today, college students who grew up in democratic politics, do they have a lot more "capable"? What about "thinking", "judgment", "courage and conscience"?In other words, in the past 20 years, the value has reversed to such an extent that the so-called thinking, judgment, and so-called courage and conscience are no longer a value worth pursuing?
On the contrary, after 20 years of writing "Wildfire", the world sees more, puzzles more, and answers less.If the following text were spread out to invite today's college students to "wiki add", how would you add it?

Today's new bottle contains yesterday's bad wine

For example, I admit that democracy confuses me. (Have you ever observed and compared the democracy in India, Russia, and Latin America? How does it compare with Taiwan’s democracy? Are we worse, or better?)

After democracy, Taipei has a New Year's Eve party every year. The city hall square and the "Presidential Palace" square are held at the same time at both ends of a street.However, the "Presidential Palace" and the "City Government" are governed by different political parties, so it is a competitive situation.Usually the "presidential palace" has more money and more luxurious scenes.Both sides invite idol pop singers, rather than symphony orchestras or folk music or local operas, because the "customers" that the rulers target to attract are young people.

In the age of authoritarianism, rulers have a way of courting young people.Back then, the "National Salvation Corps" held youth combat camps every winter and summer vacation, and designed various "education" activities for young people to participate in. At the same time, political ideology, like putting sugar in coffee, was melted into activities of singing and dancing to promote peace and joy. , It is easy to win the favor, trust and loyalty of young people to those in power.A large part of the "love" for the ruler is sincere.

Authoritarianism has been "defeated" by us, and democracy has come.Thousands of young people shook their golden lights in the square, showing eager and happy expressions in the youthful singing.When the happy and grateful hormones in their emotions are at their highest, the politician comes on stage: he dresses up as "Superman" or "Batman", he wears the same relaxed and "cool" costumes as young people, talks and talks about young people. He speaks playful language like a human, and makes gestures that young people are familiar with.When he approached the microphone and said loudly: "Okay—" the crowd in the square, as he expected, cheered and responded like thunder, "Okay—" (Are you there?)
No matter it is the Festival of Lights, Christmas, no matter what kind of art season is hung, no matter whether it is the northern, central and southern cities or the countryside, there are such singing and dancing, joyful and bright everywhere, and behind the stage and lights, basically this is the operation : Whether there should be art and cultural activities depends not on the internal needs of cultural development, but on the political needs of politicians.What he needs is a high exposure rate, and what he needs is the favor, trust and loyalty of voters.Therefore, from the compilation of the budget to the use of the budget, from the timing and location of the party to the tone of the text of the propaganda, from the selection of totems to the design of the program, every detail has been carefully determined. The key is how to market this political figure and accumulate votes.On too many occasions, the so-called culture and art are actually packaged in election planning and spent on public funds.

To put it more bluntly, if the profession tells you that the most urgent need for budget is the establishment of libraries in mountainous elementary schools, or the deepening of art education in middle schools, but these measures can only rely on silent investment and long-term hard work, politicians will not go What he did; a show with brilliant sound and light cost tens of millions, but it could shape his image and win votes.The money just flows in that direction.Coupled with the laziness of public opinion representatives and the people's lack of thinking, everyone has become happy consumers of politicians.

I don't see any essential difference between this kind of private use of public tools and this kind of manipulation of power over people, and the previous authoritarian politics.On the contrary, because an authoritarian ruler does not need to consider votes, he may make long-term investment and planning, even if it is not pleasing; those who need to rely on four-year elections often choose to sacrifice long-term interests in exchange for immediate expediency.And every ruler is interested in the immediate interests of the shortest distance. Social development will always be like mobile vendors in night markets and illegal buildings in depressions.

(Have you ever thought about this contradiction? That is to say, we finally got democracy, but what kind of quality is the democracy we created? No one wants to go back, but this way forward you see that?)
In the era of authoritarianism, all media is monopolized by the rulers, and newspapers are full of photos of leaders and words and deeds from the front page to the tail, all of which are wise actions of the government.Democracy today, yes, voices are more diverse, critical discourse is fiercer, strange why there are still full page full page government propaganda?
It turns out that in the past, it relied on administrative orders, the media cooperated in reporting, and the propaganda of government orders appeared in the form of news.Now it depends on the market: the media needs to make money, and the government uses taxpayers' money to buy newspaper pages or TV time slots, so government decree propaganda appears again in the form of news.This is called "placement marketing".Democracy is competitive, but whoever is in power can afford to spend money, buy media, buy popularity, buy political capital.Opponents in the opposition do not have this advantage and deserve it.Opponents in the opposition, once they gain power, immediately occupy resources.The money for accumulating political capital belongs to tax-paying citizens, and the media conspires with him.

I don't see any essential difference between this kind of private use of public tools and this kind of manipulation of power over people, and the previous authoritarian politics.

Intellectuals, journalists, and progressive college students used to criticize and resist the monopoly and manipulation of the government in the authoritarian era. Today, intellectuals and journalists have become business partners of politicians, and progressive college students have become campaign teams.Not to mention the close ambiguity and mutual benefit between the consortium and the regime.

These are all right, because in a democratic structure, intellectuals, journalists, college students, and financial groups all have free civil rights.However, the question is, today's new bottle contains yesterday's bad wine, so who are the opponents of the new era?

Isn't it from slavery to freedom from authoritarianism to democracy?Or is it simply a wrong perception to think that "the opposite of slavery is freedom"? (Don't tell me you knew this when you were eight.)
Enemies of literature, knowledge and language

The famous Czech writer Klima lived in a concentration camp with her parents when she was ten years old, and grew up in the shadow of death and a horrible environment.On the day of liberation, the prison fence was demolished, and huge photos of the Soviet Red Army and Stalin appeared in front of his eyes. To him who survived the catastrophe, this represented the "force of good". Even at the same moment, he saw a German civilian Was shot and saw a prisoner run over by a tank as he pounced on a pack of cigarettes on the ground.Filled with happiness, he told himself, "I am free". (And how do you understand "freedom"? Can you understand freedom without passing through someone who is not free? Do you consider yourself free? How do you understand the difference between negative and positive freedom that Isaiah Berlin said? This Is the problem related to your personal life? Is the abstract idea related to your concrete life?)

In [-], the Nazis collapsed and the Soviet Union "liberated" the Czech Republic. He thought it was the coming of freedom, but freedom turned into slavery again, and the Czech Republic fell into the centralized control of the Soviet Union.In [-], when the Soviet Union collapsed and freedom seemed to fly through the window like an innocent dove, he was no longer naive.Looking back at the dusty days, Krima tries to understand what "freedom" means, concluding, "It took me a long time to fully understand that often it is not the forces of good and evil that are at war, but just two different evils, in the Fighting each other for control of the world." Freedom is about the exercise of power, and power, Klima said, "power is soulless, it comes from soullessness. It builds on soullessness and draws strength from it."

He seemed to be talking about how vultures rely on dead animals to make themselves strong.Is liberty to power what a corpse is to a vulture? (Can it? Can it be compared like this?)
(End of this chapter)