Wildfire Collection: Thirty Years Anniversary Edition

Chapter 16 Starting from "12" ([-])
How many of us have this kind of perseverance?Like seeing trucks stealing sand on a moonlit beach—do you ignore it?Or curse bitterly and continue fishing?Or should I just call the police?How many people will get to the bottom of the matter and ask the government to stop the sand piracy: notify the police station, but it is invalid; try the Environmental Protection Agency again, but it is invalid;Okay, so let's study the law from the beginning and find out who is responsible for the sand on the beach.How many of us have this spirit?It is a good thing for the predecessors to plant trees and the descendants to enjoy the coolness; but if you don't plant trees, how can the people behind you have the coolness?The efforts of those few people may be able to break through the rigid concrete floor, so can't you also put in some nutrients in the grass roots?

I don't know anyone who considers Taiwan home.Some people reluctantly look back at the past continent, some fly to the future continent with a green card, and even more people don't want the past or the future, and they don't know how to cherish the soil under their feet.I am a person who wants to wander the world, but I know very well that even if my feet are wearing sandals and stepping on the stone roads in Turkey, when someone asks "Where do the tourists come from", I have only one answer: not Hunan, not New York, not Munich.Home, you can bid farewell temporarily, you can leave, you can forget, but home will always be the same. In Taiwan 40 years later, there will be people who want to leave but can’t, there are people who can leave but can’t, and there are people who are wholeheartedly here in this life; no matter what kind, as long as he regards this place as his “home”—willingly No matter, no matter what he has to do—as long as he regards this place as his "home", this place will be cared for, cultivated and cultivated.What I am afraid of is that after 40 years, if we still do not take care of this place, this home will fall into disrepair.Faith or not, that's all.

The colorful archway was erected again, and the colorful lights were lit up again.Solemn figures are giving speeches, and the mastheads of newspapers are red... But this is the 40th anniversary of the Liberation Day, how many [-] years are there in life?In addition to the colorful, cheering and slogans, shouldn't there be some new and honest reflections?
bear with my torches
—Communication with an informer

Originally published in "China Times Human World" on November [-], [-]

It's almost time for production.I often feel the little hands and feet of the fetus kicking inside, and I feel sweet and happy in my heart, but a letter from an informer comes to me, which is something that can kill people.

Thinking in the dark: Should I temporarily stop writing for refuge, or take a detour?Or head on?

I decided to face it head on.So I wrote this article to talk directly to the whistleblower.However, we all know that if this article is published, it will probably be the last one, because it has reached the edge of the cliff of the mainstream media and is about to fall off.

Therefore, it was decided that as soon as this article was published, the book should be published immediately, and the book had to be published and sold fast enough, so that he had no time to ban or confiscate it.

A month after this article was published, the "Wildfires" book was rolled out of the printing press.I was pushed into the delivery room.

On the day the child was born, various newspapers affiliated to the Kuomintang officially launched a comprehensive campaign against "Wild Fire Collection".December [-], [-].

"Wildfires" was reprinted 21 times in 24 days.

The Kuomintang Arts and Crafts Association sent a large basket of fruit.The person on the phone was very polite: "I wonder if you would like to meet the official?" At that time, the official in charge of the "cultural work" of the Kuomintang was James Soong.

I start breastfeeding.

Mr. Zhao:
I don't know your name, so let's call you the first name in a hundred families.

You wrote a long letter to the "relevant units", accusing me of "instigating", "provoking" with "wildfire collection", attacking the government "out of nothing", instigating young students to cause trouble, etc... Basically, you are against me The most fear comes from "A Generation That Doesn't "Make Trouble"" (September 29) and "Ah!red! "(August [-]th) two articles; the former, according to your explanation, is inciting young people to go out of the campus to demonstrate and protest, igniting riots; the latter is deliberately insulting political and military officials, alienating the feelings of the military, and planting the seeds of riots.In order to protect the "stability" of Taiwanese society, you hope that "relevant units" can block "Wildfire Collection".

I usually do not answer such a letter which completely misinterprets my article.However, this letter of yours is not a letter sent directly to the author's readers, but an informant sent to "relevant units", which reveals a special mentality, which is worth exploring.

First of all, I would like to ask you to re-read the article "Troubleshooting" in a "reading book for deep understanding".You will notice that I have specifically put quotation marks around the word "problem"; the purpose of the quotation marks is to say that this word is not interpreted generally in this article, but has a specific meaning to me.This specific meaning is also quite clearly stated in the article:
"If 'troubleshooting' can also be interpreted as 'action to change the status quo,' our non-troubleshooting generation is cause for concern."

Based on such a new definition, the example of "troubleshooting" I gave is what the Consumer Culture and Education Foundation does, and I emphasize that "troubleshooting" has a prerequisite:

"A nation that is satisfied with the status quo cannot progress, but to be dissatisfied with the status quo, a person must first care, observe carefully, make judgments after observation, and act after judgment. Concern can be emotional, but it is only for people who are born and grown in A love for the land of Sith, but emotion is useless, it must be backed up by calm reason—judgment and action require strong reason.”

How can such black and white words make you think that I am instigating students to kill and set fire?The bracketed "troublemaking" refers to a kind of moral courage to act, and a long-term brewing process: first learn to care about society, then train independent thinking, cultivate rationality, and finally produce valuable actions.Before the first two are mature, action is meaningless.What worries me is that our young people, who appear to be submissive and quiet (to make people like you think all is well), will in fact never be the dynamics that move society forward because of their habit of being submissive and passive. The purpose of the article "Troubleshooting" is not even to criticize our students, but to remind adults—adults like you—not to use the big hat of "stability" to suppress the natural vitality of innovation, innovation, and independent thinking in the next generation .

The reason why you panicked is obviously because you glanced at the title and touched the word "troublemaking" and then reacted like a snake. You "take it for granted" that "troublemaking" is the work of "communist bandits", completely disregarding the words in my text. Effort, this is not fair, right? !

In fact, misreading the article is a trivial matter, and it is worth pondering your fear of "action" (let's call it "action", lest you panic).You would say: well, action - any action - is a sign of social unrest, even if it is based on care, judgment, reason. The riot of students 40 years ago left a deep impression on our generation.Taiwan has finally achieved a stable situation, and we have to sacrifice everything to maintain this stability.

Sacrifice "everything"?Have you ever thought that this "everything" includes the basic driving force of our society?The small group of people who appealed for Lin Antai Ancient House and Lin Family Garden is a group of "action".Those who pleaded for the waterfowl in Guandu, protested against the nuclear power plant, and shouted hoarsely for the environment and ecology are also a group of "actions".It was also the group of "action" who organized consumer groups to "cause trouble" everywhere.The reason why these people take action is because they are dissatisfied with the status quo: consumers feel that the inspection work of the Department of Health is not thorough enough, those who maintain historical sites think that the "Ministry of the Interior" is too slow, and environmentalists complain that the EPA is too inefficient.Because they were dissatisfied with the status quo, unwilling to submit to it, and disdain to stand by and watch, these people resolutely stood up, organized, and acted.

You might say: Ah!But these people are doing good things that benefit society!Did you think that before you actually knew what they were doing was a "good thing", when this small group of people first came forward and loudly accused the government of failings and acted boldly-at that time, this cult of yours "settles down "What attitude do people take towards them?When these few people were dissatisfied with the status quo and wrote letters, protested, jointly signed petitions, and called for "troubleshooting", did you ever have the courage to support them?Now, you enjoy the fruits of these people's efforts - sitting in an easy chair reading Consumer Daily, drinking toxin-free beverages; at the time, you may be the kind of person who wrote black letters to "the relevant authorities" to accuse these actions Those who harbor evil intentions and destroy "stability"!
I don't think you are a bad person. The reason why you are full of suspicion and fear of the activists and you must eliminate them quickly is probably because you have two basic beliefs: first, the so-called "stability" means that there is no conflict between the government and the people; Conflict is restlessness.Restlessness makes you panic.Second, to criticize the government is to be unpatriotic, and patriots do not criticize the government.in other words.Love "country" = love "government", "country" = "government".

Mr. Patriotic, can you understand - there can be no conflict between the government and the people?For example, when the government feels that the development of nuclear power is absolutely necessary for economic interests, but some people believe that the development of nuclear power will seriously damage the ecology, conflicts exist.The difference in the way of handling conflict creates the divide between democracy and dictatorship.A democratic government understands public opinion and constantly reviews and revises its policies, while an authoritarian government simply does not allow public opinion to have a chance to be expressed.Therefore, there are two kinds of "stability": the stability that resolves conflicts after the government communicates and coordinates with the people is real and lasting stability.The stability of using government power to suppress public opinion to cover up the suppression of conflicts without communication is false stability, and it is also a stability with hidden currents and dangers.You think "Wildfire" should be blocked - is this the "safety" you're looking for?Is this "stability" good for our precious Taiwan?
As for loving the "country" = loving the "government", criticizing the government is tantamount to being unpatriotic, sir, you filled in the blank question incorrectly.Have you ever carefully considered Mr. Sun's cliché: the government is the "public servant" of the people?Love "country" = love "people", not love "government".To be patriotic is to love the people—that is, you and me and the old man selling oyster omelets on the street—as the starting point. The government is hired by the people.We also often say that we should love the hometown and the family; but no one said that loving the "country" means loving the "village officer", and loving the "home" means loving the "treasurer", so how can loving the "country" become love? government"?Village officials can be changed, shopkeepers can be changed, and of course the government can also be changed; won't there be an election next month?The people, the masters, have to decide who will be in charge for the next four years.Criticizing the government is tantamount to supervising and instructing hired helpers on how to do housework well. It is the right and obligation of you and me and the old man who sells oyster omelets; why do you think that those who criticize the government are "conspiratorial elements"? If "Wildfire" criticizes the government, it only means that the author has deep concern for this country and this nation, and he does not want to sit by and watch a few public servants miss the master's welfare.To really love the "country", I think I love the "country" much more than you, a person like you who will only stand by and claim to be right no matter what a public servant does.

"what!red! "The short essay, you said, also makes you feel uneasy, because I obviously have no "anti-communist" consciousness at all; there are powerful enemies on the other side of the strait, and artistic independence is of course not as important as "stability".

Mr. Zhao, do you think you are "anti-communist"?No, you call it "communist-phobia".Like the person who wrote to the "Presidential Palace" to accuse Li Zaiqian's sculpture of "red suspicion", you reveal a blind and emotional "communist fear".But I can't understand Taiwan's "communist-phobic" mentality.A purely artistic creation, just because it reminds one or two people of the red star, you are afraid that "bandits and spies" will infiltrate and destroy "stability".Art museums with the purpose of promoting art quickly changed the color of the paint (it doesn't really matter whether the creators agreed in advance or not).What's even more absurd is that after such a serious violation of art, neither the city government officially took any remedial measures, nor did art groups take any protest or self-help actions.Everyone was silent, and it seemed that the whole society was holding its breath and whispering: Ah!red!

There is only one explanation for fear of others: lack of confidence in yourself.But Taiwan, which has worked hard for more than [-] years, has a developed economy, popular education, and stable political democracy. Why is it so lacking in self-confidence?I really don't want this red sculpture incident to spread abroad, as it would expose two "family ugliness": one is Taiwan's trampling and contempt for art, and the other is our almost absurd "communist-phobia" sentiment.Blind "communist fear", Mr. Zhao, is not enough to deal with the new reality, because blind fear usually leads to ostrich-like escape or panic of throwing stones at one's own feet; you have probably fought wars, so you can win wars ?What we need is the self-confidence to know ourselves and the enemy, the courage to face reality squarely, and the extreme calmness to strategize; no, not to cover our eyes and cry in panic: Ah!red!
In your conception, change the artwork to be painted silver, block columns like "Wildfire Collection", imprison those who "change the status quo by action"... our society will be "stable".For "stability," art, freedom, and reform can all be sacrificed.Mr. Zhao, I also cherish the stability of Taiwan, especially after returning from places like the Philippines where guerrillas are rampant. Taking a bus in Taipei at night makes me feel very relieved.However, think about it carefully: If Taiwan's accumulated democracy and openness over the past [-] years are sacrificed for your false "stability", is this paper-wrapped "stability" worth it?If we suppress our individual will in our own system in order to "anti-communism" - why should we "anti-communism"?Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo's speeches are not all festive stereotypes. This year he said a very thought-provoking warning: Taiwan's greatest weapon against the mainland is our democracy and freedom.In fact, this small place of Taiwan is worthy of our cherishment, because it has a system that respects human nature?

You obviously disagree with "Wildfire Collection"'s views on the matter, but instead of debating with me openly, you quietly went to the "relevant units" to inform.This means you affirm the government's right to suppress speech.You must also know that such an informant letter may have serious consequences for me-but you wrote it anyway, which means that you also affirm the necessity of "literary prison".With that in mind, it's probably not the first time you've written a letter like that.So, communicating with you, I really don't have much hope.But I still have full confidence in this island: hundreds of letters from readers, saying that you represent a minority after all; our "relevant units" seem to be more tolerant, open, and understanding than you: the "stability" we need It is real and lasting, the stability that comes from democratic exchanges, not the false stability of blockade and repression.

Since there are people like me who light the fire in this society, of course there are people like you who put out the fire.But we all love Taiwan - you in your way, I in mine.So, if I tolerate your presence, should you also tolerate my torch?
[1] Adapted from SI Hayakawa ".Insoluble Problems", Invention and Design, NY1981.

(End of this chapter)