【大纪元5月20日讯】海内外65名学人的公开呼吁（附英文译本）。
实现政治和解，推进宪政民主
我们关于“六四”15周年的呼吁
今年的6月4日，是1989年“六四”事件15周年纪念日。15年前，政府出动军队和坦克，镇压了主要发生在北京的学生和市民示威请愿活动，造成爱国学生和无辜市民的重大伤亡。这一惨剧，使上个世纪80年代末中国社会的民主化萌芽遭受重创，也使执政党酝酿中的政治体制改革被无限推迟。长期以来，当年争民主、反腐败的学生和市民请愿运动，被执政党当局定义为一场“反革命暴乱”。并且，在当年铺天盖地关于“平暴”的短暂宣传之后，“六四”事件就从14亿中国人的公共记忆、叙述和思考中被强行抹去。
直到今天，公开谈论“六四”仍然是中国社会最大的一个禁区，是每一个公民内心抹煞不去的恐惧，和笼罩在全社会、也包括执政党头顶上的一个巨大阴影。六四惨剧，就像一颗子弹深嵌在社会的肌体内。深嵌在多少死难者、屠杀者、参与者、旁观者和后来者的脑海中。无数父母面对自己的子女，无数教师面对自己的学生，无数作家面对自己的读者，在这缄默的15年中，不断遭遇内心的挣扎、踌躇、愤怒或麻木，不知是否应该以及如何表述这段历史。如何在真相和恐惧之间，在个人良知和公共政治之间作出抉择。
因为“六四”阴影，使个人良知和公共政治成为了一对反义词。而对“六四”的强制性沉默和遗忘，15年来对这个社会的文明价值和心理健康，又再次构成一种持续和加剧的打击。这是最可悲的一种现实。在当局刻意维持的“六四”禁忌之下，政治和解变得遥遥无期。而没有政治和解，就不可能有真正的政治民主。在暴力罪行的威慑和负担下，执政者也不可能拥有真正的开明。在这样的阴影下，知识份子的道义勇气也像沙漏一样流失。当这个社会所有的父母、教师和一切知识份子都没有勇气在后代面前抗拒最大的一个政治谎言时，我们盼望的社会正义和良知，就失去了一个完整的立锥之地，失去了令人仰望的力量。
1995年，国内知识份子在长达6年的沉默之后，曾先后出现丁子霖、张先玲等“六四”死难者家属联名的《“六四”六周年致全国人大常委会公开信》；许良英、王淦昌等人《迎接“联合国宽容年”，呼唤实现国内宽容》的公开签名；刘晓波、陈小平等人题为《汲取血的教训、推进民主与法治进程》的“六四”6周年呼吁书；以及王丹、林牧等人《关于保障基本人权、维护社会公正的建议》等。其中均要求为“六四”正名，并释放政治犯。但政府却在这一年的“六四”前夕，再次抓捕了刘晓波、黄翔、王丹、刘念春、陈子明等参与公开呼吁的人士。这一次镇压使“六四”的阴影再次被强化，全社会在恐惧下的沉默和遗忘达到了一个高峰。
此后，除了海外华人社会不懈的呼吁之外，每一年仍有极少数国内知识份子本着寻求真相与和解的勇气，继续发出声音，要求平反“六四”，呼吁政治和解和宽容。如王东海等人1996年《就“六四”七周年致全国人大常委会的公开信》，及著名戏剧家吴祖光等人1999年的《为政治和解及民主改革致国人书》等。但在这些发出声音的寂寞前行者中，历年来仍不断有人遭受着政府的打压、逮捕和构害。同时他们也没能够得到国内知识份子更广泛的支持和声援。相反，包括我们在内的绝大多数国内知识份子，这15年来都程度不同地在这一事件上选择了旁观、回避和独善其身。程度不一地与公开发出声音的所谓政治异议人士保持着审慎的距离。
借助持续的国家暴力和言论禁锢，“六四”终于成为汉语中最恐怖的一个词汇，成为全体中国人包括执政者在内一个无法克服的梦魇。人们被迫放弃真相，也就放弃了内心的平静、道德的自信和做人的尊严。同时，“六四”镇压也扼杀了民间反对政治腐败的勇气和努力。因此90年代以来政府推行的市场化改革，在取得经济成就的同时，也始终无法对权力的腐败进行有效的制约。中国社会也逐渐成为了一个不健康的、缺乏起码的政治安全感和道义价值支撑的社会。
今年“两会”期间，在去年 SARS危机中因揭露政府隐瞒真相而广受敬仰的蒋彦永医生，再次发出一封致国家和政府领导人的公开信，以自己亲身所见所闻，讲述了“六四”事件的部分真相，以个人的名义为这些事实作证。同时“天安门母亲”的代表人物丁子霖教授等124位“六四”难属，也发出了致两会全体代表、委员的公开信。上述两封信均要求执政党重新审定六四，公开承认和忏悔罪行。他们的勇气赢得了我们共同的尊敬。作为一批华人知识份子，我们选择在“六四”15周年来到之际，公开站在蒋先生、丁女士和一切有勇气要求真相、寻求和解的人们一边，并向社会公开表白我们对于“六四”事件的基本立场：
1、我们认为发生在1989年的学生和市民示威请愿运动，是合法的和正义的。是在行使宪法上的游行、示威以及和平请愿的公民权利。当年执政党动用军队进行镇压的决策是错误的，导致了政府对人民的戕害，这是执政党及其政府犯下的严重的政治罪行。
2、我们不愿再让自己及我们的子女，继续在这种政治阴影下沉默而屈辱的生存。我们不相信强制性的沉默和遗忘可以带来和解，带来政治民主的机会。因此我们呼吁一切爱国的知识份子、新闻媒体和社会公众，尽一切的力量打破沉默，让“六四”话题重归社会公共空间。我们呼吁当局解除对“六四”的一切言论禁锢，让每一个公民可以公开谈论“六四”，反思和叙述“六四”，让每一个孩子了解15年前的中国到底发生了什么。
3、我们要求全国人大依据宪法成立“六四”事件的特别调查委员会。要求政府公开当年的相关资料，挖掘真相。并在此基础上为六四正名，为死难者致哀。要求党、政、军三方的主要责任者，最低限度应以书面、口头和三鞠躬等庄严形式，向全国人民公开道歉。
4、我们最终主张政治和解和宽容，我们认为要求真相的目标不是同态的报复，而是以真相寻求和解，以和解促进民主。因为宪政民主制度归根到底，就是一个以和解寻求政治认同，以妥协寻求权力制衡的政治体制。因此我们呼吁通过立法保护言论与新闻自由，保护公民的集会、游行、示威和结社的自由。我们认为，政府只有放下历史包袱，真正尊重人权，改变以往视言论为洪水，视民众为仇寇的专制主义政治逻辑，才能彻底化解“六四”阴影，达成与人民的政治和解。也只有实现对“六四”惨剧的政治和解，才能为中国的政治制度带来一个崭新和健康的契机，成为我们国家迈向宪政民主、寻求和平崛起的起点。
最后，向所有“六四”死难者，表达我们迟来的敬意和哀悼。
签名人（共65人 以姓氏拼音为序）:
大陆学人33名
包遵信 北 村 范亚峰 江棋生 郝 建 何永勤 刘晓波 廖亦武
梁晓燕 李 南 李 健 茅于轼 浦志强 秋 风 任不寐 师 涛
孙文广 滕 彪 王俊秀 王治晶 王天成 王光泽 王 怡 徐友渔
徐 晓 余 杰 余世存 杨银波 庄礼伟 赵 诚 赵达功 张祖桦
郑年怀
海外学人32名
蔡 楚（美国） 陈破空（美国） 陈迈平（瑞典） 陈奎德（美国）
冯崇义（悉尼） 傅正明（瑞典） 郭罗基（美国） 黄河清（西班牙）
黄 翔（美国） 雨 兰（美国） 胡 平（美国） 康正果（美国）
孔捷生（美国） 刘宾雁（美国） 刘国凯（美国） 廖天琪（德国）
林培瑞（美国） 马 建（英国） 孟 浪（美国） 茉 莉（瑞典）
丘岳首（悉尼） 沉 彤（美国） 王 丹（美国） 王有才（美国）
伍 凡（美国） 一 平（美国） 于浩成（美国） 杨逢时（美国）
仲维光（德国） 张 裕（瑞典） 张伟国（美国） 郑 义（美国）
2004-5-20
OPEN LETTER
An Appeal for Reconciliation and Democracy
on a Dark Anniversary: Tiananmen Square, June 4, 2004
The fifteenth anniversary of the events in Beijing of June 4, 1989 is approaching. Fifteen years ago, the government used armed forces and tanks to crackdown on the peaceful petition of students and residents in Beijing and other cities, causing the death of many innocent people. This tragedy greatly damaged the sprouts of democracy that had been planted in the post-Mao period. It also has postponed indefinitely the reform of China’s political system and ruling party. For a long time, the government used slogans to justify “June 4th” as a cracking down of “counter-revolutionary riots.” After years of crushing propaganda, “June 4th” – the “cracking down of the rioters” – apparently has been removed from the memory, discussion, and thoughts of 1.4 billion Chinese people.
Open discussion of “June 4th” remains the most extensively forbidden topic within Chinese society today. Those events are the terror that cannot be removed from our hearts, enshrouding all of Chinese society and fixing a dark shadow over the ruling party. The tragedy of “June 4th” is like a bullet lodged deep within the collective body of society. It’s profoundly set in the minds of the martyred and massacred, the participants and on-lookers, and to those who have come later. Mothers and fathers who have to face up to their sons and daughters, teachers who must confront their students, writers who must contend with their readers, all of us who in the silence of the past fifteen years have struggled, faltered, been angry and numb in our innermost hearts, and have not known whether or even how to talk about that fragment of our history. But, somewhere between truth and terror, and between individual conscience and public life, one must come to a choice.
The shadow of “June 4th” has paired individual conscience and public life into opposing counterparts. The coercive silence and memory lapse of the past fifteen years have caused unrelenting damage to Chinese society’s enlightened values and emotional welfare. This is a miserable reality. Given the authorities’ painstaking maintenance of the taboo against speaking out about “June 4th,” public and political reconciliation exist in a far-off and uncertain future. Yet without such public and political reconciliation, there will never be true democracy. The threat and burden of violence jeopardizes the possibility that the ruling party will attempt clarification and truth. Under this threat, the moral fiber and courage of China’s intellectuals are draining away like flowing sand. When parents, teachers and intellectuals throughout society do not have the courage to expose the biggest political lie to the next generation, the social justice and conscience that we had hoped for is lost. Truth is irrevocably lost.
After six years of coerced silence, Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and other family members of the victims came forward in 1995 with a jointly signed “Open Letter on the Sixth Anniversary of June 4th” to the Chinese National People’s Congress”; Xu Liangying, Wang Ganchang and others wrote “Welcoming the United Nations’ Year for Tolerance with an Appeal for Tolerance in China”; Liu Xiaobo, Chen Xiaoping and others wrote a letter “A Lesson Learned in Bloodshed: Why We Must Advance Democratic and Legal Reform”; and Wang Dan, Lin Mu and others wrote “Suggestions on Safeguarding Human Rights and Maintaining Social Justice”; among other appeals. All of these open letters marking the sixth anniversary of “June 4th” requested rectification of the “June 4th” legacy, specifically the release of political prisoners. Instead, right before that sixth anniversary, the government arrested Liu Xiaobo, Huang Xiang, Wang Dan, Liu Nianchun, Chen Ziming and others who had participated in the open appeals. This suppression only extended further the shadow of “June 4th” (and made a mockery of their peaceful dissent.) Once again, Chinese society was subject to forced silence and memory lapse with the threat of ultimate terror.
Nevertheless, following the example of these courageous writers, in addition to the frequent appeals of overseas Chinese communities, there still existed a small number of Chinese intellectuals at home who mustered the courage to seek truth and reconciliation, continuing to make their voices heard by demanding that the injustice of June 4, 1989 be redressed with political reconciliation and tolerance. Examples were Wang Donghai et al., “An Open Letter to the National People’s Congress on the Seventh Anniversary of June 4th” in 1996 and “An Open Letter to My Countrymen on Political Reconciliation and Democratic Reform” by the famous dramatist Wu Zuguang and others. Yet, these isolated individuals who dared to make their voices heard would go on to suffer government surveillance, arrests and punishment for many years. Their isolation was compounded by the fact that they did not have widespread support from intellectuals within China. On the contrary, over the past fifteen years, the majority of intellectuals – including some of us – chose to be on-lookers, avoiding “June 4th” for their own safety or maintaining a careful distance from the more outspoken dissidents.
The government’s continued tyranny and prohibition of freedom of expression have caused “June 4th” to become the most taboo words in the Chinese language. This nightmare is crushing the ruling party, and all of Chinese society. People have been forced to relinquish the truth, and thus to relinquish their peace of mind, faith in morality, and personal integrity. At the same time, the suppression of “June 4th” strangled the courage and energy of civil society’s opposition to political corruption. During the 1990s, the market reforms implemented by the government – though able to achieve economic successes – in the end have been powerless to systematize effective mechanisms to control the system from corrupting itself. Chinese society thus has gradually become an unhealthy society that lacks necessary fundamental political confidence and moral support.
While the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were in session this year, Dr. Jiang Yanyong, a widely respected physician who exposed the government’s cover-up of the SARS epidemic last year, came forward again to expose China’s ills. Dr. Jiang wrote an open letter to China’s leaders, describing his eyewitness account of the “June 4th” event, guaranteeing the truth with his reputation. Similarly, Professor Ding Zilin, representative of the Tiananmen Mothers organization, with 124 victim families, wrote a public appeal to all members of the Standing Committee and representatives of the NPC and CPPCC. Both letters requested the ruling party to confront the truth of “June 4th” by publicly acknowledging and confessing their crimes. The courage of Jiang Yanyong, Ding Ziling, and their supporters has earned our respect. With the fifteenth anniversary approaching, we choose to stand with Dr. Jiang, Professor Ding and all others with the courage to seek truth and reconciliation. We publicly proclaim our views of “June 4th”:
1. We believe that the student and citizens’ peaceful demonstration and petition in 1989 were legal and just. It was an exercise of the constitutional rights of citizens to protest and demonstrate, and to peacefully petition the government. The ruling party’s decision to deploy armed forces to suppress this movement was a mistake, and resulted in the government’s slaughter of its own people. This is the most serious political crime committed by the ruling party and its government administration.
2. We are no longer willing to allow ourselves and our children to continue to live with the shame of this government’s imposed silence. We don’t believe that forced silence and memory relapse will bring about reconciliation or democracy in public life. Therefore, we appeal to committed intellectuals, news media outlets and the public to unite our strength in breaking the silence and allowing the words “June 4th” to enter public discourse. We appeal to the authorities to remove the prohibitions against speaking of “June 4th” and to allow each citizen to openly discuss, think about, and tell the story of that time, so that every child will understand what happened in China fifteen years ago.
3. We demand that the National People’s Congress use their constitutional powers to establish a special commission to investigate the events of “June 4th”. We demand that the government declassify the relevant documents of the event in order to unearth the truth. Further, based on this foundation for reconciliation, we must mourn for the dead. We demand that those responsible for the actions taken on “June 4th” in the Party, the government and armed forces openly ask for forgiveness of the people in written and oral statements, and bow their heads three times to the dead.
4. Finally, we advocate reconciliation and tolerance. Our demand for truth is not an exercise in revenge, rather we earnestly desire reconciliation and through that process of reconciliation, to advance democracy. In the end, constitutional democratization is a process by which the government legitimates a political system of checks and balances. Therefore, we appeal for the approval of legislation to protect freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and to protect freedoms of assembly, protest, demonstration, and association. We believe that the government must deal honestly with this burden of the recent past, and truly respect human rights. It must disassemble the authoritarian logic that regards freedom of speech as a storm and the public as an enemy. Only, only if the reconciliation between people and the government is carried out can there be the promise of democracy.
Lastly, we pay our belated respects and condolences to the martyrs of June 4, 1989.
Signers of the petition, etc.
2004/5/20@
(http://www.dajiyuan.com)
