Chapter 22 4. My views on civil society

Also related to human rights is the issue of civil society.With the development of the market economy, social interests have become increasingly diversified, and the interests pursued by various social groups have also begun to diverge, so civil society representing different interest groups has emerged, especially various non-governmental organizations, which promote the relative uniformity of social interests. This is indeed a characteristic of Western society today.There are also a large number of non-governmental organizations in China, representing different interest groups, and dealing with many things that the government should not and cannot handle. This is an important aspect of social autonomy. It is important for the people to learn to manage themselves and for strengthening People's supervision of government work plays an irreplaceable role in the formation of a high-quality democratic society, and deserves our encouragement and support.A real civil society is always full of vigor and vitality, which was fully reflected in the 2008 earthquake relief.I really hope that our country can produce a large number of excellent civil society organizations, which will not be attached to bureaucracy, demonstrate their independence and vitality, and greatly promote our various causes.I also hope that some of these organizations can finally get rid of the shackles of the anachronistic system, gallop on the international stage, represent the rising Chinese civil society, use their conscience, knowledge and patriotism, and work together with the civil society that upholds justice in other parts of the world to change The current disproportionate proportion of civil society in the world serving Western interests makes Chinese contributions to the establishment of a more just international political and economic order.

But at the same time, I also think that on the issue of civil society, copying the civil society model promoted by the West may not be effective in developing countries.Western civil society theory has such a presupposition: civil society exists relative to the government, and the role of civil society is to limit the role of the government. Its relationship with the government is a confrontational relationship.The West also has its own strategic considerations, supporting a large number of pro-Western NGOs to deal with countries that follow a different path from the West.Civil society supported by the West played an important role in the political changes in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Eastern Europe.I have been to Ukraine where the "color revolution" was carried out, and I saw that the demonstrators waved not only Ukrainian flags, but also EU flags, American flags, British flags, and German flags, reflecting that many non-government flags in these countries Organizations are funded by the West.The same is true of the "color revolution" in Georgia. Many marchers in the square waved the flags of Western countries.The West encourages this method of confrontation between the people and the government and openly supports pro-Western regimes, regardless of the consequences of this approach for the people of these countries. The "color revolution" has plunged Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan into turmoil, and the overall effect is not good, but so far not many people in the West have reflected on it.

The philosophy that civil society must confront government is also reflected in specific issues.Once, I participated in a seminar in Brazil on the issue of eliminating urban slums. Slums are a serious challenge for many developing countries. More than half of their urban population often lives in slums.how to solve this problem?Speaking at the meeting, an EU representative said that civil society should mobilize and fight against the government, so that the government has to take action to solve the problem of slums.The chairman of the meeting asked me, what do Chinese people think about this issue?I said that after visiting a large number of developing countries, I think China has done the best job in eliminating slums.China's experience is: don't always engage in confrontation between civil society and the government, but promote effective communication and interaction between civil society and the government, establish a consensus that eradicating slums can benefit all parties, and then formulate as much as possible A slum upgrading program that takes into account the interests of all parties.I said, you can organize a delegation to visit China to see how China does it.China's approach also has shortcomings, but overall the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and it has done better than most other developing countries.

Western civil society theory emphasizes confrontation and confrontation. This will not cause too many problems in countries with a relatively single ethnic group, a relatively sound legal system, popular education, and a strong middle class. However, in developing countries that do not have these conditions, this kind of Confrontation can easily lead to social division and conflict.I visited Lebanon in 1994. At that time, Lebanon had already got rid of the 15-year civil war, and it was a scene of ruins.From what I have seen on the ground, civil society in Lebanon was quite active before, during and after the civil war.But this kind of civil society is completely divided, affiliated to different religions and sects, such as Maronites, Druze, Sunnis, Shiites, Falangists, etc. factional groups that actually exacerbated the division and conflict in Lebanon.

When I was applying for a visa at the Lebanese consulate in Egypt, I saw a poster with a dove of peace hanging on the wall of the consulate. I am moved by the nation's unyielding belief in survival despite countless catastrophes.Of course, this is a poet's romantic expression, and the reality is much crueler.When I went to Lebanon to see it on the ground, this city that was once known as the "Paris of the Middle East" was full of traces of war. The entire city center, including the Hilton Hotel and Holiday Inn, was left with ruins.The civil war cost a nation of just over 3 million people the loss of 140,000 lives.My tour guide is a witness in his 60s. He said to me: "The war has passed for several years, but the salaries of Lebanese people are still falling. Everyone wants to leave this country. If I have a daughter, I must let her marry Here you are." The old man has two sons, one is working in Germany and the other is unemployed at home.Lebanon's civil society is now also very developed. In 2006, the country successfully held another general election and produced a pro-Western regime, which was highly praised by the West. However, an Israeli-Lebanese conflict broke out that summer, and the United States The delay in allowing an Israeli ceasefire has undone years of post-war reconstruction in Lebanon.The interests of various sects and parties in Lebanon have so far been unable to integrate, and various external interventions have made the situation in Lebanon increasingly complicated.I really hope that this beautiful Mediterranean country can rise for the 1,001st time, but I also feel that it will be difficult for Lebanon to get out of its own predicament if it follows the Western way of thinking, including the kind of civil society advocated by the West.

The same is true of Rwanda in Africa, whose NGOs are probably the most active in the entire African continent.Rwanda is said to have the most NGOs per capita in Africa, but they failed to stop the genocide that followed.Much of the content of Western human rights theories and civil society theories were formed in Western single-nation countries, formed in societies with developed economies and education, while most third world countries are multi-ethnic and multi-ethnic countries with underdeveloped economies and education. The biggest problem that arises from using Western concepts is ethnic conflict.Once a large number of ethnic-based NGOs emerge, it will lead to tension and confrontation among ethnic groups.

Nigeria is also a country with a well-developed civil society.But I have been to its largest city, Lagos, where the security is very poor during the day and even more dangerous at night.My feeling is that during the day you can walk peacefully for half an hour in the streets of downtown Lagos, which is a luxury.There are so many NGOs and governmental organizations promoting human rights in Nigeria, but how many human rights are actually being protected?The idea that the more NGOs there are and the better the society is governed, the more successful democracy is, at least not in developing countries.

There are dozens of times more NGOs in India than in China, but there is a big gap between India and China in all aspects of work.On the surface, Indian civil society is very active, but from what I know on the ground, a considerable number of organizations are controlled by, or even part of, the underworld.I have been to observe the slums in India. There are many NGOs in the slums. They can control every aspect of people's life in the slums.There are many organizations that are really doing things for the working people, but there are also organizations for other purposes, such as organizations that specialize in stealing electricity, secretly receiving electricity from a certain place, and then selling it to residents of slums.There are also underworld organizations responsible for the security of the slums, which only collect protection fees.Why is it so difficult to transform slums in India?Because the people in the slums are organized, and a considerable part of these organizations are controlled by the underworld, and the underworld is in collusion with politicians at all levels, the slums will always be the votes of politicians at all levels.There are large-scale slums next to the road leading to Mumbai International Airport in the center of Mumbai. The Indian government wants to widen this road, but after a few years, the conditions are not right. Some low-quality civil society organizations are combined with the interests of politicians. It is easy This is a serious bottleneck encountered by the modernization of the Indian democratic system.

Michael Edwards, the person in charge of the civil society project of the Ford Foundation in the United States, is a relatively straightforward person. He wrote a book called "Civil Society" (Civil Society), which mentioned that civil society and the government are necessarily opposed Not necessarily the best model for civil society to function.He said that many civil societies now "don't trust the government, companies, media, and only themselves. But civil society itself needs checks and balances, otherwise problems will arise."He is in favor of taking the path of consensus, not always emphasizing the confrontation between the parties, but emphasizing how to best solve the problem.This suggestion is worth our consideration.

I think the formation of a civil society must be combined with a country's own political and cultural traditions.In fact, the civil society in Western countries is also like this.Mr. Martinsen, the chairman of the Danish Employers Association, once said to me that the Danes are like a tribe. Everyone feels that they are in the same boat. There is less confrontation in the society, and it is easier to reach a consensus on issues discussed in the parliament. Generally, 80% of the members have close opinions. Consistent or completely consistent.Strikes are also rare in Switzerland, why?Because in 1937 when the whole of Switzerland faced the threat of German fascist invasion, representatives of labor and capital in the Swiss machinery manufacturing industry negotiated and reached a "peace agreement", which stipulated that once disputes occurred between labor and capital, both parties should negotiate to solve the problem. Or invite a third party to mediate and arbitrate. The employer is not allowed to lay off workers at will or close the factory. Workers generally do not go on strike.This not only protects the interests of both parties, but also ensures production.Later, other industries in Switzerland followed suit and signed similar agreements. During the most difficult time of the war in 1941, the federal government passed laws to fix this form.In this way, strikes rarely occur in Switzerland, and when they do occur, they are often limited in scale.

Taiwan, China is also an interesting example.In terms of democratization, Taiwan has learned American-style democracy and emphasized confrontation. As a result, serious dissatisfaction has emerged. In the past ten years, it has led to vicious political parties, commercial hype, tearing up ethnic relations, a serious economic downturn, and people The pain index has risen. No wonder that before the 2008 general election, an article in a Taiwanese magazine "Remembering the Days Without Blue and Green" attracted so many people's sighs. Even today, the most popular politician in Taiwan is still a strong leader who cared about people's livelihood back then. Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo.During the period when the Kuomintang ruled Taiwan, the education of traditional Chinese culture was not interrupted, and it also absorbed a lot of Western civil culture. Every time I visit Taiwan, especially in Taipei, I can experience this kind of warm cultural heritage in Taiwanese society. , people are very polite, polite, gentle, courteous and frugal, which reduces many unnecessary conflicts.Although there are many problems in Taiwanese society, the strong Chinese cultural atmosphere still left a deep impression on me, and it is worth learning from the mainland.I personally feel that Taiwanese society should have developed a rational, sophisticated, and inclusive civil society and democratic system on the basis of this harmonious Chinese culture, but Taiwan has embarked on a path of copying the confrontational democratic model of the United States , and paid huge political, economic and social costs for it.After Mr. Ma Ying-jeou came to power, he boldly put forward the slogan of "reconstructing Taiwan's democracy" and advocated harmony among ethnic groups, but so far it has had little effect.It is not easy to reintegrate a society that has been torn apart by American democracy. Even the United States itself has become a severely divided society today, deeply mired in economic crisis and unable to extricate itself. In short, a civil society is a high-quality civil society if it can make a society more united, more prosperous, and more vibrant, rather than more divided, more depressed, and more chaotic; A society that moves from unity to division, or even from division to greater division, is a poor-quality civil society.I think the situation in Lebanon, Rwanda and other countries belongs to the latter.Civil society and government can be a benign interactive relationship.Especially for a society like China, it is generally believed that China is a society where social consensus is relatively easy to form. This has something to do with our cultural traditions, which are largely our strengths.A society that is easy to form a consensus is a mature society, and there is no need to artificially strengthen opposition for the sake of so-called "democracy".The naturally formed consensus culture is a very valuable political resource. It is more meaningful for China to explore the path of deliberative democracy on this basis.It is very one-sided, even stupid, to think that in order to build democracy, we must learn from the United States, engage in partisan confrontation, oppose for the sake of opposition, and fight to the death.A democracy that can form a consensus is a good democracy, and a society that can form a consensus is a good society.We should proceed from China's own traditions, not to learn from the confrontational American model, but to properly learn from Denmark, Switzerland, Japan and other benign interaction models, and gradually form a civil society and democratic politics with its own characteristics. This should be the maturity of China's political system important sign. The earthquake relief in 2008 demonstrated the great energy of Chinese civil society, and almost overnight, an open and transparent modern rescue system with the participation of all the people emerged.This constructive interactive relationship between the people and the government has greatly enhanced the cohesion of our society, not only made valuable contributions to our earthquake relief, but also provided valuable enlightenment for the development of civil society and political system reform in China in the future.The real rise of a country lies in the rise of the people's hearts, in every citizen's sense of responsibility, participation and pride in their own country.This sudden disaster has united the Chinese people from top to bottom, our government and civil society, our army and our people. It is really 1.3 billion people who are united. A great force that divides classes, supports each other, unites as one, and fights against national disasters together.I hope that Chinese-style civil society will gradually embark on a unique path, and greatly enrich the theory and practice of civil society construction in the international community.