Chapter 2 "Where the light comes

Torture in Chinese prisons is an open secret.This issue was brought up by the Civil Rights League [2] last month. However, the "Zi Lin Xi Bao" run by foreigners published the "Beijing Newsletter" on February 15th, detailing that Dr. Hu Shi had personally visited several prisons, and "very dear" told the reporter, saying, " According to his careful investigation, it is really impossible to obtain the slightest evidence... They can easily talk to the prisoners, and once Dr. Hu Shi was able to talk to them in English. He (Dr. Hu Shi—— dry note) said about the situation in the prison , is unsatisfactory, but although they are quite free (oh, very free - dry note) to complain about the harshness and insult of treatment, yet they have not even hinted at the torture. . . . "

Although I did not have the honor of following the "careful investigation" this time, I visited a model prison in Beijing ten years ago.Although it is a model prison, when visiting prisoners, the conversation is not "free". There is a window, about three feet apart from each other, and a jailer stands next to each other. Time is limited, and secret signs are not allowed in the conversation, let alone foreign languages. But this time Dr. Hu Shi was "able to talk with them in English", which is really special.Could it be that Chinese prisons have been improved to such an extent, and "freedom" has reached this extent; or is it because the jailers are frightened by the "English language" that Dr. Hu Shih is a fellow of Sir Lytton's township and has a long history?

Fortunately, this time I saw Dr. Hu Shi's inscription on "Three Cases of China Merchants" [3]: "Public reporting is the only weapon to defeat dark politics. Where there is light, darkness disappears." (There was no new style of punctuation, this is my arbitrariness-dry note.) I was so enlightened.It is not allowed to use foreign languages ​​to talk to prisoners in the prison, but when Dr. Hu Shi arrived, he made an exception, because he can "publicly report", he can talk to foreigners "very dearly", he is "light", Therefore, where the "light" arrives, the "darkness" will "self-eliminate".He then "publicly reported" the Civil Rights League to foreigners, and the "darkness" fell on this side.

But I don't know if this "Guangming" will ever allow others to use "British language" to talk to prisoners in the prison from now on after he returns home? If it is not accurate, it means that "when the light is gone, the darkness will come again".And this "brightness" can't often go to the "darkness" because of the busy affairs of the university and the Ministry of Finance Committee[4]. Before the second "careful investigation" of the prison, the prisoners may not have a "very free life". Let's talk about the happiness of "English".Woohoo, the light only follows the "brightness", the light world in the prison is really temporary!

However, there is no one to blame for this. They should never have broken the "law" by themselves. "Good people" [5] will never break the "law".If you don't believe me, look at this "light"! March 15th. [1] This article was originally published on March 22, 1933 in "Shen Shen Free Talk", signed by He Jiaqian. [2] The full name of the Civil Rights Protection League is "China Civil Rights Protection League".A progressive group initiated and organized by Soong Ching Ling, Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Yang Quan, etc. in December 1932; the head office was established in Shanghai, and branches were established in Shanghai and Peiping.The organization opposed the fascist rule of the Kuomintang, actively aided political prisoners, and fought for freedom of assembly, association, speech, and publishing.It once investigated the dark reality in the Kuomintang prison and revealed it to the society, so it was hated and persecuted by the Kuomintang reactionaries.

〔3〕 "Three Cases of China Merchants" written by Li Gufan, published by Shanghai Modern Book Company in February 1933.Li Gufan used to be the Secretary of the Supervision Office of the China Merchants Bureau, and the General Management Office went to foreign audits; in 1928, he participated in the inspection of the fraud cases of the Tianjin and Hankou Branches of the China Merchants Bureau, and in 1930 participated in the investigation of the independent case of the surplus company affiliated to the China Merchants Bureau , and later compiled the contents of the three cases into this book.China Merchants, namely China Merchants Steamship, the largest shipping company in old China, was founded by Li Hongzhang in November of the 11th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1872).After 1932, it became an industry of Kuomintang bureaucratic capitalism.

〔4〕Geng Section Committee In 1900 (Gengzi), the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China and forced the Qing government to conclude the "Xin Chou Treaty" in the following year.Among them, it is stipulated that 450 million taels of customs silver should be paid to various countries as "compensation", which should be paid off in 39 years, with an annual interest of 4%, which is commonly known as "Gengzi compensation".Later, imperialists such as the United States, Britain, France, and Japan successively "returned" part of the indemnity to "finance" China's education, and established institutions to manage the funds.Hu Shi was a Chinese member of the Sino-British Fund Advisory Committee and a director and secretary of the board of directors of the China Education and Culture Fund, which manages the American Fund, and holds real power in the committee.

[5] "Good People" In May 1922, Hu Shi once put forward the idea of ​​"good government" in the second issue of "Keep Hard Work Weekly" he hosted, propagating that a few "good people" and "outstanding elements in society ""Join the political movement" and form a "good government" and China will be saved.The so-called "good people" and "excellent elements" are actually the self-promotion of bourgeois liberals such as Hu Shi.Around 1930, Hu Shi, Luo Longji, Liang Shiqiu and others repeated the old tune in the monthly "New Moon", with the aim of becoming officials in the Kuomintang government.