Internet to ‘revolutionize’ Chinese literature, says author Hu Fayun

Hu Fayun Photo: RFA

Here follows translated extracts from an interview which Wuhan author Hu Fayun gave to RFA’s Mandarin service recently.

“When I was in high school, I wrote one line on the page of my diary that you have to start earning honor from a young age. Honor is really the feeling a person has about their own dignity…that means that they will see everything they do and say as important, and it demands that one live authentically. This is the same as a truth passed down to us from our parents and from a number of ancient traditions, namely, that one shouldn’t tell lies.”

He said he thought that the period since 1949 had been a very special one for literary development in spite of restrictions on freedom of speech.

“Everyone has misgivings when they start to write. A lot of people stop writing…because there are so many examples of people who got themselves into big trouble through writing. The psyche of any Chinese person is going to contain these sorts of fears. Will I, in speaking out or through my writings, bring disaster upon myself and my family. At certain times, [writing] can even result in death.

Bao Tong: Guizhou and the grandfather ghosts

So who has the power to “deploy police force” whenever they want to? It certainly isn’t ordinary Chinese people, nor is it a democratically elected government. It is a pack of bureaucrats nominated by the Communist Party, whose names have been picked out of a mechanical “election” process, who have been given a franchise on state power; with no competition.

— Bao Tong on the Guizhou unrest

2008-07-05
鲍彤评论：贵州省委书记一篇有普遍意义的讲话

On a remark by the Guizhou provincial Party secretary that merits everyone’s attention
by Bao Tong

瓮安县最近出了人命，案情离奇，众说纷纭。我也是一个”不明真相”的人，越听越糊涂。但是，贵州省委书记石先生7月3日的一席话，我听懂了。

Recently, a person died in Weng’an county. The details of the case are unclear, and many different versions are floating around. I too am one of those who don’t know what really happened. The more I hear, the more confused I become. But I did understand one thing, and that was a comment made on July 3 by Mr Shi, the Guizhou provincial Party secretary.

他的话，被公布出来的虽然只有寥寥几段，但是有重量，有深度，切合实际，对整个中国，有普遍意义。

Only a few fragments of his comments were actually reported, but those that were carry great depth and weight, striking close to the heart of the matter, and are worthy of the attention of the entire nation.