Spiritual autonomy

Author: Wang Kailin
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "Spiritual servitude comes from within; personal freedom ultimately depends on the autonomy of the mind and spirit." This is a collection of elegant and profound essays by Wang Kailin. He lives a life of faith because he holds deep reverence and love for the truth and beauty of life. He has preserved his own character and strengthened his "spiritual autonomy." To listen to Wang Kailin's sincere and independent voice is also a blessing, in an era where such voices are so lacking in individuality.
Excerpt: The "standard answer" of corrupt officials
Recently, the television channels in my city have been broadcasting several episodes of "Recordings of Major Anti-Corruption Cases" every night. The treasures unearthed from the homes of these rats have been a feast for the eyes, such as during the trial of the former Mayor of Tai'an, Hu Jianxue, where the "valuable items" presented as evidence filled 13 large leather suitcases. What truly shocked me was the heartfelt remorse of the "public servants"—"The main reason is that we were influenced by the decadent ideas and lifestyles of the bourgeoisie, relaxed our study of Marxist worldview and values, and our faith wavered. We could not resist the temptation of material interests and developed a mindset of indulgence in luxury. I deeply regret my failure to serve the Party and the people, and the people of Tai'an." If you hadn't been told it was in court, and if you were a citizen of Tai'an, you might have "reverently respected" it, truly believing you were listening to another speech by "Mayor Hu"! The tone of the confessor sounded so confident, so resolute, so familiar, so "authoritative," so "truthful." It wasn't that "Mayor Hu's" expression or tone was particularly solemn or awe-inspiring; on the contrary, he now looked so desolate and forlorn, with a runny nose and tears, as if he were genuinely "bearing the brunt of hell." Later, I suddenly realized: the source of "power" doesn't lie in "Mayor Hu," but in the "official robe" language he spoke—its symbolic power was at play! He had provided a "standard answer!" An "absolute" "standard answer" that perfectly met the requirements of a "theoretical exam" (one should say, as a round of self-defense in court, from the perspective of a textbook, his performance would have earned an "ovation"). Indeed, as a trained writer, in just a few words, he demonstrated his political "foundation" and especially his theoretical "strength" ("Mayor Hu" had once worked in literature and even published a widely known collection in Tai'an titled Understanding the World by Climbing Mount Tai, which included many essays calling for "anti-corruption and integrity." It was said that the city's enthusiastically purchased it with party funds, and even the Tai'an Daily required all cadres to study it alongside Deng's Selected Works, earning local ridicule as "Hu's Selected Works."—See Tai'an Anti-Corruption Storm, Xinhua Press, October 1996). But is that really the case? Now, false medical advertisements are everywhere—on television, in public restrooms, and on city utility poles. So, are there false "moral prescriptions" in courthouses, prisons, and confessions? Such as "Anti-Corruption Elixir," "Anti-Corruption Agent," or "Compound Rat Poison"? I believe there are not only, but they have reached a severe level where "anti-fraud" is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, not only will the "power tumor" not shrink, but the plague will not be controlled, and it may even escalate, to the point where the rats will hollow out the entire earth.
Why do power holders corrupt? Why do they dare to corrupt? For a long time, our system departments have been troubled by the first question, and the focus of the problem has been placed on the "mental illness," with the ideological premise that our power holders are high-minded and capable individuals among the masses (i.e., "the vanguard of the proletariat"), all of whom have undergone rigorous tests and strict screening and are excellent comrades. Full trust and support for them are essential; as long as they don't "go bad" (the occurrence of "badness" is generally attributed to the "feudal decadence" and "capitalist influence"), there should be no problem. Therefore, the focus of anti-corruption and integrity has always been singularly centered on "studying well," "setting good examples," "promoting good," "honoring good," and "comforting good"—to occupy the and with "good"—and it was believed that as long as the, naming rights, and publicity rights of "good" were firmly grasped, "all would be well." But reality has proven that the human mind is not amber or jade; it is an ordinary natural body, both everything and nothing, with infinite malleability and uncertainty—capable of being "pure as jade" or "a bowl of soul soup," and definitely not as easily identified and named as imagined. Of course, the problem first lies in the mind, but one cannot simply "treat the head when the head aches and the feet when the feet hurt," right? While ideological construction is indeed important, the key question is: what kind of ideology should be used to build it? What about beyond ideology? What if construction is not effective? In the past, we used to popularize the saying "Fear not what you cannot do, but what you do not dare to think," a result of excessive belief in "ideological qigong." So, which is more important—thinking and doing, or speaking and acting? Is the subjective determining the objective, or the objective guiding the subjective? What exactly constitutes "seeking truth from facts" and "materialism"? Decades ago, our leaders equated the great task of "governing the country" with "governing the people," and the key to "governing the people" was placed on "brainwashing." At one point, a vast China even had a mirage practice where a few mythical brains controlled hundreds of millions of brains. Practice has proven that "governing the people" and "rule of the people," moral myths and authoritarianism, have always been inextricably linked like Siamese twins, a manifestation of distorted politics, and have always been a taboo in democratic and constitutional societies. Two thousand years ago, someone asked the knowledgeable Aristotle of ancient Greece: Which is better for governing the state—good people or good laws? He didn't even bother to think and replied: "The rule of law is better than any rule of man!" The meaning is self-evident: the existence of good people is entirely due to the supervision of good laws. People may be unreliable, but systems and laws make people tend toward reliability. How can one abandon reliability for the unknown? Imagine if "Mayor Hu" had foreseen that once he corrupted, he would face severe punishment, and once he played with fire, he would burn himself, would he still dare to act recklessly? The reason he dared to embezzle an amount equal to a Tai'an farmer's annual income in a single day was because he was certain that even if he did so, he would remain unscathed. Why such a sense of "security" in committing such evil? Only one thing can explain it: they believed that their power was so great that it could "shelter the sky and cover the sun," and they were confident that no one around them would dare to openly criticize or hinder their corruption. Practice has shown that their confidence was arrogant to the extreme, but it was not entirely unfounded. Based on the materials revealed in this television program, "Mayor Hu's" abilities were indeed beyond belief. For example, during the investigation, his desk was often filled with records of the case, and even when he was isolated and under arrest, investigators would occasionally voluntarily go to "report" on the case to show their "loyalty." Moreover, these rats were unearthed not because their crimes were first investigated and prosecuted locally, but because of an unexpected "case within a case"—a bonus like "pulling out a radish and uprooting the soil," and it must be that someone from "above" came to "pull the radish"—their power base was so solid that local shovels were completely useless, dulling after just a few strokes. ("Wasn't Mayor Hu frequently elected as an "anti-corruption cadre" before losing his official robe? Wasn't it rumored that if this "coup" hadn't happened, he would have been sent to a larger post to become a bigger "deputy"?"). These facts all indicate that our power mechanism itself has loopholes, and the checks and balances system suffers from inherent weakness and "muscle weakness," with thin and soft places where rats can easily dig holes. In the past, there was a saying: The best way to oppose the enemy is to find what truly scares them! So, what truly makes "Mayor Hu" and his ilk uneasy? Are it the great and benevolent eyes of "Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin"? Are they the moving examples of Lei Feng and Kong Fansen? In the past, the Boxers, when resisting foreigners, solemnly waved blood-stained "women's supplies" high above the city gates, but what was the result? Is it that "Mayor Hu," "Mayor Wang," and "Committee Member Chen" have not been sufficiently educated or trained in revolution? Have the works of Marx and Engels not worn out their ears yet? On the Cultivation of Communist Cadres is certainly far more familiar to the common people than to us. Otherwise, how could they have become "deputies"? Therefore, the fight against corruption is absolutely not a matter of romanticism or idealism, but a matter of the most urgent realism. Simply calling for "studying well" is not enough; we must also "treat the bad" and "punish the bad." While the former is indeed important, it cannot be a universal key or the only method to unlock all locks, and it must not replace "treatment" and "punishment" with "study." The critical rational approach is: What happens when "bad" appears? Are there institutional and supervisory measures in place that can make "evil" feel that "evil will be punished in advance"—that "evil" dare not truly act—so that the fleeting thought of "bad" does not give birth to "bad" actions? In other words, we cannot expect all public servants to become "Kong Fansen." The best approach is to prevent some of them from degenerating into "Wang Baosen"—even if you already feel like a "Wang Baosen," you really cannot do "Wang Baosen" things: not because you don't want to, but because you simply dare not! "Having the heart but not the courage"—over time, that "heart" will gradually weaken, and eventually, the "heart" will die. In fact, from a global perspective, in the fight against corruption, modern and developed countries with mature and civic awareness have all focused their efforts on strengthening the supervisory system. The trials of South Korea's two presidents, Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan, and the Watergate and Monica Lewinsky scandals in the U.S. all demonstrate these countries' modern concepts of "the rule of law is superior to the rule of man" and "governing the body is better than brainwashing." We are not worried about you making mistakes, but whether we have the ability to deal with your mistakes! Comparing "studying well" with "fighting evil," one can say that the former is a "tonic," a "nutrient," while the latter is the true "prescription," the "bone-scraping knife." The former focuses on "virtue," while the latter relies on "law"; the former advocates "internal cultivation," "self-discipline," and "self-criticism"— idealistic "design" type, while the latter relies on "constraints," "regulations," "" and "punishment"— "construction" type. Unfortunately, in recent years, our system builders have become too obsessed with "design," desperately creating role models and typical cases, using utopian all-powerful standards to discover "bodybuilders" and "nude models," vigorously developing and researching "Apollo," "," and "Red King of Hearts," and desperately focusing on "nourishment," "health care," "internal practice," "self-repair," and "retreat"—refusing to admit that "the ruler is ill," naturally, they cannot prescribe any real effective "prescriptions," or they treat "cancer" and "AIDS" as mere "colds and fevers"—comforting themselves with the "spirit of victory." On that "nine fingers," how many "black hackers" from the "one finger" have illegally taken residence?! At this point, it becomes clear that the "standard answer" of the aforementioned "Mayor Hu" is indeed derived from this typical "tonic consciousness." He attributed his illness to "malnutrition" and "poor absorption," reminding his colleagues and comrades to "continue nourishing," "strengthen nourishing," and "take nourishing to the end!" How terrible, "Mayor Hu" should never have called his illness a "disease," should never have praised and extolled "health products" as "prescription drugs"—this "false advertisement" has harmed himself, interfered with public opinion, and burdened many more future comrades.