Posted on 04/26/2006 5:19:13 PM PDT by dukeman
As a responsible citizen I'm supposed to be outraged at the actions of Wenyi Wang, the Chinese woman who disrupted ceremonies honoring Chinese President Hu at the White House last week. To be sure, I do generally have a position against such outbursts at least in those places where a constitution guarantees the right to free speech and freedom to assemble. But when it comes to people who live under brutal regimes that suppress free expression, I find myself rooting for the shouters.
One of Ronald Reagan's favorite stories went like this: a Russian and an American were talking about their respective countries. The American was telling the Russian how free he was. "Why I can march into the White House, pound my fist on President Reagan's desk and tell him I don't like the job he's doing." "So what," replied the Russian. "I can go to the Kremlin, pound my fist on President Gorbachev's desk and tell him I don't like the way President Reagan is doing his job."
Getting heckled is now part of public life but throwing food at Ann Coulter or shouting down Hillary Clinton are simply not the same as what Wenyi Wang did on the South Lawn.
Courtesy in a democracy dictates that those giving the speech be allowed to do so uninterrupted. The opportunity to respond may come in a question and answer time to follow, or a letter to the editor of a newspaper, or standing on a sidewalk in front of the speaker's house with a picket sign. Those are just a few of dozens of ways to respond that are available.
But in the case of dictators, there is no chance for citizen-to-dictator dialogue, so sometimes the only way to dialogue is to go to a public event and scream, as Miss Wang did so brilliantly.
Speaking truth to power, the courageous Wang told Hu: "Your time is running out... anything you have done will come back to you in this lifetime."
The last time a leader was warned so dramatically and with almost the identical words, was when Belshazaar, the King of Babylon looked up from a big feast he was hosting to see the words "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin" mysteriously appear on the wall as though being written by an invisible hand. The King called in the Prophet Daniel to explain the message's meaning and was told: "MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Miss Wang's outburst may not be on par with a direct warning from the hand of God, but it was certainly in the finest tradition of speaking truth to power. The idea that she should be punished and spend six months in jail for breaking a law that punishes one who "intimidates, coerces, threatens or harasses a foreign official or an official guest or obstructs a foreign official in the performance of his duties" is ridiculous.
Rather, Miss Wang should be given a large book contract and given one of those Kennedy awards for political courage.
Although Chinese government censors made sure that her three minutes never made it to Chinese TV viewers, it's a good bet that the story of her courageous actions and message will spread like wildfire through Chinese society, whispered in back alleys and markets, and passed around on the Internet, perhaps in code. And its effect on Chinese society and those who dissent for freedom's sake, may be significant.
Presidential historian Paul Kengor wrote of a similar situation when Russian dissidents learned that President Reagan had used the infamous words "Evil Empire" to describe their captors.
"One day in March 1983, confined to his eight-by-ten-foot prison cell in Siberia, [Natan] Sharansky's jailers allowed him the privilege of reading the latest Pravda. There, splashed across the front page, was a condemnation of Reagan's description of the USSR as evil. Using Morse code, Sharansky tapped out the president's missive to the next cell, from where it was sent around the camp via walls and toilets. "We dissidents were ecstatic," Sharansky later wrote. "Finally, the leader of the free world had spoken the truth-a truth that burned inside the heart of each and every one of us.'"
Perhaps Wang too will be remembered by future generations of freedom-loving Chinese in a manner similar to the way Abraham Lincoln described Harriet Beecher-Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Upon meeting Beecher-Stowe, Lincoln was reported to have said: "So this is the little lady who wrote the big book that started this great war."
Mark Joseph is the author of two books, Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll, The Rock & Roll Rebellion, and producer of the Passion Of The Christ: Songs.
I agree with Mr. Joseph.
"A little lady who started a great war "
In your dreams.
Block the path of a tank with your arms filled with groceries, then maybe we'll talk.
Personally, I believe a democracy-loving person is almost obligated to heckle a dictator (when it can be done safely).
>I know she's not a Christian, but the dramatic effect is strong.<
How do you know she is not a Christian? At least she knows right from wrong, so she is familiar with Christian morality.
What she did is true courage as she risked much (she may go to prison or be murdered by the Chinese) to speak up. This is unlike the "courage" of Hollywood where you get a lot of kudos, increase your standing, and get better acting parts because you criticize the President.
Would you have supported it if an Islamist had shouted at the Shah?
My understanding is that she is a Falun Gong member/follower and not a Christian. She is, of course, a brave person.
I do think that the government is probably going to have to sanction her. The difference here is that she will get a fair trial under the rule of law and a dose of mercy.
Or, as Ann Coulter has pointed out, pile lies onto the already destroyed reputation of a dead man, Sen. McCarthy. That is what passes for 'bravery' in Hollywood.
I suspect the prosecutors will figure all this out and drop the charges, particularly if she hangs tough and refuses to cop to a lesser charge. As she should.
Fair enough, you are consistent.
Michael Savage reported that MS Wang is actually Dr. Wang.
Most media outlets made her look like a screaming maniac.
As a Falun Gong follower, she was trying to alert the world to
the fact that they are being jailed and even executed for their
organs to be sold to wealthy westerners.
ONE COURAGEOUS WOMAN WITH MORE BACKBONE
THAN MOST US ELECTED OFFICIALS!!!!
Ping. Article touching upon the meaning of your screen name.
At least one person is writing about this woman. If she had been shouting to Bush about Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, she would be another 45 minute hero... yelling at a Commie dictator who executes practitioners of a religious following? aw, it's no big deal at all. But Bush didn't allow the Commie to save face - how terrible! (/sarcasm)
Well, no matter what she is, I know that God loves her.
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