Conflict /Identity and Whose Reality
Conflict between institutions and individuals is inevitable.
Identity: It is difficult for individuals to balance belonging to a group and being true to self. “Somtimes it is hard to balance a sense of belonging to a group with keeping one’s individual identity.”
Conflict is occurring between pro-democracy activists and the Chinese Communist Government. During the past year, there have been street protests, blockades and one of the largest pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong because of the elections due in 2017. The Chinese government promised direct elections for the chief executive by 2017, but then decided to nominate the two or three candidates that suited their political agenda. Democracy activists such as student groups such as the Hong Kong Federation of Students oppose the election “reforms” . They believe that any political reform package must satisfy international standards and allow a genuine choice for voters.
Chinese government versus Bookseller
Chinese government seeking to control reality: controlling democracy; they have nominated the pro-Beijing candidates for the 2017 elections (= pro-democracy rallies esp. by students)
Chinese government seek to control access to information; the government has a list of banned books that are illegal in mainland China (and available in Hong Kong). Such books include ones that are critical of the Chinese communist party leadership and policies etc. (=5 book sellers including Lam Wing-kee have been detained/interrogated when visiting mainland china – accused of smuggling into China books that are banned)
Chinese government controls political realities/outcomes – through control of information – by censoring dissidents – they write the script for public confessions of acts of dissidents.. (Just like George Orwell’s pigs in Animal Farm who organised a staged confession of the subversive hens.) Just as, Kim Jong Il and his son use The Propaganda Unit to control the cultural and political realities of the North Koreans. As he once famously said, “I rule through music and literature”.
Bookseller
Lam refuses to cooperate with the attempts by the Chinese Government to restrict access to “banned” books. He wants to defend freedom of expression/individual human rights.
“This isn’t about me, this isn’t about a bookstore. This is about everyone. This is Hongkongers’ bottom line – Hongkongers will not bow down before brute force.”
Lam was detained when he entered mainland China. He was extensively interrogated and he was made to promise to hand over a database of clients who bought the “banned” books. He retracted his promise when he returned to Hong Kong. (act of individual subversion) (at great risk to himself.)
Likewise Edward Snowden:
US whistleblower and former contractor for the National Security Agency Edward Snowden revealed the extent of state surveillance when he made thousands of “secret” documents available to the public. He stated : “My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.”
He firmly believes that the Government has abused its power and its ability to infiltrate “every conversation and every form of behaviour” is extremely intrusive. In short, the “government has granted itself power it is not entitled to”.
Typical paragraph:
Often powerful institutions control information and access to knowledge which creates conflict between the group and its members. Such Institutions may seek to protect the greater good and focus on security needs especially when there lies the threat of a common enemy. Often this occurs at the expense of an individual’s rights and freedoms. Ultimately conflict will arise as individuals are defined by their freedoms, and they may have to fight for their integrity and their rights. A recent example of this is the NSA’s attempt to secretly record communications of US citizens at the expense of their right to privacy. While the right to privacy is inferred in the USA’s constitutions, the NSA still wields their power and potential to create a completely secure and secret-less society. Powerful spokespeople believe that the institution is motivated by national security concerns, but this may trample on the the constitutional and moral rights of their citizens. Edward Snowden’s fight against the state and in particular against NSA’s excessive surveillance powers, was for him, a matter of principle. He states that “the government has granted itself power it is not entitled to” and that he “does not want to live in a world where there’s no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity”. Likewise, in an attempt to secure power, the Chinese Communist Government has been accused of trampling upon the human rights and freedoms of many citizens in Hong Kong. For example, booksellers in Hong Kong, who have allegedly been kidnapped for selling books that critique communist leaders, are being held in prisons in mainland China until they hand over client databases. They have been charged with the crime of sedition. These attempts by powerful institutions and governments to cling to power and protect their authority violate commonly valued freedoms. One specific bookseller Lam Wing-Kee warned Hong Kong citizens to resist. He said, “this is not my personal matter, this is about the human rights of Hong Kong people” . He said, “Hong Kongers will not bow down before brute force”. Evidently Wing-Kee was right as during the past year there have been frequent protests and one of the largest pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong because of the Chinese government’s attempt to subvert the elections in 2017. So when institutions practice their authority over individuals in a way that breaches the rights of individuals, there will inevitably be conflict.
THOSE IN A POSITION OF POWER – CONTROL AND AUTHORITY
In these cases, where conflict occurs between the individual and the state, it is very hard for individuals to maintain their innocence. They are often threatened and beaten. The state controls the flow of information and the publicity machine and it is able to restrict freedom of expression in the name of state power.
PARALLEL – The Chinese Government often writes the “script” for dissidents who are made to appear on public television to confess their “crimes” in a very public forum. There is often a “director” as well as the ‘script” and the contrite “criminal”, wearing the drab clothes of the criminal, usually appears downcast and forlorn. Such was the fate of XXX who confessed to causing the stock market crash at the end of 2015, owing to an inflammatory article he wrote in the XX Times. Such was the fate of these booksellers who were forced to admit that they “smuggled” banned books into China. The books were critical of Chinese leaders and the booksellers were also made to hand over a database of customers who had bought the books.
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