The Dilemma of Democracy Movement Organizations: Internal Strife, Infiltration, and the Innate Defects of 'Peaceful, Rational, and Non-violent'

On the same day, two diametrically opposed statements. Is this party divided? When the Social Democratic Party split back then, both sides claimed to be right, and each side's statement was righteous, ending in a mess. Infighting → division has almost become the standard for Chinese democratic movement organizations. Setting aside the strategy of "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" for now, we need to understand the inherent flaws and causes of formation of such organizations. They are inherently susceptible to infiltration and sabotage, and more fatally, even without external forces, their internal infighting and attrition are very serious.

I have talked about external forces before. As a political organization participating in the struggle, a "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" group has only soft constraints and no hard constraints, which is a congenital defect and incurable. Everyone, including secret agents, can come and go freely, and no matter what storms they stir up, they will hardly pay any price worth mentioning. Some professional spy catchers say, "We can catch spies and report them to the authorities!" Save it. For real spies, behind every action, countless people have held countless meetings and discussions. What solid evidence can you amateur detectives find? Have you ever caught a spy?

Some people have not yet reached the point of being named, but I think every old democratic movement organization has informants or agents of the authorities. Few people would disagree with this conclusion, right? Besides collecting information and reporting on dynamics, these people ponder every day about people, who belongs to which faction, who has value for exploitation, which faction to win over, and which faction to suppress. Once approved by superiors, these calculations come with funding. How many "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" organizations can emerge unscathed from such deliberate calculations from within?

How was Liu Guokai, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party at the time, forced out? He convened a meeting of mainland members in Hong Kong. Many people were intercepted and could not attend, but some did. It is said that many of those who attended were suppressed after returning to the mainland. However, from the common sense of spy work, it is very likely that there were people from the authorities among those who went to Hong Kong to attend the meeting. If these people reported being suppressed after returning, it was naturally part of the act. The plan against Liu Guokai may have begun at this time. Later, Liu Guokai called for the "White Shirt Action," asking domestic members to wear white shirts and take photos at landmarks. This action directly triggered the forced resignation. It is said that many people were arrested again, but this time, many important people came forward to accuse Liu Guokai of poor leadership and irresponsibility. Coincidentally, some people overseas also began to exert pressure, and the two sides, internal and external, joined forces. In the end, Liu Guokai became disheartened and went into deep seclusion. The Social Democratic Party, which had been strong at the time, split into two and was completely divided. Those interested can search for articles from that time where various parties defended themselves while criticizing opponents. The wording, the citations... were so convincing. As long as you haven't seen the other side's account, you would think, "Wow, what he said is so good, so that's what happened..."

Therefore, do not blindly believe one side's narrative.

Also, do not blindly trust people who have been to jail.

In the circle of the democratic movement, going to jail is like being gilded, possessing inherent righteousness, and only they can criticize others, not be criticized by others.

Going to jail is certainly a sacrifice, a manifestation of belief and courage, and is admirable. But there are three points we should be clear about: first, going to jail does not mean their cognition is correct, nor does it mean they are morally superior; second, from the perspective of struggle and organizational operation, going to jail is somewhat a failure; third, many agents sent overseas are arranged to undergo such trials to create a golden image. During their "imprisonment" and after their release, people specifically advocate for them, sometimes with tears. The key is that many people overseas, including the media, really fall for this. The authorities have been orchestrating this kind of tragic hero drama for many years, and it has reached a state of perfection.

The first two points are easy to understand. As for the last point, I can tell you with 100% certainty that it is true. The authorities have tried several times to arrange some hardships in prison for me to create a golden image, but I have declined each time. I am not interested in such conspiracies and tricks.

Based on the above statements alone, astute individuals should have realized that the democratic movement, or "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" organizations, are almost defenseless and have no chance of winning against such external sabotage, especially against those who have created a golden image and have considerable prestige. The entire organization can be easily destroyed.

Furthermore, even without these external forces, internal infighting and attrition are equally severe. As for the reasons, there are many, which can be attributed to the tradition of power struggles, the weaknesses of human nature...

But one additional point can be made: "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" organizations mostly attract intellectuals, or rather, educated people. Chinese educated people have a tendency to be arrogant and look down on each other, none of them are convinced by the others; "among scholars, there is no first place."

This shortcoming could have been overcome, but awkwardly, only organizations that are not so "peaceful, rational, and non-violent" can overcome it well. Those actions that put their lives on the line, on the one hand, cut off their retreat, forcing people to move forward, and on the other hand, at least foster a sense of camaraderie among some cooperating individuals that can only be born in the same trench. The struggle for life and death naturally eliminates the flaw of intellectuals looking down on each other.

Unfortunately, this is not something that organizations that meet for meals and meetings can provide.

When the technical capabilities of both sides are not significantly different, it is likely that – the side with more discipline will win.