Chinas Dream, the Dream of Constitutionalism

Between Heaven and Earth come times of blossom.

This is our first encounter in 2013. We hope that your dreams will enlighten you.
In 2012, you have protected your life, and they have protected their work. Protecting
this work means protecting their dreams towards life.
In 2012, the voices of constitution echoed loudly among those who govern. As they
proclaimed, the life of the constitution lies in its implementation, the authority of the
constitution also lies in its implementation. We look forward to the growth of the
constitution and the birth of a constitutional government. Only by this can we achieve
the tortuous transformation of this ancient nation. Only by this can our nation and
people stand again on solid grounds.
Today is the day China becomes able to dream. Today is also the day we can realise
our dreams. We experienced the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution when the
constitution was absent, and it took us more than thirty years to return to rationality
and common sense. From the household responsibility system to the creation of the
self-employed, township enterprises and private enterprises, we have experienced the
partial return of rights for people to arrange their own lives autonomously. We have
then created a prosperous city hoarded with good harvest of food.
We again experience what is real and what is false. We tell the truth and reject the
lies. We rekindled our passion for justice and our longing for freedom. We march
together hand in hand to confront violence and cruelty, to overcome the hard times
together, and to welcome a new turning point in life.
Today, we can finally stand tall from the dust of our heavy history. We can raise our
head from the triviality of our daily lives. We can repeat the long march undertaken by
our predecessors towards constitutionalism and revisit their mighty dreams.
Around 170 years ago, we began to wake up from the nations illusory dream. We
suffered a defeat by the British and then another defeat by the Japanese. People lived
in growing miseries. The feeling of shame penetrated the heart of the Chinese gentry.
Defend the nation! Defend the diversity of the race! We travelled from the selfstrengthening to constitutional monarchy, from the constitutional establishment to the
revolution. Then the angry masses hesitated no longer to remove the fetters of
Confucianism in the form of objects, system and culture, and they decided with no
mercy to uproot their civilization thoroughly.
After the 1911 revolution, the Qing emperor abdicated, and our ancestors finally built
the first republic in Asia. But a free, democratic and strong Chinese constitutional
government did not follow.
The nation was plagued by ongoing wars outside and from within. The people were
faced with endless cruelty.

At one time, people are distanced from benevolence, righteousness and the ways of
heaven. They distanced from the commitment to freedom.
At another time, people replaced wrong with right. They saw the deer as a horse. The
vitality of thousands of creatures was severed.
Beautiful dreams and mountains and rivers, all shattered into pieces. Freedom and
constitutionalism both vanished.
Despite the misfortunes of life, and despite the darkness of humanity, we remain to be
people who can still dream, because we all have a heart to dream.
Today, we dream not only of material wealth; we dream also of the enrichment of our
soul. We dream not only of stronger state power; we dream also for the dignity of the
people. Between renewing the people and renewing the nation, between salvation and
enlightenment, none can do without another and none can override another. And
constitutionalism is the foundation of this beautiful dream.
Enact constitutionalism and defend our rights, so that the hearts of all can shine like a
moon over clear waters; so that the widowed and the needy can feel the warmth in
the winter chill and shield them from shivering, so that the City Management officers
and hawkers talk lightheadedly like friends; so that homes can become the safe
bulwark for our families.
Enact constitutionalism and limit and divide power, so that people can voice their
criticism towards public authority; so that all of us can live a free life on the basis of
our beliefs; so that we can build a free and strong nation.
Enact the grand dream of constitutionalism so that everyone can fulfil his or her own
dreams. And this requires us to act right now with our hands, to protect our current
livelihoods rather than leaving this important responsibility to our grandchildren.
Many people understand this point deeply. Many people have long been striving to
practice it.
Dreams are not the exclusive privilege of outstanding individuals. Dreams are for good
dreamers.
You have an inherent right to dream and to realize the dream!
Celebrate your dream, and make an effort for the dream of this nation. This is the
dream of many of those in the journalistic industry, their modest ambition. They are
loyal to journalism and even more so to their soul. May you also have a rosy dream.
May you pursue your own goals with freedom and complete what Heaven has
endowed you with.
Always dream that everyone may live a dignified life, regardless of whether they are
privileged or not.

Always dream for love inside everyones heart. Nothing is unforgivably evil even when
it comes to a criminal, for the sympathetic heart always beams freely.
Always dream that class is merely a motivating force for people to move freely from
one to another, and not a boundary that breeds hatred and jealousy.
Always dream that a civilisation of five thousand years of perpetually renews itself to
improve the modernity of human beings, and to proffer humanity a sweet, flowing
spring.
Let us realize our hundred millions of dreams so that we can relieve the excruciating
pain of the past century.
Going around in circles in the past 170 years, how difficult it is for a dream to come
true! After 170 years, there are still people who hope that our consciences will sprout,
to go back to what the Mandate of Heaven ought to be. There are still people who
insist on grounding our rights, on returning politics to righteousness, and on making
justice flow freely.
There are still people who believe, regardless of how difficult it is, that the dream of a
constitutional government will become a reality, and that modesty will become our
social norm.
Our predecessors strived for justice and benevolence when they pioneered in tattered
clothes. Now, our generation will inherit their aspirations and march forward with our
lights lit.
We must reflect on the wisdoms of our predecessors to realize our dream, to mediate
with their beliefs, customs and sentiments. Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism,
Legalism and Mohism, all of them are sources of inspiration. Zhou, Han, Tang, Song
and Ming, every dynasty offers learning.
This is by no means simply to restore tradition. Ancient sages cannot give all that is
required today. Let us not disparage our predecessors easily but calmly absorb,
transform and progress, so that the Chinese civilization can blossom and bear new
fruits.
Lessons from the world must be learnt to realize our dreams. We must earnestly
assess the democracy of the Greeks, the laws of the Romans. We must learn from
British and American constitutionalism and catch up with modern technology and
civilization.
Yet, this is not to say we should simply learn from the Western civilization like obedient
students. The West has progressed through its own tracks. These tracks may not be
able to provide us with what we need today.
We stand on our land, together with people from other nations, to merge the old ways
of living into a new livelihood and to create a new civilisation by combining the East
and the West. We have to comply with the common values of mankind from the

ancient and the modern, the East and the West, but at the same time we must not fear
to make new dreams.
Praise our predecessors and compliment our neighbours, not because they are perfect
but because we recognize the familiar happiness in their eyes, the flow of freedom
that lies in their hearts.
The Chinese people are supposed to be free. The dream of the Chinese nation is
supposed to be a dream of constitutionalism.
Only under a constitutional government can our nation and our people continue to
grow strong and prosperous. Only under a constitutional government can we fulfil the
dream of constitutionalism. Only after realizing the constitutional dream can we speak
of safeguarding our sovereignty and protecting our civil rights and freedom. Then the
freedom of the state will come down to the freedom of the people, and come down to
a time when people can speak their own mind and dream with their hearts.
Is there anyone born who has no affection for freedom? This freedom is not expressed
merely in terms of rights against authority. It is also for the sake of forgiveness,
wisdom, benevolence and virtue against vengeance, ignorance, cruelty and vice.
The way of virtue is that the world belongs to all the people. Thousands of beings exist
freely, and live for their well-being. This is the dream of our ancient sages, of our
predecessors. This is also the dream of many of us today.
The dream of China is the dream of freedom, the dream of constitutionalism.
All things are mortal but dreams are everlasting. All things are born because dreams
continue indefinitely. Dreams are the origins of the living. If, after hundreds of failed
attempts you still keep trying, the hundred-and-first attempt will remind you of your
immortal dream.
There are still people willing to listen to your dreams and expecting that you dare to
dream. They will cheer for you when you stand up to harsh times. Whether you
experience the cold of humanity or enjoy a wonderful life they will cheer you. They
have nothing to capitalise on, except the pursuit of promises. They are good at
nothing, except their persistence for the truth.
One word of truth outweighs the whole world. One dream can make life shine with
flying colours!