作者：王治水（国内中国民主党早期创党领袖） 编辑：熊小芳 责任编辑：鲁慧文
亲爱的海内外同胞们:
我们中国民主党人创立民主党的宗旨是建立一个真正民主制度的国家，以道治国。何谓道？我们认为,顺其自然规律治理社会就是道。老子说：“上善治水,水善利万物而有静,居众人之所恶,故几于道矣。”翻译过来就是：水的属性是趋下,最好的政治制度就像治理水一样,水疏导好了,万物得以滋润而繁茂；水平静,并且停留在人们不喜欢的低处,因而接近了道。孔子梦寐以求的理想社会就是：“朝闻道,夕死可矣。”历代的文人都苦口婆心地劝说帝王要爱民,但有几人能做到呢？历史上做得好的要算商汤和周文、武二王了。魏征在谏唐太宗李世民时说：“民犹水也,君犹舟也；水可载舟,亦可覆舟,民可畏也。”当时那句话是打了引号的,可见此话已留传很久了。孟子说：“民为贵,社稷次之,君为轻。”可是在明太祖朱元璋时期，他命令,任何书籍上决不容许出现这十个字。
纵观华夏历史,从秦起,就是一部几乎家天下的杀戮史,就是一部“狡兔死,走狗烹；高鸟尽,良弓藏；敌国破,谋臣亡”的血泪史。刘邦诛杀功高盖主的韩信；明太祖毒杀刘伯温；毛泽东弄死彭德怀、刘少奇等等,无一不是为了家天下的永续,但哪一个做到了呢？中共顽固元老陈云说：“看来还是把权力交给我们的后一代为好。”他肯定忘记了历史。秦始皇想要“一世、二世、以至万世。”仅仅只三十多年,便丢了江山。汉四百多年,晋一百多年,唐二百多年,宋四百多年,元九十多年,明二百多年,清二百多年,袁世凱八十三天,苏联七十多年。现在世上纵横比较看来,唯有民主制度才能长治久安。民主制度,就是我们老祖宗渴慕的道。
什么是民主制度呢？狭义地来说,民主制度就是民众真正当家作主或叫主权在民的制度。广义地来说,就是天下非一人之天下,非二人之天下；非一家之天下,非二家之天下；非一党之天下,非二党之天下。天下者,乃天下人共有之天下,唯有德才兼备者通过公平、公正、定期地实行竞选,大多数人表决通过者,才能荣居为为民众服务的总统宝座。总统任期只能一届或二届；四年或八年,五年或十年。这在制定宪法中必须是刚性的，决不能让任何总统多留恋一天。如果这点做好了,每一个公民都能竞选各级公职,那么,国家就能长治久安。
亲爱的海内外同胞们，中国只要实现了民主制度,一切问题就将迎刃而解。那时,我们可以聘请海内外优秀教师，并培训自己的老师，教育好我们的后一代。提高高国民道德素质和文化水平，一切为了民生,民众的生活好起来，我们也能过上欧美人那样体面的生话。
亲爱的海内外同胞们，民主制度是我们民众获得尊严与幸福的泉源。让我们勇敢地联起手来,摧毁反动的专制独裁制度,建立起真正的民主制度吧。唯有民主制度才能救中国。
专制独裁千载传,
至今亿众受熬煎；
江山代有英才出,
各领风骚十数年。
王治水
2025年4月6日
Only a Democratic System Can Save China
By Wang Zhishui | Editor: Xiong Xiaofang | Chief Editor: Lu Huiwen Translator: Lu Huiwen
Dear compatriots at home and abroad,
We, members of the China Democracy Party, founded this party with the mission to establish a truly democratic nation governed by Dao (the Way). What is Dao? We believe that governing society according to the natural order is Dao.
As Laozi said:
“The highest virtue is like water. Water benefits all things and flows in humble places that others disdain. Thus, it is close to the Dao.”
In political terms, this means: just as water flows downward and nourishes everything quietly, the best political system should be one that guides and supports the people without force, humbly remaining in the background. That is true governance by Dao.
Confucius once dreamed of an ideal society where: “If one hears the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening.”
For generations, Chinese scholars have pleaded with emperors to care for the people. Yet how many rulers truly listened? In history, only a few such as King Tang of Shang or Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou are remembered for placing the people first.
Wei Zheng once warned Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty: “The people are like water; the ruler is like a boat. Water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it.”
This famous quote was already ancient in Wei Zheng’s time, showing how long this truth had been understood. Mencius declared: “The people are the most important, the state comes second, and the ruler is the least.”
But under Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, even printing these ten characters was banned.
Looking back at China’s history, from the Qin Dynasty onward, it has largely been a bloody saga of power inherited through families—a history where “once the cunning hare is caught, the hound is slaughtered; once the enemy is defeated, the strategist is discarded.”
Liu Bang executed Han Xin for being too successful;
Emperor Zhu poisoned Liu Bowen;
Mao Zedong purged Peng Dehuai and Liu Shaoqi—all in the name of preserving family power.
Yet none of them succeeded in securing a dynasty that lasted forever.
Even Chen Yun, a hardline CCP elder, once said: “It’s best to pass power on to our next generation.”
He clearly forgot history Qin Shi Huang aimed for “eternal rule,” but lost the empire within 30 years.
• Han: 400+ years
• Jin: 100+ years
• Tang: 200+ years
• Song: 400+ years
• Yuan: 90+ years
• Ming: 200+ years
• Qing: 200+ years
• Yuan Shikai: 83 days
• Soviet Union: 70+ years
Across history and across the world, one truth stands out: Only democracy can bring lasting peace and stability. Democracy is the modern realization of our ancestors’ yearning for the Dao.
So, what is democracy?
In a narrow sense, democracy is the system where the people truly hold power—where sovereignty resides with the people.
In a broader sense, it means the nation does not belong to one person, two people, one family, or one party. The nation belongs to all its people.
Only those with both virtue and talent, elected through fair, open, and regular elections, can rightfully serve the public as president.
A president should serve only one or two terms—four or eight years, five or ten years at most.
This must be a rigid clause in the constitution.
No president should stay in office a single day longer.
When this is ensured, every citizen can compete for public office, and the nation will find long-term stability.
⸻
Dear compatriots,
Once democracy is achieved, all problems in China can begin to be resolved. We can invite outstanding teachers from around the world, train our own educators, and provide the next generation with high-quality education. With improved public morality and cultural literacy, and with policies centered on the people’s wellbeing, we can build a life for Chinese citizens as dignified as that in the West.
Democracy is the source of dignity and happiness for the people.
Let us join hands bravely, tear down the authoritarian dictatorship, and establish a truly democratic system. Only a democratic system can save China.
⸻
Autocracy has ruled for a thousand years,
Countless lives still suffer in despair.
Talents rise with each new era,
But none can last beyond a fleeting flair.
