作者：李锦华 编辑：Gloria Wang 校对：王滨 翻译：周敏

在中国共产党的统治下，是不允许有个人思想的。中国共产党控制了中国人的思想，以便可以为国家更好地服务。如果你敢站出来说真话、说实话，你就会被安一个“莫须有”的罪行。

中国的十年文化大革命，多少人受到了政治迫害，他们不以为耻，反以为荣，把他们这种独裁说成是政治、社会、经济的需要。所以共产党不希望中国人有思想，只要跟着党走即可，但凡你敢说真话、说实话，没有和共产党的路线统一，那么你的余生可能就会在监狱里度过。这是一个多么令人恐惧、令人窒息的政权。

疫情期间，中国政府三年“清零”运动，更是让我们清楚地认识到了共产党对科学与常识的漠视和践踏。各地官员的荒唐之举：即使小规模的疫情，也要整座城市全部封掉；他们会对进口来的食品、鱼类甚至建材进行“新冠病毒检测”。多少民众为这种疫情付出了代价，很多人因此丢掉工作，丢掉家庭。即便这样也是无休止的封锁。自由依赖于勇气和持续的冒险。但绝大多数中国人认为，即使是哲学层面上的反抗也是不可能的，个人的生存取决于服从。他们在焦虑中逆来顺受，像绵羊一样排着长队等待接受新冠病毒检测，或者在突然封城之前抢购食物。

因为我们从小接受的就是这种教育，要听党指挥，服从命令。就这样，我们一代又一代的人被中国共产党控制，没有人权，没有话语权。成百上千万中国人为现代中国日益增长的财富和实力感到自豪。但这种幸福的感觉是由表面的物质利益、关于西方衰落的不断宣传和对知识自由的压制而幻化出来的海市蜃楼。事实上，在党的影响下，中国也每况愈下。中国共产党可以掩盖他所谓的真相，无论发生什么事，民众得到的永远是官方的表面信息。甚至连选举也存在造假行为，可见共产党是多么害怕人民知道真相。在中国，所有的“真相”都只能来自党。过去十年里，情况越来越糟。当局抹杀了残存的独立思想，也在不断摧毁中国人民独立思考的能力。

所以能来到这个自由的国家，我深感幸运，因此我要为那些受到迫害的中国民主党党员和异议人士发声。中国民主党今天强烈谴责中共当局惨无人道地迫害回国的反对党人士和国内政治异议人士，并持续侵犯公民基本人权的行为，并呼吁各国政府和国际社会共同关注国内民主党员的处境和人身安全，谴责中共当局继续变本加厉地侵犯人权。

临近春节，在这个合家团圆的日子里，我们呼吁中共立即释放政治犯，让他们回家过年。我们更不能忘记那些因坚持自由、法治与人权而付出巨大代价的人。不能让他们的家属独自承担这一切后果。因此，我们民主党党员今天在这里发声：我们有人出人，有力出力，为民主事业更加壮大贡献自己的一份力量。

We Must Attain Freedom of Thought

Author: Li Jinhua Editor: Gloria Proofreader: Wang Bin Translator: Zhou Min

Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, individual thought is not allowed. The Chinese Communist Party controls the thoughts of the Chinese people so that they can better serve the state. If you dare to stand up and speak the truth, tell the facts, you will be framed with a “trumped-up” crime.

During China’s ten-year Cultural Revolution, so many people suffered political persecution; they [the CCP] did not feel ashamed but rather took pride in it, describing this kind of dictatorship as a political, social, and economic necessity. Therefore, the Communist Party does not want the Chinese people to have thoughts; they only need people to follow the Party. If you dare to speak the truth, tell the facts, and do not unify with the Communist Party’s line, then the rest of your life may be spent in prison. This is such a terrifying and suffocating regime.

During the pandemic, the Chinese government’s three-year “Zero-COVID” movement made us recognize even more clearly the Communist Party’s disregard and trampling of science and common sense. The absurd actions of officials in various places: even with a small-scale outbreak, an entire city would be completely locked down; they would conduct “COVID-19 tests” on imported food, fish, and even building materials. So many citizens paid the price for this pandemic; many people lost their jobs and their families because of it. Even so, it was endless lockdown after lockdown. Freedom depends on courage and continuous risk-taking. But the vast majority of Chinese people believe that even resistance on a philosophical level is impossible; individual survival depends on obedience. They resign themselves to anxiety, lining up like sheep in long queues to wait for COVID-19 tests, or scrambling for food before a sudden city lockdown.

Because the education we have received since childhood is this kind of education: to follow the Party’s command and obey orders. In this way, generation after generation of our people are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, with no human rights and no right to speak. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people feel proud of modern China’s increasing wealth and strength. But this feeling of happiness is a mirage conjured by superficial material interests, continuous propaganda about the decline of the West, and the suppression of intellectual freedom. In fact, under the influence of the Party, China is also going from bad to worse. The Chinese Communist Party can cover up its so-called truth; no matter what happens, what the public receives is always official, superficial information. Even the elections involve fraudulent behavior, showing how much the Communist Party fears the people knowing the truth. In China, all “truth” can only come from the Party. In the past ten years, the situation has become worse and worse. The authorities have erased the remaining independent thoughts and are continuously destroying the Chinese people’s ability to think independently.

Therefore, to be able to come to this free country, I feel deeply fortunate; thus, I want to speak out for those persecuted China Democracy Party members and dissidents. Today, the China Democracy Party strongly condemns the CCP authorities’ inhumane persecution of returning opposition figures and domestic political dissidents, and their continuous violation of citizens’ basic human rights, and calls on governments of all countries and the international community to jointly pay attention to the situation and personal safety of domestic Democracy Party members, and to condemn the CCP authorities for continuing to intensify their violations of human rights.

As the Spring Festival approaches, on this day of family reunion, we call on the CCP to immediately release political prisoners and let them go home for the New Year. We must not forget those who have paid a huge price for adhering to freedom, the rule of law, and human rights. We cannot let their families bear all these consequences alone. Therefore, we Democracy Party members are speaking out here today: those with people contribute people, those with strength contribute strength, contributing our own share of power to make the cause of democracy grow stronger.