作者：陈伟
编辑：冯仍 校对：冯仍 翻译：周敏
我叫陈伟，江苏连云港人，现在生活在美国洛杉矶。
如果放在几年前，我根本想不到自己有一天会站在中国驻洛杉矶领事馆门口，举着“打倒CCP，打倒共产党”的牌子抗议中共。
我出生在普通家庭，从小接受的教育和大多数中国人一样。学校里学的是共产党如何伟大，新闻里看到的是国家越来越强大，课本里几乎没有什么真实历史。小时候也听说过六四，但只知道是“政治风波”，具体发生了什么，没有人敢讲，学校更不会教。
后来自己学会翻墙，接触到Google和海外媒体，看到很多以前完全不知道的内容，包括六四真相、文革、大跃进，还有这些年香港、新疆、疫情封控期间发生的事情。那种感觉很难形容。就像你一直被关在一个房间里，别人告诉你外面世界是什么样的，你也信了很多年。突然有一天窗户被打开了，你看到的东西跟以前相信的完全不是一回事。
我开始越来越反感中共。不是因为别人告诉我应该反共，而是我自己一点一点去了解之后，得出的结论就是：这个政权建立在谎言、恐惧和控制之上。它最擅长的不是治理国家，而是洗脑和维稳。
来到美国之后，我第一次真正感受到什么叫表达自由。在中国，很多话你只能憋在心里，说出来有代价。但在美国，我可以公开站出来，说出自己的想法，不需要担心有人上门找麻烦。所以后来只要洛杉矶这边有相关活动，我基本都会去。纪念六四、声援香港、抗议中共打压人权，我都参加过。有时候也会一个人去中领馆门口举牌。
说实话，一个人站在那里，刚开始还是有点压力的。毕竟从中国出来的人，骨子里多少都带着一点对政治的恐惧，这是长期环境造成的。但站久了以后，你会发现，其实真正可怕的不是站出来，而是明知道真相却一直沉默。
很多人问过我，这样做有什么意义？我知道我一个人改变不了什么，也推不倒共产党。
但至少我要让别人知道，不是所有中国人都支持中共。共产党不等于中国，更不代表中国人民。
我出来抗议，不是为了出名，也不是为了作秀。只是觉得既然已经来到自由社会，如果还继续装聋作哑，那和过去被洗脑的时候又有什么区别。至少我做了我认为该做的事。哪怕只是站在那里举一块牌子，我也觉得值得。
Why I Persist in Protesting the CCP at the Chinese Consulate
Author: Chen Wei
Editor: Feng Reng Proofreader: Feng Reng Translator: Zhou Min
My name is Chen Wei. I am from Lianyungang, Jiangsu, and I currently live in Los Angeles, USA.
If it were a few years ago, I could never have imagined that one day I would be standing in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, holding a sign that reads “Down with the CCP, Down with the Communist Party” to protest against the CCP.
I was born into an ordinary family and received the same education as most Chinese people since childhood. What was learned in school was how great the Communist Party is; what was seen in the news was the country becoming stronger and stronger; there was almost no real history in the textbooks. When I was young, I had heard of “June 4th,” but only knew it as a “political turmoil.” As for what specifically happened, no one dared to speak of it, and schools certainly did not teach it.
Later, I learned how to “scale the wall” (bypass the Great Firewall) and accessed Google and overseas media. I saw a lot of content I completely didn’t know before, including the truth about June 4th, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, and what has happened in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and during the pandemic lockdowns in recent years. That feeling is hard to describe. It is like you have been locked in a room all along, and others tell you what the outside world is like, and you believe it for many years. Suddenly, one day the window is opened, and what you see is not the same thing at all as what you previously believed.
I began to feel more and more disgusted with the CCP. It wasn’t because someone else told me I should be anti-communist, but because after I went to understand things bit by bit, the conclusion I reached was: this regime is built upon lies, fear, and control. What it is best at is not governing the country, but brainwashing and “stability maintenance” (Weiwen).
After arriving in the United States, I truly felt for the first time what freedom of expression means. In China, many things can only be held back in your heart; speaking them out comes with a price. But in the United States, I can publicly stand up and say what I think without needing to worry about someone coming to my door to cause trouble. Therefore, later on, as long as there were relevant activities here in Los Angeles, I would basically go. Commemorating June 4th, supporting Hong Kong, protesting the CCP’s suppression of human rights—I have participated in all of them. Sometimes I also go to the front of the Chinese Consulate alone to hold a sign.
To tell the truth, standing there alone, there was still a bit of pressure at the beginning. After all, people who come out of China have, more or less, a bit of fear of politics in their bones; this is caused by the long-term environment. But after standing for a long time, you will find that what is truly scary is not standing up, but knowing the truth yet remaining silent all along.
Many people have asked me, what is the meaning of doing this? I know that I alone cannot change anything, nor can I topple the Communist Party. But at the very least, I want to let others know that not all Chinese people support the CCP. The Communist Party does not equal China, and furthermore, it does not represent the Chinese people.
I come out to protest not for fame, and not for show. I just feel that since I have already come to a free society, if I continue to play deaf and dumb, then what is the difference between that and when I was brainwashed in the past. At least I have done what I think should be done. Even if it is just standing there holding a sign, I still feel it is worth it.
