文：杨大鹏

编辑：钟然 校对：孔祥庆 翻译：周敏

来到美国之后，最让我震撼的，并不是高楼，不是收入，也不是所谓的“自由空气”，而是这里对于儿童的保护。在美国，孩子摔伤了、被虐待了、长期情绪异常，学校、医院、邻居甚至路人都有可能报警。老师发现孩子状态不对，可以直接启动调查；父母如果长期家暴、精神虐待孩子，甚至可能失去监护权。因为在这里，孩子首先被视为“独立的人”，而不是某个家庭的私有财产，更不是维稳机器下可以被牺牲的数字。

可当我再回头看中国这些年的事情，我只觉得愤怒、窒息、甚至后背发凉。“小诺曦”事件，一个孩子遭受长期虐待，浑身伤痕累累，让无数人心碎。还有近期河南初中生“被死亡”事件，一个年轻生命突然离世，舆论质疑重重，家属哭喊无门，网络声音不断被压制。每一次类似事件出现，评论区都会有人说：“别发了，小心封号。”“别讨论了，马上删帖。”“再说账号没了。”什么时候开始，一个社会连为孩子发声，都变成了一件危险的事情？最可怕的不是悲剧本身，而是悲剧发生之后，很多人第一反应不是追问真相，而是沉默、害怕、删帖、捂嘴。因为在这个体制下，“稳定”永远高于真相。他们可以高喊“一切为了孩子”，却可以让毒奶粉流入市场；他们可以宣传“祖国的花朵”，却让校园霸凌、虐童、少年离奇死亡事件一次次不了了之；他们可以天天谈“正能量”，却容不下普通人为受害儿童说一句公道话。

一个真正文明的国家，最优先保护的，永远应该是孩子。

因为孩子没有反抗能力，没有社会资源，没有话语权。他们只能依赖制度、法律和社会良知去保护自己。可在中国，很多孩子从出生开始，就已经活在巨大的压迫里。高压教育、服从教育、打压式成长、唯成绩论，孩子不是被当作独立生命培养，而更像是被当成“工具人”制造。很多孩子从小被灌输：“不要质疑老师”，“不要惹事”，“不要乱说话”，“吃亏是福”。他们被要求听话，却没人教他们如何保护自己。而当真正的悲剧发生时，很多家庭才发现，自己面对的根本不是一个愿意保护孩子的体系，而是一堵冰冷、沉默、互相推诿的高墙。最令人绝望的是，很多中国人已经对这种事情逐渐麻木。有人觉得：“反正改变不了。”有人觉得：“不要谈政治。”还有人觉得：“事情过去就算了。”

可如果连孩子都没人愿意保护，如果连下一代遭遇不公都没人敢发声，那这个社会未来还剩下什么？我越来越觉得，一个国家最真实的文明程度，不是看它有多少高楼，不是看GDP有多高，而是看它如何对待最弱小的人。孩子是否被保护，女性是否有尊严，普通人是否敢说真话，这才是真正衡量一个社会良知的标准。我们这一代人，也许已经经历了太多沉默、压抑和恐惧。但至少，我们不能让下一代继续生活在“不要说”、“不要问”、“不要管”的环境里。因为今天沉默的人，明天可能就轮到自己的孩子。为孩子发声，不是“制造对立”。而是一个人最基本的良知。

Who Speaks for China’s “Silenced” Children?

Author: Yang Dapeng

Editor: Zhong Ran Proofreader: Kong Xiangqing Translator: Zhou Min

Abstract: Issues of children’s rights protection and social silence coexist in China. In a high-pressure environment, children are prone to neglect and harm, and related incidents are often accompanied by restricted public opinion. The degree of social civilization is reflected in the protection of vulnerable groups and the space provided for them to have a voice.

After coming to the United States, what shocked me the most was not the tall buildings, nor the income, nor the so-called “air of freedom,” but the protection of children here. In America, if a child is injured from a fall, is abused, or exhibits long-term emotional abnormalities, schools, hospitals, neighbors, and even passersby are likely to call the police. If a teacher notices a child is in a wrong state, they can directly initiate an investigation; if parents engage in long-term domestic violence or mental abuse of a child, they might even lose custody. Because here, a child is first regarded as an “independent person,” rather than the private property of a certain family, and certainly not a sacrificial digit under the machine of stability maintenance.

But when I look back at the events in China over these years, I only feel anger, suffocation, and even a chill down my spine. The “Little Nuoxi” incident, where a child suffered long-term abuse and was covered in scars, broke the hearts of countless people. There is also the recent case of the junior high school student in Henan who “was died,” where a young life suddenly passed away, public opinion was filled with heavy doubts, the family members cried out with no recourse, and online voices were continuously suppressed. Every time a similar incident occurs, someone in the comment section will say: “Stop posting, watch out for your account being banned.” “Stop discussing, the post will be deleted soon.” “If you say more, the account will be gone.”

Since when did speaking up for children in a society become a dangerous thing? The most terrifying thing is not the tragedy itself, but that after the tragedy occurs, many people’s first reaction is not to pursue the truth, but silence, fear, deleting posts, and gagging. Because under this system, “stability” always ranks higher than the truth. They can shout “everything for the children” while allowing tainted milk powder to flow into the market; they can promote “the flowers of the motherland” while letting school bullying, child abuse, and the bizarre deaths of teenagers end in nothing time after time; they can talk about “positive energy” every day while having no room for ordinary people to say a word of justice for victimized children.

A truly civilized country should always prioritize the protection of children above all else.

Because children have no ability to resist, no social resources, and no right to speak. They can only rely on the system, the law, and social conscience to protect themselves. But in China, many children have been living under immense oppression since the moment they were born. High-pressure education, obedience education, suppressive growth, and the “grades-only” theory—children are not cultivated as independent lives, but rather manufactured as “tool people.” Many children are instilled from a young age with: “Don’t question the teacher,” “Don’t cause trouble,” “Don’t speak out of turn,” “To suffer a loss is a blessing.” They are required to be obedient, but no one teaches them how to protect themselves.

When a real tragedy occurs, many families discover that what they are facing is not a system willing to protect children at all, but a cold, silent high wall of mutual buck-passing. The most desperate part is that many Chinese people have gradually become numb to these things. Some feel: “It can’t be changed anyway.” Some feel: “Don’t talk about politics.” And others feel: “Once the matter is passed, let it be.”

But if no one is willing to protect even the children, if no one dares to speak up even when the next generation encounters injustice, then what is left for the future of this society? I feel more and more that the truest degree of civilization in a country is not seen in how many tall buildings it has, or how high its GDP is, but in how it treats its weakest people. Whether children are protected, whether women have dignity, and whether ordinary people dare to tell the truth—these are the true standards for measuring the conscience of a society.

Our generation may have already experienced too much silence, suppression, and fear. But at the very least, we cannot let the next generation continue to live in an environment of “don’t say,” “don’t ask,” and “don’t care.” Because those who are silent today, it may be their own children’s turn tomorrow. Speaking up for children is not “creating confrontation.” It is the most basic conscience of a human being.