作者：郑酋午
从读大学有了公民权利意识之后， 我一直都在追寻文明。我理解的文明是四必须：1、必须有公平正义，2、必须公民在法律上平等， 3、必须有效遏制腐败，4、必须有个人自由。而要做到如此，从人类治理几千年的经验看，只有宪政才能提供。我从大学毕业后到现在一直努力在坚持宪政的梦想。
我1959年出生于海南三亚，十五岁高中毕业后上山下乡，去农场干农活。1976年有幸参加社会主义基本路线教育运动，在其间有一件事对我触动很大，我所主管的生产队，有一个农民右派，一天晚上全家七口人食物中毒，由于事情紧迫，没有向工作队长汇报，自己就决定联系当地国营农场车队派出一辆解放牌车，拉右派全家去公社卫生院治疗，全家人的“狗命”被救下了。这本是一件好事，本应表扬，但出乎意料的是，工作队长在全体队员会议上严厉批评了我。当时工作队长的认识是我的阶级立场有问题。受批评后，我感觉到，这是人都应拥有的同情心，不应被批，当然，这个感觉跟当时的阶级斗争氛围不合。
我1982年毕业于华南师大中文系 。在读大学期间，受魏京生《探索》中的文章《第五个现代化》影响 ，开始思考政治问题。同时，广泛阅读所谓的禁书。我读书的图书馆，最高一层都是禁书集中地。这要由授课教师出证明系主任签字才可以借阅。我多次进出，读了《圣经》和孙文的《三民主义》 。我现在还记得，三民主义封面上有蒋中正的宣扬主义的题词。
读了魏京生的文章和学校的禁书，思想有很大的转变，认为暴力、革命和专政不是文明人该过的生活，更应该提倡的是公民、选举、反对党、权力分立、司法独立、个人自由和非暴力。思维有转变，视野突然开阔，由于年轻，血气方刚，在大学时经常跟同学和上课教师辩论，给大家的感觉是资产阶级自由化严重。毕业鉴定里就有该学生有资产阶级自由化思想。当时，不仅喜欢辩论，还喜欢寻找有共同认识的学生组织社团，比如震旦学社。当时每一两个月就进行交流，力图改变社会。
大学毕业后被分配到海南通什师范教书；教书期间组织华师大通什交友会，同时，跟全国各地异议人士联系，企图组织全国政治社团。当时，写了十多篇文章，比如持不同政见者宣言、改革方向，等等。1982年寒假，到广州、上海、杭州、重庆、贵阳等地联络朋友，准备成立政治反对派。1982年底回来海南途中被抓，1983年上半年被以反革命罪（组织集团罪和煽动罪）判处十四年（数罪并罚加限制）。坐牢的监狱先是在广东坪石监狱（对外是罗家渡煤矿）机械厂，我的工作是开机床。一九九零年后，集中于广东怀集监狱。在怀集监狱是单独关押，当时我们四人王希哲、刘青山、何求和我是分别从不同监狱调来集中于此的。每人单独一个空间，里面有睡觉、洗澡以及活动场所。我跟他们交流都是爬上窗口进行。他们当时自称马克思主义者，王希哲是毛主义理论家、刘青山是托派国际香港支部的宣传部长。只有我是民主法治人士，相互辩论，甚至对怼。在监狱的干警中，除一个指导员和一个管教外，都是年纪较大的人，他们特别恨民主自由人士。多次看病，他们都经常在医生开的药上动手脚，比如医生开三种药，他们就送两种。有一次看病，我乘他们不注意，叫医生开三种药，医生点头，但送进来的是两种。虽然都是小病，吃不吃药都不会死人，但通过此件事情可以看出他们多么厌恨民主自由人士，他们内心多么丑陋。他们中还有一个是我的海南老乡，有一次送饭并送药，我感觉不对，就用饭碗打他他躲开了。 因为单独关押，很少有机会说话，其他三人由都是极左派人士，三观不一致，说话也没有力气，担心刑期长坐久了出狱不会讲话。我就用现有资料朗读文章，声音很大，值班的干警怒气冲冲冲进来说，你以后出去还要到大街上煽动吗？我立刻顶回去，邓小平文选读不得吗？并翻手中书名给他看，他一看是邓小平文选就没有再说什么。
大约是1992年，在海南建省后，父母经过努力，我被转移回海南监狱。这里没有单独关押，而是放在一个中队劳动，主要是编椰子扫把。在海南监狱伙食比较好，离家近，父母每月都送钱送食品。基本没有大的问题，但发生一件小事。有一次去看病，卫生所长跟我开药，我错误以为，开的药不对，我便随口说一句，医生应该有医德。现在想来，是我不对，但当时不这样看。我回中队后，指导员把我找去医务所（卫生所在监狱中）要求我向所长道歉。我不肯，被中队指导员打了一巴掌。
1996年刑满释放，父母户口在海南文昌市，所以回来文昌落户。起初做小生意，后来到一家小型房地产公司打工，做到副总经理。同时，努力学习，1999年考上私立学校当老师。当老师一年后到琼海一所私立学校应聘校长。这是一所完全中学，也兼办职业中专。2003年我离开海南到湖南省长沙市一所私立学校任教。在湖南我认识民主党湖南主委谢长发，还有几个异议人士。经常参加当地的政治活动。在我的印象中，谢长发是一位领袖型的人才，既有理论也有实际操作能力（可惜的是生不逢国不逢时，后来他被判了十三年）。一年后，我到深圳市清华实验参加考试，考上高中部语文教师，当时参加考试的有来自全国的教师和教授近两百人。
在深圳清华实验工作了六年，在深圳认识了赵达功、赖锦东、郭永丰、任铭、张津郡和李铁等异议人士，经常参加他们的活动，印象中任铭喜欢组织活动，赖锦东和郭永丰是神学家和传道人。我也经常跟任铭到广州参加活动，在广州认识了唐荆陵、赵卫红赵卫东兄弟俩、刘士辉、郭飞雄、刘远东等异议人士。印象中，这些人都是精英中的精英，属于高水平人士，未来的各路领袖。由于在广州和深圳频繁活动，于2012年被深圳国保赶出深圳。
在深圳的六年，我除了参加异议人士的活动外，还勤于写作。写了三本书和数百篇文章。引用深度求索的ai讲的话即是如此。“根据公开信息，郑酋午先生是一位活跃的思想评论者，其公开经历主要围绕学术著作发表与时事评论展开：
·学术著作者：著有《社会进程》、《二十一世纪哲学思想范式》和《试问未来，“谁”主沉浮》三部专著。
·文章发表者：在国内多家媒体和机构平台发表了数百篇文章。例如在期刊《教书育人》发表过《学校管理与探究式教学》；在“爱思想网”发表过《现代文明型国家：政治、经济、文化的多元化》等数十篇文章；在山东政法学院文化中心发表过《圣经文化与中华儒学》；在“宣讲家网”也发表过相关文章。
·思想家/时评人：媒体曾将其描述为“中国新时代的思想家”。
·观点输出者：其文章议题涵盖文化、哲学、教育等领域，如探讨中华儒学与圣经文化、作者张维迎教授观点，以及发表《人究竟是什么？》等哲学思考。”
被国保赶出深圳回家休养后，我又去北京一家出版公司任编辑（副总编兼创作部主任）。在北京有幸认识查建国、李海、何德普、扬子立等等十几个人。他们都是大才。当时中共任命新领袖，对异议人士严加管理。海南省国保打电话叫我回海南，我不理会，他们就抓了我爱人然后逼我爱人在口供上签字，拿着这个签字申请抓捕令，派七人到大陆抓捕我。我当时到杭州办理业务，他们到杭州后四处找我。我关闭手机，在朋友帮助下，躲到一个旅馆里。6月3日，他们已经知道我在旅馆，我便离开，到了西湖（不是杭州西湖）躲闪。我在一个小亭子里过夜，第二天早上打开手机后不久被七人围住，他们抓捕完成，用飞机送回海南关押。一共关押六个月，罪名从非法经营罪到销售有毒有害产品罪。后取保候审，一年后公安送材料到海南检察院，检察院做出不起诉的决定。
我一共到杭州三次，第一次是1982年底，第二次是2012年，第三次是2013年。我在杭州结识许多异议人士，徐光、吴义龙、来金彪等十多人，他们都是民主党人。我印象中，杭州民主党充满活力，人才济济。认识杭州民主党人是我这一生中的荣幸。
回海南后，一直受到监视，无法离岛外出。在海南有幸结识六十多位异议人士，经常参加岛内旅游和聚餐活动。在海南有一位老师叫吴孔大，因在厕所墙上写打倒某某和在脸书上发言被判煽巅罪三年半。吴老师理念清晰、品行端正、勇敢坚毅，是海南省的人才。我从被抓回在海南这些年也经常写一些文字，大约有百来篇文章发表于重庆西文主编的佳作上。由于手机受监控，西文的佳作寄来我处，国保企图搜查。今年三月的一天，公安、城管和宣传部上午派人来我家要搜查，由于没有搜查令，我坚决不让他们进屋，下午公安国保拿搜查证来但没有局长签字，我也不让他们进屋。这是我的权利，不希望被非法剥夺。
现在我已经六十七岁了，宪政理想还没有实现，从坐牢以来，一生总是不顺，困苦多艰，生不逢时。这一生已经时日无多，如果进地下之前，能够看到宪政落实，文明到来，也就死而无憾了。人生其实就是过客，每一个人都要走向死亡，现在的我，回顾过去，虽然不幸，但绝不后悔。如果还有来生，我也一定不断追寻文明。
2026年5月8日
编辑：李晶
校对：毛一炜
翻译：戈冰
In Pursuit of Civilization
By Zheng Qiuwu
Ever since I developed an awareness of civic rights during my university years, I have been in pursuit of civilization. My understanding of civilization consists of four prerequisites: 1. There must be fairness and justice; 2. Citizens must be equal before the law; 3. Corruption must be effectively curbed; and 4. There must be individual freedom. To achieve this, judging from thousands of years of human governance experience, only constitutionalism can provide the framework. Since graduating from university, I have consistently strived to adhere to this dream of constitutionalism.
I was born in Sanya, Hainan, in 1959. After graduating from high school at the age of fifteen, I was sent to the countryside to perform agricultural labor on a farm. In 1976, I had the privilege of participating in the Socialist Basic Line Education Movement. During that time, one particular incident moved me deeply. A peasant classified as a “rightist” in the production team I was in charge of, along with his entire family of seven, suffered from food poisoning one evening. Because of the urgency of the situation, I decided to contact the fleet of the local state-owned farm to dispatch a Jiefang truck to rush the rightist’s family to the commune health center for treatment without first reporting to the work team leader. The “worthless lives” of the entire family were saved.
This should have been a good deed worthy of praise. To my surprise, however, the work team leader severely criticized me at a meeting of all team members. At the time, the leader’s perception was that there was a problem with my class-conscious standpoint. After being criticized, I felt that this was a form of compassion that any human being should possess and should not be condemned. Of course, this feeling was at odds with the pervasive atmosphere of class struggle at the time.
I graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at South China Normal University in 1982. During my college years, influenced by Wei Jingsheng’s article “The Fifth Modernization” in the journal Exploration, I began to ponder political issues. At the same time, I read extensively from what were then considered “forbidden books.” The top floor of the library where I studied was the designated storage area for these banned titles. Borrowing them required a certificate from the course instructor and the signature of the department head. I entered and exited that floor many times, reading the Holy Bible and Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People. I still remember that on the cover of the Three Principles of the People, there was an inscription by Chiang Kai-shek promoting the doctrine.
Reading Wei Jingsheng’s articles and the school’s forbidden books brought about a major transformation in my thinking. I came to believe that violence, revolution, and dictatorship were not the kind of life civilized people should live; instead, what should be advocated were citizenship, elections, opposition parties, the separation of powers, judicial independence, individual freedom, and nonviolence. With this shift in my mindset, my horizons suddenly broadened. Being young and full of vigor, I frequently debated with my classmates and professors during my university years, giving everyone the impression that I was deeply influenced by “bourgeois liberalization.” In fact, my graduation appraisal explicitly stated that this student possessed bourgeois liberal thoughts. Back then, I not only enjoyed debating but also loved seeking out like-minded students to organize societies, such as the Aurora Society (Zhendan Xueshe). We would meet for exchanges every one or two months, striving to change society.
After graduating from university, I was assigned to teach at Tongshi Teachers’ College in Hainan. During my teaching tenure, I organized the South China Normal University Tongshi Fellowship while simultaneously maintaining contact with dissidents across the country in an attempt to form a national political organization. At that time, I wrote over a dozen articles, including titles such as The Dissident Manifesto and The Direction of Reform. During the winter vacation of 1982, I traveled to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Guiyang, and other places to network with friends, preparing to establish a political opposition party. At the end of 1982, I was arrested on my way back to Hainan. In the first half of 1983, I was sentenced to 14 years in prison for counter-revolutionary crimes (specifically, the crime of organizing a counter-revolutionary group and the crime of counter-revolutionary incitement, with the combined punishment for multiple offenses plus restrictions). The prison where I was initially incarcerated was the machine factory of Guangdong Pingshi Prison (externally known as the Luojiadu Coal Mine), where my job was operating a machine tool. After 1990, we were centralized at Guangdong Huaiji Prison. In Huaiji Prison, I was held in solitary confinement. At the time, the four of us—Wang Xizhe, Liu Qingshan, He Qiu, and myself—had been transferred there from different prisons to be centralized. Each of us had an individual space that included areas for sleeping, bathing, and physical activity. To converse with them, I had to climb up to the window. Back then, they identified themselves as Marxists; Wang Xizhe was a Maoist theorist, and Liu Qingshan was the propaganda director of the Hong Kong branch of the Trotskyist International. I was the only advocate for democracy and the rule of law, which led to mutual debates and even fierce arguments between us. Among the prison guards, except for one political instructor and one officer, most were older individuals who harbored a particular hatred toward advocates of democracy and freedom. On several occasions when I sought medical attention, they frequently tampered with the medication prescribed by the doctors; for instance, if the doctor prescribed three types of medicine, they would only deliver two. During one medical visit, taking advantage of their lack of attention, I asked the doctor to prescribe three types of medicine. The doctor nodded, but only two types were eventually delivered to me. Although these were all minor illnesses and going without the medication would not be fatal, this incident clearly demonstrated how deeply they detested proponents of democracy and freedom, revealing the profound ugliness in their hearts. One of them was even a fellow Hainan local. Once, when he brought my meals and medication, I felt something was wrong, so I threw my rice bowl at him, but he dodged it. Because of the solitary confinement, I had very few opportunities to speak. The other three individuals were all ultra-leftists with completely different values, making conversations draining. I worried that serving such a long sentence would leave me unable to speak properly upon release. Therefore, I began reading articles aloud from the materials I had available, doing so very loudly. A guard on duty rushed in furiously and demanded, “Are you preparing to go out onto the streets to incite people again after you get out?” I immediately shot back, “Am I not allowed to read The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping?” I flipped the book over to show him the title. Seeing that it was indeed The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, he said nothing more.
Around 1992, after Hainan became a province, my parents made great efforts and managed to have me transferred back to a prison in Hainan. There was no solitary confinement here; instead, I was placed in a squadron to perform labor, which mainly consisted of weaving coconut-fiber brooms. The food was relatively good in the Hainan prison, and since it was close to home, my parents sent me money and food every month. For the most part, there were no major issues, but one minor incident did occur. During a medical visit, the head of the clinic prescribed some medicine for me. I mistakenly believed the prescription was incorrect and casually remarked that a doctor ought to possess medical ethics. Looking back now, I realize I was in the wrong, though I did not see it that way at the time. After I returned to my squadron, the political instructor took me back to the clinic (which was located inside the prison) and demanded that I apologize to the clinic head. I refused, and the squadron instructor slapped me across the face.
I was released in 1996 upon completing my sentence. Since my parents’ household registration (hukou) was in Wenchang City, Hainan, I returned there to settle down. At first, I ran a small business, but later I went to work for a small real estate company, eventually rising to the position of vice general manager. At the same time, I studied diligently, and in 1999, I passed the necessary examinations to become a teacher at a private school. After teaching for a year, I applied for the position of principal at a private school in Qionghai. This was a complete secondary school that also ran a vocational technical school on the side. In 2003, I left Hainan to teach at a private school in Changsha City, Hunan Province. While in Hunan, I became acquainted with Xie Changfa, the chairman of the Hunan branch of the Democracy Party, as well as several other dissidents, and I frequently participated in local political activities. In my impression, Xie Changfa was a leader-type talent who possessed both theoretical knowledge and practical execution capabilities (sadly, he was born in the wrong country at the wrong time, and was later sentenced to 13 years in prison). A year later, I went to Shenzhen Tsinghua Experimental School to take their recruitment exam. Out of nearly two hundred teachers and professors from all over the country who took the test, I passed and was hired as a high school Chinese language teacher.
I worked at Shenzhen Tsinghua Experimental School for six years. While in Shenzhen, I met dissidents such as Zhao Dagong, Lai Jindong, Guo Yongfeng, Ren Ming, Zhang Jinjun, and Li Tie, and frequently joined their activities. In my memory, Ren Ming loved organizing events, while Lai Jindong and Guo Yongfeng were theologians and preachers. I also often traveled with Ren Ming to Guangzhou to attend events, where I met other dissidents including Tang Jingling, the brothers Zhao Weihong and Zhao Weidong, Liu Shihui, Guo Feixiong, and Liu Yuandong. My impression was that these individuals were the elite of the elite—highly capable people and the future leaders of various factions. Due to my frequent activities in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, I was forced out of Shenzhen by the Domestic Security Department (Guobao) in 2012.
During my six years in Shenzhen, in addition to participating in dissident activities, I also wrote diligently. I authored three books and hundreds of articles. To quote the words of the DeepSeek AI regarding this: “According to public information, Mr. Zheng Qiuwu is an active ideological commentator whose public experience primarily revolves around the publication of academic works and current affairs commentary:
Academic Author: He is the author of three monographs: The Social Process, The Paradigm of Twenty-First Century Philosophical Thought, and Asking the Future, “Who” Will Direct the Course.
Article Contributor: He has published hundreds of articles across various domestic media outlets and institutional platforms. For example, he published School Management and Inquiry-Based Teaching in the journal Teaching and Educating; dozens of articles, including The Modern Civilized State: The Pluralism of Politics, Economics, and Culture, on the website “Aisixiang”; Biblical Culture and Chinese Confucianism at the Cultural Center of Shandong University of Political Science and Law; and related articles on the website “Xuanjiangjia.”
Thinker/Current Affairs Commentator: Media outlets have previously described him as a “thinker of China’s new era.”
Commentator on Diverse Topics: The topics of his articles span across the fields of culture, philosophy, and education, such as exploring Chinese Confucianism and biblical culture, discussing the views of Professor Zhang Weiying, and publishing philosophical reflections like What Exactly Is a Human Being?”
After being forced out of Shenzhen by the Domestic Security Department (Guobao) and returning home to recuperate, I went to Beijing to work as an editor (serving as vice editor-in-chief and director of the creative department) at a publishing company. In Beijing, I had the privilege of meeting over a dozen people, including Zha Jianguo, Li Hai, He Depu, and Yang Zili. All of them were individuals of great talent. At that time, the Chinese Communist Party appointed a new leader and tightened its control over dissidents. The Hainan Provincial Domestic Security Department called and ordered me to return to Hainan. When I ignored them, they detained my wife and forced her to sign a deposition. Using that signature, they applied for an arrest warrant and dispatched seven officers to the mainland to apprehend me. I had traveled to Hangzhou to handle some business, and upon their arrival in Hangzhou, they searched for me everywhere. I turned off my mobile phone and, with the help of a friend, hid in a hotel. By June 3, they discovered I was at the hotel, so I left and went to West Lake (not the West Lake in Hangzhou) to evade them. I spent the night in a small pavilion. The next morning, shortly after I turned on my phone, I was surrounded by the seven officers. Having completed the arrest, they flew me back to Hainan to be detained. I was held for a total of six months, with charges ranging from illegal business operations to the sale of toxic and harmful products. Later, I was released on bail pending trial. A year later, when the public security bureau submitted the case files to the Hainan Procuratorate, the procuratorate made the decision not to prosecute.
I have been to Hangzhou three times in total: the first time was at the end of 1982, the second in 2012, and the third in 2013. In Hangzhou, I became acquainted with over a dozen dissidents, including Xu Guang, Wu Yilong, and Lai Jinbiao, all of whom were members of the Democracy Party. In my impression, the Hangzhou Democracy Party was vibrant and brimming with talented individuals. Getting to know the Hangzhou Democrats has been an honor of my life.
Since returning to Hainan, I have been under constant surveillance and unable to leave the island. In Hainan, I have had the privilege of meeting over sixty fellow dissidents, and I frequently participated in local travel and dining gatherings. There is a teacher in Hainan named Wu Kongda, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” because he wrote “Down with [X]” on a restroom wall and posted comments on Facebook. Teacher Wu possesses clear principles, upright character, and brave fortitude; he is a true asset to Hainan Province. Over these years since being captured and brought back to Hainan, I have also continued to write regularly, with around a hundred of my articles published in Jiazuo (Excellent Works), edited by Xi Wen in Chongqing. Because my mobile phone is monitored, when copies of Xi Wen’s Jiazuo were sent to my address, the Domestic Security Department attempted to conduct a search. One morning this past March, personnel sent by the public security bureau, urban management (chengguan), and the propaganda department arrived at my home demanding a search. Because they lacked a search warrant, I resolutely refused to let them enter. That afternoon, the public security and domestic security officers returned with a search warrant, but it lacked the signature of the bureau chief, so I again refused them entry. This is my right, and I do not wish to see it unlawfully stripped away.
I am now sixty-seven years old, and the ideal of constitutionalism has still not been realized. Ever since my imprisonment, my life has been a succession of setbacks, filled with hardship and adversity—I was simply born in the wrong era. There is not much time left in this life of mine. If, before I go underground, I could witness the implementation of constitutionalism and the arrival of civilization, I would die with no regrets. Life is ultimately just a passing journey, and every single person walks toward death. Looking back on the past now, though it has been unfortunate, I absolutely have no regrets. If there is a next life, I will undoubtedly continue to pursue civilization.
May 8, 2026
Editor: Li Jing
Proofreader: Mao Yiwei
Translator: Ge Bing
