作者：胡平
在电影《昂山素姬》里，昂山素姬讲过一句话：“圣人，就是不断努力的罪人。”我认为这话讲得很好。在我认识的异议人士中，有不少人品行高洁、意志坚定。在其中，刘晓波本来未必是最优秀的。但一来是其他人先后都离开了中国流亡海外。在自由社会中，他们最美好的品质得不到充分的彰显。二来是刘晓波虽然有不少弱点，但他具有严格的反省精神。刘晓波的反省绝不是只停留在纸面上，而且还付诸实践。古今中外倡导精神修养的各种流派，大都强调践行，即按照你的理念去生活，把你的理念变成你的生活方式。只要你遵照理念的要求去坚持过一种不同的生活，那么，不管你开头有多少妄想杂念，只要你坚持下去，久而久之，那些东西自然就淡化了，心灵自然就纯净了。二十多年来，晓波坚守国内，通过更坚定的抗争，更从容的面对苦难，使得自己的精神境界日益进入到更高的层次。圣人，就是不断努力的罪人。刘晓波一直坚持，坚持到底，他就是圣人了，不是也是了——这样都不是，怎样才能是呢？圣人就是这样炼成的。没有人天生完美，完美就体现在对完美的不断追求。那些终生追求完美的人就是完美的。
刘晓波写道：历史没有必然，一个殉难者的出现会彻底改变一个民族的灵魂，提升人的精神品质。甘地是偶然，哈维尔是偶然，二千年前那个生於马槽的农家孩子更是偶然。人的提升就是靠这些偶然诞生的个人完成的。天安门大屠杀以后的沉寂与遗忘，很重要的原因是我们缺少挺身而出的道义巨人。 刘晓波就是一个挺身而出的道义巨人。刘晓波就是一个殉难者。我们的义务就是让刘晓波以及其他一些挺身而出的道义巨人，让这些殉难者，提升人的精神品质，改变一个民族的灵魂。也许，有人会争辩说，刘晓波还够不上道义巨人。但我们今天面临的问题并不是刘晓波是否够得上道义巨人－－我当然认为他够得上，而且我们还有不少这样的道义巨人。我们今天面临的问题是：在这样一个堕落的时代，有多少人还愿意追随道义巨人的脚步？殉难者还能不能起到凝聚人心的作用？在今天， 很多人已经失去了对道义良知的信心。他们认为，良知是无力的，理性是无力的；对付共产党这个流氓要靠流氓才行。我当然知道，在为正义而战的队伍里并非都是道德君子，而那些不是道德君子的人也会发挥积极作用。但是我坚信，正义的事业必须要有浩然正气，必须要有道义巨人的榜样，必须要有殉难者精神的激励。因此，正是在今天这样堕落的时代，我们纪念刘晓波格外必要，也格外有意义。
在法庭上的《最后陈述》中，刘晓波用散文诗的语言，讲述了他的梦想、他的期待：“我期待我的国家是一片可以自由表达的土地，在这里，每一位国民的发言都会得到同等的善待；在这里，不同的价值、思想、信仰、政见……既相互竞争又和平共处； 在这里，多数的意见和少数的意见都会得到平等的保障，特别是那些不同于当权者的政见将得到充分的尊重和保护；在这里，所有的政见都将摊在阳光下接受民众的选择，每个国民都能毫无恐惧地发表政见，绝不会因发表不同政见而遭受政治迫害；我期待，我将是中国绵绵不绝的文字狱的最后一个受害者，从此之后不再有人因言获罪。”刘晓波写道：“表达自由，人权之基，人性之本，真理之母。封杀言论自由，践踏人权，窒息人性，压抑真理。为践行宪法赋予的言论自由权利，当尽到一个中国公民的社会责任，我的所作所为无罪，即便为此被指控，也无怨言。”把争取言论自由当作战胜极权统治的第一步，继续为言论自由而抗争。这就是刘晓波留给我们的政治遗言。
编辑：张致君 校对：程筱筱 翻译：戈冰
Wherever there is an ocean, there is Xiaobo
By Hu Ping
In the film The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi once said: “A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.” I think this was beautifully put. Among the dissidents I know, many possess noble character and steadfast resolve. Out of all of them, Liu Xiaobo might not have been the most outstanding at first. However, for one thing, others left China one after another to live in exile abroad, where, in a free society, their finest qualities could not be fully manifested. For another, although Liu Xiaobo had quite a few weaknesses, he possessed a rigorous spirit of self-reflection. Liu Xiaobo’s self-reflection never just remained on paper; it was put into practice. Most schools of thought throughout history, both in China and abroad, that advocate for spiritual cultivation emphasize praxis—that is, living according to your ideals and turning your ideals into your lifestyle. As long as you follow the demands of your ideals and persist in living a different kind of life, then no matter how many stray thoughts and distractions you had at the beginning, if you just persevere, over time those things will naturally fade, and your soul will naturally become pure. For over twenty years, Xiaobo held his ground inside China, and through even firmer resistance and a more composed endurance of suffering, he enabled his spiritual realm to ascend to ever-higher levels day by day. A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying. Liu Xiaobo persisted all the way, persisting to the very end; he is a saint now, and even if he originally wasn’t, he has become one—if this does not make someone a saint, what can? This is how a saint is tempered. No one is born perfect; perfection manifests in the continuous pursuit of perfection. Those who pursue perfection their entire lives are perfect.
Liu Xiaobo wrote: History has no inevitability; the appearance of a martyr will completely change the soul of a nation and elevate human spiritual quality. Gandhi was an accident, Havel was an accident, and that peasant child born in a manger two thousand years ago was even more of an accident. The elevation of humanity is accomplished precisely by these individuals born out of accident. A major reason for the silence and forgetting after the Tiananmen Massacre is that we lack moral giants who stand up. Liu Xiaobo is a moral giant who stood up. Liu Xiaobo is a martyr. Our duty is to let Liu Xiaobo and other moral giants who stood up—to let these martyrs—elevate human spiritual quality and change the soul of a nation. Perhaps some might argue that Liu Xiaobo does not quite measure up to being a moral giant. But the question we face today is not whether Liu Xiaobo measures up to a moral giant—I, of course, believe he does, and we have quite a few such moral giants. The question we face today is: in such a degenerate era, how many people are still willing to follow in the footsteps of moral giants? Can martyrs still play a role in rallying the hearts of the people? Today, many people have lost faith in moral conscience. They believe that conscience is powerless and reason is powerless; to deal with a rogue like the Communist Party, one must rely on rogue methods. Of course, I know that not everyone in the ranks fighting for justice is a man of moral virtue, and those who are not men of moral virtue will also play a positive role. But I firmly believe that a just cause must possess a noble and righteous spirit, must have the examples of moral giants, and must be inspired by the spirit of martyrdom. Therefore, it is precisely in today’s degenerate era that our commemoration of Liu Xiaobo is exceptionally necessary and exceptionally meaningful.
In his “Final Statement” at the court, Liu Xiaobo used the language of prose poetry to recount his dream and his expectation: “I expect my country to be a land of free expression, where the speech of every citizen will receive equal and kind treatment; where different values, ideas, beliefs, and political views… both compete with each other and peacefully coexist; where majority opinions and minority opinions will receive equal protection, and especially those political views different from those in power will be fully respected and protected; where all political views will be laid out under the sun to accept the choice of the people, and every citizen can express political views without any fear, absolutely never suffering political persecution for expressing differing political views; I expect that I will be the last victim of China’s endless literary inquisitions, and that from now on no one will ever be criminalized for their speech.” Liu Xiaobo wrote: “Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth. To block freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, suffocate humanity, and suppress truth. To practice the right to freedom of speech bestowed by the Constitution and fulfill the social responsibility of a Chinese citizen, what I have done is not a crime, and even if I am accused for it, I have no complaints.” Taking the fight for freedom of speech as the first step to conquering totalitarian rule, and continuing to struggle for freedom of speech—this is the political testament that Liu Xiaobo left us.
Editor: Zhang Zhijun Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao Translator: Ge Bing
