——朱虞夫的民运回忆

记者：沈美花    贾嘉

人物简介

朱虞夫，浙江杭州人，中国大陆民主运动长期参与者，中国民主党早期重要参与者之一，《在野党》创办人。

从20世纪70年代末开始，朱虞夫便参与杭州地区的民主运动。他亲历了文化大革命结束后的思想解冻、参与杭州民主墙的创建活动，1998年6月又参与中国民主党的筹建和发展。此后数十年间，他因政治活动多次受到监控、拘押和判刑，三次入狱，坐牢十六年多。

朱虞夫的人生经历，与中国改革开放以来民主运动的发展紧密交织。

在晚年的回忆中，他尤其重视保存历史。他希望把自己亲身经历的事件以及身边曾经参与民主运动的人记录下来，使后来的人能够知道，在那些已经逐渐远去的年代里，究竟有哪些人曾经站出来，他们做过什么，又为此付出了怎样的代价。

 

一、文化大革命造成的思想觉醒

朱虞夫的政治意识，可以追溯到文化大革命，1966年小学未毕业，因为运动停课，他参加了当年高中毕业生朋友的“读书会”，开始了人生思索。文革最黑暗的“清理阶级队伍”运动时，他曾在民国总统府任职的父亲被迫害自杀，使他更深层次的看清中共暴政的本质。

1971年朱虞夫以“可教子女”身份，“上山下乡”从事最繁重的农业劳动，他大量阅读、广泛交友，保持冷静观察、独立思考能力。

文革结束后，胡耀邦开始平反海量的冤错假案，提倡解放思想，朱虞夫待机而动，投身于社会活动。

那个年代，大量历史遗留问题开始浮出水面。许多人在文化大革命中受到批斗、迫害甚至死亡，他们的家属开始要求平反和恢复名誉。

朱虞夫回忆，当时杭州市政府附近的墙壁上曾贴满各种大字报。

有些家庭的亲人在文化大革命中被打死、整死；有些人因为政治问题蒙受多年冤屈。文化大革命结束以后，他们终于开始公开申诉，希望政府还他们一个公道。

这些景象给年轻时期的朱虞夫留下了很深的印象。

他逐渐意识到，文化大革命留下的问题，并不仅仅是某几个家庭的个人悲剧，而与整个政治制度和权力运行方式有关。

这也成为他后来长期坚持的一个观点：

如果一个社会不能真正反思文化大革命，不能清算造成政治灾难的制度性原因，那么类似的悲剧仍然可能重新发生。

他致力于铲除产生文化大革命的土壤。

 

二、美国之音与外部世界

在那个信息高度封闭的年代，海外广播成为一些中国人了解外部世界的重要渠道。

朱虞夫回忆，他和身边的一些朋友长期收听美国之音等海外广播。

在文化大革命时期，收听所谓“敌台”本身就可能带来严重后果，但仍然有人冒险偷偷收听。

到了1978年至1979年前后，中国政治环境开始出现变化。北京西单民主墙以及各地民间刊物、民主活动的消息，也通过海外广播逐渐传到杭州。

朱虞夫和朋友们经常聚在一起讨论：

北京发生了什么？

海外媒体今天又报道了什么？

中国究竟应该走向哪里？

这些信息使他们非常振奋。

他们第一次清楚地意识到，在北京已经有人公开讨论民主、自由、人权以及文化大革命的责任问题。

于是，一个想法开始形成：

既然北京可以出现民主墙，杭州为什么不可以？

 

三、杭州民主墙

1978年底至1979年初前后，朱虞夫和朋友们开始尝试在杭州张贴大字报。

最初大家非常谨慎。

一篇大字报稿子写好以后，几个人会坐在一起反复研究，检查里面哪些字可能“惹祸”，哪些句子可能成为公安追究的依据。作为“安全模式”，在大字报中把矛头对着老百姓，《国民性一瞥、二瞥、三瞥》等等。

朱虞夫却觉得，这样的文章过于谨慎。中国老百姓的蒙昧是专制暴政的“愚民政策”造成的，我们争取民主的锋芒所向应该是发动、领导文化大革命的“极左路线”。

他回忆，有一次朋友们把稿件交给他抄写。他一边抄，一边觉得原来的文字“不温不火”，于是干脆不完全按照原稿，而是按照自己的想法重新组织语言。

结果，这批大字报贴出去以后，引起了很大反响。

第二天，他们回到现场，看见墙前聚集了很多人。

有人认真阅读，有人议论，还有人拿出钢笔、圆珠笔，在大字报后面写下自己的感叹和感想。

朋友们感到非常紧张。

回去以后，大家责怪朱虞夫：

原来的文章没有写得这么激烈，你为什么自己加了这么多话？你这样做，会把大家给害了！

朱虞夫接受了大家的批评，但这件事情也使他更加确信：

只要有人敢把普通人心里想说却不敢说的话公开写出来，就会有人回应。

他每天都一定要去民主墙看看：有没有新的大字报出现；自己写的大字报上有没有别人的留言，通过留言他又结交了许多新朋友。

有时候即使到了深夜，他也会过去转一圈，在一个春雨霏霏的深夜，他在民主墙附近结识了一个终身难忘的新朋友。

他说，那种每天一定要去民主墙转转的感觉甚至“像去看情人一样”，一天不去看看，心里就不踏实。

 

四、从大字报想到印刷传播

一次，朱虞夫在民主墙附近看到有人正在抄写大字报。

他认识这个人，一个杭州郊区的青年农民。朱虞夫早几年经常拿着相机去郊区农村访“三老”：老地主、老反革命、老右派。这个青年人曾是他的向导。

交谈以后才知道，他是受村里一名老右派的委托，来抄录这些文章的。因为那位老人自己不敢到现场，担心被公安发现，只能请别人代为抄写。

这件事情给朱虞夫一个启发：

既然有人需要一字一句抄写，为什么不能把大字报印刷出来？

如果印成小册子或者传单，不仅方便携带，也更容易传播。

他立即赶去找朋友商量。

但朋友们非常紧张。

他们认为，公安恨不得把墙上的大字报铲下来作为证据，如果印刷成册子，就等于给公安提供了“物证”。

这反映了当时民主墙参与者面对的危险和每个人的真实困境：

一方面，他们希望扩大民主思想的传播；

另一方面，他们又非常清楚，这种行为可能给自己带来牢狱之灾。

 

五、《四·五 》月刊

因为不计后果的“危险创意”，忍无可忍的朋友们把朱虞夫踢出了朋友圈。

朱虞夫像“丧家之犬”般踌躇徘徊在民主墙下。突然他眼睛一亮，民主墙上贴出了一长溜油印的刊物：《四·五 》。

那是1976年清明由一群干部子弟结集印刷，借悼念周恩来，控诉“四人帮”的诗集，当年朱虞夫曾去信与他们联络，为首的是某公安局局长的儿子，笔名“边齐”，由于父辈在文革中备受凌辱，他们起来抗争，并遭到弹压。时过境迁，刊物前观者寥寥。

朱虞夫正准备离去，有一个人叫住了他。告诉他，晚上六点半，“边齐”要在西湖边的一公园见他。

见面后“边齐”说，由于他在杭大政治系读书，他想把《四·五 》杂志交给他操办，同时转给朱虞夫的有他智囊团的朋友们和印刷器材。

接手后朱虞夫立即把一段时间来结识的民主墙活跃分子拉进杂志社，沿用旧名，出版了杭州民主墙的第一份民刊。

一炮打响，大家歆羡不已。紧接着另一批以方醒华、王东海为首的朋友出刊了《浙江潮》，前不久朱虞夫离开的那些朋友们也出刊了《沉钟》。有一批文艺界子弟刘志群、胡天马、卓刚来参加《四·五 》，朱虞夫考虑到政治的残酷性，不希望小年轻涉险，建议他们自己出刊中性一些的刊物，他们就出刊了《萤火虫》。一时间杭州民主墙风起云涌，蔚成气候。

六、“参与动乱”被收容审查

1989年北京的学生运动兴起时，朱虞夫在杭州江干区房管局担任工会工作委员会负责人，区总工会给各个工会的任务是，让大家都悄悄把参与运动的人取证下来，以后追究刑事责任，此时北京还没有戒严，但是中共已经在布局秋后算账了。

朱虞夫私下在晚上与几位朋友去武林广场看望学生，当时学生比较幼稚，很警惕社会人士进入他们的地盘，他还是背着摄像机去拍了一些镜头，还与陈维健一起给学生捐款。与其他朋友一起组织了声援游行。

5月18日，朱虞夫太太生日，他陪去西湖边拍录像。途中遇到他大学同学新闻单位组织的游行，他停下来拍了录像，第二天在工会办公室放给同事看。“六四”后被举报。江干区公安分局将他以“参与动乱”的罪名“收容审查”，因为他播放是在北京戒严之前，关押二十七天后释放了。单位为政治正确撤除了朱虞夫的工会领导职务，下放基层。

朱虞夫曾在《八九那一年》的回忆录里记录了这次事件，当年网上的文章已经找不到了。

 七、筹建中国民主党

进入1990年代以后，朱虞夫的政治参与逐渐从民主墙时期的思想表达，转向更加明确的组织活动。

1998年2月，王炳章从海外悄悄回国，四处点火，号召大家组党，国内几乎所有人都认为太危险，没有人响应，但是朱虞夫却认为应该冲击党禁。

四月王东海询问朱虞夫对组党的看法，他滔滔不绝地说值得一试。

五月王有才参加北大一百周年被有关部门拦回杭州，他综合多方信息，准备筹组中国民主党。

六月，中国民主党在浙江杭州开始筹组，由祝正明起名“中国民主党”并撰写了《中国民主党成立宣言》。

朱虞夫回忆，1998年6月25日下午一点，王有才、王东海、林辉前往浙江省民政厅递交注册材料。

朱虞夫回忆，当天为他们送行的只有他一人，那天在王东海家楼下东太平巷与他们三人一一握别的情景历历在目。

因为所有人都不知道进去以后还能不能平安回来，那次告别带有一种悲壮意味。

至今朱虞夫清楚记得王有才临别前的嘱托，如果他们回不来了，他就想办法营救，并把中国民主党的事情接下去做。

整个下午朱虞夫一直牵挂着他们的安危，不断给王东海打电话，一直没打通。

五点多，朱虞夫终于联系上王东海，得知三个人已经平安回家，材料也被有关部门收下，对方表示需要“研究”。

但是第二天，王有才即被当地派出所叫去问话。

公安开始询问：

为什么成立中国民主党，有哪些人参加?

为什么成立这个组织？

中国民主党的活动由此迅速进入公安机关的视线。

但是他们逐级上报，最终遭到浙江省委书记李泽民的否定。也许是投鼠忌器，怕影响了蜜月期的中美关系。也许是文革中那么多的冤错假案为人诟病，当时监狱里已经七八年没有关押政治犯了。王有才至今感念李泽民，将李泽民列为中国民主党组党重要人物。江泽民在镇压中国民主党的同时，严厉指斥李泽民（见江泽民《论三个代表》）并撤了他的浙江省委书记。

 

八、中国民主党的两个不同做派

对于中国民主党究竟应该成为一个怎样的政党，参与者之间并非没有分歧。根据朱虞夫的回忆，王有才构思的中国民主党相对温和和具有一定成员门槛的政党模式，“别说政党，就是单位招聘也有门坎”，怎么阿狗阿猫随便都能加入呢？

而朱虞夫走的是另一条路。

他后来形容：

王有才想做的是“阳春白雪”，而自己做的是“草根政治”“街头政治”。

朱虞夫说，由于注册回家后，王有才立即被西湖政保带到翠苑派出所调查，并随即被软禁起来，他已经无法开展党务工作。

而海外以王炳章为首的民运人士非常关注国内的组党活动。他几乎每天都给朱虞夫打电话，催促朱虞夫趁热打铁，在克林顿回国前把中国民主党做大做强。“到街路上去，见一个发展一个，要形成势，这样你们就不会被轻易扑灭了”。

但是国内当时的形势是，根本没人关心政治，大家都忙着赚钱。朱虞夫形单影只，就是去散发传单，也没有人陪他去，他只能硬着头皮一个人拿着《中国民主党成立宣言》去街路上散发。果不其然，他在散发传单时被便衣警察抓捕了。

公安局逐级上报，没有人拍板，只好在“留置”48小时后释放了他。他是王有才之后第二个因为中国民主党被抓的人。

回家后朱虞夫深感孤掌难鸣，朱虞夫看来，如果民主党只是少数知识分子讨论政治的平台，就很难真正成为一个社会性的民主运动。

普通工人、农民、失业者、小商贩以及社会各阶层的人，只要认同民主理念，都应该拥有参与政治的权利。

因此，他更加重视街头传播和基层发展。于是他开始物色人才，他先找的是民主墙时期的老战友王荣清，王荣清处事圆滑，是个商业人才，很会出点子，但是他也与政保保持着来往，时不时会“喂点料”，同时也把对方的意图告诉这边，这是他的“安全模式”。这时，有二位王有才的老部属祝正明和吴义龙也来找我，中国民主党浙江筹委会有了雏形，我又去找了住我附近的毛庆祥，他一口答应加入，最后请来了民主墙时期的李锡安，六个人撑起了一场台面。

这也使浙江中国民主党的活动方式与最初注册时期发生了截然不同的变化，完全改变了王有才的初衷，使王有才耿耿于怀，不能释然。

朱虞夫强调，在他看来，中国民主党的历史不能简单写成“某三个人注册了一个党”。

注册固然重要，但一个政党真正形成，需要后来许多人不断组织、传播、发展成员并为此承担政治风险。

朱虞夫调侃：是他“篡党夺权”，自作主张走了另一条路线才形成了后来的局面。

 

九、散发《中国民主党成立宣言》

为了扩大影响，朱虞夫开始亲自散发《中国民主党成立宣言》等材料。

他回忆，那天他带着一叠宣言来到杭州一个热闹的十字路口。

他把摩托车停在附近，然后开始向路人发放。

不分年龄，也不特别挑选对象。

手中的材料发完要离开时，一名年轻男子突然站在他的车前，对他说：

“你不要走。”

朱虞夫第一反应就是：

这人是公安便衣，自己将失去自由。

他立即拿起路边摊位上的电话给王东海打电话。

他说自己正在散发《中国民主党成立宣言》，现在已经被便衣控制，马上要被带去公安局。

他唯一拜托王东海的事情，是晚饭时去告诉自己的妻子：今天不要等我回家吃饭了。随后，他被带走并受到拘押。

这是1998年6月30日，王东海将朱虞夫被抓的消息告诉了“中国人权信息中心”的卢四清，卢四清编发了新闻稿，第二天是香港“回归”一周年纪念日，香港几乎所有的报纸、电台和电视台都播发了这则消息，这可以说是为香港的未来吹的第一次哨声。

这也是第一次中国民主党的公开活动。

 十、来金彪事件

朱虞夫的回忆中，还有一个他认为值得留下姓名的人——来金彪。

来金彪是杭州人，多年以后他逃来了旧金山。朱虞夫回忆，在杭州早期民主活动中，来金彪是杭州市民积极参与中国民主党活动的代表。

当时，中国民主活动的消息经过美国之音传播以后，在杭州西湖边的一公园等地引起不少人的关注。

那里经常聚集着大量的退休老人。

大家坐在树林间交流着各种时事新闻，他们特别关心杭州本地的中国民主党活动。

来金彪经常在那里公开演讲，评论中国民主党建立的意义并给大家讲公民应有的基本权利。

由于他说普通话，有人误以为他是“北京来的学生”，于是有密探向派出所报告。

据朱虞夫回忆，政保人员随后来到现场，在附近观察，他们判断这个人是一条北京来的“大鱼”，特意由区政保科长和副科长出手抓捕。等来金彪结束演讲离开以后，两名政保科长将他带走送往派出所。

现场有人目睹了这一过程，随后赶去通知朱虞夫。

朱虞夫得知以后，立即带着一台小收音机赶到派出所。

因为过去工作关系，他与当地一些工作人员比较熟悉，因此得以在附近等待。

到了美国之音播出时间，他打开收音机。

当天的新闻中，第一条就是来金彪被抓走的消息。

朱虞夫后来回忆，这一刻给他的感受非常深：

一个普通人在杭州街头因为公开表达政治意见被带走，但很快，全世界就可能通过广播知道他的名字。

这使他越来越认识到：

公开表达本身，就是打破信息封锁的一种方式。也给被捕者带来极大的慰藉。

                                                                                               编辑：钟然    校对：毛一炜 翻译：沈美花

Lest the Annals of History Turn to Ashes

— Zhu Yufu’s Reminiscences of the Democracy Movement

Reporters: Shen Meihua, Jia Jia

Abstract: Zhu Yufu personally experienced the Cultural Revolution, the Hangzhou Democracy Wall, the 1989 Democracy Movement, and the preparation and establishment of the China Democracy Party. He was imprisoned three times, serving over sixteen years in jail. Recalling the past in his late years, his sole purpose is to preserve the history of the democracy movement, ensuring that future generations remember those who paid the price for democracy.

Profile

Zhu Yufu, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is a longtime participant in the mainland Chinese democracy movement, one of the early key figures in the China Democracy Party, and the founder of the publication The Opposition Party (Zai Ye Dang).

Beginning in the late 1970s, Zhu Yufu participated in the democracy movement in the Hangzhou area. He witnessed the ideological unfreezing following the end of the Cultural Revolution, took part in creating the Hangzhou Democracy Wall, and in June 1998, engaged in the preparation and development of the China Democracy Party. Over the following decades, he was subjected to surveillance, detention, and sentencing multiple times due to his political activities, enduring three prison terms totaling more than sixteen years.

Zhu Yufu’s life experience is closely intertwined with the development of China’s democracy movement since the Reform and Opening-Up era.

In his late-life memoirs, he places special emphasis on preserving history. He hopes to record the events he personally experienced and the people around him who participated in the democracy movement, so that coming generations will know who stood up during those gradually receding years, what they did, and what price they paid for it.

I. Ideological Awakening Caused by the Cultural Revolution

Zhu Yufu’s political awareness can be traced back to the Cultural Revolution. In 1966, before finishing primary school, classes were suspended due to the movement. He joined a “reading group” formed by friends who were high school graduates that year, beginning his lifelong intellectual reflection. During the darkest period of the Cultural Revolution—the “Clearing of the Class Ranks” campaign—his father, who had served in the Republic of China’s Presidential Office, was persecuted and committed suicide. This enabled Zhu to see more deeply into the autocratic nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

In 1971, under the status of a “child who can be educated” (children of targeted political categories), Zhu Yufu was sent “down to the countryside” to engage in the most arduous agricultural labor. He read extensively, made wide contacts, and maintained his capacity for calm observation and independent thinking.

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Hu Yaobang began rehabilitating a vast number of wrong, false, and unjust cases while advocating for the emancipation of the mind. Zhu Yufu waited for the right opportunity and actively threw himself into social activities.

During that era, a massive influx of historical legacy issues began to surface. Many people had suffered criticism, persecution, or death during the Cultural Revolution, and their families began demanding political rehabilitation and the restoration of their reputations.

Zhu Yufu recalls that the walls near the Hangzhou Municipal Government were once covered with various big-character posters (dazibao).

Some families had relatives who were beaten to death or hounded to death during the Cultural Revolution; others had suffered years of injustice due to political issues. Following the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, they finally began to make public appeals, hoping the government would grant them justice.

These sights left a profound impression on the young Zhu Yufu.

He gradually came to realize that the problems left behind by the Cultural Revolution were not merely individual tragedies of a few families, but were tied to the entire political system and the way power was exercised.

This became a perspective he consistently held in later years:

If a society cannot truly reflect on the Cultural Revolution and cannot clean up the systemic causes that produced political disasters, then similar tragedies could still happen again.

He dedicated himself to eradicating the fertile soil that generated the Cultural Revolution.

II. Voice of America and the Outside World

In that era of highly restricted information, overseas radio broadcasts became an important channel for some Chinese people to learn about the outside world.

Zhu Yufu recalls that he and several friends around him listened regularly to overseas broadcasts such as Voice of America (VOA).

During the Cultural Revolution, listening to so-called “enemy stations” could carry severe consequences, yet people still took the risk to listen secretly.

By 1978 and 1979, the political environment in China began to shift. News of the Xidan Democracy Wall in Beijing, as well as local unofficial publications and democratic activities across the country, gradually reached Hangzhou through overseas radio broadcasts.

Zhu Yufu and his friends frequently gathered to discuss:

What was happening in Beijing?

What had the overseas media reported today?

Where should China be heading?

This information invigorated them immensely.

For the first time, they clearly realized that in Beijing, people were already publicly discussing democracy, freedom, human rights, and accountability for the Cultural Revolution.

Thus, an idea began to form:

If a Democracy Wall could appear in Beijing, why couldn’t Hangzhou have one too?

III. The Hangzhou Democracy Wall

Around late 1978 and early 1979, Zhu Yufu and his friends began attempting to post big-character posters in Hangzhou.

At first, everyone was extremely cautious.

After a draft for a poster was written, several people would sit together to review it repeatedly, checking which words might “cause trouble” and which sentences might be used by the public security police as a basis for prosecution. As a “safe mode,” the posters directed their criticism toward ordinary citizens, under titles like A Glance at National Character, Parts I, II, and III.

Zhu Yufu, however, felt that such articles were overly cautious. The ignorance of the Chinese populace was caused by the autocratic tyranny’s “policy of keeping the people ignorant.” The spearhead of their fight for democracy should be aimed at the “Far-Left Line” that launched and led the Cultural Revolution.

He recalled that on one occasion, friends handed him a draft to transcribe. As he copied it, he felt the original wording was “neither warm nor cold.” So he simply did not follow the original draft completely, but reorganized the language according to his own thoughts instead.

As a result, after this batch of posters was put up, it generated a massive response.

The next day, when they returned to the site, they saw a large crowd gathered before the wall.

Some were reading intently, some were discussing, and others pulled out fountain pens or ballpoint pens to write down their feelings and thoughts at the bottom of the posters.

His friends were extremely nervous.

Upon returning, everyone blamed Zhu Yufu:

“The original text was not written so fiercely. Why did you add so much on your own? Doing this will bring ruin upon us all!”

Zhu Yufu accepted their criticism, but this incident also made him even more convinced:

As long as someone dares to publicly write down what ordinary people think in their hearts but do not dare to say, there will be people who respond.

Every day, he felt compelled to visit the Democracy Wall to check if new posters had appeared, or if there were comments left by others on his own posters. Through these written comments, he made many new friends.

Sometimes, even late at night, he would take a stroll over there. On one fine spring night amid a drizzle, he met a new friend near the Democracy Wall whom he would never forget.

He said that the feeling of needing to go check the Democracy Wall every day was almost “like going to see a lover”—if he didn’t go check it for even a single day, he felt uneasy.

IV. From Big-Character Posters to Printed Dissemination

On one occasion, near the Democracy Wall, Zhu Yufu noticed someone copying down a big-character poster by hand.

He recognized the person—a young farmer from the suburbs of Hangzhou. A few years earlier, Zhu Yufu had often taken his camera to the rural suburbs to interview the “Three Olds”: old landlords, old counter-revolutionaries, and old rightists. This young man had served as his guide.

Only after speaking with him did Zhu learn that he had been entrusted by an elderly Rightist in his village to transcribe these articles. Because the old man did not dare to visit the site himself for fear of being discovered by the police, he could only ask someone else to copy them down on his behalf.

This incident gave Zhu Yufu an epiphany:

Since there were people who needed to copy these word for word, why couldn’t the big-character posters be printed out?

If printed into pamphlets or leaflets, they would not only be convenient to carry, but also much easier to disseminate.

He immediately rushed to discuss it with his friends.

However, his friends were terrified.

They believed the police were eager to scrape the posters off the wall to use as evidence; printing them into pamphlets would be equivalent to handing the police physical proof (“corpus delicti”).

This reflected the danger faced by the participants of the Democracy Wall at that time and the real dilemma of each individual:

On one hand, they wanted to expand the dissemination of democratic thought;

On the other hand, they were well aware that such actions could bring imprisonment upon themselves.

V. April Fifth Monthly

Due to his reckless “dangerous creativity,” his friends, unable to tolerate it any longer, kicked Zhu Yufu out of their social circle.

Zhu Yufu paced aimlessly under the Democracy Wall like a “homeless dog.” Suddenly, his eyes lit up: a long row of mimeographed journals had been posted on the Democracy Wall—April Fifth (Si-Wu).

That was a collection of poems mimeographed and printed around the Qingming Festival in 1976 by a group of cadre children, who used mourning for Zhou Enlai as a vehicle to denounce the “Gang of Four.” Back then, Zhu Yufu had written to contact them. The leader was the son of a Public Security Bureau chief, writing under the pen name “Bian Qi.” Because their parents’ generation had suffered humiliation during the Cultural Revolution, they had risen up to resist and were subsequently suppressed. Now that times had changed, there were few onlookers standing before the journal.

Just as Zhu Yufu was about to leave, someone called out to him. The person told him that at 6:30 p.m., “Bian Qi” wanted to meet him at First Park by West Lake.

After meeting, “Bian Qi” said that since he was studying in the Political Science Department at Hangzhou University, he wanted to hand over the management of April Fifth to Zhu Yufu, alongside his friends in his think tank and the printing equipment.

After taking over, Zhu Yufu immediately recruited the Democracy Wall activists he had met over time into the journal’s editorial board. Keeping the original name, they published the first civil journal (min-kan) of the Hangzhou Democracy Wall.

It became an instant hit, winning widespread admiration. Shortly thereafter, another group of friends led by Fang Xinghua and Wang Donghai published Zhejiang Tide (Zhejiang Chao), and the friends who had previously distanced themselves from Zhu Yufu also published The Tolling Bell (Chen Zhong). A group of youth from the arts community—Liu Zhiqun, Hu Tianma, and Zhuo Gang—came to join April Fifth. Considering the cruelty of politics and not wishing for these youngsters to take risks, Zhu Yufu suggested they publish a more neutral journal on their own; thus, they published Firefly (Yinghuochong). For a time, the Hangzhou Democracy Wall surged with momentum, gathering great strength.

VI. Detention and Investigation for “Participating in Turmoil”

When the student movement in Beijing arose in 1989, Zhu Yufu was serving as the head of the Trade Union Working Committee at the Jianggan District Housing Administration Bureau in Hangzhou. The District General Trade Union assigned a task to every trade union: to quietly collect evidence on anyone participating in the movement so that criminal liability could be pursued later. At that time, martial law had not yet been declared in Beijing, but the CCP was already laying the groundwork to settle accounts after the autumn harvest.

In private, Zhu Yufu went to Wulin Square at night with several friends to visit the students. At the time, the students were relatively naive and very wary of social figures entering their domain; nevertheless, he brought a camera on his back to shoot footage and joined Chen Weijian in donating money to the students. Together with other friends, he organized solidarity marches.

On May 18, his wife’s birthday, he accompanied her to West Lake to film videos. On the way, they encountered a demonstration organized by his university classmates’ news unit. He stopped to film the footage and played it for his colleagues in the trade union office the next day. After “June Fourth,” he was reported. The Jianggan District Public Security Sub-bureau placed him under “shelter and investigation” on the charge of “participating in turmoil.” Because his video screening occurred prior to martial law in Beijing, he was released after twenty-seven days of detention. To maintain political correctness, his work unit stripped Zhu Yufu of his trade union leadership position and demoted him to the grassroots level.

Zhu Yufu recorded this incident in his memoir That Year of Eighty-Nine, though the article published online back then can no longer be found.

VII. Preparing to Establish the China Democracy Party

Entering the 1990s, Zhu Yufu’s political participation gradually shifted from expression of ideas during the Democracy Wall period toward more explicit organizational activities.

In February 1998, Wang Bingzhang quietly returned to China from overseas, traveling everywhere to ignite sparks and calling on everyone to form a party. Almost everyone in China thought it was too dangerous and no one responded; however, Zhu Yufu believed they should break the ban on political parties.

In April, Wang Donghai asked Zhu Yufu for his views on founding a party. Zhu spoke at length, saying it was worth a try.

In May, Wang Youcai attended the centenary celebration of Peking University, was turned back to Hangzhou by relevant authorities, and after synthesizing information from multiple sources, prepared to organize the China Democracy Party.

In June, the preparation for the China Democracy Party began in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Zhu Zhengming named it the “China Democracy Party” and drafted the Declaration of the Founding of the China Democracy Party.

Zhu Yufu recalled that at 1:00 p.m. on June 25, 1998, Wang Youcai, Wang Donghai, and Lin Hui went to the Zhejiang Provincial Civil Affairs Department to submit registration materials.

Zhu Yufu recalled that he was the only person there to see them off that day. The scene of shaking hands with the three of them one by one at East Taiping Lane below Wang Donghai’s apartment remains vivid in his memory.

Because no one knew whether they would be able to return safely after going in, that farewell carried a tragic and heroic tone.

To this day, Zhu Yufu clearly remembers Wang Youcai’s parting entrustment: if they didn’t come back, Zhu should find ways to rescue them and carry on the work of the China Democracy Party.

Throughout the afternoon, Zhu Yufu remained deeply anxious about their safety, repeatedly calling Wang Donghai without getting through.

Past five o’clock, Zhu Yufu finally got in touch with Wang Donghai and learned that the three had returned home safely, and that the materials had been accepted by the relevant department, which indicated they needed to “study” the matter.

However, the very next day, Wang Youcai was called in for questioning by the local police station.

The public security officers began asking:

Why establish the China Democracy Party, and who participated?

Why establish this organization?

The activities of the China Democracy Party thus rapidly entered the view of public security organs.

However, as reports were submitted up through the administrative hierarchy, they were ultimately vetoed by Li Zemin, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial CCP Committee. Perhaps he hesitated for fear of damaging Sino-U.S. relations during their honeymoon period; or perhaps because so many unjust and wrong cases from the Cultural Revolution had drawn criticism, no political prisoners had been detained in local prisons for seven or eight years. To this day, Wang Youcai feels grateful toward Li Zemin and lists Li Zemin as an important figure in the establishment of the China Democracy Party. While suppressing the China Democracy Party, Jiang Zemin harshly criticized Li Zemin (see Jiang Zemin’s On the Three Represents) and removed him as Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee.

VIII. Two Different Approaches Within the China Democracy Party

Regarding what kind of political party the China Democracy Party should become, there were significant disagreements among participants. According to Zhu Yufu’s recollection, the party model envisioned by Wang Youcai was relatively moderate and had a certain threshold for membership: “Let alone a political party, even company recruitment has a threshold—how could any Tom, Dick, or Harry just join at will?”

Zhu Yufu, on the other hand, took a different path.

He later described it as:

Wang Youcai wanted to create “highbrow art” (yangchun baixue), whereas he himself was practicing “grassroots politics” and “street politics.”

Zhu Yufu said that because Wang Youcai was brought to the Cuiyuan Police Station by the Xihu Political Security division for investigation immediately after returning home from registration, and was subsequently placed under soft house arrest, he was no longer able to carry out party operations.

Meanwhile, overseas pro-democracy figures led by Wang Bingzhang paid close attention to the party-founding activities in China. Wang Bingzhang called Zhu Yufu almost every day, urging him to strike while the iron was hot and expand the China Democracy Party before Bill Clinton’s visit ended: “Go into the streets, recruit every single person you see, build momentum—that way you won’t be easily extinguished.”

However, the domestic situation at the time was that almost nobody cared about politics; everyone was busy making money. Zhu Yufu stood entirely alone; even to distribute flyers, no one would accompany him. He could only bite the bullet and go out to the streets alone carrying the Declaration of the Founding of the China Democracy Party. Unsurprisingly, while distributing flyers, he was arrested by plainclothes police officers.

The Public Security Bureau reported the matter up through the chain of command, but no officer was willing to make a definitive ruling, so they had to release him after 48 hours of “detention for questioning.” He was the second person to be arrested because of the China Democracy Party after Wang Youcai.

After returning home, Zhu Yufu felt deeply that a single tree could not make a forest. In his view, if the Democracy Party were merely a platform for a few intellectuals to discuss politics, it could hardly become a true social democracy movement.

Ordinary workers, farmers, the unemployed, small vendors, and people from all walks of life—so long as they identified with democratic ideals—should all have the right to participate in politics.

Therefore, he attached greater importance to street dissemination and grassroots development. He began searching for talent: first approaching his old comrade-in-arms from the Democracy Wall period, Wang Rongqing. Wang Rongqing was smooth in handling affairs and possessed business talent, adept at coming up with ideas; however, he also maintained contact with the Political Security officers, occasionally “feeding them information” while conveying their intentions back to the group—this was his “safe mode.” At this time, two former subordinates of Wang Youcai—Zhu Zhengming and Wu Yilong—came to find Zhu Yufu, forming the preliminary framework of the Zhejiang Preparatory Committee for the China Democracy Party. Zhu Yufu then approached Mao Qingxiang, who lived nearby and readily agreed to join. Finally, they invited Li Xi’an from the Democracy Wall period; these six individuals held up the entire operation.

This also caused the activities of the Zhejiang China Democracy Party to undergo a complete shift from the initial registration period, fundamentally altering Wang Youcai’s original intent—something that left Wang Youcai harbor resentment and unable to fully let go.

Zhu Yufu emphasized that, in his view, the history of the China Democracy Party cannot simply be written as “three specific people registered a party.”

Registration was certainly important, but for a political party to truly form, it required many subsequent individuals to continuously organize, propagate, recruit members, and bear political risks for it.

Zhu Yufu quipped that it was his “usurping of party power” and taking the initiative to pursue a different line that created the situation that followed.

IX. Distributing the Declaration of the Founding of the China Democracy Party

To expand their influence, Zhu Yufu began personally distributing materials such as the Declaration of the Founding of the China Democracy Party.

He recalled that on that day, he brought a stack of declarations to a busy intersection in Hangzhou.

He parked his motorcycle nearby and began handing them out to passersby.

Without regard to age, nor specially selecting targets.

Just as he finished distributing the materials in his hand and was about to leave, a young man suddenly stood in front of his vehicle and said to him:

“Don’t leave.”

Zhu Yufu’s immediate reaction was:

This man is a plainclothes police officer; I am about to lose my freedom.

He immediately picked up a telephone from a roadside vendor’s stall and called Wang Donghai.

He stated that he was distributing the Declaration of the Founding of the China Democracy Party and was currently being detained by plainclothes police, about to be taken to the Public Security Bureau.

The only thing he entrusted Wang Donghai with was to go tell his wife at dinnertime: “Don’t wait for me to come home for dinner today.” Shortly thereafter, he was taken away and placed under detention.

This was June 30, 1998. Wang Donghai passed the news of Zhu Yufu’s arrest to Frank Lu Siqing of the “Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China.” Lu Siqing drafted and issued a press release. The next day was the first anniversary of Hong Kong’s “Handover”; almost all newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in Hong Kong broadcast this news. This could be considered blowing the very first whistle for Hong Kong’s future.

This was also the first public activity of the China Democracy Party.

X. The Lai Jinbiao Incident

In Zhu Yufu’s memoirs, there is another person whose name he believes deserves to be preserved—Lai Jinbiao.

Lai Jinbiao was a Hangzhou native who fled to San Francisco many years later. Zhu Yufu recalled that in the early Hangzhou democracy movement, Lai Jinbiao was a representative of ordinary Hangzhou citizens actively participating in the China Democracy Party’s activities.

At that time, after news of the Chinese democracy movement was broadcast via Voice of America, it attracted considerable attention in places like First Park by West Lake in Hangzhou.

Large numbers of retired elderly citizens often gathered among the trees there.

Sitting in the woods, people exchanged various current news items, paying particular attention to local activities of the China Democracy Party in Hangzhou.

Lai Jinbiao frequently gave public speeches there, commenting on the significance of establishing the China Democracy Party and explaining basic civil rights to the crowd.

Because he spoke in Mandarin, some mistook him for a “student from Beijing,” and an informant reported him to the local police station.

According to Zhu Yufu’s recollection, Political Security personnel subsequently arrived at the scene and observed nearby. They judged that this person was a “big fish” from Beijing, prompting the chief and deputy chief of the District Political Security Division to personally make the arrest. After Lai Jinbiao finished his speech and left, the two Political Security chiefs took him away and sent him to the police station.

Someone on site witnessed this process and rushed to inform Zhu Yufu.

Upon learning of this, Zhu Yufu immediately brought a small radio and rushed to the police station.

Due to past work relationships, he was relatively familiar with some of the local staff, allowing him to wait nearby.

When the Voice of America broadcast time arrived, he turned on the radio.

In that day’s news, the very first item was the report of Lai Jinbiao being taken away.

Zhu Yufu later recalled that this moment left a profound impression on him:

An ordinary person was taken away for publicly expressing political opinions on the streets of Hangzhou, but very quickly, the entire world could know his name through the radio.

This made him realize more and more clearly:

Public expression itself is a way to break through information blockades. It also brings immense solace to those who are arrested.

Editor: Zhong Ran Proofreader:Mao Yiwei Translator: Shen Meihua