Apathy Is Not Moral Decay — It Is the Reflex of Obedience Under Tyranny
By Hu Lili Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei Translator: Lu Huiwen
The phrase “harmonious society,” in the Chinese government’s narrative, represents political correctness. But in reality, this slogan has been used to muffle countless cries of despair and to whitewash violence and apathy. It is not a vision of social harmony, but a form of political anesthesia—a spiritual castration of the people.
China today is anything but harmonious. Even “stability” is a manufactured illusion conjured by the state’s iron grip. What the regime calls “harmony” is in fact a forced, suffocating silence—an airless atmosphere created by suppressing criticism and choking free expression.
When a child lies bleeding on the ground and bystanders merely look away; when a woman is dragged and humiliated in broad daylight and the crowd says nothing; when a delivery worker collapses and dies on the street while the world walks past without blinking—these are not coincidences. They are the conditioned reflexes of a society trained into apathy. These are not isolated events—they are blood-soaked screams buried beneath the regime’s propaganda of “harmony.”
This chilling social reality is not the product of moral decline, but the calculated result of authoritarian engineering: a society where people no longer trust one another, no longer care about the world beyond themselves. This is not just alienation—it is a regime-designed pathology, forged through brainwashing, censorship, and fear-based punishment.
Yes, rapid urbanization and the relentless pace of life have widened social gaps—but the deeper problem is institutional distrust. Government power is exercised arbitrarily and never held accountable. Ordinary citizens have no avenue for redress. Inequality widens. Social mobility is blocked. The state media sings hymns of “stability,” while silence and despair fester in the streets. In such an environment, “Don’t speak, don’t stand out, don’t get involved” becomes the unspoken rule of survival.
What is considered “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”?
Posting a tweet. Speaking a truth. Filming a video.
You think you’re exercising a right? No—you’re threatening “stability.”
To the regime, stability means: the people stay silent, the truth stays buried, and society stays deaf.
Dissenters are criminalized. Facts are reframed as “isolated incidents.”
The slogan of “a harmonious society” has become a fig leaf for injustice and a diversion from accountability.
Let us be clear: apathy is not human nature. It is the byproduct of authoritarian rule. When a society sees every act of kindness as a threat, every moment of empathy as a risk to “social order,” it has already lost its moral foundation. Its “harmony” is merely the silence of despair—the pain of a people who no longer know how to cry out.
So we must ask again:
Who uses the word “harmony” to mask suffering?
Who uses “stability” to justify violence?
Who uses “the system” to smother the people’s cries?
The answer is as plain as day:
It is the Chinese Communist Party—monopolizing power, manipulating truth, and crushing public will.
If China is ever to move toward genuine harmony, it must take a historic step:
End one-party rule.
End the blockade on information.
Return power to the people.
Rebuild a system that truly belongs to them.
Only by dismantling this lie-built order can we create a real society—a society with flesh and blood, where people can speak, express, and help each other without fear; where care is not punished, and compassion is not met with danger.
Only when dictatorship ends will apathy retreat.
Only then will “harmony” cease to be a lie and become a living reality.
我是中国民主党党员马群,我在洛杉矶星光大道声援《香港47人案》,时代革命,光复香港!
一次街头行动不能促成中国的政治变革,但只要能让海外华人、美国人以及墙内人看清一点点的中共邪恶本质,我们的行动就会变得有意义。
作者:马群 责任编辑:罗志飞
I am Ma Qun, a member of the China Democracy Party. I stood on Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles to voice...
我叫吕峰,中国民主党党员,
我在洛杉矶中国领事馆前发声:
有共产,无私产,私产不仅指金钱,也包括自由和尊严。
因为镰刀和锤子,代表收割与镇压。
作者:吕峰 责任编辑:罗志飞
My name is Lü Feng, and I am a member of the China Democracy Party.
I raised my voice in front of the Chinese...
我是中国民主党员陈星力。1997年前的香港是亚洲金融中心,1997年后的香港沦为亚洲金融中心遗址。为香港扼腕叹息,望有朝一日,民主的朝阳能够照耀中华,照耀香港!
作者:陈星力 责任编辑:罗志飞
I am Chen Xingli, a member of the China Democracy Party.
Before 1997, Hong Kong was the financial center of Asia.
After 1997, it has...
——献给《在野党》创刊主编毛庆祥先生
作者:冯仍 编辑:鲁慧文 责任编辑:罗志飞
在中国漫长的黑暗岁月中,总有人愿意为光明燃尽自己。毛庆祥,这个在体制记录中并不显赫的名字,却是中国民主运动中不可忽视的火种。他用一生诠释了“在野”的真正含义:不身居权位,却心系国家命运;不附主流,却从不噤声。他走过的路,是由信念、牺牲与良知铸就的十字架。
一、生于农村,走向公民觉醒之路1950年6月,毛庆祥出生于浙江杭州的一个普通农家。青年时代参军,退役后在杭州磁钢厂任职。他本可以像千万工人一样,顺从现实、平凡度日,但1976年春,他走上天安门广场,参与“四五运动”,并因此首次被捕。虽然这场运动后来被“平反”,但他的命运自此改写,踏上了一条不同的人生道路。
二、从民主墙到监狱墙:初心不改1978年,“北京之春”的余热犹存,毛庆祥投身杭州民主墙运动,参与民刊《之江》《华东》的编辑工作。他清楚地看到体制如何制造愚民、掏空良知、用贪腐压制正义。他选择以笔为器,记录、质问、抗议;以良知对抗沉默的现实。1981年,他以“反革命宣传煽动罪”再度入狱三年。他的“罪”,无非是几句真话,而他无怨无悔,更加坚定地说:“国家若无宪政,人民永无宁日。”
三、创办《在野党》:以笔为枪,点燃火种1998年,中国市场化改革二十年,社会贫富悬殊、官僚腐败丛生。“稳定压倒一切”的口号压制一切异议。在这样的高压下,毛庆祥毅然参与组建“中国民主党浙江筹委会”,并发起创办《在野党》杂志,自任主编。这本刊物,成为当时极少数公开倡导民主宪政、系统提出政治改革方案的地下刊物之一,也是中国民主运动中的一簇明火。1999年6月19日,他第三次被捕,因“颠覆国家政权罪”被判八年徒刑,并剥夺政治权利三年。在狱中,他饱受精神与肉体的摧残,却从未妥协。2007年出狱时,他平静地说:“中国需要民主,我依然相信这一点。”
四、“在野之火”从未熄灭很多人曾问他:“值吗?”一个年近半百的普通工人,为了遥不可及的宪政理想,将生命中最宝贵的八年交付铁窗。毛庆祥的回答,不在纸上,而在他的生命本身。他不是名人,不是学者,却是《在野党》精神最真实的奠基者。他的语言不喧哗,却穿透高墙;他的思想不虚浮,而是深植泥土。对他而言,“民主”不是口号,而是生活方式、社会底线、国家出路。
五、我们接过笔,也接过火今天纪念毛庆祥,不只是缅怀一位老人,更是致敬那份“敢为自由坐牢”的勇气。在这片沉默太久的土地上,每一个不肯闭嘴的人,都是未来的种子。每一位被囚禁的良知,终将化作历史的烈火。毛庆祥已将他的笔迹深深刻入时代的记忆,而今,我们接过笔,也接过火。正如他曾坚定写下的:“靠枪毙几个贪官不能救中国,只有制度制衡、民主法治,才是长治久安之道。”这不仅是他的信念,也应成为我们的方向。在牢狱之外,我们继续呐喊——因为我们深知,自由,从来都不是被赐予的,而是有人为它受过难。
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