No Backbone — Yet Unwavering

On September 9th, I saw a WeChat post from someone:

"September 9th, the autumn wind blows again. Fifty years have passed, but the people haven't forgotten. Every time I look back on those glorious years, I feel the true weight of the words 'Serve the People.' Today, our country prospers—a golden age just as you wished. Deeply mourning and paying tribute to a giant—taking the kids for red education in late August."

Attached was a video of his two kids standing in Changsha in front of a giant bust of this cult master, reciting the poems of this mass murderer.

Never mind whether today's China can truly be called a "golden age." Just take a look behind that hypocritical chastity archway of "Serve the People"—erected by the ultimate political whore—at the gate of Zhongnanhai: how many ordinary citizens are actually allowed inside? Everyday leeks going to a local district government office just to offer free medical service get blocked at the gate and treated like thieves. In contrast, anyone can walk right in and out of Taipei City Hall, and anyone can visit the Presidential Office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) with a simple reservation.

No golden age in history has gagged its people tighter than today. Even if you shout love for the country and the Party, proclaiming absolute loyalty to the leader, you will still be swiftly pinned down and dragged away. Not to mention that in the eyes of this cult, everyone is a spy and an enemy; ordinary citizens face endless interrogation, harassment, and investigation just to go abroad. Look back at the golden age of the Tang Dynasty: whether you came from the Western Regions or the Eastern Isles of Japan, you could serve as an official in the imperial court based purely on merit, regardless of your origin—and that was over a thousand years ago.

1958 and 1966 aren't far away; our parents' generation was born back then. Let them go back to that era again and see if a single one of them is willing. Those tens of millions of unnatural deaths aren't top-secret information. As for that dashing, glamorous figure who once proudly bragged about "laying down judgment on our realm, full of youthful passion and audacity"—does he himself honestly not have a fucking clue what he did?

What kind of person can actually be called a giant? Do Hitler and Stalin count? Having massive impact and being great are two completely different things. If a thug poisons millions of families and drugs and rapes thousands of young girls—doing things unprecedented in history, never to be matched again—can you call him a giant?

When dealing with people like this today, no matter how many facts and logical arguments you lay out, they relentlessly chant "stay true to the original mission and never forget the founding commitment," unwaveringly following their cult master and coming to his defense. Yet, the moment the political landscape shifts and this red plague becomes a thing of the past, they’ll put on their human masks again, masquerading as "objective, rational, and impartial moderates," hypocritically condemning the very convictions they stand by so unwaveringly today.

Their so-called unwavering conviction today stems precisely from having no backbone. The devil cannot occupy a person's soul unless the person chooses to open the door and make the bargain.

Translator's Notes

 [1] September 9th: September 9th marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Mao Zedong (September 9, 1976), making Li Saiyue's post a direct commemoration of Mao's death.

 [2] "Laying down judgment on our realm...": This phrase (指點江山，揮斥方遒) is a direct quotation from Mao Zedong's famous 1925 poem "Changsha" (Qinyuanchun – Changsha), in which he boasted about his youthful ambitions to govern the nation. The essay intentionally uses Mao's own poetic rhetoric against him, creating an ironic link back to the children reciting his poetry in the opening paragraph.

沒有主心骨與堅定不移

晚上看到一個人的朋友圈：

九月九日，秋風又起。

五十載過去，人民沒有忘記。

每一次回望那段崢嶸歲月，都更深切地感受到『為人民服務』五個字的分量。

今日山河錦繡，盛世如你所願。

深切緬懷，致敬偉人——八月底攜娃紅色教育。

下面一個視頻是他兩個孩子在長沙邪教教主頭像前背這個殺人魔的詩句。

且不說今日山河錦繡，能不能稱得上盛世，就說中南海門口『為人民服務』婊子牌坊後面的地方，有幾人能進去？普通的韭菜，即使去區政府裡義診免費服務，都會被當賊一樣擋在外面。作為對比，台北市政府隨便進出，中華民國總統府只要預約就可以進去。

從來沒有哪一個盛世防民之口勝於今朝，即使你是高喊愛國愛黨，忠於領袖，也會被迅速按下抓走。更別說在邪教眼裡，誰都是間諜、敵人，普通出個國都要盤問、刁難、調查的。看看曾經的盛世大唐，不管你來自西域還是東瀛，都能在朝中為官，不問出身，惟才是用，那都是一千多年前的事。

五八年、六六年並不遙遠，我們的父母輩就是那時候出生的，讓他們再次回到那個時代，看他們哪個願意的。那數千萬人的非正常死亡，並不是絕密信息，出自哪個指點江山揮斥方遒的風流人物，難道真的心裡一點屄數都沒有嗎？

什麼樣的人能稱為偉人，希特勒、斯大林可以不？影響力大和偉不偉大是兩碼事。一個毒害千萬家，迷姦萬千少女的流氓，雖然做的事情前無古人、後無來者，能稱他為偉人嗎？

對於這種人，在此形勢之下，無論你如何和他擺事實說道理，人家總是不忘初心、牢記使命，堅定不移的追隨教主，為教主 辯護。待到哪一天江山易色，紅禍成為過去，他們又是人模狗樣的理中客，批判他們現在堅定不移的信念。

當下他們的堅定不移，正是來自於沒有主心骨，沒有主動放棄的選擇和交易，魔鬼沒辦法佔據一個人的靈魂。

Management Can Be Swapped Out

Loving your neighborhood comes naturally. Live anywhere long enough, and the physical space starts weaving itself into your memories. Your home holds everything—the good times and the bad—leaving you deeply attached to the place itself. It’s just like Cui Hu’s famous poem, Written in a Village South of the Capital:

On this day last year, behind this very gate,

Her face echoed the pink of the peach blossoms.

Where has that face gone today?

Only the blossoms remain, smiling in the spring breeze.

A brief spark with someone special can give a location a whole new meaning. Over time, a neighborhood becomes the backdrop to a life shared with a partner or watching your children grow up under your care. These accumulated moments forge a real bond with the place you call home.

What makes no sense, though, is when an overbearing property management company moves in and pushes people around. They write themselves into the community guidelines as permanent property managers, use residents' fees to hire guards to silence anyone who speaks out, and constantly indoctrinate everyone to believe that loving the neighborhood means loyalty to management. That some homeowners actually go along with it, dancing to whatever tune is being played, is straight-up absurd.

物業可換

愛小區是自然而然的心理行為，因為在一個地方待久了，很多記憶會和這地點結合起來。特別是家裡，好的回憶也好，不好的回憶也好，都和這個地方有關，那就會對此地有別樣的情愫。就像唐人崔護題都城南莊那首詩說的：

去年今日此門中，人面桃花相映紅。

人面只今何處去，桃花依舊笑春風。

見到一個怦然心動的美人，那這地點在心中也就有了別樣的感情。人長期生活在一個小區裡，常常伴隨著與心愛之人的廝守，看著可愛孩子的長大；在孩子的心中，可能有父母無私的愛護與陪伴。如此不一而足，築成了對這個地方的感情。

然而當一個強勢的物業進駐後，不僅把永聘該物業公司寫進了業主公約中，用業主交的物業費，雇來保安控制有意見的業主，並且不停的洗腦業主，把愛小區等同於愛物業，甚至有些業主還真的隨風起舞，這就魔怔可笑了。