Beijing, End of March, 1979
These black and white photos from the Xidan Democracy Wall in Beijing were also taken by French sinologist Alain Peyraube:
"A Letter to Comrade Peng Zhen of the National Law Committee and to the Minister of Public Security Zhao Cangbi"
"The public security departments must act according to the constitution and the state regulations for arrest and detention, and immediately release Fu Yuehua" (the woman who had organised protest by the "petioners" in Beijing in late 1978 and early 1979, arrested in mid-January).
The are parts of the text missing. This arrest has been "illegal", say the authors of this poster who identify themselves as "family members of Fu Yuehua", adding that it did not take place according to the rules stipulated in the laws (demanding instructions by a judge or a prosecutor). Authorities had explained that the arrest followed "internal procedures" that remain vague and arbitrary.
Two interesting notes above and under the poster help to understand some of the circumstances of the spontaneous movement: Above it says: "Lock your bikes first before you read the dazibaos!", and another one: "Please dont paste other poster on top, leave this one until April 4."
"My Open Letter to Deputy Chairman Chen Yun"
...by Li Jingliang (李景亮), 43 years old, from Yuncheng (运城), Shanxi. His account starts from 1948, when his family (and he himself, then 13 years old) were declared "big landowners" which would regularly make him a victim of discrimination and political suppression. 1956 he was accused of steeling grain although he was at a different location at the time. 1969, during the Cultural Revolution, he was maltreated during public criticisms sessions. 1975 there occurred a new "problem" when he was beaten and arrested when he filed an complaint at an office created for such grievances. When he shouted "Long live Chairman Mao" and "Long live the Communist Party", he was handcuffed for 24 days, and he was confronted again with the old accusations. 1978 he was forced to unpaid labor in a road construction unit. In this dazibao he now asks for a new investigation and re-evaluation of his case.
"My Fourth Open Letter to Chaiman Hua and Vice Chairman Deng of the Party Central Committee"
Li Chunshan, also from Yuncheng (Shanxi), complains about a certain Liu Wenxian, whose family allegedly worked for the nationalist Guomindang before 1949. In 1962 he was accused of having embezzled money that should have been used to buy fertilizer. Li denounced him at that time, later, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s, Liu Wenxian tried to take revenge on Li and his family, instigating their persecution. Since then, Li has - unsuccessfully - asked for rehabilitation. He was not allowed to return to his home town, he was not allowed to marry or build a house. Starting from July 1978 has 103 times to the authorities, posted four smaller and four bigger dazibaos - but he has still not obtained a solution for his case.
"Save Our Factory!!!" (March 13, 1979)
This dazibao talks about a handicraft factory in Qingdao (Shandong Province). The author is Sun Weibang (Pseudonym: Sun Feng), a prominent regime critic and editor of the journal "Sea Spray" (Hailanghua). Sun complains about an inflated work-force. Between 1966 and 1979 the number of workers, he says, has more than doubled from 200 to 522, the number of officials has increased even more (from 20 to almost 80) while the output has been stagnating. He calls the factory leadership "incompetent", the press should come and look into this affair...
"Voicing Grievance to Chairman Hua" (March 18, 1979)
"The Latest Case of Injustice" (March 19, 1979)
"Jia Xiao Accuses the 'Lin Biao Line' in the Air Force of Bloody Devastation"
This dazibao talks about Jia Xiao (maybe it has been written by herself?). She was an inmate of a so-called "May 7 Cadre School run by the air force in the city of Guiyang. During the Cultural Revolution these institutions were semi-open labor camps for the political "re-education" of "unreliable" cadres. The author calls these institutions a political basis of the followers of Lin Biao (Mao's deputy until he died in 1971 after a coup attempt). Honest cadres, even former fighters of the Red Army, were denounced as "counter-revolutionaries" there.
Jia Xiao was accused to have listened to "enemy" radio stations and being a spy. But she refused to read out a pre-formulated confession. She was handcuffed, beaten and tortured. When she became pregnant after an "illegal affair", she was beaten, the baby was forcefully aborted.
"Records of the Investigation on the Fu Yuehua Case by Representatives of Various People's Magazines and Organizations"
Wei Jingsheng and other Democracy Wall activist went to see police and prison officials at the "Gongdelin" detention center in Beijing to inqire about the arrest of Fu Yuehua (a female activist who had organized protest marches of "petitioners" in late 1978 and early 1979 before being arrested in mid-January). Wei Jingsheng had acquired a tape recorder from the French sinologist (and embassy staff) Emmanuel Bellefroid to record this conversation and publish it.
"Do We Want Democracy or a New Dictatorship"
This is the first page of Wei Jingsheng's famous dazibao that had been published a few days before at the Beijing Democracy Wall and in Wei's journal "Tansuo" (Exploration). It was because auf this text that accused Deng Xiaoping of deing a "dictator like Mao" that Wei was arrested (on March 29) and eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison in October. This dazibao is a good example to prove that important political texts by activist were quickly transfered and copied in other cities. This publication in Shanghai must have been a day or two after the first release in Beijing.
"Democracy and Dictatorship" - "Human Rights and the Law"
The author of this text criticizes the Democracy Movement. Even during socialism, there still exist class enemies and people who want to destroy socialism. For them, there cannot be democracy, but only "dictatorship" to protect the people from its enemies. "Human rights" are also limited by the law and political principles. They must not infringe on the interests of others and of the collective.
"Please Read: 'On Democracy, Principles, Laws and Politics'!!!"
Petitioners who have suffered from injustice 10 or 15 years ago, nowadays seem to get more problems, the more they try to complain and ask for rehabilitation. They should not demonstrate, they should not write dazibaos. The only thing that remains is the word "die". Mr. Gao, the author, seems to have lost his work in 1964 for political motives. For 15 years he has tried to get rehabilitated. But instead he was imprisoned for ten months, he was physically maltreated 20 times. Now he is handicapped. The officials who have been dealing with his case, were all "followers of the Gang of Four". They did not want to act, they said they could not do anything. After 1976, they put him again into prison for twenty months. ... But history will show the truth. Somebody wrote a brief comment under the dazibao quoting Mao: "There may be a thousand complicated reasons, but in the end there will always be the same conclusion: rebellion is justified."
