Output from the Chinese revolution conference

This past weekend (May 28 and 29, 2011), a significant conference of Chinese dissidents convened in Flushing, New York, titled, "The Centenary of the Revolution of 1911 and the Contemporary Democratic Revolution." It was also subtitled, "Commemoration of Twenty Second Anniversary of June 4," a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.

The conference seems to have birthed a new umbrella organization, or coalition: The China Democratic Revolution Federation. The program of speakers included Lianchao Han, Li Dayong, Greg Autry, Liu Guokai, Wu Fan (by video), Huang Xiang, Yan Xiong, Yi Rong, Zhao Yan, Zi Yang, Ruan Jie, Xin Haonian, Tang Baiqiao, Liu Guohua, Li Fengzhi, Guo Baosheng, Bian Hexiang, Mao Xiaomin (by video), Zhang Kaicheng, Ye Ning, John Kusumi, Steve Mosher (by video), Sun Yun, and Feng Congde.

The proceedings also heard an impromptu speech from a young man who will turn age 27 this year. He is identified as the originator of this year's Chinese youth movement and the calls for a 'Jasmine' revolution. What this means is that China's "Generation Y" is beginning to have a voice and a big impact in the Chinese democracy movement.

If you speak Mandarin, the following link points to a three-minute news report about the conference, done by NTDTV (New Tang Dynasty TV):
http://ap.ntdtv.com/b5/20110529/video/63375.html

If you read English, the following link points to reflections about the conference, by Greg Autry, the co-author of a new book, 'Death By China':
http://www.deathbychina.com/blog/?p=103

Also in English, we have to repost here the speech that was given to the proceedings by John Kusumi, the founder of the China Support Network:

Advice for a revolution

A talk given to the conference for China's Jasmine revolution
May 28, 2011 • Marco LaGuardia Hotel, New York City

By John Kusumi

I am happy that the organizers of today's conference brought together so many top revolutionaries -- leading figures in the fight and the struggle of China's pro-democracy movement.

It is 2011, and the world is having many revolutions this year. The conference topic is the matter of change in China, but this year the world has experienced and witnessed the changes in Tunisia and in Egypt, and we see struggles continuing in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and elsewhere.

In fact, there is a European youth movement that coincides with the Arab youth movement. Europe has seen unrest in Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Britain, Portugal, and Spain.

Inevitably, there will be a Chinese youth movement that prevails in changing China from a despotic tyranny to a more free and democratic society.

I would like to use my time today to consider and to compare the Chinese and Egyptian revolutions. I'm making use of Egypt for purposes of discussion, but my thoughts also extend to the other revolutions as well.

Egypt recently displayed 'people power' and unseated its dictator. That is excellent news, as far as it goes.

However, in Egypt they are not finished with having a pro-democracy revolution. The following words are good for China as well as Egypt: Any pro-democracy revolution must change two things: (1.) the party in power; (2.) the system of the society. In Egypt, they did the former -- the first thing. We are waiting to see the latter type of change. The second task is to make the system democratic and run by elected civilians, not by the military. The military was not elected and it did not get there by a democratic process.

Egypt is not finished with step two in the process, and so we must continue to be watchful and to pay attention to what happens in Egypt.

However, even if we expect a successful transition -- let's suppose that Egypt arrives at having a freely elected government -- they are not out of the woods! There are further perils -- hazards and impediments that may stop life from getting better.

I continue to have advice for a successful Egypt and for a successful China. Here is what I would say to Egypt now:

(1.) Do not accept any loans from the IMF (International Monetary Fund); and,
(2.) Please ensure that your government must own and operate its own central bank.

I wonder, do Chinese dissidents understand that there is division and struggle and fighting within the free world? Differences arise about the subject of banking and currencies. Many people believe that currencies must at least be pegged to a commodity standard.

In the old days, currencies could be changed into a fixed quantity of gold. In more recent times, the free world has essentially fallen into the hands of private bankers, who create fiat money in ways that are mercurial and arbitrary. And, there is no backing for the currency. This is not the gold standard. This is “the ‘trust me’ standard.”

As I noted above, a true revolution must change more than the party in power. It must change the system of the society. In the Western world these days, too much power has been given to private bankers who mis-manage the nation's power to issue currency. There is no excuse for this, because the issuance of money is a power of government. Government can and should do this itself, without delegating this task to the private sector.

The currency mis-management has raised the price of food -- and that was a central complaint of the Egyptian people as they took to the streets.

So, as I said above, Egypt is not out of the woods! A true system change would abolish private central banks, and also abolish the gambling and speculation which drives up the price of food commodities. It is not just Egypt, it is the whole world which needs these reforms.

And so, it is not just the job of the Egyptians that I speak of! It is a job for Chinese and yes, Americans as well. In many poor regions of the world, a high price of food means a matter of life and death. Let's remember: If we are reformers, I see it as our job. We must work for banking, currency, and speculation reform.

Ultimately, this matter is like Wall Street reform. For the population, this is a life-and-death matter. And the issue must be put to every government on earth. I believe that is why we are seeing such unrest this year, and it is not limited to the Arab street. We see it on the street in Europe, and we will soon see it on the street in China, by way of your efforts that are under discussion today.

Thank you for letting me contribute these thoughts to the conference.

----------------------------------------------------------
John Kusumi is the founder of the pro-democracy China Support Network, formed in 1989 as the world responded to the slaughter of innocents at the bloody Tiananmen Square massacre.