Harbinger of History
来自China Digital Space
历史的先声
"Harbinger of History: Past Promises of the Chinese Communist Party" (历史的先声——中国共产党曾经的承诺), written by Xiao Shu, is a compilation and analysis of pro-democracy articles published by the Chinese Communist Party in the 1940s. The book was published in mainland China in 1999, but was quickly banned. It has subsequently been republished in Hong Kong.
"Harbinger of History" includes articles and commentary on democracy published in Party publications between 1941 and 1946. Pieces by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and other Party leaders argue in favor of constitutional democracy and personal freedom, even admiration for the United States. Xiao Shu examines the context of this writing, published during the Japanese occupation of China in WWII and spanning the final years of the alliance between the Communists and Nationalists (1937-1945) to the resumption of the Chinese Civil War. These proclamations that "China's only demand is democracy" and elegies to "the Chinese students fighting for freedom and liberation" present a Chinese Communist Party that made a complete about-face once it had gained power.
Xiao Shu wrote "Harbinger of History" while he was on faculty at Tongji Medical University (now part of Huazhong University of Science and Technology). The book was first published in 1999 with the title "Harbinger of History: Solemn Promises Made Half a Century Ago" (历史的先声——半个世纪前的庄严承诺) by Shantou University Press, but was banned soon after it appeared on mainland bookshelves. "Harbinger of History" was republished in Hong Kong by Bosi Press in 2002, and once again in 2013 by Hong Kong University Press.
