Now is not the time for patriotic demonstrations

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April 19, 2008 — riot police disperse protesters inside Carrefour store

Han Han (韩寒) is a novelist with a huge and dedicated fan base. He is also a racing driver and a blogger.

On his blog he has recently been discouraging his compatriots from getting too passionate about their patriotism. Here is a translation of a blog post he published on April 25:

If you are a student

by Han Han

If you are a student, a university student, I have a suggestion for you. If you like something, buy it; if you don’t like something then don’t buy it, but don’t demonstrate on the streets.

Protests and rallies are addictive. Today you carry the flag of patriotism against the outside world, tomorrow you carry the flag of patriotism against…

So you won’t get support. During the whole process, all you can do is face the Chinese people and the Chinese riot police. You won’t even see one blonde hair [i.e. foreigners]. Don’t let pointless injury or death happen. Patriotism is not a golden talisman that will protect you from dying. In fact patriotism can be the death of you.

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May 4, 1919 — student protests in Beijing

In an era of peace, radical patriotism is no different from a fan’s adoration of his idol. But because people don’t choose the object of their patriotic love, it’s bound to be ever crazier. Previously, I thought inciting the masses was just government rhetoric, a pretext, but now I realize that people can be stirred up rashly. Of course, it’s not easy to incite people but when they are determined to be cannon fodder, it’s easy for them to blow up. Don’t equate the current situation with the May Fourth movement [when patriotic students protested the Versailles treaty in 1919]. The two situations are totally different. Right now what we need is stability. Don’t cause disturbances or stir up trouble, it’s pointless.

To repeat: that’s not the way forward, now is not the time.

I am willing to be called a traitor or a running dog, if only to give you this message: hold back your passions and show a gentle face, accept different voices. It’s not yet the time now.

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