Humanities Speech
The Revolution of 1911
Dear brothers and sisters of China, I highly appreciate this pleasant greeting with which you are honoring me today. Like I once said, “The Revolution has not yet succeeded. Comrades, you must carry on!” We don’t have what we want; we must continue to battle, until our government weakens, until they make a concession. The time has come for the country to change; the time has come for us to stand up for ourselves and fight for what truly belongs to us; the time has come for us to fight for freedom, for democracy.
Change is necessary! Do you want to continue to live under the Manchurians? Under the Ch’ing emperor? Do you want to continue to live in poverty? We once paid low taxes, but now that those powerful landlords have evaded government taxes aided by corrupt officials; now the government has increased our taxes to make up for the shortfall. This has lead to more social suffering, more corruption and more rebellions. What our country needs is DEMOCRACY, a political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. As citizens, we must participate actively in politics and civic life. Democracy protects the human rights of all citizens, and has rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens. If we fight for our rights and freedom, we will no longer have to live in fear and poverty, because we will be the ones who plan our future, we will rule ourselves, we will know what is best for ourselves, we will be able to lead our own country. When we have democracy, we will be able to choose our government, as well as representatives who will speak our thoughts and opinions to the government, ensuring us a better life and a better future. Our country will no longer suffer; we will have a 180 change. From 1647, we men of China have had to shave our heads in the Manchu tradition, if we don’t, we face execution. Why do women have to suffer bound feet? Why doesn’t...