Excerpts, speech of Wei Jingsheng, the father of the democracy movement in China, at rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to support the 1.2 million people who have withdrawn from the Chinese Communist Party and Communist Youth League, on On May 1, 2005-

“When we held our last rally, we said that when the [number of withdrawals] reached one million, we should hold another rally. I didn’t expect that day to arrive so quickly. I have visited several countries lately, mainly in Europe. Many of my friends asked me if it was true that so many people have withdrawn from the Party. Some also asked me if the number was real, and commented that many of the people were only members of the Communist Youth League, not CCP members. I don’t think these two issues are very serious. Some people think that one million people withdrawing from the CCP is not enough. I think the actual number of withdrawals may be much higher than one million.

“We initiated this movement to ‘withdraw from the CCP’ with the intention of giving people an opportunity to wash their consciences clean. Some people with access [to the Internet] may use our website or use other means to formally state their withdrawals from the Party. Many others don’t have this opportunity, but they are [withdrawing from the Party] in their hearts.......

 

“In the past, people thought that joining the Party or the Communist Youth League was an honorable thing to do. Now, people think [joining the Party] equates to being an accomplice to the vile person and tarnishes one’s conscience. So they are very serious about withdrawing from the Party, the Communist Youth League, and the Youth Pioneer League.”

“Even the Communist Party itself knows it’s unpopular. It doesn’t have enough members now, so it is trying to recruit young people to join the Party. Actually, we know that the number of withdrawals from the Party has far exceeded one million. Some people say that it may not seem sincere for Communist Youth League and Youth Pioneer League members to withdraw from the Party [since they are technically different organizations]. But I think they are very sincere. “

Why do I say this? We know that in China, the CCP created an atmosphere, using deceptive propaganda, to make people think that it was honorable to join the Communist Party, Communist Youth League, or even the Youth Pioneer League. Now, people realize it’s nothing to be proud of. Instead, it is helping the vile people to do worse things. It is not good for their conscience. These people used our movement to withdraw from the Party and wash clean their consciences. Be it the Party or one of the other CCP organizations they belonged to, the most important issue is that their consciences are clear. They stand on the opposite side from the CCP. I think this is very solemn and appropriate.”

“Some optimistic people say, ‘There are 60 million CCP members at this time. It only took a short time for one million to withdraw from the Party. Maybe in a while, all CCP members will withdraw.’ I don’t think it’s that simple. Even though over one million or perhaps even over ten million have gained clear consciences, there is still one more step to be taken before the CCP collapses.”

“Besides washing their consciences clean, we also need to encourage people to do good things, to redeem what they have done in the past, and to eliminate the CCP dictatorship.”

“I’m very glad to see so many of my friends here. Some are working to help people gain a clear conscience, while others are working to end the CCP dictatorship. If all of us can work together and remain united, the day that China replaces the current government should be close at hand.”

“Let’s ‘defeat the CCP and say farewell to the tyranny.’ The next step is welcoming a new democratic life.”

- Original speech in chinese