Last Sunday (7th), Stan, a Polish internet celebrity who is fluent in Chinese, was invited by the Los Angeles June 4th Memorial Museum to have a dialogue with Wang Dan, the museum director, on several hot topics of concern to people today.
Stan, known as the “Polish person who speaks the best Chinese,” studied and attended university in Taiwan in his early years and eventually transitioned into society. His YouTube channel, “Hard News,” discusses current events, with a particular focus on Chinese human rights. He is quick-witted in his debates with Chinese Communist Party supporters, adept at exposing their vulnerabilities, and his clever responses have gained widespread attention.
Wang Dan was delighted by Stan’s visit. He mentioned that Poland, as a former communist country, has a lot of experience in resisting communism. Stan’s fluent Chinese and concern for Chinese human rights make him an ideal candidate to bridge communication between overseas democracy activists and civil society in Poland, drawing from the experience of “transitioning away from communism.”
Wang Dan, who spent ten years in Taiwan, has always been concerned about the island. He observed that the internal divisions in Taiwanese society are related to the cognitive warfare initiated by the Chinese Communist Party. Combining the recent Chinese military parade, he pointed out that the CCP has taken on an increasingly fascist military posture. He also anticipates Stan, as an internet celebrity, playing a constructive role in Taiwan’s future.
Stan noted that activists and anti-communists often get entangled in personal conflicts, forgetting that the biggest enemy is the CCP. Drawing from Poland’s experience, he quoted Pope John Paul II: “There is no freedom without solidarity.”
He expressed hope that every anti-communist individual cherishes democracy, stating, “Whether you are Chinese, Hong Kongese, Taiwanese, Venezuelan, or Cuban, you need to understand one thing: there is no freedom without solidarity.”
Poland played a crucial role in the dissolution of communism in Eastern Europe. The “Solidarity” trade union led the Polish people through nearly a decade of effort, dismantling Poland’s communist system in 1989 and contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In August of this year, the Czech Republic, another country free from the harms of communism, included a provision in its penal code explicitly prohibiting the promotion of communism and treating communism and Nazism equally.
As Stan mentioned, as far back as 1997, the highest constitutional court in Poland ruled that the activities of the Communist Party were unconstitutional, declaring both fascism and communism as illegal organizations. In 2016, Poland passed the “Anti-Communist Law,” banning the promotion of communism and other authoritarian totalitarian systems.
Stan believes that the difference between Poland’s democratic movement in 1989 and China’s Tiananmen Square protests lies in the organized nature of Poland’s movement led by the Solidarity trade union, while the Tiananmen movement was spontaneous, not organized. He disagrees with those who blame the victims, asserting that the students were innocent and did nothing wrong.
Furthermore, Stan pointed out that Poland’s democratic movement coincided with the impending collapse of the Soviet Union, where the Soviet Communist Party was unable to maintain power. With significant support from the United States, Polish resistance fighters were able to successfully overthrow the communist regime and achieve social transformation.
In the afternoon of that day, addressing the challenges facing Taiwanese society, Stan shared his views with the attendees.