Famous author Su Xiaokang’s new book “Rain, Smoke, Snow, Salt” was released at a book launch event held recently in Los Angeles. The book not only recounts his more than three decades of exile, but also from the perspective of official operations, reveals how the Chinese Communist Party deceives Western leaders with the strategy of “biding its time, hiding its capabilities”, expanding its economic power through technology theft, and thus becoming a significant threat to the international community. At the same time, Su Xiaokang also highlights the current plight of Chinese intellectuals who are homeless.
Older Chinese people may remember Su Xiaokang vividly as one of the chief writers of the six-episode documentary “River Elegy” that first aired on Chinese Central Television in 1988. After the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests, the authorities criticized the series for promoting “bourgeois liberalization” ideology, leading to Su Xiaokang being placed on the wanted list and subsequently going into exile.
Last Saturday (19th), at the book launch event organized by the Los Angeles branch of the China Democratic Party Committee, Su Xiaokang and his wife Fu Li attended, with Wang Dan, president of the Chinese Intellectuals Association and former Tiananmen student leader, attending as a panelist.
Over the years, Su Xiaokang has been diligent in his creative work, producing several autobiographical, reportage, or essay works, contemplating life, analyzing human nature, and closely observing and criticizing the pain and crises created by the Communist tyranny for the Chinese people.
During the book launch, he introduced that the book “Rain, Smoke, Snow, Salt” follows two main storylines: one detailing his 34 years of exile. In the United States, his family was once in a car accident, with his wife Fu Li being the most severely injured. Despite her long recovery and continued physical limitations, Su Xiaokang has been diligently caring for her, showing meticulous care that is truly touching. Under Fu Li’s guidance, their child has grown up to be a successful doctor, showing great filial piety and academic achievements.
The other storyline in the book explores how the Chinese Communist Party has deceived the West and grown itself through the strategy of “biding its time, hiding its capabilities” over the decades. The book discusses how European and American countries were “stupid and naive” and had “all been stolen by the Communist Party”, especially highlighting how the US, starting from President George H.W. Bush, allowed China into the World Trade Organization, which was crucial for the Communist Party’s development.
Su Xiaokang also pointed out that following the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Communist Party successfully shifted its ideology from “Mao Zedong Thought” to “nationalism”. Despite facing legitimacy and information crises brought by the internet, the Communist Party has survived by tightly surveilling the people through high-tech means.
In the foreword of his new book, he wrote: “The greatest tragedy for exiles is not losing their language or facing loneliness, but experiencing spiritual decline.” For decades, he has persistently continued writing, despite his old age and frail health, never forgetting his homeland, displaying a strong sense of responsibility and commitment to conscience as a Chinese intellectual in exile.
Recounting his interactions with the former Hong Kong Alliance member, Reverend Chu Yiu Ming, Su Xiaokang asked him: “Where will you go next?” “I do not know.” “Will you come to Los Angeles?” “We are still considering.” All their luggage is left at their home in Hong Kong, but they dare not retrieve it, fearing arrest upon their return.
Su Xiaokang shared with the editor of “Rain, Smoke, Snow, Salt” the story of Chu Yiu Ming. Touched by the predicament faced by these Chinese intellectuals without a home, the editor added a line on the book cover: “Homelessness is the true plight of Chinese intellectuals.” However, Su Xiaokang also noted that it is not just Chinese intellectuals who are homeless; many entrepreneurs, ordinary civil servants, and even migrant workers have also fled to the United States.
Reflecting on his past, Su Xiaokang recalled how Chu Yiu Ming assisted many people in escaping from the Communist Party after the Tiananmen massacre, serving as the overall commander of the “Operation Yellowbird”. In March of this year, when Chu Yiu Ming visited Su Xiaokang and his wife, he sadly mentioned that he is now also homeless. Su Xiaokang couldn’t help but lament: “I never expected that the person who saved me would be homeless today.”
The book’s cover features the words: “We, these people, must ensure that the truth is not distorted after us.” Su Xiaokang mentioned that these words were spoken by Li Shuxian, the wife of the famous Chinese astrophysicist Fang Lizhi. Fang Lizhi, a prominent figure, was expelled from public office and listed as the number one wanted fugitive after the Tiananmen protests, and was later rescued to the United States. Until his death in Tucson, Arizona in 2012, he never set foot on Chinese soil again.
At the book launch event, Wang Dan reminisced about how popular Su Xiaokang was in the 1980s: “Professor Xiaokang was very popular back then; we at Peking University couldn’t even invite you.”
Discussing the current situation facing the Communist Party, he mentioned that although the party has managed to overcome events like Tiananmen Square and financial crises, it has not been able to establish a normal power succession order. Xi Jinping has broken Deng Xiaoping’s model of designating a successor every other generation, and if something were to happen to Xi, such as a stroke or illness, the party would immediately face uncertainty about who could take over.
He stated that this represents a profound crisis for the seemingly powerful Communist Party, “and we must continue to cause trouble for it, making it deal with issues; if it mishandles one thing, the whole situation can reverse, just like what happened in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.”
On the question of when the Communist Party might fall, Wang Dan wasn’t overly optimistic nor pessimistic: “Currently, we indeed do not have a way to immediately overthrow the Communist Party; but in the long run, as long as more people can stand up and challenge it continuously, it will eventually encounter problems.”
“In the end, this requires collective efforts from everyone. If we do not strive, this country will not change,” he emphasized.