蟹爪蓮
人生在世，以誠相待足矣。 我對人生充滿希望，但隨遇而安
US trial begins in battle for Mao secretary’s diaries
Tessa Wong
BBC News
Reporting from
Singapore
20 August 2024, 06:21 BST
A trial has begun in California to decide whether Stanford University can keep the
diaries of a top Chinese official, in a case that is being framed as a fight against
Chinese government censorship.
The diaries belong to the late Li Rui, a former secretary to Communist China's
founder Mao Zedong.
Following Li's death in 2019, his widow sued for the documents to be returned to
Beijing, claiming they belong to her.
Stanford rejects this. It says Li, who had been a critic of the Chinese government,
donated his diaries to the university as he feared they would be destroyed by the
Chinese Communist Party.
The diaries, which were written between 1935 and 2018, cover much of the Chinese
Communist Party's (CCP) rule. In those eight tumultuous decades, China emerged
from impoverished isolation to become indispensable to the global economy.
"If [the diaries] return to China they will be banned... China does not have a good
record in permitting criticism of party leaders," Mark Litvack, one of Stanford's
lawyers, told the BBC before the trial began.
The BBC has contacted lawyers representing Zhang Yuzhen, Mr Li's widow, for
comment.
A prominent CCP figure known for his reformist views, Mr Li was both venerated and
s h u n n e d b y t h e party.
As a young o u t s p o k e n c a d r e he c a u g h t t h e e y e of M a o w h o m a d e him o n e of his
personal secretaries in the mid-1950s. But the position was shortlived.
When Li criticised Mao's views at a political meeting, he was ousted from the party
and spent years in prison. He was among hundreds of party officials and public
figures, including close allies of Mao, who fell foul of the mercurial leader.
Like some of them, Li returned to prominence after Mao died in 1976. He oversaw
the ministry of hydroelectric power and a CCP department that selected officials for
key positions. Within the party, he was allied with the more liberal, open-minded
faction advocating for reform.
After his retirement, he continued to lobby the party for reform. But his unsparing,
sharp-tongued criticism of leaders, including President Xi Jinping - whom he
dismissed as "lowly-educated" - needled the government. His writings were censored
and his books banned in China.
As a party elder, however, he continued to be treated with respect and enjoyed
privileges. When he died he was given a state funeral.
Throughout, as he navigated the echelons of power, he meticulously recorded
observations about party politics and key events in his diaries.
These include his account of the Tiananmen Massacre, which he witnessed from a
balcony overlooking the square and labelled as "Black Weekend" in English in his
diary. It is a highly sensitive issue that is rarely discussed in China.
His daughter, Li Nanyang, began donating his documents, including the diaries, to
Stanford's Hoover Institution in 2014, when he was still alive.
In a 2019 interview with BBC Chinese after his death, she said this fulfilled her
father's wishes.
That year Ms Zhang filed a lawsuit against Li Nanyang - her stepdaughter - in China.
GETTY IMAGES
Mao Zedong ruled China for 27 years
Ms Zhang, who was Li Rui's second wife, argued that he wanted her to decide which
of his documents would be made public and they were wrongfully given to Stanford,
according to reports.
The widow said the diaries contained "deeply personal and private affairs" of her life
with Li. As the diaries can be accessed by the public at Stanford, she said their
display caused her "personal embarrassment and emotional distress".
A Beijing court ruled in Ms Zhang's favour and ordered the diaries to be handed over
to her.
Stanford has rejected this ruling. Its lawyers have argued that "Chinese courts are not
impartial in politically-charged cases such as this" and that the university was not
given a chance to defend itself.
The trial that began in California on Monday is over a separate lawsuit launched by
the university against Ms Zhang in the US.
Stanford is asking the California court to declare the university as the lawful owner of
the diaries.
Its lawyers argue that Li Rui wanted to donate his papers to Stanford because "he
understood that the regime would seek to suppress his account of modern Chinese
history" and he "feared that the materials would be destroyed".
Stanford has been allowed to retain copies of the diaries, but it is arguing to keep the
original documents as well, to comply with Li's wishes.
"Li Rui wanted his diaries, including his originals, at Hoover," Mr Litvack said. "That's why they are at Hoover and we have fought to keep them at Hoover.
美國開庭審理毛澤東秘書日記案 （李南央翻譯）
Tessa Wong
BBC 新聞
新加坡報道 2024 年 8 月 20 日，06:21 BST
加利福尼亞州已經開始審理斯坦福大學是否可以保存中國高級官員日記一案，此案被稱為反對中國政府審查製度的一場鬥爭。
這些日記屬於已故李銳，他曾是中國共產黨創始人毛澤東的秘書。李銳於 2019 年去世，他的遺孀聲稱這些文件歸她所有，提起法律起訴要求將這些文件歸還北京。斯坦福大學拒絕了這一要求。它表示，李銳曾是一位中國政府的批評者，他將自己的日記捐贈給斯坦福大學，是因為他擔心這些日記會被中國共產黨銷毀。
這些日記寫於 1935 年至 2018 年之間（李南央注：應該是1946至2018年），涵蓋了中國共產黨 (CCP) 統治的大部分時期。在那動蕩的八十年裏，中國從貧困和孤立中崛起，成為全球經濟不可或缺的一部分。“如果 [日記] 返回中國，它們將被禁……中國允許批評黨的領導人的名聲十分之差，”斯坦福的律師之一馬克·利特瓦克在審判開始前告訴 BBC。BBC 聯係了李先生遺孀張玉珍的代理律師詢問他的看法。李先生是一位以其改革派觀點而著稱的中共知名人物，黨在尊重他的同時也排斥他。
作為一名直言不諱的年輕幹部，他引起了毛澤東的注意，毛澤東在 20 世紀 50 年代中期任命他為他的私人秘書之一。但這個職位沒能維持多久。當李在一次政治會議上批評了毛澤東的觀點之後，被開除出黨，在監獄中度過了數年。他是遭到這位反複無常的領袖貶逐的數百黨內官員、公眾人物，其中包括毛澤東親密的盟友之一。和其中一些人一樣，李在1976 年毛澤東去世後重新聲名鵲起（李南央注：李銳遲至1979年方獲得平反）。他主管過水電部和一個負責選拔重要職位官員的中共部門。在黨內，他與主張改革的更自由、更開放的派係結盟。退休後，他繼續遊說黨內進行改革。但他對包括習近平在內的領導人的毫不留情、尖刻的批評——他批評習近平“文化程度低”——激怒了政府。他的文章受到審查，他的書籍在中國被禁。
然而，作為黨內元老，他繼續受到尊重並享有特權。去世後，當局為他舉行了正式的葬禮。 在其地位逐步晉升的過程中，他一絲不苟地在日記中記錄了對黨內政治和關鍵事件的觀察。其中包括他對天安門大屠殺的描述，他在俯瞰廣場的陽台（李南央注：應該是長安街不是廣場）上目睹了這場屠殺，並在日記中用英文將其標記為“黑色周末”。這是一個高度敏感的話題，在中國很少被討論。
他的女兒李南央於 2014 年在他活著的時候開始將他的文件（包括日記）捐贈給斯坦福大學胡佛研究所。李銳去世後，她在 2019 年接受 BBC 中文采訪時表示，這實現了父親的願望。 那一年，張女士在中國對她的繼女李南央提起了訴訟。
據報道，李銳的第二任妻子張女士辯稱，李銳希望她決定哪些文件可以公開，而這些文件被錯誤地交給了斯坦福大學。這位遺孀說，這些日記記載了她和李銳生活中的“非常私人和私密的事情”。由於公眾可以在斯坦福大學查閱這些日記，她說這種做法給她帶來了“個人的尷尬和情感困擾”。北京一家法院判決張女士勝訴，並下令將日記交還給她。斯坦福大學拒絕了這項裁決。其律師辯稱，“中國法院在這種政治色彩濃厚的案件中並不公正”，斯坦福大學沒有獲得機會為自己辯護。
周一在加州開始的審判是另外一起訴訟，起於斯坦福大學對張女士發起的訴訟。斯坦福大學請求加州法院裁決該大學是日記的合法擁有者。斯坦福大學的律師辯稱，李銳之所以想將他的資料捐獻給斯坦福大學，是因為“他知道當局一定會試圖壓製他對中國現代史的記述”，並“擔心他的資料會被銷毀”。斯坦福大學被允許保留日記的副本，但斯坦福大學堅持自己擁有原始文件的權力，以遵從李銳的意願。“李銳希望他的日記，包括他的原件，都留在胡佛大學，”利特瓦克先生說。“這就是它們現在保存在胡佛大學的原因，確保它們保存在胡佛是我們法律之戰的目的。”
