Letter to the Chinese Ambassador to the UK

 Dear Ambassador Zheng Zeguang

“Those who suppress truth, are those who are benefiting the most from lies”

China’s history clearly shows that there have been many wise people in China and I am in no doubt that this applies today, as it did in the past.

I came across the quote above and immediately though of China.  So I ask you, Ambassador, why does the Chinese State suppress freedoms of expression and stop the people telling what they see as the truth? The state says it is to keep order and prevent chaos, but is it because it is benefiting the most from the lies? Why does the Chinese State fear the truth so much?

In my studies, I have come to accept that the Chinese State system, ie Authoritarian rule rather than democracy, is a viable way of organising society, but for it to work the following conditions apply

a) The ruling elite, has to be composed of the most wise, learned governors, who are willing to put the interests of the country before their own.
b) The ruling elite must have access to the best knowledge and data, so it has a clear understanding of their country and the world
c) The ruling elite combines the wisdom and best knowledge to make the best decisions for the society as a whole..
d) The people are well informed of the actions of the elite and are happy that  the best decisions are being made on its behalf. They permit the elite to rule.
e) The ruling elite accepts that the world is constantly changing, and that past decisions, whilst not wrong in the past, will need to be adapted  to meet new circumstances.
f) The ruling elite accepts that in a world of constant change, it may need to change too.

The above points are very idealistic and in the real world of human social politics I think are very hard, if not impossible, to implement. So I think that the truth is that the Chinese State suppresses its own peoples freedoms because it has to hide the truth to protect itself. It fails on all the points a) - f), suppresses the truth and benefits from the lies. Meanwhile the people of China suffer. The Chinese people I meet are a timid, quiet people, afraid to open their mouths for fear of being punished.

How long does the Chinese State think it can keep this up? Does it think that starting a war over Taiwan will distract the people, so the truth can be hidden forever? This will only heap more misery upon an already suffering world.

So I appeal to the wise and good people in China not to hide from truth, but accept the world as it is, not as you want it to be. Just like the covid virus, truth, once discovered, cannot be eliminated, it will keep breaking out, and those who benefit from lies, will keep on having to suppress it. Until they are overwhelmed by it.

If I am wrong, and the Chinese State is meeting the conditions a) to f), then it has nothing to fear and should permit the people their freedoms.

Yours Sincerely