Huang Yusheng | Chinese-style modernization cannot be a system of household registration

On August 3, Huang Yusheng, a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University’s School of Humanities and doctoral supervisor, expressed his views on the online certificate and online number: Chinese-style modernization cannot be “bianhuqimin” (a system of registering households). Our modernization should give citizens more freedom (freedom of speech and thought) than Western citizens. If a country always tries to turn its citizens into transparent citizens, chess pieces that can be located at any time, this country cannot become a country with vitality and creativity. Any strict monitoring of citizens is contrary to the direction and goals of building a modern country. As of the time of publication, the article has been deleted, and Huang Yusheng’s Weibo account has been permanently banned.

Bianhuqimin: Originating in the Qin state during the Warring States period, it refers to the monarch incorporating citizens into records, using households as units to control the people, which is called “bianhu”. At the same time, the original nobles, elders, clan leaders and other local leaders under the feudal system were abolished, and everyone was a subject of the monarch, which is called “qimin”; so it is collectively called “bianhuqimin”. The bianhuqimin system originated in the Qin state and was prevalent in the Qin and Han dynasties. Because the state needed to effectively control the people and related resources, it needed to strictly control the domestic household registration information so that the collection of taxes or corvee labor could be effectively implemented.

Original Weibo post:

Huang Yusheng-HYS
Author of Toutiao articles
Followed by 394 | 82,000 fans

2024/08/03 11:20

If a country always tries to turn its citizens into transparent citizens, who can be tracked and located at any time, then this country cannot become a country with vitality and creativity, because all creativity is hidden in the abyss, and all vitality comes from freedom without monitoring.

Of course, such a country cannot become a modern country. Because a true modern country is definitely not a country of “bianhuqimin”, not a country that strictly monitors its citizens, but a country where all citizens can enjoy full freedom, especially the freedom of speech, and the freedom from harassment, supervision, intimidation, and detention by public power.

Any country that attempts to comprehensively monitor its citizens, and any country that strives to put its citizens in a transparent state, is expressing in the most crude and straightforward way that it is not a country of the people. Because a truly people’s country does not need to monitor the whereabouts of its citizens, the state trusts its citizens, and the citizens also recognize and trust and maintain their country. A truly people’s country does not need to try to see through and control the thoughts and speech of its citizens from the perspective of God, because a truly people’s country will not be harmed by any thoughts and speech of its citizens. On the contrary, the state is protecting the freedom of speech of its citizens and preserving its vitality, and maintaining its creativity by respecting the autonomy of its citizens’ thoughts. A people’s country has never and will never be in danger of disintegration because of the freedom of thought and speech of its citizens. Because a truly people’s country will not suffer losses or fall into crisis because of the criticism or even opposition of its citizens to the state. On the contrary, it will only develop in a more perfect direction under the reflection of various reference systems provided by the free thoughts of its citizens.

Modern countries have different paths, various characteristics and models, but all true modern countries have an essential attribute, that is, to make citizens more free, more liberated, richer, and more civilized. Both the community and individual citizens can and can only develop the ability of self-reliance, the rationality of self-governance and the level of self-governance in a free life composed of full freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of action, and thus become more civilized.

Therefore, to build a modern country, freedom is the direction and the goal. Any policy that aims to strengthen the monitoring of citizens’ freedom of speech, thought, and action, or any policy that will lead to strict monitoring of citizens’ freedom of speech and thought, is contrary to the direction and goals of building a modern country.

If Chinese-style modernization is our goal and direction, then this direction should not be towards the ancient “bianhuqimin”, but should be towards everyone being more free, more liberated, more self-reliant, more civilized, and richer. If we want to have confidence and self-confidence in Chinese-style modernization, then this modernization should monitor its citizens less than Western modernization monitors its citizens. In other words, our modernization should give our citizens more freedom (first of all, freedom of speech and thought) than Western citizens. Just as all creativity and diversity are based on freedom or come from freedom, all confidence and self-confidence are also based on freedom and come from freedom. Without freedom, all self-confidence and confidence cannot withstand comparison and impact. This is the secret of self-confidence and confidence.