The hope of Knowledge
A small flame needs oxygen to burn. In the same way, the fire of Liberty needs oxygen which, invoking the claim e respect for human and civil rights, burns and rises in many parts of the world: where Democracy still dies in darkness.
The oxygen of Freedom is represented by Knowledge, from the possibility of knowing what happens, to discuss how to remedy it and consequently decide on the best solution strategy. The first, necessary, passage passes through the knowledge of the past. That past that on June 4, 1989 saw in Tiananmen Square the protests of the student population, eager for democratic reforms the Communist Party of China the Government did not want to concede. By repressing the protesters’ yearnings for freedom in blood.
Similarly, today, with the same violent empire, the same Communism still in power forbids its Knowledge and remembrance, canceling in Hong Kong – for the second consecutive year – the vigil on June 4 in honor of the victims of Tiananmen. But if in 2020 the cancellation appeared at least officially linked to the fear of a spread of the infection from Covid-19, today’s bans move without pretense in the direction of still compressing freedoms within the former British colony. The Beijing Security Minister, John Lee, does not exclude the application of the new Law on (so-called) National Security, stating that “whoever organizes, plans or implements any illegal means to damage or overthrow the fundamental system according to the Chinese Constitution, does so giving rise to a real subversion of state power “. With the consequences of the case.
L’Hong Kong Alliance, an association that for over three decades has organized the demonstration in memory of the events in Tiananmen, has already made it known that other paths will be sought, and new paths will be traced, in order to honor the victims, however. At 8:00 pm on June 4th the whole population will in fact be invited to light a candle, symbol of hope, and a flame capable of piercing the darkness of silence. “Do it wherever you are,” he says the Vice President of the Chow Hang-tun Committee, “This should not constitute a violation of the law”.
And it is from the fire of that infinity of tiny matches that we must start again. Throwing heart and soul over the obstacle, fighting oppression with the optimism of the will and with that hope that the French poet Charles Peguy he called “the faith I prefer”. And in one of his works, “The Portico of the mystery of the second virtue”, we read a fundamental teaching for those who, especially in the West, really want to build a Culture of Knowledge: “Postpone those pains and worries that gnaw at you today until tomorrow; postpone those sobs that suffocate you when you see today’s unhappiness until tomorrow; those sobs that rise up and strangle you; put off those tears that fill your eyes and head until tomorrow; those tears that flow “. Because today it is time to stand up and fight to defend Law and Civilization.
by Sara Garino