美国开庭审理毛泽东秘书日记案

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.

美国开庭审理毛泽东秘书日记案 （李南央翻译）

Tessa Wong

BBC 新闻

新加坡报道 2024 年 8 月 20 日，06:21 BST

加利福尼亚州已经开始审理斯坦福大学是否可以保存中国高级官员日记一案，此案被称为反对中国政府审查制度的一场斗争。

这些日记属于已故李锐，他曾是中国共产党创始人毛泽东的秘书。李锐于 2019 年去世，他的遗孀声称这些文件归她所有，提起法律起诉要求将这些文件归还北京。斯坦福大学拒绝了这一要求。它表示，李锐曾是一位中国政府的批评者，他将自己的日记捐赠给斯坦福大学，是因为他担心这些日记会被中国共产党销毁。

这些日记写于 1935 年至 2018 年之间（李南央注：应该是1946至2018年），涵盖了中国共产党 (CCP) 统治的大部分时期。在那动荡的八十年里，中国从贫困和孤立中崛起，成为全球经济不可或缺的一部分。“如果 [日记] 返回中国，它们将被禁……中国允许批评党的领导人的名声十分之差，”斯坦福的律师之一马克·利特瓦克在审判开始前告诉 BBC。BBC 联系了李先生遗孀张玉珍的代理律师询问他的看法。李先生是一位以其改革派观点而著称的中共知名人物，党在尊重他的同时也排斥他。

作为一名直言不讳的年轻干部，他引起了毛泽东的注意，毛泽东在 20 世纪 50 年代中期任命他为他的私人秘书之一。但这个职位没能维持多久。当李在一次政治会议上批评了毛泽东的观点之后，被开除出党，在监狱中度过了数年。他是遭到这位反复无常的领袖贬逐的数百党内官员、公众人物，其中包括毛泽东亲密的盟友之一。和其中一些人一样，李在1976 年毛泽东去世后重新声名鹊起（李南央注：李锐迟至1979年方获得平反）。他主管过水电部和一个负责选拔重要职位官员的中共部门。在党内，他与主张改革的更自由、更开放的派系结盟。退休后，他继续游说党内进行改革。但他对包括习近平在内的领导人的毫不留情、尖刻的批评——他批评习近平“文化程度低”——激怒了政府。他的文章受到审查，他的书籍在中国被禁。

然而，作为党内元老，他继续受到尊重并享有特权。去世后，当局为他举行了正式的葬礼。 在其地位逐步晋升的过程中，他一丝不苟地在日记中记录了对党内政治和关键事件的观察。其中包括他对天安门大屠杀的描述，他在俯瞰广场的阳台（李南央注：应该是长安街不是广场）上目睹了这场屠杀，并在日记中用英文将其标记为“黑色周末”。这是一个高度敏感的话题，在中国很少被讨论。

他的女儿李南央于 2014 年在他活着的时候开始将他的文件（包括日记）捐赠给斯坦福大学胡佛研究所。李锐去世后，她在 2019 年接受 BBC 中文采访时表示，这实现了父亲的愿望。 那一年，张女士在中国对她的继女李南央提起了诉讼。

据报道，李锐的第二任妻子张女士辩称，李锐希望她决定哪些文件可以公开，而这些文件被错误地交给了斯坦福大学。这位遗孀说，这些日记记载了她和李锐生活中的“非常私人和私密的事情”。由于公众可以在斯坦福大学查阅这些日记，她说这种做法给她带来了“个人的尴尬和情感困扰”。北京一家法院判决张女士胜诉，并下令将日记交还给她。斯坦福大学拒绝了这项裁决。其律师辩称，“中国法院在这种政治色彩浓厚的案件中并不公正”，斯坦福大学没有获得机会为自己辩护。

周一在加州开始的审判是另外一起诉讼，起于斯坦福大学对张女士发起的诉讼。斯坦福大学请求加州法院裁决该大学是日记的合法拥有者。斯坦福大学的律师辩称，李锐之所以想将他的资料捐献给斯坦福大学，是因为“他知道当局一定会试图压制他对中国现代史的记述”，并“担心他的资料会被销毁”。斯坦福大学被允许保留日记的副本，但斯坦福大学坚持自己拥有原始文件的权力，以遵从李锐的意愿。“李锐希望他的日记，包括他的原件，都留在胡佛大学，”利特瓦克先生说。“这就是它们现在保存在胡佛大学的原因，确保它们保存在胡佛是我们法律之战的目的。”