Dear President Biden, Hello!

Dear President Biden, Hello!

Dear President Biden,

Hello! First of all, I sincerely wish the great United States eternal prosperity! I wish all kind-hearted Americans good health! And, of course, I wish you good health once again! God bless the United States of America! God bless you!

Dear President Biden! I am a stranger living on the other side of the world, 36 years old this year. In terms of age, compared to you, I am still a child; in terms of status, compared to you, I am a speck of dust; in terms of experience and wisdom, compared to you, I am a fool. Your boundless energy, your shrewd competence, and your dedication to your country and its people are qualities I deeply admire. In next year’s presidential election, I sincerely wish you success, though I equally wish your competitors success as well. Please don’t take this as the slightest bit of disrespect toward you—quite the opposite. In my foolish mind, I believe that as someone unqualified to take a stance, refraining from doing so is the greatest respect I can show to the great United States and to you. An unknown election is what makes an election great. Unlike the place where I live—well, I won’t even insult the word “election” by mentioning it here. Compared to the great political environment of the United States, the politics here is a cesspool, poisoning all the good people who live in it. I believe if this continues unchecked, it will eventually poison the great United States—or perhaps it has already begun to do so. This is one of the reasons why I, somewhat rashly and presumptuously, am writing this little letter. I know there’s almost no chance you’ll see it, but I will still write it with the utmost seriousness, because I truly respect the great United States and deeply respect you.

Dear President Biden, in my eyes, America is the guarantor of world peace. In my eyes, America is the beacon of global democracy. In my eyes, America is the benchmark for China’s future. Without America, thuggish figures like Putin would act with even greater impunity; without America, rogue regimes like Iran’s government would spread even faster; without America, evil organizations like the Communist Party might truly run rampant across the world. What makes America great is that it is powerful yet not belligerent, self-interested yet mindful of others, steadfast in justice yet adaptable, suppressing evil without bullying the weak. In my view, from a global perspective, the greatest statesman of the past three hundred years is undoubtedly America’s founder, President Washington. From a historical perspective, the most ideal political system of the past two hundred years is undoubtedly America’s separation of powers. From an emotional perspective, the country that has been friendliest to China over the past hundred years is undoubtedly America. Of course, I know America has its problems, but long ago, after reading The Glory and the Dream, I came to understand a profound truth: there is no paradise on Earth. And, of course, when I look at America, I deliberately look past the evil Communist Party. I’ve long held a heart opposed to communism.

Dear President Biden, as to why I harbor this anti-communist sentiment, I think I can briefly explain it to you from three perspectives. First, it stems from my shallow understanding of history. In my limited historical knowledge, the Communist Party has committed every imaginable evil to maintain its power. Now it deceives everyone by claiming it was the backbone of the War of Resistance Against Japan, yet the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China sacrificed over three million soldiers—how many did they lose? Now it deceives everyone by saying it conditionally protects private property, conveniently forgetting that not so long ago, owning a hen that laid eggs was a crime, and if you were unlucky, it could even be a death sentence. Now it deceives everyone by saying it serves the people, but whether in the past, present, or foreseeable future, it will never truly recognize who sustains it—who sustains this malignant tumor. Second, it comes from my superficial observations of the present. To mention just one point: suicide is rampant in China today, and the vast majority of these people are driven to it by poverty—or rather, driven to it by the Communist Party. For the poor, the last shred of hope has been sealed shut. The Communist Party stops at nothing to proclaim its own haloed glory, implying that those it rules are inherently guilty—a despicable form of ideological corruption. It stops at nothing to pretend it has no faults, with the underlying logic being: “Don’t blame society for your bad luck,” or even more so, “Don’t blame the government for dying in poverty.” Is poverty terrifying? Yes, terribly so. But what’s even more terrifying is losing dignity because of poverty, and not even being able to complain about the government. Even a silent grievance in your heart is a sin. People can only oppress each other or themselves. In such circumstances, suicide becomes a viable option. On an individual level, are these suicides at fault? Of course they are. But the epidemic of suicides should truly be blamed on the Communist Party—a vile method of destroying lives. The Communist Party stops at nothing to prove that the civilized world, including America, is flawed, implying that its rule is paradise, and further suggesting that if you’re unhappy in this paradise, why even live? This is the most shameless crime against humanity. Finally, it stems from my humble hopes for the future. In my humble hopes, as long as the Communist Party exists, I will never find happiness in my lifetime. As long as the Communist Party exists, China will never have hope. As long as the Communist Party exists, the civilized world, including America, will never know peace.

Dear President Biden, in recent years, the Communist Party hasn’t loudly exported revolution, but more recently, it has begun to brazenly export its rotten ideology. This export causes otherwise rational people to gradually entertain dangerous illusions: that communism might be okay, that authoritarianism isn’t so bad, that personality cults are tolerable. In the long run, I don’t believe this vile export will cause a major rift in America—your system is too balanced—but I do believe it will sap America’s vitality or spirit. As for America’s allies, it’s harder to say whether they’ll fracture—take Taiwan, for example. In recent years, the Communist Party hasn’t displayed unbridled mania, but more recently, it has begun to treat irrationality as a virtue. Sometimes I think this irrationality could be a bomb even for distant America. Logically, I don’t believe this selfish organization has the guts to escalate its irrationality to self-destructive levels to harm America—selfish people fear death, and selfish organizations are no exception, perhaps even more so. But a bomb is still a bomb; even small damage is damage. And this irrationality could trigger other chain reactions, like accelerating effects on South Korea and North Korea. In recent years, the Communist Party hasn’t directly provoked war, but more recently, it has started blowing the horn of war again. In my shallow view, sounding the war horn is the true nature of communism and the Communist Party. They need enemies more than friends, combat more than safety, death more than life—it’s an unchangeable fact. When they’re not sounding the war horn, it’s more like a disguise, or perhaps an unexpected emergence of a relatively humane leader. Factually, I don’t believe the military of this utterly corrupt organization could ever defeat America—America’s combat strength is formidable. But I think war always means death, and America shouldn’t have to sacrifice its people for an entity like the Communist Party. Nor do I want Communist soldiers—even if they’re the Party’s guards—to shed blood for such an organization.

Dear President Biden! Please forgive the occasional confusion in my language and structure—I lack skill—but I think I’ve conveyed my meaning. To summarize again, I have three points. First, I humbly believe the Communist Party is harmful to America. Second, compared to its harm to America, it poses an even greater threat to America’s allies. Third, though I despise the Communist Party, fundamentally, I don’t want a military conflict between America and the Communist Party, especially not a large-scale one. I won’t elaborate further on the first two points, but I’d like to add more on the third. The first reason I don’t want war is that I’m timid—I don’t want anyone to bleed, even if they’re not innocent. The second reason stems from my shallow understanding and humble speculation about the consequences of a large-scale military conflict. Factually, the Communist Party couldn’t win, but in propaganda or theory, it could never admit defeat. A battlefield loss would make it more brutal domestically and more dangerous externally. Even if it collapsed due to war with America, given China’s size and complexity, a democratic government is less likely than a military dictatorship. If the latter emerged, it’s not guaranteed that it would be worse for America than the Communist Party, but considering the cost to America and its allies, it’s certainly not a good outcome. In short, war is never the best option against the Communist Party—it doesn’t deserve it, truly doesn’t deserve it.

Dear President Biden! I apologize again—my tone may have gotten a bit arrogant as I went on, and I’m truly sorry. I fully understand and accept that I’m just a speck of dust, but I still want to finish what I have to say. Fortunately, you’re unlikely to see this, which emboldens my cowardice. Of course, while I’ve said enough about avoiding large-scale military conflict with the Communist Party, neither America nor its allies should show the slightest hint of weakness when facing it—otherwise, it might increase the likelihood of such a conflict. It’s a necessary paradox. The Communist Party, like all evil organizations, instinctively takes advantage of any inch given—they need enemies. I won’t dwell on this paradox further, but I want to mention another paradox for America: the paradox of propaganda.

America is a democratic nation, as are most of its advanced allies. To preserve their democracy, democratic governments shouldn’t—and don’t—invest heavily in propaganda beyond their own elections. This is as it should be, naturally so. But when America and its democratic allies face the Communist Party—or any organization with an evil glow—this natural restraint becomes democracy’s greatest vulnerability. The Communist Party and other closed, backward, evil entities may differ in appearance, but their essence lies in influencing, disrupting, or controlling people’s minds. Propaganda—relentless propaganda—is their lifeblood, their greatest strength, and their greatest weakness. It’s their strength in terms of investment; all their efforts, including military ones, revolve around propaganda. It’s their weakness in nature; their propaganda, whether internal or external, is fundamentally false and evil—there’s no alternative. For example, if most North Koreans were given enough information—relentlessly shown the truth about the world—I believe within a decade, they’d rise up and tear Kim Jong Un apart. The Communist Party and its government differ slightly from North Korea’s Kim dynasty, but how vast is that difference in essence? I can’t think of much.

Dear President Biden! This paradox of propaganda can also be summed up as three vulnerabilities: the vulnerability of morality, the vulnerability of concepts, and the vulnerability of logic. The moral vulnerability can be simplified as the conflict between sovereignty and human rights. To improve human rights in undemocratic nations, democratic governments superficially infringe on those nations’ sovereignty, which indirectly harms their people’s rights. Regimes like the Communist Party have a cruel feedback loop of sovereignty and human rights—if you make them uncomfortable, they make their own people suffer more and blame you, casting doubt on your moral standing. The conceptual vulnerability can be defined as the distinction between black and white. Different worlds have stark, sometimes inverted, color contrasts. Regimes like the Communist Party have long twisted concepts, and they excel at word games. Whatever you say, they can perfectly distort it through their transmission—even if you speak the words of God, they’ll turn it into a dirty bucket dumped on your head. It’s that miraculous. The logical vulnerability can be reframed as the meaning of truth and falsehood. For a small individual like me, what’s true is what tangibly affects my life, survival, thoughts, and emotions—everything else feels false. Society is much the same. Regimes like the Communist Party, no matter their slogans, lean toward idealism because controlling minds is their ultimate tool. Without idealism, what else do they have? Viewed through this lens, normal logic loses its rightful penetration against such regimes—that’s the logical vulnerability.

Dear President Biden! I’ve rambled on a lot. Some parts I think I’ve expressed clearly, others I know I haven’t, and I’m sorry for that. Limited by my own understanding, this is about the best I can do. Lastly, I’d like to share three small stories with you. The first I heard from the late Mr. Gao Hua. He said that in the Communist Party’s earliest days—perhaps during the Jinggangshan period—infighting reached a chilling level, with red-hot iron rods piercing livers. The second story I heard as a child while herding sheep, from an old shepherd who’s now passed away. He told me that during the Cultural Revolution, in a commune he visited, an eight-year-old girl accidentally cursed Mao Zedong and was horrifically ravaged to death by the commune’s leaders—she was only eight when she died. The third story I heard a couple of years ago about a persistent petitioner in a neighboring village. I didn’t inquire about his reasons, but I heard that to stop him from petitioning, township officials had someone remove both his kneecaps. He died not long after. I know these are isolated cases, and I can’t guarantee they’re 100% true. But what I can’t fathom more is how many such cases there are, and I can’t 100% guarantee they’re false.

Dear President Biden! The first purpose of sharing these stories is to humbly request you—or America and its allies—to do your utmost to ensure the safety of all anti-communist individuals on your side, and if possible, provide them with information. They are truly the hope for this country’s future. Though collectively they may seem unimpressive, no matter how faint, hope is always better than none. The second purpose is a fantasy: if you, your colleagues, and your friends could feel disgust at the thought of the Communist Party and nausea at the sight of its senior leaders, and if that could happen, I’d be endlessly grateful if you acted freely in all other respects for your own benefit. I think then we could truly start counting the days until the Communist Party’s collapse.

Dear President Biden! At the end of this letter, I want to say that I love my country and my people. To speak arrogantly for a moment, I don’t need anyone—including the great you—to justify this love for me. I truly love my country.

Finally, I sincerely wish you, all your colleagues, and your friends good health, daily happiness, and success in all your endeavors! Once again, I wish you and your family good health, familial joy, and all the best!

God bless the United States of America! God bless you!

With utmost respect,

August 17, 2023, Thursday