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LEE SIU HIN June 20-30: The Successful Ten-Days US Activist Youth Delegation to China, organized by China-US Solidarity Network!
July 3rd, 2024
Lee Siu Hin 李小轩
China-US Solidarity Network
中美民间交流协会
Photo: Youth Delegation at the site of the first national convention of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai, China June 23, 2024
Last week, we invited two “Gen Z” African-American anti-war youth student activists from Los Angeles to China; a trip to exchange their experiences in anti-war actions on college campuses across the United States, and study tour to understand Chinese revolution.
They are members of All Power Books, a famous community-run activist bookstore in Los Angeles. The bookstore is a gathering place for progressive youth, often holds events and lectures, and is very friendly and supportive of China. Therefore; when we invited them to visit China, they happily agreed.
Sanyika is one of the members of the delegation. She is a 24-year-old law student from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is an African American Muslim and a legal rights observer from the National Lawyers Guild. She was arrested by the police in the recent protest. After the visit, she’ll returned to Los Angeles to go to appear in the court.
She said, " Having been to China once before, I knew I wanted to visit again as soon as I could. As an American, China has captured the imaginations of our country for decades, often in the most slanderous and negative light possible. Coming to China has shattered every single misconception I have held, and shown me the true success of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since coming to Shanghai, I’ve seen even more of China’s prosperity and history. I am so grateful to have learned more about the founding of the CPC and its importance historically as well as the struggles it took to take power. Understanding the scope of the imperialist and feudal grip on China before the founding of the PRC was crucial for me."
The youth delegation goals was to understand China's achievement, such as: high-speed railroads, economy, migrant policy, revolutionary sites, visited the site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Chinese culture, in-depth learning, people-to-people dialogues, and research projects in Shanghai and Changsha.
In addition, the delegation visit Shaoshan, the hometown of Chairman Mao, including visiting the Chairman's former residence and museum.
In the ancient city of Fenghuang, center of ethnic Miao region, focus on understand China’s ethnic monitory policies, cultural exchanges.
Arriving to Nanjing, visit Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing to understand Chinese history.
Another member of the delegation, Matisse, was in China for the first time and his first time to visit abroad in many years. For him, it was an unforgettable experience. a 20-year-old student activist and organizer studying ethnic studies and computer science at Brown University. While at Brown, Matisse engages as one of the main organizers for Brown Students in Justice in Palestine and they were involved in orchestrating the student encampment which happened there in April.
As a teaching assistant, Matisse has been involved in the union campaign for undergraduate computer science teaching assistants at Brown and they have been contributing in the negotiations for a better contract which advocates for workers needs. When not at Brown, Matisse is organizing on the streets of Los Angeles. As an organizer through All Power Books, Matisse helps out with weekly grocery distributions and some of the political programming which happens there. Matisse is devoted to working towards a better world through militant organizing.
“It's an inspiration to see how well the socialist model has worked for Chinese society. China presents many lessons as we work towards the next step of economic development for peoples struggles throughout the world. I came to China to learn more about how they resolved the set of contradictions they faced and to be able to use those lessons as a guide in our own struggles for organizing towards liberation and the fall of empire in the belly of the beast.
Shanghai presents itself with many contradictions as a result of its long history. The coexistence of regulation and social protections from the government alongside the development of a consumerist economy with free market which has taken hold of the area. Despite this, China shows us what it means to be able to sharply analyze the context of the society and to apply strategies of action to fit the specific conditions with precision. China's ability to act with flexibility within its model of economic organization has been its strength and one reason why it has been able to become a major world power while maintaining a socialist model.” Matisse concluded.
During our ten-days visit to China, in addition to being amazed at how developed, prosperous and stable China is compared to many places in the United States, the most discussed topic was the differences between Chinese and American culture, especially the activism culture between China and the United States.
We discussed that next year, the China-US Solidarity Network will take the lead and work with All Power Books and other institutions to jointly organize a larger youth activist delegation visit to China.
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China Delegation is the projects of National Immigrant Solidarity Network (NISN) and Action LA Network
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