A well-known democratic movement activist who lives in the USA thinks that the social conflict resulting from the uneven distribution of wealth has already caused many people's dissatisfaction and resentment against the current system in China.There are more and more people taking action as their resistance.The breeding ground that resulted the Xinhai Revolution 100 years ago also exists in China today, and the Xinhai Revolution serves as a very strong lesson to today.On October 6, 2011, the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and other organizations held a forum called "The 1911 Chinese Xinhai Revolution, Review and Outlook" on Capitol Hill. Chairman Wei Jingsheng said that the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the monarchy and created the first democratic republic in Asia, so its Centennial commemoration should have special significance. However, across the Taiwan strait, both governments are being deliberately low-key, which has made people very disappointed.

We Jingsheng said: "In the past, they always very solemnly commemorated the Xinhai Revolution. However, this year the Chinese government is nervous, because they are afraid of the "revolution" word in the "1911 Xinhai Revolution". That is because now most people think that that there is no hope of reform, but only a revolution. So the Communist Party is afraid. In addition, the Taiwanese government seems also worried. They do not dare to mention the word 'revolution'. People are even saying that the overseas department of the Taiwanese government has informed their related parties not to say things that might make the Mainland nervous. From these two perspectives, the topic of the Xinhai Revolution this year becomes very important."

* Awakening *

Professor Zhang Tianliang, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, criticized the two governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for departing from the teaching of the late prime minister Sun Yat-sen and deviating from the ideal of democracy and freedom due to their own interests. He said: "The main concern of Taiwan is its relations with the Mainland. I think they still have some fear of the Mainland, including restraints on Taiwan due to its concern of the economic relations across the Taiwan Strait. I think this kind of conduct resulted Taiwan lost its opportunity to hold the flag of freedom and democracy in the international community. Inside China, of course the government does not dare to commemorate the Xinhai Revolution that much, because its own corruption is much worse than the corruption of the Qing Dynasty. Commemorating the Xinhai Revolution is in fact awakening people's revolution consciousness."

Wei Jingsheng said that China's economic reform and opening did not allow the society to embark on the path of freedom and democracy. In contrast, the uneven distribution of wealth and the resulting class antagonism in today's China has so many people disappointed with the current system. This is the important reason that we see wave after wave of protests everywhere in China. He said: "More than a decade or two ago, there were merely a few hundreds of larger scale protests. But today, there are more than 200,000 various resistant activities by the people. We have found out through various ways that most of the Chinese have already given up their hope to reason with the Chinese Communist Party."

* Turning Point *

Wei Jingsheng pointed out that one hundred years after the Xinhai Revolution, history has once again moved toward a turning point. Experience over the past 6 decades has shown that the Chinese people's cognition of freedom and democracy is basically the same as other former communist countries before their revolutions broke out. The Chinese people do not lack courage to resist either. In this sense, the breeding ground of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution a hundred years ago also exists in China today. Once the revolution conscience of more people is awakened, China could have a dramatic change. This is the realistic significance of commemorating the centennial of the Xinhai Revolution now.

Some Chinese students studying in the United States also attended the day's activities. They said that the people in Mainland China uphold freedom as well. From this sense, Taiwan's democratic system can have a very strong role in the Mainland.