The Definition of Hero in My Mind
我心目中的“英雄”是什么
Article by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xingyuan to Cyprus
驻塞浦路斯大使黄星原在塞媒体发表署名文章
28 June 2020
2020年6月28日
Recently, local media wrote about the so-called heroic ‘activism’ of a young Australian Cypriot, Drew Pavlou. I am puzzled and concerned about Pavlou’s doings and the logic behind the report. I wish to talk to this young man about the definition of hero in my mind as someone old enough to be his father.
近日有当地媒体报道在澳大利亚的塞浦路斯年轻人德鲁·保罗（Drew Pavlou）的所谓“英雄事迹”。我对保罗本人和报道中的逻辑表示不解和担忧。我也希望作为长者跟误入歧途的保罗聊聊我心目中的英雄概念。
The older generation of Cypriots knows very well the history of World War II. They also have vivid memories of Cyprus’ longstanding friendship with China and China’s firm support for the development and peace process of Cyprus.
老一代塞浦路斯人都了解二战历史，更了解中塞传统友谊以及中国对塞国家发展与和平进程的坚定支持。
China was a victim of the then fascist Japan whose invasion of China lasted eight years and caused over 35 million casualties in China. China made huge sacrifices fighting against fascism at the Eastern Front during World War II.
中国本身是法西斯主义的受害者，日本侵华战争持续8年，导致中国伤亡3500多万人,中国在二战反法西斯东方战场做出了巨大牺牲。
Meanwhile, fascism, colonialism and separatism have taken their heavy toll on Cyprus and induced strong and systemic indignation among Cypriots of all ages. Therefore, I find it difficult to resonate with Drew Pavlou’s outlandish beliefs which could be a result of his own experience of growing up. It is a betrayal of the common sense of history and a blow to the feelings of the Chinese people by lending moral support to the acts of separatism and terror in Hong Kong. It is even more so a betrayal of the true heroism of his forefathers by labelling China as fascist and attacking the benevolent people in China.
与此同时，塞浦路斯也深受法西斯主义、殖民主义和分裂主义所害，各年龄层民众在传统上和从内心里都对此强烈排斥。因此，我不能理解Pavlou在成长过程中都经历了什么，才形成如此离经叛道的观念？对香港的分裂暴恐行为表示支持并付诸行动，将中国等同于法西斯是对历史常识的背叛和对中国人民感情的伤害，强加“法西斯”的帽子并对中国朋友进行攻击更是Pavlou对自己祖先的背叛。
As we all know, riots in Hong Kong that have been ongoing for months have seriously undermined the stability and prosperity of the city, and have been met with stern opposition of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and the vast majority of Hong Kong citizens.
众所周知，持续数月的香港骚乱严重影响了香港的稳定与繁荣，遭到了香港特区政府和绝大多数香港民众的反对。
How the Chinese Central Government handles Hong Kong-related issues is purely China’s internal affair and serves the best interests of the Hong Kong people. The violent acts of Hong Kong mobs are in nature no different from those of the fascists that attempted the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich.
中国中央政府处理香港问题纯属内政，并着眼于香港民众的利益和福祉。香港暴徒的行径与当年发动慕尼黑啤酒馆暴动的法西斯主义者一般无二。
Supporting violence and terror is nothing short of an identification with fascism. The University of Queensland was considerate and made a value-based judgement to suspend Pavlou, a justified measure to maintain order on campus. No university will allow habitual violation of discipline and order. No country will blatantly condone foreign nationals that crave violence and terror, as there will be serious and recurring consequences.
支持暴恐活动无异于认同法西斯主义。昆士兰大学对Pavlou的停学措施一定有自己的考虑和价值判断，至少是维护学校秩序的正常举措，任何学校都不会让破坏纪律和秩序成为值得效仿的风气，任何国家也不会明目张胆地收留支持暴恐活动的他国公民，因为这只会自食其果、后患无穷。
This brings me to my definition of a true hero. It is not heroic at all to be blindly impulsive, to be supportive of riots, to be a maverick without principles, or to oppose China at every opportunity regardless of history, facts and common sense. What is someone who is fundamentally wrong about world-recognised history, and tries to court people’s favour by violating university disciplines and indiscriminately opposing China? These are not the qualities of a hero who dreams of saving the world, but signs of being brainless, ignorant, unscrupulous and obsessive. I do not want to see Drew Pavlou go further down this wrong path. It is likely that he has taken Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong’s anti-China movement leaders, as an example. What Pavlou needs to know is that to the US and UK, Joshua Wong is but a paper toy, not a ‘golden boy’. The US government has already publicly denounced the absurdity of violent resistance to law. Isn’t Joshua Wong’s fate enough to wake up Pavlou?
回到我心目中的英雄概念，英雄不等同于冲动，不等同于支持暴动，不等同于无底线的特立独行，不等同于不顾历史、事实和常识的逢中必反。如果一个人对世界公认的历史存在根本性认知错误，通过违反大学行为准则、充当反华急先锋来哗众取宠，自恃拯救世界的英雄，实则无脑无知、无良无畏且执迷不悟，结果会是怎样呢？我真的不愿意看到Pavlou在错误的道路上越走越远、越陷越深。或许香港反华头目之一黄之锋是Pavlou的偶像，但美国和英国只想利用他，并不欢迎他，美国政府也已公开否定暴力抗法的荒唐做法。黄之锋的下场还不足以令Pavlou警醒吗？
In my four years of being posted in Cyprus, I have met many young Cypriots. Most of them are positive, down-to-earth, kindhearted, and stay away from political speculation. I do not believe that the views reported represent the vast majority of conscientious Cypriots, and that the Cypriot community in Australia has produced “one of the loudest and fiercest critics of China”. Local media in Cyprus has long followed and then propagated the American or British narrative. I have no intention of judging whether this is good or not. However, on issues of absolute right and wrong, especially regarding youth development and education, the basic principles of respecting history, objectiveness and fairness should be upheld. This is a shared responsibility for all social sectors, including the media – to offer guidance to the young as they form an objective view of history, as well as a correct outlook on the world, life and values.
我在塞浦路斯工作了四年，接触了很多青年朋友，感觉绝大多数都是积极向上、朴实善良的孩子，很少有人搞政治投机。因此，我相信新闻报道中的观点不能代表绝大多数塞民众的良知，在澳大利亚的塞浦路斯人更不会像报道说的都变成了“最激烈的反华群体”。塞当地媒体长期习惯于美英的话语体系，并习惯性地随手转载英美媒体消息，这个传统是好是坏难以评论。但在一些大是大非的问题上，尤其是在青年成长和下一代教育问题上，应该也必须秉持尊重历史、客观公正的基本原则。如何引导青少年健康成长，客观认知历史、树立正确的世界观人生观价值观，是包括媒体在内社会各界的共同责任。