从多大和平校园到北京六四长安街：解决学生运动的鲜明对比（观点）

On a quiet Wednesday afternoon, University of Toronto students silently packed their tents on the expansive patch of grass at King’s College Circle, marking the end of a two-month-long pro-palestinian demonstration. Through court orders and legal dialogue, violence was averted, and peace was maintained on the campuses of Toronto—without the need for police intervention. This tranquil scene starkly contrasted with my memories as a recent college graduate in Beijing during the spring of 1989. Back then, the cries for change were met with tanks, gunfire, and the tragic loss of thousands of lives, not peaceful resolutions. From the blood-stained streets of Beijing to the orderly campuses of Toronto, this contrast highlights the drastic differences in political systems, the respect for free speech and rule of law, and the high regard for human rights.

在一个宁静的周三下午，多伦多大学的学生们在King’s College Circle的广阔草地上默默地收拾帐篷，和平地结束了为期两个月的支持巴勒斯坦的示威活动。这场争端通过法庭命令和司法对话得以解决，无需警察介入，避免了暴力事件，同时保持了多伦多校园的安宁。这一和平场景与我1989年春，刚从大学毕业时在天安门广场目睹的惨烈事件形成了鲜明对比。当时，学生们的民主自由诉求未能得到非和平解决而是遭到坦克和枪炮的镇压，数千名学生丧生了生命。北京血腥的长安街与多伦多和平校园之间形成的这巨大反差，是民主社会中对言论自由的崇尚、法治法规的遵守以及对人权的高度尊重的生动写照。

The differing responses to student protests, separated by decades and continents, shed significant light on the societal values and legal structures within which they occur. Demonstrating a commitment to free speech, a Canadian court notably declined an injunction request to evict McGill University students from campus, affirming their right to protest. These actions, however, must be rigorously guided by the rule of law to ensure that voices of dissent are heard without compromising the broader community’s peace and safety. The peaceful and orderly conclusion of the conflicts exemplifies democratic principles at work, showing how all parties—student protesters, opponents, and university authorities—can navigate their differences peacefully without trampling on individual rights or creating social chaos.

对发生在远隔重洋，横跨几十载的两个不同社会体系的学生抗议所采取截然不同的针对措施和解决方案，深刻揭示了民主和专制社会中的价值观之差异和司法系统在社会体系中不同地位和作用。加拿大法院在一次重要的裁决中拒绝了将麦吉尔大学学生赶出校园的禁令请求，肯定了学生的抗议权。同时，学生们的抗议行动又必须严格遵守法律条款，以确保在异见发声的同时，社会的和平与安全得到保障。多伦多大学学生抗议的和平解决是民主原则的高度体现，表明学生抗议的支持方，反对方以及校方当局完全能在不侵犯言论自由或造成社会混乱的情况下，通过法律而非暴力手段而解决冲突和分歧，凸显民主制度优势。

Conversely, in Beijing in 1989, the demands for political reform and democracy voiced by thousands of students and citizens were met not with dialogue, but with brute force. Growing impatient with the students' peaceful occupation of Tiananmen Square, which had lasted less than two months, the authoritarian regime resorted to the most direct and brutal method to clear the crowd. Armed soldiers opened fire as tanks rolled through the square, resulting in a horrific massacre of hundreds, if not thousands, of students.

而在大洋彼岸的另一端的几十年前，成千上万的学生和市民提出的政治改革和民主呼声惹恼了中国专制政府，北京当局对学生们和平占领北京政治中心，天安门广场的行动极为不满，但在缺乏司法管制的系统中可为所欲为的当局政府毫无耐心与学生对话，而是以最简单，最直接，最残忍的手段驱散聚集在天安门广场的人群。大批的坦克车在广场上横行，武装士兵向手无寸铁的学生们开枪，导致数百甚至数千名学生惨遭屠杀，长安街道血流成河。

Fang Zheng, a student protester whose crushed legs serve as a grim reminder of Beijing's brutal crackdown, shared his harrowing story with me on a blossoming spring afternoon in 2014 at a restaurant in Markham, Toronto. "In the blink of an eye, the tank was approaching the sidewalk and closing in on me," Fang recounted. "My frantic attempt to throw myself to the ground and roll away saved my upper body, which fell between two treads of the tank, but both my legs were run over."

64屠杀中被坦克碾断了双腿的天安门广场抗议学生方政（Fang Zheng），是北当局残酷镇压学生抗议的最直接受害者之一。2014年一个春天的下午，方政在多伦多万锦的一家餐厅与我谈及这场恐怖经历。“转眼间，坦克就驶向人行道并向我逼近，”他回忆说： “我立即扑倒在地并滚动身体试图逃离坦克的碾压，但我的上身侥幸滚到坦克的两个履带之间，但双腿却被碾了过去。”

As Fang Zheng recounted the events of that fateful night, his voice was steady, yet his eyes betrayed a deep, unresolved pain. "The sound of the tank engines still haunts me," he confessed. "It was a moment that changed my life forever, not just physically, but in every conceivable way." His narrative transcended personal loss, standing as a poignant testament to a cruel regime’s blatant disregard for human rights and its abhorrent abuse of students' lives.

方政回忆起那个命运多舛的夜晚，他的语气虽然坚定，但眼神中却流露出深深且难以消失的痛苦。“坦克的引擎声至今还回响在我的耳边，”深陷于痛苦中的他缓缓的说道，“那一刻不仅仅是夺走了我的双腿，更是彻底地摧毁了我的身心”。方政的遭遇不仅是他个人的苦难的写照，更是一个残酷政权对人权蔑视和对民众生命践踏的血淋淋证明。

But the contrast in how demands for change are met is not merely historical; it remains vitally relevant today. Around the world, the right to protest is under threat in numerous places where governments view dissent through a lens of fear, rather than as a fundamental right to be protected. The significantly different outcomes of student protests not only highlight the power of voices raised in dissent but also reflect how these voices are acknowledged and handled by authorities. Societies that promote dialogue and adhere to legal processes for resolving conflicts help ensure that future generations are spared from the horrors that Fang Zheng and countless others faced on that fateful June night in Beijing.

但这两种解决抗议行动的鲜明对比不仅仅限于以往发生的历史事件，而在今天世界的其他地区仍有现实意义。在全球范围内，世界各地学生和民众的抗议行动仍处于遭当局镇压的危险境地，因为这些国家政府对抗议者惊恐不堪，而不是视表达不满的异见之声为应受保护的基本权利。两种社会系统中学生抗议的截然不同的解决方式背后，不仅是抗议人士的发声，更是当局是否认可这些抗议行动，并采取何种手段解决冲突，应对这些表达不满，要求变革的人群和呼声。唯有通过文明对话，严格遵循法律程序解决冲突，我们才能确保未来的一代不必经历方政和无数其他学生在北京那个恐怖的六月之夜所经受的暴力。