【新唐人2012年10月16日讯】14号晚，中国旅美雕塑家陈维明，从纽约启程，前往中东战火纷飞的叙利亚，声援那里的民主运动。是什么力量驱使这位身处自由社会的艺术家抛家舍业，把自己置身于民主与独裁交战的现场呢？我们一起来听听他的心声。
“天安门自由女神基金会”14号在纽约举行记者招待会，雕塑家陈维明及策划人兼CEO张健于前一晚接受了《新唐人》的独家电话专访。
陈维明说，家人和朋友都很担心他此行的安全，但自从6.4天安门学生遭到独裁政权的残酷屠杀后，他就开始思考，作为一名艺术家他能做些什么。
天安门自由女神像雕塑作者陈维明提到，“在东欧国家，所有专制政权全都倒了，如果叙利亚倒了，那中共就会感觉我们这个政权的合法性确实存在问题。”
“中国民主党——全委会美国委员会”主席张健表示，他能感受陈维明在“忠孝不能两全”时的那份心痛，不过以黄皮肤、黑眼睛的中国人身份，出现在叙利亚民主战场，对全世界的民主人士都是一个鼓励。
“天安门自由女神基金会”策划人兼CEO 张健还说，“在那边的人，每天都在硝烟中生活，他们的生命可能瞬间就被剥夺，那么这样大的一个艺术家，他用自己的这种行动，去感染所有的世人，其实他代表的就是中国人。他们需要关心的时候，我们到达他们的身旁给他鼓励与肯定， 我相信把这才是我们中国人五千年来的品质。这才是我们作为中国人值得骄傲的地方。”
89年“6.4大屠杀”后，陈维明曾雕塑了一座一米多高的“六四自由女神像”，2008年，他雕塑的六米四高的“民主女神像”，伫立在华盛顿国会广场的草坪上。而“6.4 二十周年纪念日”，陈维明再度创作一座长六米四、高二米三的“八九?六四天安门大屠杀大型浮雕”作品来描述“6.4大屠杀”。
今年“6.4纪念日”，他又设计出一辆巨型坦克，在纽约“时代广场”进行行为艺术展，他重现了当年天安门广场坦克压学生的场面。
陈维明说，““我做的是非常微薄的，但是我们不应该因为微薄而不去做，如果大家都认为自己是微薄的，而不去发声的话，那么专制的罪行会更加的恐怖，如果我们把每一个微弱的力量集中在一起的时候，这样对推翻专制统治是绝对有力量的。”
陈维明还计划创作64米高的巨型“民主女神像”，计划未来在台湾金门和北京天安门上屹立。张健等民主爱好者，被陈维明这种坚持实践民主理念的行为感动，成立了“民主女神基金会”。
张健介绍，陈维明受到了来自各方面的打压。2010年，民主女神作品应邀参加香港“六四纪念展”，陈维明赴港时被拒绝入境。而今年年初，他们与金门县政府签订了共建女神像协定，才经过一天，金门方面却因“有关单位的关切”紧急喊停。目前基金会正在状告台湾总统马英九。
陈维明说，他爱中国，虽然他拿了新西兰护照和美国绿卡，但他作为一个中国人，非常期望中国人民能够和美国、新西兰人们一样享有民主和自由。
张健还说，“还有很多中国人仇恨民主与自由国家。这是非常荒唐的一件事情，但是这种荒唐也在每天上演。正如法轮功的学员也在被迫害，使他们和我们一样，都被迫流亡在海外，我们难道不愿意回家吗？我想不是这样，但是我们没有办法，因为我们连生存权利都没有。”
接下来，陈维明将以自己的方式在阿拉伯世界，关注与支持那里面临专制统治的人民。让我们为他祝福。《新唐人》将独家陆续跟踪报导。
采访编辑/刘惠 后制/王明宇
Chinese Artist Goes to Syria in Support of Democratic Movement
Oct. 14th, Chinese sculptor Chen Weiming, now living in U.S.,
departed from New York to the war-torn country Syria.
Why did this artist leave his family and throw himself into the
battlefield between democracy and dictatorship?
Oct. 14th, Tiananmen Statue of Liberty Foundation
held a press conference in New York.
The night before, sculptor Chen Weiming and the foundations’
CEO Zhang Jian accepted NTD’s exclusive telephone interview.
Chen Weiming said his family and friend are all worried
about his safety during the trip.
He said he had been thinking about what he could do
for democracy ever since the brutal massacre in the June Fourth incident.
Chen Weiming, artist of Statue of Liberty sculpture in Tiananmen Square:
“All the authoritarian states in Eastern Europe fell down.
If Syria also collapses, CCP will further realize
the crisis of its legitimacy.”
Zhang Jian, Chairman of China Democratic Party
American Chapter said,
he could feel Chen’s pain when Chen could not sacrifice
this trip for his family.
But he said if Chen appeared in Syria as a yellow-skin and
black-eyed Chinese, that will greatly encourage democratic fighters in the world.
Zhang Jian, founder and CEO of Tiananmen Statue of Liberty Foundation:
“People there[Syria] live amidst the battle smoke every day.
They suffer from life threats at any moment.
As a famous artist, Chen uses this kind of action to motivate
people in the world. He is a representative of Chinese people.
When the Syrian people need help,
we are there to give him encouragement and support.
I believe this is natural to Chinese people with a 5000-year history.
This is something I am proud of as a Chinese citizen.”
After the June Fourth massacre, Chen Weiming made a
sculpture, the June Fourth Statue of Liberty, over one meter high.
In 2008, his 6.4-meter sculpture Statue of Liberty
stood on the lawn of Washington Square in D.C.
On the 20th anniversary of the June Fourth massacre, Chen
again created a sculpture of 6.4 meters long and 2.3 meters high,
naming it ‘Large Relief in Memory of the June Fourth Massacre.’
This year’s Anniversary, he designed a giant tank and staged a
performance art exhibition in New York’s Times Square.
He reproduced scenes of tanks crushing students at
Tiananmen Square during the June Fourth incident.
Chen Weiming: “What I am doing is very trivial,
but we should not stop doing it because of this.
If we all consider ourselves trivial and thus stay silent, the
authoritarian regimes will abuse its power to commit more crimes.
If we gather our trivial strength together,
the power is large enough to overthrow the authoritarian rule.”
Chen Weiming also planned to create a giant Statue of Liberty
of 64 meters high, to be established in Taiwan and Beijing.
Moved by Chen’s insistence, Zhang Jian and other democratic
activists established the Tiananmen Statue of Liberty Foundation.
Zhang Jian introduced that Chen Weiming has suffered
suppression from all aspects.
In 2010, his Statue of Liberty sculpture was invited to
participate in the June Fourth Memorial Exhibition in Hong Kong.
Chen Weiming, however, was denied entry into Hong Kong.
Early this year, Chen signed an agreement with Jinwen County
to build a giant Statue of Liberty there.
The next day, however, Jinwen County canceled the agreement
due to pressure from government departments.
Now the Foundation is seeking to sue
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.
Chen Weiming said he loves China although now he holds a
New Zealand passport and a U.S. green card.
As a Chinese citizen, he very much hopes that Chinese people
will one day enjoy the same democracy and freedom as people do in the U.S. and other such countries.
Zhang Jian: “Many Chinese people still hate democratic
and free countries,
which is indeed a very ridiculous thing going on every day.
Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted and
forced into exile, just like us.
Do we not want to go back home? I do not think so,
but we can do nothing about it, as we would be deprived of the right to live.”
Chen Weiming will soon demonstrate his support for people
facing authoritarian rule in the Arab world.
NTD will continue exclusive reports of his journey.
