【新唐人2012年10月16日訊】14號晚，中國旅美雕塑家陳維明，從紐約啟程，前往中東戰火紛飛的敘利亞，聲援那裏的民主運動。是甚麼力量驅使這位身處自由社會的藝術家拋家捨業，把自己置身於民主與獨裁交戰的現場呢？我們一起來聽聽他的心聲。
「天安門自由女神基金會」14號在紐約舉行記者招待會，雕塑家陳維明及策劃人兼CEO張健於前一晚接受了《新唐人》的獨家電話專訪。
陳維明說，家人和朋友都很擔心他此行的安全，但自從6.4天安門學生遭到獨裁政權的殘酷屠殺後，他就開始思考，作為一名藝術家他能做些甚麼。
天安門自由女神像雕塑作者陳維明提到，「在東歐國家，所有專制政權全都倒了，如果敘利亞倒了，那中共就會感覺我們這個政權的合法性確實存在問題。」
「中國民主黨——全委會美國委員會」主席張健表示，他能感受陳維明在「忠孝不能兩全」時的那份心痛，不過以黃皮膚、黑眼睛的中國人身份，出現在敘利亞民主戰場，對全世界的民主人士都是一個鼓勵。
「天安門自由女神基金會」策劃人兼CEO 張健還說，「在那邊的人，每天都在硝煙中生活，他們的生命可能瞬間就被剝奪，那麼這樣大的一個藝術家，他用自己的這種行動，去感染所有的世人，其實他代表的就是中國人。他們需要關心的時候，我們到達他們的身旁給他鼓勵與肯定， 我相信把這才是我們中國人五千年來的品質。這才是我們作為中國人值得驕傲的地方。」
89年「6.4大屠殺」後，陳維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」，佇立在華盛頓國會廣場的草坪上。而「6.4 二十週年紀念日」，陳維明再度創作一座長六米四、高二米三的「八九?六四天安門大屠殺大型浮雕」作品來描述「6.4大屠殺」。
今年「6.4紀念日」，他又設計出一輛巨型坦克，在紐約「時代廣場」進行行為藝術展，他重現了當年天安門廣場坦克壓學生的場面。
陳維明說，「「我做的是非常微薄的，但是我們不應該因為微薄而不去做，如果大家都認為自己是微薄的，而不去發聲的話，那麼專制的罪行會更加的恐怖，如果我們把每一個微弱的力量集中在一起的時候，這樣對推翻專制統治是絕對有力量的。」
陳維明還計劃創作64米高的巨型「民主女神像」，計劃未來在台灣金門和北京天安門上屹立。張健等民主愛好者，被陳維明這種堅持實踐民主理念的行為感動，成立了「民主女神基金會」。
張健介紹，陳維明受到了來自各方面的打壓。2010年，民主女神作品應邀參加香港「六四紀念展」，陳維明赴港時被拒絕入境。而今年年初，他們與金門縣政府簽訂了共建女神像協定，才經過一天，金門方面卻因「有關單位的關切」緊急喊停。目前基金會正在狀告台灣總統馬英九。
陳維明說，他愛中國，雖然他拿了新西蘭護照和美國綠卡，但他作為一個中國人，非常期望中國人民能夠和美國、新西蘭人們一樣享有民主和自由。
張健還說，「還有很多中國人仇恨民主與自由國家。這是非常荒唐的一件事情，但是這種荒唐也在每天上演。正如法輪功的學員也在被迫害，使他們和我們一樣，都被迫流亡在海外，我們難道不願意回家嗎？我想不是這樣，但是我們沒有辦法，因為我們連生存權利都沒有。」
接下來，陳維明將以自己的方式在阿拉伯世界，關注與支持那裏面臨專制統治的人民。讓我們為他祝福。《新唐人》將獨家陸續跟蹤報導。
採訪編輯/劉惠 後製/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.