Justice, Injustice - Forgiveness in an Unjust World

10 March 2007

Seldom would I be inspired by an article in TIME magazine (12 March 2007), this week was different. Alex Perry reviewed a South African musical Truth in Translation in which it tells South Africans’ road to reconciliation. The Blacks (and Whites) suffered decades of Apartheid until Nelson Mandela and many others who sought peace that ultimately brought about change in early 1990s. (I was in South Africa in 1994, the year when Mandela was sworn in as the President.)

The thought I was triggered after reading the article was the amazing courage people demonstrated to forgive – those who have once hurt them. (Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, forgiveness is not a Christian-registered trademark.) “[Truth in Translation] is a testament to the human need to reconcile, and an examination of our capacity to do so[,]” the article depicts. Atrocities happen around the world today, and in history. Who would argue for Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong be forgiven? Very few. Yet true forgiveness, often overlooked, is unconditional. Some of us would hope that it is otherwise. But whether the person in question is dead or alive, trialed or untrialed – genuine, authentic forgiveness is ‘no question asked’ and ‘do it now’. This is often a demand too tall to fulfill.

Many of those who have known me, know that I am a fierce critic of Hong Kong’s public policies, the Chinese government and others. I am also anti-US; I campaign against wars, and excessive carbon emissions that cause global warming, etc. What’s more, I advocate passionately for fair trade, environmental protection among other things. My upbringing and academic training have contributed to my strong social consciousness. I have been in the streets (since 10 years old), written articles, conducted workshops for the causes I care for. I feel that a lot of things in the world are unjust, and a need to bring justice as much as we humanly can in our life time. With ongoing injustices, the question I have been challenged to ask myself is, “Are you ready to forgive them now?” Such a question was directed to those suffered under Apartheid too. Think about it, it is quite a serious question to ask. Given the definition of forgiveness I have just given, I would be reluctant to say so.

I have lived for as long as I know to be truthful, to fight against injustice, or in better words ‘to live out the prophetic calling’. I cannot and should not be a silent witness to injustices. I have always had a strong sense of duty to right the wrong, to help the powerless. But once again, I was awe-struck by the article I read today of the forgiveness the long-suffering South Africans were able to demonstrate. “How on earth did they do that?” I asked myself.

Jesus says, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

I am not ready to forgive the Chinese government who ordered troops to kill the students in Tiananmen Square. I am not ready to forgive the post-1997 Hong Kong parrot government who conceded so much of our freedom and democracy to China. I am not ready to forgive the Bush administration who backed out from the Kyoto Protocol for carbon emissions reduction. The list is endless. I know for a fact that my unforgiving attitude sounds quite wrong. I shall not give any excuses for that, for fear that I may sound defensive.

Fair trade, environment, anti-war. I believe strongly that it is my duty and right to fight for these issues. Governments are taking away the livelihoods of people, ripping off their rights. It is arrogant of anyone to launch wars against another country, let alone to hang her leader (Saddam Hussein). Greedy governments are driving humanity to poorer living standards by allowing more pollution, and the so-called ‘free trade’ jeopardising the sales of local products. The sad truth is that those of us who can afford a computer – the middle-upper class may not feel the side-effects of ill-intended government policies, yet the poor are definitely getting worse off.

To forgive some the ‘better’ governments, as they forgave the debts of the Third World countries sounds plausible. But to forgive those yet-repentant powerful people who have all the authority to change the cause of history if they will – is still a challenging call to me. My sort of forgiveness is still conditional. True forgiveness requires enormous courage which I still lack of.

I wrestle my stubborn attitude with the Scripture I know, and the only consolation prize I get is that the Lord who has the final say will judge the living and the dead, the good and the bad. One thing that He has asked us to perform is the handing over of sovereignty of these matters (of injustices) to Him, who will not overlook some of these huge mistakes humanity have made, but also possesses the power and grace to forgive. But can we turn a blind eye to injustice? I believe we still can’t. Meanwhile, the road to a fairer and just world is still unfinished.

It is enormously difficult, and, in particular, awfully painful for me to strike a balance between injustice and forgiveness. Forgiveness before justice is a lesson remained to be learned and re-learned.

It is a long road to freedom.

Revised: 14 March 2007