James Poy Wong 黃培正
"A social system has the same principle. When all evil deeds accumulate, it is possible for the system to collapse at any time. By that time there won’t be any remedy and those being harmed are all the people at the bottom of the society."
"Is Your Responsibility" - 1947
是你的责任
记得多年前当我还在中国的时候，有一次去看球赛，观众们都排坐在竹搭的棚架，一层叠上一层，犹如祠堂中的神祗牌，整整满坐着二百人以上。 球赛正热烈的时候，突然沙隆一声，全棚的人山倒了下来，比愚公移山还要快得多。
在这棚子末倒塌的前一秒钟，坐在上面的人都没有丝毫危险的感觉，总料不到自己和别人，一样地会跟着失了支持力的棚子倒下，但崩溃地那么迅速，谁也逃避不及。 或者在不幸事件之前，有一个童子，看见了，知道倒塌是不能免的，于是高呼起来，可是众人都不理会他的呼声，只注意于眼前快乐的人，断不能看见灾难临头。
一个社会制度也同是一个道理。 在一切罪恶堆积起来的时候，随时有整个倒塌的可能，到时就无从补救，而受害者又都是下层阶级。 所以我们为要免除刹那间不幸的崩溃，我们就要注意微小的摧折。 我感觉到目前华侨的社会已达到快要崩溃的危机，罪恶的加增是人人都见到的。 如果我们还不同声呼号，恐怕在这个制度崩溃的前后，会压死许多人。
每当我看到海洋宏量的水时，我都想起它的来处不过是微渺小点。 由此我更加坚信只要大众清醒，只要大众高呼，只要大众说不要那些渣滓，无论怎样大的罪恶都要毁灭的。
我们需要的就是敢言敢骂的勇气，发言的地方我们不愁没有。 关于刑事和法律的有警局和法院，关于大众的有我们的喉舌——报纸。 民主国家的形成不是让少数人去争幸福而干出那看不过眼的事情，我们应该特别将这些罪恶揭出。 个人的呼声，是会被别人视为微弱，但如果整个人羣都发出同一的呼声时，不能再称为微弱的了。
Is Your Responsibility
I remember there was a time a few years ago when I was still in China, I went to see a ball game. The audience was sitting in rows within a bamboo scaffold that was stacked up layer by layer, like ancestral tablets in a temple, filled with over two hundred people. When the ball game became intense, suddenly a loud ka boom sound broke out and a mountain of people in the entire scaffold came down, collapsing faster than the legendary foolish old man removing the mountain1.
A second before this scaffold collapsed, the people sitting in it had absolutely no sense of danger. They did not anticipate they themselves would, along with the others, collapse with this scaffold that lost its supporting strength. But the collapse occurred so fast, nobody could have escaped. Perhaps, before this unfortunate thing happened a child saw it coming and knew that the collapse was unavoidable. So he shouted, but nobody paid attention to his screaming. Those who only pay attention to the happiness in front of them certainly would not see the arrival of disaster.
A social system has the same principle. When all evil deeds accumulate, it is possible for the system to collapse at any time. By that time there won’t be any remedy and those being harmed are all the people at the bottom of the society. Therefore, in order to avoid the unfortunate, sudden collapse, we have to pay attention to the minute fractures. I feel that the current overseas Chinese society is quickly approaching the crisis of collapse. We can all see the increase of crimes, and if we don’t collectively cry out in distress, I am afraid many people will be crushed to death before and after the collapse of this system.
Whenever I see the vast amount of water in the sea, I recall its source being only a tiny drop. Thus, I believe more firmly that only if the general public remains clear minded, only if we collectively protest, only if we say we don’t want those dross, we would be able to destroy evil and crime no matter how massive they are.
What we need is precisely the courage to speak out and the courage to condemn. We don’t worry about having no place to speak out. We have the police department and the court to deal with those related to crimes and laws. What is related to the general public - we have our mouthpiece, the newspapers, to deal with. The formation of a democratic country is not for a few people to do those unacceptable things in order to strive for their happiness. We should deliberately divulge such evil and unlawful things. An individual voice would be seen as weak by others, but if the entire group of people shout out in one voice, it cannot be considered as weak anymore.