The world of ancient Greece and Rome is regularly referenced when considering modern events. Julius Caesar, Nero and the Fall of the Roman Empire are perhaps the most common examples of historical characters and events that are (often misleadingly) cited.
In modern China, too, lessons are frequently drawn from the past, not only from Chinese but also from western history. The most obvious case is the ‘Thucydides Trap’, referring to the Greek historian Thucydides’ analysis of the cause of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens.
In his opinion, one great power (Sparta) was so alarmed by the rise of a rival (Athens under Pericles) that conflict was inevitable. A clear parallel is drawn to the relations between the superpower of the United States and the rising influence of China under President Xi Jinping.
Less well known, because it is mainly used in internal discussion, is the ‘Tacitus Trap’. This is a warning based on the fate of the emperor Galba, who had not stamped down on criminal activity by his subordinates early in his reign.
The Roman historian Tacitus writes: “Once the emperor had fallen into disrepute, all his actions, whether good or bad, created hostility.” As a result, Galba was assassinated and the Roman empire was consumed by civil war in the notorious ‘Year of the Four Emperors’.
This is a strong warning to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not to lose popular support by ignoring corruption.
Following the extension of China’s national security law to Hong Kong, it is worth considering whether other lessons from Tacitus might be worth applying.
Rome had a treason law and under the Republic this was generally not controversial. Treason was assisting enemies against Rome or the actions of generals against the state as a whole and was a capital crime. So, when Caesar left his province in northern Italy and crossed the boundary of the Rubicon River with his troops, he was committing a treasonous act that resulted in civil war.
Under the Empire, when the state was directly linked to the emperor, matters became much less clear. Any attack on the head of state was treason and might be punished as such.
Under the second emperor, Tiberius, charges of treason multiplied. Taking a coin with the emperor’s image on it to a toilet or selling an emperor’s statue along with one’s property could bring about a charge of treasonous conduct.
Because the ‘diminution of state power’ was hard to define, it became a popular way to attack rivals, often by attaching the charge of treason to other, less serious offences. High-ranked Romans would be judged by their peers in the Senate, a court presided over by the emperor. Senators needed to judge carefully what outcome they believed the emperor desired. A wrong vote could destroy one’s career or worse.
During Tiberius’ reign, the Roman upper classes tore themselves apart. When he died, the popular judgement was “To the Tiber with Tiberius”—the deceased emperor’s body should be tossed into the river flowing through Rome like an enemy of the nation.
Given the CCP’s belief that the legal system is intended to support the government, rather than vice versa, as in western democratic states, and the increasing use of the security law in association with other charges, it must be asked whether China is heading into the ‘Treason Trap’ of imperial Rome.
Arthur Pomeroy is Emeritus Professor of Classics at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
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