May 4: A day to reflect on the value of science and democracy

For most Americans, the date “May 4th” probably elicits no particular reaction; with the possible exception of rabid Star Wars fans, it’s a day like any other.

But it’s a big deal in China, where a national holiday termed “Youth Day” is celebrated, and where big cities routinely feature a “May 4th Boulevard.”

Those who’ve studied a bit of Chinese history will know that on that date in 1919, a group of students led an early demonstration against the ruling warlords who’d accepted a humiliating deal from the winners of World War I. Key to the students’ argument was that their future, and China’s pride and stability, were premised on the nation prioritizing science and democracy, as practiced in the West.  

Needless to say, China’s leaders didn’t prioritize either at the time and have since actually papered over the original intent of May 4th, so we Americans can take a measure of pride in having done better on both scores since 1919.

Thus, it’s particularly ironic that in 2025, it is here in the U.S. that we stand to be reminded of the importance of prioritizing both science and democracy, as well as the vital connection between the two. A vibrant democracy depends on the free flow of information, understanding the world as it is, and then making decisions about policy based on the rule of law. Science is our best way of understanding the world, but it can only be conducted where minds are unshackled to preconceived ideologies and are open to new evidence. Thus, science and democracy are interdependent.

Under Mao, China rejected both science and democracy and suffered greatly as a result. In the 1950s, Mao decided that the wrong-headed theories of a Russian plant geneticist named Trofim Lyenko would become state policy because these ideas conformed with his political agenda. The resulting upheaval in agriculture produced a famine that killed an estimated 30 million people. 

Mao also decided that sparrows, which sometimes ate grain, were a menace and thus had to be eliminated. Rural folks were ordered to destroy nests, and bang pots to make the birds continue flying until, exhausted, they died. As a result, insects -- which sparrows also ate -- proliferated, causing more agricultural loss than was prevented. 

Finally, post-Mao reformers uncritically accepted flawed population statistics that led to China’s draconian one-child policy. In each case, Chinese leaders claimed they were supporting science, but the heavy hand of state ideology made a mockery of that, setting China’s development back decades. 

Here in the U.S., we’ve benefited from adherence to the Constitution, and to the rule of law that has developed in its furtherance. We’ve also benefited from the best universities in the world, doing scientific research not merely unencumbered but generously supported by public dollars.  

Both are now at grave risk, as the Trump administration slashes support for research on health and disease, atmospheric science, environmental protection, social sciences, forestry, innovative batteries and much more. Troublingly, although they are often touted as mere cost-saving, these cuts are typically accompanied by the rationale that the research is “no longer consistent with the president’s agenda.”   

History can teach us not only how precious and fragile our democracy is, but also how much we lose when science becomes subservient to one man’s ideology or political agenda. 

Thus, on May 4, we suggest that readers think of the calls from 106 years ago to prioritize science and democracy that were ignored in another country, which then suffered decades of avoidable poverty and repression, and required decades to recover. 

Here, the Trump administration is eviscerating science at both Universities and government agencies, while snubbing its nose at the rule of law and due process. It’d be ironic indeed if it falls to Chinese to remind us how much we lose when we devalue science and rip apart democratic institutions.

Rich Harris, PhD, is a retired wildlife biologist with extensive experience in China; Terry Weidner, PhD, is a retired professor of Chinese politics at the University of Montana.