Boxun News
Unbiased information resources about China and the World
Previous Version | Boxun News in Chinese | Boxun Video | About us |  

China : News Last Updated: Jan 24, 2009 - 8:02:26 AM


Beijing Daily Newspaper Openly Criticizes Freedom of Speech
By chinafreepress.org (translation)
Jan 24, 2009 - 8:01:31 AM

Email this article
 Printer friendly page
Beijing Daily Newspaper Openly Criticizes Freedom of Speech
by Xiao Xiong

Recently as many as 1,000 websites have been shutdown in an ongoing government campaign against free expression. And last week Beijing Daily published a pseudonymous opinion piece entitled: "The Social Responsibility of Free Speech." This article openly criticizes free speech: "There are people who are widely spreading the gospel of free speech, and even deifying it. This will result in absurd speech and even lies being protected as 'free speech.' This kind of deification without limit does not assume proper social responsibility." Shenzhen Special Economic Zone's Bright Daily (Jing Bao) newspaper and other mainstream mainland mouthpieces prominently reprinted this article on Wednesday January 21. This is illustrative of a nationwide official crackdown on the exercise of free speech.

It is reported that the writer of the opinion piece is Beijing Daily publisher and National Peoples Congress representative Mei Ning. This is the same person who, under the pen name Wen Feng on April 11, 2008 in the Beijing Evening News, published a harshly critical attack on Southern Metropolis Weekly Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chang Ping's article "Tibet: Truth and the Emotions of National Ethnic Minorities" calling it an "Out and out attack on China" and fiercely attacking Chang Ping as an "Anti-Chinese media spy." This attack resulted in Chang Ping being fired from his job.

Full Chinese report at: http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2009/01/200901221028.shtml


© Copyright 2009 by Boxun News

Top of Page

News
Latest Headlines
Guangxi Province Reporter Beaten
Chinese Scholar Arrested for Spying on North Korea
China's Communist Party Increases its Stranglehold on Mainland Media
Boy without top-skull lived for 10 years
Beijing Civil Rights March Begins Monday February 16
Corrupt Real Estate Developer Hires Thugs to Kill Gas Station Owner By Throwing Him From Roof
Peoples Supervision Website Shutdown for Reporting on Communist Party Secretary's Corruption
Top Secret Intelligence Report Reveals Background of Politburo's Media Rectification Campaign
Chinese Communist Party Coopts Intellectuals While Simultaneously Censoring News
Lawyer's Written Appeal for Details on Liu Xiaobo's Case Rejected by Beijing Public Security Bureau