讀書筆記 A Teacher in China Learns the limits of Free Expression

Ruth sent me an article. “A Teacher in China Learns the Limits of Free Expression”

Written by Peter Hessler。        Published in the print edition of the May 16, 2022, issue, with the headline “A Bitter Education.”                 The first paragraph is：“At Chinese universities, when a student reports a professor for political wrongdoing, the verb that’s used to describe this action is jubao（舉報report). It happens rarely, but the possibility is always there, because potential infractions are both undefined and extremely varied. A student might jubao a teacher for a comment about a sensitive historical event, or a remark that seems to contradict a Communist Party policy. Ambiguous statements about Xi Jinping, the President of China, are especially risky. In 2019, during a class at Chongqing Normal University, a literature professor named Tang Yun offhandedly described the language of one of Xi’s slogans as coarse. After students complained, Tang was demoted to a job in the library.”                          Yes, that’s true. First, The Communist Party of China does not allow the people to discuss some historical events, such as the June 4th Incident and many political movements. also not allowed to discuss the Party's policies, such as zero virus clearance. does not allow the people to criticize the party leader. All newspapers, radio and television are controlled by the Party!         Secondly. Teachers and students have party branches . Party organizations analyze the thoughts and opinions of the surrounding people at any time and divide them into left, middle and right. That is, progressive, intermediate and backward reactions.    Control and crack down on people who are considered backward and reactionary. So students will report teachers.                   Next, the author talked about what happened to him in university . At the end of the article, he wrote: “ The week before I left the university, I met off campus with the publication’s staff. There were about twenty students, almost all of them female.

During our meeting, the Common Sense staff asked what I thought about young people today. I mentioned the intense competition, and I said that I had been impressed with my students’ understanding and analysis of the system around them. “But I don’t know what this means for the future,” I said. “Maybe it means that they figure out how to change the system. But maybe they just figure out how to adapt to the system. What do you think?”

“We will adapt,” somebody said, and several others nodded.

“It’s easy to get angry, but easy to forget,” another woman remarked.

A third woman, one of the smallest in the group, said, “We will change it.” “.                During the Cultural Revolution, the young generation of China blindly worshipped Mao Zedong. Since the reform and opening up, there have been changes in worshipping money. Many people think that as long as life improves, democracy is not important. Many people envy the material culture of Western countries, but do not know much about Western democracy.  They don't talk about politics for fear that their future will be affected by talking about politics. But there are indeed some young people who are thinking about China's political system in private.  China is in a period of turmoil, and people's awareness is improving.     This is a sound article. Thank Ruth!