ancient china, chinese history, confucian philosophy, freedom of speech, human rights, poet, political reform, resilience, su dongpo

Su Dongpo: An Unyielding Spirit in the Face of Adversity

Su Dongpo (A.D. 1037-1101), was one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song dynasties and occupied an indelible position in the history of literature in China. His articles were smooth and flowing. He bemoaned the state of the world and pitied the fate of mankind. He was not afraid of power, and ...

Mikel Davis

Statue of Chinese scholar and poet Su Dongpo with his wife.

Hong Kong Demands UK-Based Hong Kong Watch Shut Down Its Website

With time, the CCP is tightening its control over Hong Kong, despite the waves of protest from human rights entities and residents. In the last few years, legal nooks on media and democratic protests have become tighter than ever before. In the latest development, the Hong Kong government has come down heavily on a popular ...

Max Lu

CCTV cameras.

How Laws Against Fake News Could End Up Being Super Oppressive

With several countries introducing or proposing to introduce laws against fake news, many social activists fear that such laws could be misused to eventually impose censorship and curtail free speech. What is fake news? In the media, fake news today is regarded as untrue information with the goal of damaging the reputation or falsifying the ...

Armin Auctor

A female journalist interviewing a man outdoors.

Chinese Students Protest as Beijing Restricts Free Speech on Campus

Since December, some of China’s top universities have been forced to edit their charters to align their views with Communist Party ideals. At Fudan University in Shanghai, officials removed all references to “freedom of thought,” triggering an intense backlash from students who are concerned about losing their free speech. Censorship of free speech in universities ...

Max Lu

Fudan University campus in Shanghai.

Social Media Vs. Freedom of Speech

Once, freedom of speech and respect among people with different opinions existed in the Western world: Then, something changed and went terribly wrong. Where did that liberty go? Social media made it simple to express one’s thoughts and easier to widely share opinions, but years down the track, they turned into an ugly trap. When ...

Laura Cozzolino

Social media on a smartphone.