Beijing University Professor Jiao Guobiao caused angst among
Chinese politicians this spring, when he wrote a scathing
condemnation of censorship in China in a piece whose influence grew
rapidly, as users disseminated it on the Internet.
Jiao is now spreading his ideas through a speaking tour, which
includes a two-hour stop today at UCLA.
Hosted by the Center for Chinese Studies and the communication
studies department, Jiao will share his views on why he believes
China needs a free press.
In his writing this spring, Jiao criticized China’s
Central Propaganda Department’s censorship policies as ones
that lay waste to the ideals of cultural and intellectual
development in his country.
The piece is sarcastic in tone, and UCLA political science
Professor Richard Baum, principal organizer of today’s
speech, said Jiao has become a hero among elements of Chinese
society opposed to restrictions on the press.
“Jiao Guobiao has become something of a cause celeb in
China, because he stood up to the propaganda authorities who censor
the media,” Baum said.
In a translation of Jiao’s piece posted on the UCLA Asia
Institute’s AsiaMedia Web site, and edited by AsiaMedia
Intern Lynn Chang, the author advocates protest against the Chinese
government’s violation of media freedoms.
“If they are permitted to continue to ignore the law and
to abuse their power, they will not only cause eternal damnation
for themselves but they would also hamper the reform process, delay
the development of political culture and put the millions of
intellectuals in China into shame,” the translation
states.
“Therefore, we must rise up and criticize the Central
Propaganda Department.” Baum said while China is an ocean
away from the United States, the impacts of Chinese censorship on
U.S. society will not be diluted by physical distance.
With its growing economic prowess, China and the policies its
government uses to shape the nation are important to the United
States and rest of the world.
“China is rapidly becoming a major player on the world
stage, and what happens in China is not a matter of indifference.
… The more open and tolerant Chinese society is, the more likely
we will be to coexist peacefully,” Baum said.
Jiao will speak in Chinese at today’s event, with an
interpreter translating his words to English for the audience.
The event is free and open to the public, and will be in
Bunche 6275 at noon.