Freedom of Speech for Mao's Followers

[Randy W]

Just an interesting article about free speech in China and 'red nostalgia' from the Global Times

 

Freedom of speech applies to Mao followers and critics alike

 

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/801613.shtml#.UgBcMdIwd2E

 

Apparently, the controversy was created mostly due to Lau's profile as a Hong Kong super star. Along with the picture, she also wrote "The East is red, and the sun is in my heart."

"The East is Red" was a revolutionary song in the 1960s, comparing Mao to the sun as the savior of the Chinese people.

For liberals nowadays, a public figure like Lau showing off a picture with Mao and expressing the love for him is an unforgivable offense to the millions who suffered torture and humiliation during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

It is unfair to heap criticism upon an actress whose life and work are both far away from politics. Her visit to Tiananmen Square, like thousands of others, should not be politicized.

For many of Lau's supporters, it was only natural that "The East Is Red" came to her mind when she visited Tiananmen Square for the first time in 48 years, as the song was the de facto national anthem during the Cultural Revolution. They argue that anyone who was born in the 1960s would have similar reactions.

Lau was born in 1965 and spent her first 15 years on the mainland until she emigrated to Hong Kong in 1980.

Lau's supporters may be right in rebuking the liberals for trying to deprive her of freedom of speech. But meanwhile, it is not appropriate to equate their feelings for Mao or the nostalgia for their childhood dreams of the 1960s to patriotism. It is even worse to label those who criticize Mao as unpatriotic.

If Lau and her supporters enjoy full freedom to take pictures with Mao behind them and sing revolutionary songs, then others also have the right to criticize what they perceive as inappropriate.

 

[david_dawei]

One can't open their mouth without pissing someone off... Its just that someone in the public eye gets their voice traveled around the world in a youtube microsecond... It all seems a game on some level and social media is taken over as the Wizard...

[newacct]

It's kind of like when Southern U.S. people use the Confederate flag and sing Dixie. They say it represents their culture. But to black people it's offensive.

[Oldfriend]

Hell after a recent study of the Civil war, I find it offensive.