Freedom of Speech Class Discussions Guo Ke October 19-26, 2015

Student Reading and Discussion How are you reading for the freedom of speech in Chinese or English? List the major ideas or points of observation as well as questions and confusions.

Different Traditions VS

Which IS Better? VS

Freedom of Speech， Universal? The concept of Freedom of Speech is a universal one and is also adaptive in China Mr. Freedom vs Mr. Democracy? The universal concept can be divided into “good” and “bad” according to how it adapts to a specific country. Examples of good and bad freedom of speech?

WHY Good or Bad? The seemingly universal concept of freedom of speech must be supported by and adapted into the sophistication of social systems, including political and economic mechanism that fit into the cultural roots of each country.

Theorectical Reflections on Freedom of Speech (1) It is double-sided: freedom & controls (2) Controls: legal, administrative, economic and violent (3) Freedom and social environment: ask students to discuss China, Russia and the US

Theorectical Reflections on Freedom of Speech (1) It is double-sided: freedom & controls (2) Controls: legal, administrative, economic and violent (3) Freedom and social environment: ask students to discuss China, Russia and the US

Origins of Freedom of Speech in western countries Public speeches in ancient Rome in late 6th or early 5th Century BC .

Origins of Freedom of Speech: The chilling effect 寒蝉效应 Punishment only after violation of other rights. 事后惩罚 .

western media & Freedom of Speech (1) Western media have kept a good tradition of respecting the concept of speech freedom This is why speech freedom originated from the West. (2) The nature of speech freedom in China is the same as in the West, but the degrees of freedom and control methods are different.

Comparison: China vs west Are promoting speech freedom Prefer controls prior to freedom rights Stress actual social effects The West With a tradition of speech of freedom Prefer punishment after violation of other rights Focus on process

Nature on Freedom of Speech (1) Connotation constantly changing (2) Easy to be manipulated politically and culturally and sometimes economically

Freedom of Speech & Social deVELOPMENT Speech freedom can only be obtained in a society with peaceful, stable and balanced developments Examples: Soviet Union collapse China in 1989 Middle East unrest 911 and Paris terrorist killings

Case Studies: How to localize, a critical issue Singapore: tough controls on speech freedom but economic prosperity: National interests and social balanced development Soviet Union: Western practices of speech freedom in Soviet Union hindered balanced social development and eventually led to a social unrest and a disaster for ordinary people

Class discussions What do you think of China Model or Putin Model in Russia now? Why or why NOT? Support with examples

Possible topics for Final Projects Group projects on China media, media system and concepts (freedom of speech and democracy), governance, media development Survey German/French/Spanish/Arabian/Spanish/ Portugese media in Shanghai: Is it possible? How to understand the Great Firewalls in China: Who censors the censors?

Approaches and timetable Need to collect literatures and discuss with other team members and propose some topics for real publications

Thanks