The China Media Project provides a fine summary of the free speech debate that flared up on the editorial pages of Chinese newspapers following yesterday’s announcement by noted sexologist Li Yinhe that she is being pressured to keep her mouth shut on matters carnal.
CMP translates comments from a number of papers, including this from Southern Metropolitan Daily:
Clearly, if Li Yinhe’s voice can be so easily suppressed then the interests and right to speak of all those who curse her [for her views] will be difficult to safeguard, and the voices they wish to hear might suffer similarly.
Protecting freedom of expression necessarily means we will have to hear some voices we don’t particularly like. This is a necessary price to be paid for freedom. If we must choose between “hearing both those voices we like and those we don’t” and “hearing absolutely nothing”, we should opt for the former. [Full Text]
Li gained nationwide fame in 2005 when she suggested at the Guangzhou Sex Expo that more Chinese engage in wife-swapping.
