[GELORA45] Liu Xiaobo: A Voice of Freedom

[jonathango...@yahoo.com [GELORA45]]

 

 JULY 17, 2017 10:39AM
 Liu Xiaobo: A Voice of Freedom 
https://www.cato.org/blog/liu-xiaobo-voice-freedom By JAMES A. DORN 
https://www.cato.org/people/james-dorn
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 The death of Liu Xiaobo from liver cancer on July 13, under guard at a 
hospital in Shenyang, marks the passing of a great defender of freedom—a man 
who was willing to speak truth to power. As the lead signatory to Charter 08, 
which called for the rule of law and constitutional government, Liu was 
sentenced to 11 years in prison for “inciting the subversion of state power.” 
Before his sentencing in 2009, Liu stood before the court and declared, “To 
block freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, to strangle humanity, 
and to suppress the truth.” With proper treatment and freedom, Liu would have 
lived on to voice his support for a free society. 
 While Liu’s advocacy of limited government, democracy, and a free market for 
ideas won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, China’s leadership viewed him as a 
criminal and refused to allow him to travel to Oslo to receive the award. 
Instead, the prize was placed on an empty chair at the ceremony, a lasting 
symbol of Liu’s courage in the face of state suppression. Beijing also 
prevented liberal Mao Yushi, cofounder of the Unirule Institute, from attending 
the ceremony to honor Liu. 
 
 IdealMentre
 The mistreatment of Liu, and other human rights’ proponents, is a stark 
reminder that while the Middle Kingdom has made significant progress in 
liberalizing its economy, it has yet to liberate the minds of the Chinese 
people or its own political institutions. 
 The tension between freedom and state power threatens China’s future. As 
former premier Wen Jiabao warned in a speech in August 2010, “Without the 
safeguard of political reform, the fruits of economic reform would be lost.” 
Later, in an interview with CNN in October, he held that “freedom of speech is 
indispensable for any country.”
 Article 33, Section 3, of the PRC’s Constitution holds that “the State 
respects and protects human rights.” Such language, added by the National 
People’s Congress in 2004, encouraged liberals to test the waters, only to find 
that the reality did not match the rhetoric.
 The Chinese Communist Party pays lip service to a free market in ideas, 
noting: “There can never be an end to the need for the emancipation of 
individual thought” (China Daily, November 16, 2013). However, Party doctrine 
strictly regulates that market. Consequently, under “market socialism with 
Chinese characteristics,” there is bound to be an ever-present tension between 
the individual and the state.
 In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (September 22, 2015), President 
Xi argued that “freedom is the purpose of order, and order the guarantee of 
freedom.” The real meaning of that statement is that China’s ruling elite will 
not tolerate dissent: individuals will be free to communicate ideas, but only 
those consistent with the state’s current interpretation of “socialist 
principles.” 
 This socialist vision contrasts sharply with that of market liberalism, which 
holds that freedom is not the purpose of order; it is the essential means to an 
emergent or spontaneous order. In the terms of traditional Chinese Taoism, 
freedom is the source of order. Simply put, voluntary exchange based on the 
principle of freedom or nonintervention, which Lao Tzu called “wu wei,” expands 
the range of choices open to individuals. 
 Denying China’s 1.4 billion people a free market in ideas has led to one of 
the lowest rankings in the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters 
without Borders. In the 2016 report, China ranked 176 out of 180 countries, 
only a few notches above North Korea—and the situation appears to be getting 
worse. Under President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power in preparation for 
this year’s Party Congress, the websites of liberal think tanks, such as the 
Unirule Institute, have been shut down, and virtual private networks (VPNs) are 
being closed, preventing internet users from circumventing the Great Firewall.
 Liu’s death is a tragic reminder that China is still an authoritarian regime 
whose leaders seek to hold onto power at the cost of the lives of those like 
Liu who seek only peace and harmony through limiting the power of government 
and safeguarding individual rights.