LettersWhy China should allow students to speak their mind: it’s the road to social progress
- Being patriotic can indeed bring us to rally around a cause, but we cannot be blindly patriotic
- Every punishment or penalty for speaking one’s mind is a setback for freedom
Wang Dong, an intelligent Hunan City University student brave enough to express his own thoughts about his country, should never have been expelled. I find it extremely troubling that the reason for his expulsion was stated as being “unpatriotic”. I agree with Ms Wong that the first and most important right for all people should be the right to free speech. For the improvement of society, we need the right to express our thoughts and ideas. Why was it such a disgrace for Wang to express his own thoughts?
To unquestioningly love the country and follow the accepted line of thought is to conform without independent analysis. But now that we know how Wang was punished, would everyone accept independent thought to be a flaw under an autocracy? I believe an independent, clear mind and courageous heart to face the mighty is needed under any circumstance.