Summary of the Public Opinion of Xinhua Daily on March 31, 1945
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The three envoys investigating freedom of the press arrived in Chungking on the 28th. But in China, the mention of "press freedom" is ironic. According to statistics, the Kuomintang government has promulgated 29 special regulations to regulate newspapers, news agencies, journalists, book and magazine publishing, bookstores, printing houses, and theater films. In addition, there are two other types announced by the Ministry of the Interior. In addition to the various laws and regulations announced by the order, there are also various temporary instruction messages. In June 33rd, the Measures for Examination of Publications and Periodicals in Wartime promulgated by the Kuomintang government was all-encompassing, such as the first item in Article 12 of the prohibition standard: "Those who violate the highest principle of our country’s statehood", is general and abstract, and can be interpreted arbitrarily; but according to the current situation, the so-called "highest principle of establishing a country" is party governance. Under such circumstances, Chinese newspapers, which advocate democracy, will suffer a lot of misfortune and will be blamed at every turn. Below are some of the bitter appeals we have collected for press freedom from the Chinese public opinion under various difficulties, as well as some materials on democratic policies and ardent aspirations for reference. —— Editor
Freedom of speech and press is the foundation of democratic politics
"Controlling thoughts in order to be content with one; suppressing speech so that no one dares to criticize them. This is the obscurantism in China’s past authoritarian era. This is the phenomenon of the dark ages in the Middle Ages of Europe. This is the method of fascism. This is the promotion of cultural going backwards. This is by no means suitable for today’s democratic world, especially for China, which must strive for progress." "So our understanding is… In order to be worthy of being one of the top four after the war,… we must first improve culture; to improve culture, there must be freedom of thought and speech." ( Chengdu New China Daily on June 29, 1944 )
"Freedom of speech is a right unanimously demanded by human beings… From a sociocultural point of view, freedom of speech is a necessary condition for the progress of human society. Journalists, like other human beings, demand their inherent right to freedom of speech, and at the same time his tasks and responsibilities require him to have full freedom of speech, because he should say what others have not said and what others should say." "It is usually said that journalists stand in front of the times, and newspapers guide society. This is not a compliment to the reporter, but aggravates the responsibility of the reporter. A journalist needs full freedom of speech in order to carry out his task." ( The same newspaper, September 1 )
"Freedom of speech and publication is the basic requirement of democratic politics. Without freedom of speech and publication, there can be no true democracy. Without democracy, there can be no unity, no victory, no nation-building, and no permanent enjoyment of the happiness of peace in the post-war world. Therefore, speech freedom is not only needed in peacetime, but also in wartime. President Roosevelt listed it as the first of the four freedoms, and Prime Minister Churchill also set it as the first of the seven standards, precisely because they take it so seriously and respect it well, so we can win battles now and build peace in the future. The fact that all this is in front of us clearly points out what we need today." ( Kunming Yunnan Daily on September 23, 1944 )
Speech and publication restrictions make people ignorant
"For more than a decade, the establishment of the censorship system has made the newspaper’s mission not fully fulfilled; and it is a pity especially about its reflecting public opinion. In recent years, … Restrictions on the publication of speech have been strengthened, and as a result, the publishing industry has withered. It has not been seen for many years; and what newspapers provide to the people of the country is almost the same throughout the country!" "We believe that this phenomenon should be improved… The progress of a country’s society lies in the improvement of culture; and the improvement of culture, one is on the popularization of education, and the other is on the prosperity of the publishing industry. If we are over ‘cautious’ about the publishing that may benefit the possibility, the publishing industry will tend to shrink, and the people’s spiritual food will also be lacking; the ultimate result will be the ignorance of the people. The people who are ignorant are not able to be talked with about the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, let alone about the founding of the country" ( Kunming Justice News, April 22, 1944 )
Democracy or dictatorship depends on whether there is freedom of speech
"Freedom of communication and speech are the basic elements of democratic freedom. Without this freedom, individuals who lose the right to speak will lose other freedom at the same time. If they lose freedom, they are no different from slaves and cannot be considered citizens. A country, if the people it rules do not have a minimum freedom of speech, its rule must be a dictatorship. In the current terminology, it is a fascism dictatorship, and it can never be democracy. Therefore, to fight for freedom of speech and communication is to fight for democracy’s first step." "The fate of mankind is in the hands of a few dictators, and violent despotism, armed aggression, and brutal war will inevitably happen, and the result will be, like this world war, drowning mankind and its culture in a sea of blood. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure permanent peace and avoid the third war, the only important thing is to put the control of the world in the hands of the vast majority of human beings, and the vast majority of human beings must enjoy democracy and freedom. It will no longer exist in the future world, that the minority dominates the majority, the minority is autocratic, and the majority loses its freedom." "Since all human beings in the whole world must enter the scope of democracy and enjoy the right of democratic domination, then by means of freedom of communication and speech, everyone can speak the truth and obtain the truth. It is absolutely necessary to be able to know the truth of the world at any time. Therefore, any phenomenon that restricts such freedom and does not allow the human world to be announced with the truth must be banned, which is a natural conclusion." ( Chengdu Huaxi Daily, June 15, 1944 )
Evilly withholding news will lead to the decline of freedom
"Recently, because of the war, the freedom of the press has been restricted to a certain extent, which has aroused the opposition of the press and led to the movement for freedom of the press. On January 4th, US Assistant Secretary of State McClehy made a speech at the meeting of the United Nations Intelligence Committee. In his speech, he advocated the free spread of the press around the world to help maintain future world peace. The French ambassador to the United States, Ponner, said: ‘The French press is not restricted except for military reasons.’ 25th, The editorial of The New York Times said: ‘Citizens of a country have the right to know all news reports. In a country, if people are not allowed to have the right to know, there will be no political freedom at all; if they evilly withhold news, it will directly lead to the decline of freedom.’ The author of the editorial, Associated Press president Kent Coopers, advocates ‘global freedom of the press, freedom of transportation, and freedom of journalists’ actions’. This shows that the freedom of the press is of the utmost importance to political democracy and world peace, and that there is no inconsistency between the ruling and opposition parties in Europe and that it is absolutely respected and inviolable." "In the European and American press, which originally enjoyed considerable freedom, and are crying out for the protection of press freedom, considering all the circumstances of the Chinese press, I don’t know what efforts should be made in this regard. Because the freedom of the press in China is too few and too insecure… Journalists suffered from the mistreatment for their faithfulness is numerous. Recording and making a statement, that is, the goodness of the heavens, and the loyalty; if personal interests are violated, it often causes harm to the survival of the newspaper and personal freedom. The freedom of the press and the personal freedom of journalists also need urgent protection. Therefore, fighting for freedom of the press is of special importance in China." ( The same newspaper, February 2, 1945 )
To strive for the realization of democracy with perseverance
"Press freedom is the hallmark of democracy; without press freedom, there can be no true democracy. On the contrary, democracy and freedom are the foundation of press freedom. Without political democracy, it is absolutely impossible to achieve true press freedom. The Chinese press cannot be satisfied with supporting and agreeing with the European press freedom movement. In order to be true to one’s vocation, one must remove all unreasonable and unnecessary restraints from oneself and obtain real freedom. Therefore, one must strive to realize the politics of press freedom with perseverance. The premise is to lay a solid foundation for press freedom." ( Huaxi Daily, February 2, 1945 )
"About a country’s future development or stagnation, forward or backward, prosperity or decline, the best test is whether the country’s newspapers can and dare to represent public opinion. This also shows that this country is ruled by the people, it is to seek happiness for the people, or to be ruled by the few and to fight for the rights of the few." "As far as newspapers are concerned, domestic and foreign news is issued by one organization, and anyone who feels unpleasant or inconvenient in a certain area will never be known to the people… Therefore, all the newspapers, books and magazines, although of different types, titles, and locations, all have the same content. This not only wastes human and financial resources, but also makes people’s minds rigid. Under the planned shackles, the people in this country will return to nature, become woods and stones, become apes and deers, become the mindless hermits." ( Han Wu, Freedom Forum, Kunming, January 14, 1941 )
Don’t be cowards, don’t be slaves, make newspapers in the service of democracy
"The current fact is that newspapers and public opinion are separated, public opinion is buried in the chest of every people, newspapers and magazines have left reality, betrayed the people, and hang in mid-air alone, neither going up nor down, neither advancing nor retreating, neither going left nor right, neither dead nor alive, just as a proper ornament in this era." "No quarrel with the world, no quarrel with others, is the act of a coward; not disputing against humiliation, not arguing after being victims is the act of a slave, who is even more than a coward. Are we cowards or slaves? We are in such an era of aggression and oppression, if we want to liberate ourselves and the country, we should first start by eradicating this indisputable evil. We must build real democracy and the free world should start from the fact that newspapers can fulfill their responsibilities, serve the people, and use impartial public opinion to supervise and guide the government." "The unity of newspapers and public opinion should be the most urgent demand of the people at present!" ( Han Wu, Freedom Forum, Kunming, January 14 )
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