Hidden Harmonies China Blog

China is often regarded as a nation without Freedom of Speech – or at least a nation that disrespects Freedom of Speech, or a nation with serious infractions of Freedom of Speech.  I have often argued that such disparaging conclusions rarely turn out to based on Freedom itself, but a disrespect of China’s social, historical, and political contexts and current interests. I will use recent events to further demonstrate my thinking.

For those of you paying attention on issues surrounding “Freedom of Speech” on the international stage, you might have noticed that France caused quite a stir last week by finally abolishing a law against insulting its president.

The law in question was thrown into the international spotlight when President Sarkozy charged fellow Frenchman Hervé Eon for holding up a cardboard sign at a 2008 rally telling Sarkozy “Casse-toi pov’con,” a profanity in French that directly translates mildly to “break yourself off, poor jerk.” Here is an excerpt of the article “Yes, it really was a crime in France to insult the president until this week. Here’s why” from the Washington Post: Read more…

(DeWang: Following is a well researched analysis of the high profile arrest in the U.S. of former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and the subsequent falling apart of the prosecutions, sourced in its entirety from the 龙信明 BLOG.)

Another Day in the Life of the US & Israel
Editorial
Editor’s Note: Some of the expressions in this article have been adapted from comments by readers, to whom I offer my thanks.

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Later this month will mark the 45th anniversay of French’s diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of China.

I had not known that 45 years ago, France was the first major Western nation, despite stiff American opposition of that time, to recognize the People’s Republic of China.

I also had not known that – contrary to the faux paux spats that occurred between the two nations the last year – the modern relationship between France and China had actually started on a high note of mutual respect and admiration. Read more…