Self-Censorship
How China Limits Freedom of Expression
2017 DOCUMENTARY 117 mins Kevin H.J. Lee
Summary
“Self-censorship” begins by depicting a series of protests by the Beijing artist, Hua Yong, which eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment by the Chinese government. It subsequently moves to the mysterious disappearances of five shareholders from Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, and then onto incidents involving Chou Tzi-yu, Leon Dai and Lee Ming-che. It thoroughly, and in great detail, exposes the Chinese government’s pervasive control over “Greater Chinese” society. The Taiwanese may think that, unlike Hong Kongers, the Chinese government cannot take any actions against them because they live in Taiwan and are not celebrities. However, th
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“Self-censorship” begins by depicting a series of protests by the Beijing artist, Hua Yong, which eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment by the Chinese government. It subsequently moves to the mysterious disappearances of five shareholders from Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, and then onto incidents involving Chou Tzi-yu, Leon Dai and Lee Ming-che. It thoroughly, and in great detail, exposes the Chinese government’s pervasive control over “Greater Chinese” society. The Taiwanese may think that, unlike Hong Kongers, the Chinese government cannot take any actions against them because they live in Taiwan and are not celebrities. However, the director’s journeys between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan prove that even the fate of a grouper breeder is determined by the whims of the Chinese government. Unless you have chosen to reject the financial temptations offered by the Chinese government and are determined to live as your own person and as a free individual, you will have no chance escaping from their control and your own self-censorship.
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