【Epoch Times, July 16, 2024】 Beijing Tsinghua University professor Sun Liping recently posted an article on his WeChat public account titled “This Shows How Cautious We Have Become,” which was quickly deleted. The article discussed the self-censorship driven by fear among Chinese people nowadays – everyone is very low-key, losing their “vitality,” while the valuable “free will and expansive soul” aspects are disappearing. Many netizens resonated with his observations.
In the article, Sun Liping first mentioned that a friend working within the system sent him a private message saying, “When I read articles on public accounts now, I don’t even dare to click ‘read,’ afraid that others would know what I’m reading.”
On public account articles, there are two common buttons, one for “liking” and one for “reading.” “Liking” serves a recommending purpose, while in “reading,” your friends can see what articles you are reading.
Sun Liping expressed that upon reading this private message, he felt uneasy inside. Despite articles on self-media platforms undergoing careful self-censorship and strict platform reviews, in an atmosphere of easy blame, no one wants to stir up trouble. Doesn’t this also indicate that this environment is somewhat abnormal?
Quoting a friend, the article mentioned, “A decade ago, ‘one person posts, hundreds like,’ but now, there are not many frequent posters. Even if someone can’t resist posting occasionally, they set it to be visible for only three days. Some say that in recent years, friends within the system on WeChat have ‘disappeared.’
Sun Liping believes that the desire for expression is a natural human trait, but now, “people are trying to make themselves disappear, disappear sociability. Being cautious and timid, becoming more and more cautious and timid, beyond the normal level of caution and timidity.”
He referred to two articles, one published during the Lunar New Year titled “It’s Been 40 Years Since 1984,” invoking memories of the vigor and vitality of 1984.
In fact, people often use George Orwell’s novel “1984” to describe totalitarian governments. In the novel, the entire country is ruled by the Party, employing thought police to persecute individuals and independent thinking. Big Brother is the leader of the Party, fond of intense personal worship. The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, is a peripheral party member working in the Ministry of Truth, responsible for propaganda and altering history – replacing truth with false information.
The other article mentioned by Sun Liping is “2014-2024, only ten years have passed, yet the world has changed drastically.” The article compared the changes between ten years ago and now, especially in terms of economic deterioration.
The original article published by “Elephant Alliance” has been censored shortly after it was released in early July.
Sun Liping said some people believe the biggest problem in China currently is a lack of vigorous and spirited people; everyone is very low-key. Unlike in the past, where most people were full of vitality and spark. Some say, back then, the elderly seemed more like youth, and now, the youth seem more like the elderly. He bluntly stated that this is very “heart-wrenching.”
He mentioned the “vitality,” which “supports people from all walks of life, flows into the entrepreneurial tide.” “Vitality supports our society,” and the formation of characters like being cautious, meek, and submissive means that regardless of what you do, you would carry this characteristic.”
Finally, Sun Liping quoted an old saying that is said to have been around for decades, and encouraged readers, “Free will and an expansive soul.”
Searches on the internet revealed that Sun Liping’s article has been deleted from his WeChat account, but it is currently being shared by netizens on Weibo in text format, and also being shared on an overseas platform X.
A Weibo user commented, “Professor Sun’s article is very good, everyone is afraid of being punished for their words!” “When will this situation change?” “Can’t see the article.” “How did it come to this point?” “We are all eunuchs who have been self-castrated, the difference lies in some people being proud and some feeling uncomfortable.”
Comments from overseas platform X users:
BlackMaterialSocietyOfficial: “Before, there was truly freedom of speech on Weibo, with a broad scope, but now, it’s all sensitive words, even Douyin is speeding up.”
@ji345157451629: “This passage reflects a deep concern about the current social atmosphere, especially the excessive caution in the behavior of people working within the system. Author Sun Liping, through contrasting the past with the present, expresses concerns about the changes in societal vitality.”
Tigris: “What’s surprising about this? Just take a look at ‘1984’ and you’ll understand the type of totalitarian regime, the control over mind and self-censorship. Now, this is normal, not doing this is abnormal.”
Sam Tweet: “Totally agree! In such a delicate era, creativity is being stifled, forget about any technological revolutions.”
Bowie: “Sun used to be a royal tutor.”
Tyler2651: “Bold, daring to allude to the unprecedented prosperity of the present regime!”
CagedBird: “Without vitality, not only individuals are in decline, but the whole society is stagnant and self-absorbed, just like the late Qing dynasty.”
Information shows that Sun Liping is a retired professor from the Department of Sociology at Tsinghua University, who has criticized the collapse of contemporary Chinese society and corruption of power, proposing the “Sunshine Law.” There were rumors circulating that Sun Liping was Xi Jinping’s doctoral thesis supervisor during his time at Tsinghua, leading to public opinion referring to Sun as a “national teacher.” However, Sun Liping later clarified in a blog post that he had not been Xi Jinping’s “thesis supervisor.”
(Source: excerpts saved by netizens)