Chinese scholar defends article that led to media suspension

HONG KONG, March 1 Kyodo

The author of an article critical of China's history textbooks that prompted authorities there to suspend a mass-circulation newspaper supplement that published it is seeking an opportunity to defend himself against government-backed critics.

The China Youth Daily's weekly supplement, named Bingdian or Freezing Point, was suspended on Jan. 25 for publishing an article written by Yuan Weishi, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in China's southern province of Guangzhou, though it was allowed to relaunch on Wednesday.

Yuan, in an interview with Kyodo News from the provincial capital Guangdong, said the suspension originated from the disapproval of his article by just a handful of people inside the government.

''It was only a subdivision inside the Central Propaganda Department that had an opinion on my article,'' he said.

Yuan noted that his article was criticized in an article appearing in Wednesday's relaunched Bingdian supplement.

''It is normal for them to publish an article to criticize me, but my only request is that I should be allowed to publish an article to defend myself,'' he said.

Yuan's Jan. 11 article had said China's mandatory high school history texts distorted elements of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, a violent movement against non-Chinese commercial, political, religious and technological influence in China, and also the reasons that European countries were able to invade China in the 1800s.

It said that while government-sanctioned textbooks glorify the actions of the ''Boxers'' or rebels as anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism, history suggests the movement was anti-civilization.

The article published in Bingdian's relaunched edition Wednesday defends the rebellion and the actions taken then against European invaders.

Still, Yuan called that ''progress.''

''The article today does not attack me personally or call me names. It focuses on my article rather than me,'' he said.

''It is hard for everyone to uphold a unique understanding of history today. We should have more patience and the freedom to further discussions.''

Yuan said some historical viewpoints in the Wednesday's article are unsubstantiated and incomprehensive, so he has started writing a rebuttal that will list all questionable points for discussion.

He acknowledged, however, that Bingdian is unlikely to publish his new article, in which case he would try other newspapers.

Yuan said he is confident most readers agreed with his viewpoints when the full version of his earlier article was first published in 2002 and the edited version came out in January this year. He added that the article speaks for those who do not dare.

''With its economy growing, China should reform its political system at the same pace. Freedom of speech has always been tightly controlled in China,'' the scholar said.

''The leaders in the Central Propaganda Department do not understand the effect of free speech on China's development. They are overly worried that free speech will lead to social conflict and unrest,'' he said.

But Yuan cautioned that ''free speech in China should not appear overnight.'

''The people could not adapt to such changes,'' he said. ''I suggest the government, the public and the media compromise on the pace of allowing free speech. One to two years should be enough for the transition. But the period must not be indefinite.''

On the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations in the wake of a series of Yasukuni Shrine visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Tokyo's approval of rightwing history textbooks, Yuan said both countries have not done enough rethinking.

He said Japan should remind itself the ordeal it left people in the countries it invaded during war to deal with, while China should also think about how it became so weak that even a smaller country like Japan could defeat it.

Yuan also defended using the phrase ''wolf's milk'' in his article to describe erroneous beliefs that have ''poisoned the minds of the younger generation.'' He said the phrase was not his invention and Chinese today are still affected by wrong beliefs that one must not criticize the country or the official interpretation of history.

''The officials' decision (to crack down on Bingdian) has damaged China's international image. Why are they so stupid?'' Yuan said. ''I do not oppose to the Communist Party, but I will applaud the right things and criticize the wrong. It is best if the whole saga can be resolved rationally, at least this is what I wish for.''

Bingdian, a four-page broadsheet, has been published weekly since 1995 in the 500,000-circulation China Youth Daily. Over the two years prior to its suspension, its editors had clashed with party authorities. After Yuan's article appeared, its then editor Li Datong was sacked.

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