Just as there are limits to religious freedom as I explained in my last article, there are limits to freedom of speech and military power. Freedom of speech is much valued in every country for a good reason. Free speech is an aspect of “self-actualization”, which is simply doing what one honestly wants to do. However, speech can hurt people and can even hurt society at large. Hate speech, fake news, wrong information, uninformed judgments, discrimination, speech bullying, scams through speech and advertising — all carry social costs and must be contained.
Sadly, however, the rightful use of free speech is often arbitrarily compromised in many countries. Even in the United States, which has often been touted as the “land of freedom” and is supposed to protect every citizen’s freedom of speech, we have witnessed incidents where free speech exercised by responsible citizens has led to serious consequences. After many Harvard University students spoke out for the cause of Palestinians against the onslaught of Israel and for a two-state solution, the incumbent US administration told the university “to control the Harvard community”, and it was punished with a federal government funding freeze amounting to $2.3 billion. This happened even after Harvard University had “undertaken substantial policy and programmatic measures” over a span of 15 months to fight antisemitism, promote ideological diversity, and maintain order on campus. Its medical school had also canceled a talk by a Tufts University professor with Palestinian patients from Gaza, after complaints that called the session one-sided.
While freedom of speech is threatened, it is at the same time abused by the Trump administration because it calls speaking out for a two-state solution “antisemitic”. As a matter of fact, many Jews have spoken for the cause of a two-state solution. They cannot, by definition, be antisemitic. Katie Halper, a Jewish journalist, and descendant of Holocaust victims, speaks for the cause of a two-state solution and strongly criticizes the Israeli government for its treatment of Palestinians, explaining why she thinks the Israeli government is antisemitic. Its unconscionable acts are putting conscionable Jews around the world in danger because its discriminatory laws and mistreatment of many non-Jews befit the definition of an apartheid state. Similarly, Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University is a Jew who has criticized Israel’s unprovoked bombing of Iran and inhumane policies against Palestinians.
Recently, China’s star diver, Quan Hongchan, who won multiple gold medals at the Olympics, was cyberbullied by some unruly, uncivilized people. China’s Swimming Management Center confirmed that cyberbullying, malicious attacks and false information targeting Quan and other divers have appeared online. Police in the Yuexiu district of Guangzhou said in a statement on April 10 that a 31-year-old man surnamed Xu had “repeatedly made insulting remarks about an athlete from the Ersha Sports Training Center” in a group chat on the messaging platform WeChat, which had “caused a bad influence”. Xu, who was the administrator of the chat group wherein the cyberbullying took place, was detained for 10 days and fined. Other members in that chat group were “lawfully dealt with”, according to the police.
The Global Civilization Initiative acknowledges that we live in an imperfect world. That is why we need to work together to improve it
In my last article on religious freedom, I alluded to President Xi Jinping’s Global Civilization Initiative, and I believe that of the four global initiatives that President Xi has proposed since the Belt and Road Initiative, this is really the most fundamental one. This is China’s answer to the fact that we do not live in a perfect world. Exactly because we do not live in a perfect world, we need to work together to push civilized behavior. Uncivilized behavior has to be contained by civilized ways of containment. In a civilized world, criminals are prosecuted and punished through a legal process that is fair and that protects the rights of the defendant. Just because the world is not perfect, we must not bully or kill someone who the authorities deem to be “criminals” or “terrorists”.
Recently, I came across an article on National Catholic Reporter, which gave a civilized interpretation of a passage from Psalm 144 through the lens of St Augustine, which refuted the literal interpretation by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Hegseth portrays the enemies of the US as the literal enemies of God and deserving of military violence. Augustine, however, insists that the biblical passage cannot be read as endorsements of hatred or cruelty toward other human beings. “Trains our hands for battle and our fingers for war refers, according to Augustine, to the conquering of our enemies by works of mercy and charity. And calls for God to break the enemy’s teeth refer not to physical violence, but to the silencing of evil and destructive words. … Calls for violence do not refer to military battles or human enemies, but to the enemies inside the human soul: sin, injustice and the disordered loves that deform our will.”
The Global Civilization Initiative acknowledges that we live in an imperfect world. That is why we need to work together to improve it. Dialogues and diplomacy must trump the use of military force. Respect for the sovereignty and for the rights of all without discrimination must be upheld by all the authorities who aspire for a civilized and sustainable world. The freedom to use military power must be limited by civilized human conduct.
The author is an honorary research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
