Skip to main content

Embracing Freedom, Navigating Sensitivities: My Journey from Silence to Speech

Image
By
I wanted to share some of my real experiences and thoughts here. I grew up in China and moved to the United States when I was around 30. I've always been critical of the Chinese government. However, under China's repressive political climate, with internet restrictions and speech control, people hardly have any means to express their political demands. The only option within China is to use what the government deems "illegal" VPNs to access social media like Twitter and YouTube. After arriving in the United States, I embraced freedom of speech and various social media platforms, frequently expressing my political views or criticisms of the Chinese government and the CCP (The Chinese Communist Party).



However, the United States is a melting pot of cultures, with 5.4 million Chinese people ("2023 Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Key U.S. Census Stats"), not all of whom disapprove of China's authoritarian regime. In fact, some even admire some policies that can only be implemented in an authoritarian country. Therefore, when I post my views on social media, like Twitter, I am very careful. I try my best to differentiate "Chinese people" from the "Chinese government" or the "CCP" because I fear my posts might hurt their feelings. In reality, even with this cautious approach, it still causes discomfort among these groups.

Moreover, some posts, if they become highly influential, can lead to discrimination against Chinese Americans. For example, the "Chinese spy balloon incident" early last year, where a balloon from China was shot down after traversing US airspace for three days. Some reports and studies have shown that this balloon had capabilities for networking and intelligence gathering（Kube and Lee), a ridiculous violation of Air rights. However, a senator from Texas reposted an edited picture of the balloon on Twitter and faced accusations of racial discrimination (Perlis).

Freedom of speech on social media can be a double-edged sword in certain scenarios. Perhaps some Chinese Americans might feel uncomfortable seeing my current post. and frankly, when I encounter their views and ideas, I too feel discomfort. However, as Voltaire said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," I try to phrase my opinions carefully and analyze them rationally when publishing them, to make my points logical and well-founded rather than baseless accusations, aiming to minimize hurt to innocent people's feelings as much as possible.

Works Cited

“U.S. Census Bureau Releases Key Stats in Honor of 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.” U.S. Department of Commerce, 1 May 2023, www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2023/05/us-census-bureau-releases-key-stats-honor-2023-asian-american-native-hawaiian-and.

Kube, Courtney, and Carol E. Lee. “U.S. Intelligence Officials Determined the Chinese Spy Balloon Used a U.S. Internet Provider to Communicate.” NBC News, 28 Dec. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/us-intelligence-officials-determined-chinese-spy-balloon-used-us-inter-rcna131150.

Perlis, Wicker. “Chinese Spy Balloon Tweet from MS State Senator Goes Viral, Leads to Accusations of Racism.” The Clarion-Ledger, www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/06/mississippi-senator-faces-accusations-of-racism-for-viral-china-balloon-tweet/69877554007/.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should TikTok Be Banned?

By
“Your platform should be banned,” said Congresswoman Cathy Rodgers, setting the stage for the marathon five-hour-long Congressional hearing (“America May Be a Step Closer”). On March 23, 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced questioning from Congress members, with intelligence and legislative bodies from the Biden administration expressing fears that the Chinese government might weaponize American app-usage data. This situation was not the first time TikTok found itself in such a predicament (Perrigo). In 2020, then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, utilized the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to issue an executive order that required TikTok to stop operations in the United States because of national security concerns (“United States Pursues Regulatory Actions”). In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the American courts and secured a preliminary injunction against the executive order (“United States Pursues Regulatory Actions”). Despite granting TikT...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media Connection and Isolation

By
I come from a country where freedom of speech is restricted. I remember when I first registered my Twitter account in 2017, it felt like opening a new world. Indeed, at that time, I fully experienced the allure of free speech; social media became a favorable place for me to express my political views. Because the topics I am interested in cannot be discussed on China's "intranet," I became engrossed in Twitter, spending significant time daily sharing my thoughts and opinions. However, I found that over time, a sense of isolation from my relatives and colleagues in real life began to develop. Firstly, the primary reason for this isolation was that the topics we focused on were no longer the same. My relatives and friends enjoyed their peaceful lives, discussing topics like cuisine, housing, cars, and children's education. Meanwhile, on Twitter, I was exposed to content I had never seen before in my life. I learned about massacres committed by the authorities against th...
1 comment
Read more

A Journey of Religious Understanding through Humanities Courses

By
China is renowned for its strict government regulation and supervision of religious activities. The Chinese education system has no introduction to relevant teaching about religion. Therefore, having been born and worked in China, my understanding of the stories and doctrines of different religions is quite limited. My only fragmented memories consist of moments in my childhood when my mother would take me to temples to bow before the Bodhisattva and instances where I was taken by older relatives to churches for mass without comprehending the significance of these ceremonies. Upon completing Chapter 4 on world religions, I came to the realization that this was my first thorough study and understanding of the three major world religions, including Buddhism. (John 2:13-17. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem and cleanseth the temple from defilement) From Abraham becoming the bond between God and the Hebrews (Fiero 96) to Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt back to Canaan and receiving the T...
Post a Comment
Read more