爱华网The Freedom of Speech
Man is a creature endowed with the innate faculty of thinkingand feeling. This necessitates the expression of his thoughts andemotions via speech. For this reason, the freedom of speech haslong been an unalienable human right recognized as a universalvalue by almost all modern civilized nations. In China, as in othercountries, it is a sacred right enshrined in the Constitution, themost fundamental law of the country.
Therefore, it came as a total outrage when, in the wake of aterrible car accident on the campus of Hebei University, theuniversity authorities banned the students from articulating theirindignations and expressing their condolences toward the dead. Thestudents were told not to talk to journalists conducting interviewsat the university or post articles on the university website. Inthat car accident, a young man named xxx killed one girl andseriously injured another. The son of a high-ranking local policeofficial, the young man drove his car in a state of alcoholicintoxication and above the speed limit. Worse still, the drunkendriver tried to escape the scene and defied an angry crowd thattried to stop him!
As protector of the rights and interests of students, theuniversity authorities should have been the first to speak outagainst the atrocities of the law-violating driver, who is himselfa public servant. But the pathetic fact is that, for fear ofrevenge by the driver’s father, the university authorities remainedreticent and forced students into reticence. We may well ask whatkind of example the university is setting for itsstudents and what kind of students the university wants todevelop?
Ultimately, university education should teach students toinquire freely, to be outspoken against social injustices, and tobe responsible citizens of our society. Students should beencouraged to be bold in their search for truth and in fightingagainst evils. With the freedom of speech, they can afford to becritical and skeptical. They can challenge what they believe to bewrong and fight for what they feel to be right. Freedom of speechis the very cornerstone of political civilization and it plays acrucial role in promoting democracy and the rule of law. In adialogue with Chinese students in Shanghai last year, PresidentObama said that “criticisms from American people can make me abetter president.”
Young students are the future leaders of our world. In order toenable them to lead competently, they should be allowed to givefull vent to their thoughts and feelings on whatever issues whichthey care about. Only when people are given implicit freedom ofspeech will there be genuine insights and constructive criticismsthat drive our society forward. Therefore, it is essential that weadvocate and safeguard this fundamental human right and move oursociety into the right direction of civilization.
言 论 自由
人类作为有血有肉的生物体，自其诞生之初便被赋予了进行思索与感受的能力。这不可避免地促使他要经由言论来表述其所思所感。基于这一原由，言论自由长期以来一直是人类的一项不可剥夺的权力，作为一种普世价值而为当今几乎所有文明国家所公认。在中国，一如在其他国家，它是一项神圣的权益，在国家的根本大法—宪法—中，得到充分的保护。
正因如此，所以，当河北大学校园里那场令人发指的汽车肇事案发生之后，校方禁止该校学生表达他们的义愤、向死者表示哀悼之情，这自然就令人愤慨至极。该校的学生们被告知，不要接受来到该校的新闻记者的采访，也不要在该校网站上发帖。然而，在那场汽车意外事件中，名叫XXX的一位年轻人致使两名女学生一人死亡，一人严重受伤。这个年轻人是当地一名高级警官的儿子，他在醉酒状态下超速驾车。更为糟糕的是，这位醉驾司机见死不救，力图逃离现场，并公然挑衅试图阻止他的愤怒民众。
作为学生权益的保护者，河北大学本应在第一时间挺身而出，谴责这位违法肇事司机的野蛮行径，而这司机本人据说还是一位政府部门的公务员。但可悲的事实是，出于对该司机父亲打击报复的恐惧心理，校方竟然一片沉默，并迫使学生也缄默其口。我们要责问的是，学校到底要为其学生树立何种榜样？该校究竟要培养什么样的学生？
最终而言，大学教育应该教授学生们去自由地探究，大胆地批判社会正义的缺失，并成为社会中富有责任心的公民。学校应该鼓励学生勇于追求事实真相，敢于与各种弊端作斗争。只有拥有了言论自由之后，他们才有可能来提出质疑并进行批判，他们就可以向他们所认为的错误行为提出挑战，并去捍卫他们所认为正确的东西。言论自由是政治文明的根本基石，在推动民主与法治过程中具有举足轻重的作用。就在去年与上海的中国大学生们进行对话的过程中，奥巴马总统就曾说过，“来自美国民众的批评可以使我成为一个更好的总统。”
青年学子是我们这个世界的未来领袖。为了使他们能合格地来引领我们的世界，他们应该被允许在他们所关心的任何议题上畅所欲言。只有当人们被赋予绝对的言论自由后，才会产生真知灼见和有建设性的批评，推动我们的社会向前发展。因此，我们应该全力倡导并捍卫这一基本人权，使我们的社会朝着人类文明的正确方向迈进。
