Censorship In China

The freedom of expression, recognized early in civilization as a basic human right by scholars, politicians, and philosophers, is often associated with a democracy. The freedom of information in turn is recognized as necessary by citizens under these democratic institutions. Western political theory often includes the synergistic sum of these pieces, creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between citizens and government as summarized as Charles Hobbes in his Social Contract Theory. However, that was the 17th century. Democracies have evolved in tandem with the rest of civilization in terms of culture, technology, international relations, and more. Even once-authoritarian states have practiced democratic elements- political theory is
China is infamous for censorship, which is utilized by the government to supervise social issues with problematic implications. Assumption that this policy is without exemption is ignorant to the complex social hierarchy of those that are considered “free-speech elite,” an exclusive status grated to the ideological, intellectual, linguistic, and financial elite. Criticisms of the Communist Party of China are generally unwelcome and met with intolerance, but ears are open to these groups of merited individuals with potential to improve the government from the inside. A large population with a plethora of ethnicities and ideologies that resent the government can pose a potential threat to the stability of the population, therefore, freedom of expression in China is “A privilege, not a right.” (Rubio, Marco) If one has lucrative business connections, specialized education, or has an impressive linguistic résumé, they have the potential to strengthen the ever-growing Chinese government and are able to constructively criticize the government. This is the result of cost-benefit analysis applied to civil