latimes.com: A theatrical play about the struggle between a free press and government is one thing. A discussion about that same play is yet another order of magnitude, as the producers of L.A. Theatre Works' "Top Secret: Battle for the Pentagon Papers" discovered Friday night in Beijing.
Midway through a performance at the prestigious Peking University, producer Alison Friedman received a text message on her cellphone informing her that a talk after the performance would be canceled for fear of "unforeseen consequences."
2 comments:
The fact that the government even allowed something that could draw attention to their civil rights violations and authoritarian rule is at least on the surface a change for the better. Their fear of discussion in a public forum shows that they still hold to the old ways of oppression while give off the appearance of progress. China seems to be such a confused place. Modernization, infrastructure development and economic growth seem to be job one in China and with those goals will come many problems with the lack of free speech. It is going to be interesting to see what role the arts play going forward. The Chinese government is really reaching to maintain control and at some point we will see an uprising for free speech and expression.
While it is good that this performance was allowed in the first place, I don't see this article as a marker of progress in the Chinese political establishment. To me it seems that the chilling effects of a relatively oppressive regime. Not only is there severe government censorship, but it isn't even defined in a clear and symmetrical way. The culture of fear rather than an established review system means that the censorship isn't even applied evenly.
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