Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Zichan Won't Abolish Town Academy

Zichan was a powerful politician in Zheng Kingdom. 542 B.C. officials reported to Zichan that many people gathered at town academies. Another politician Ranming urged Zichan to take action against these people because they had criticised government policies and spread rumors. Zichan refused. Instead, Zichan said, "if they like something to be done, I will do it. If they dislike our policies, I will adjust them. They are like our mentors. No one will be able to stop people from criticising. People's resentment is like flood, you can't block it forever. A better way is to lead it through proper channels."

A police officer in Guanzhou had been suspended after he tweeted the above story on 8/31/2013. The tweet went viral as Chinese netizens used it to mock the government's sudden tightening up on Internet censorship. Zhang Shengchun was the deputy director of the PR Department of Guangzhou Police. Any reference to the historical story was also banned in Sina Weibo, the popular Chinese alternative to Tweeter.

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