To become self-aware, people must be allowed to hear a plurality of opinions and then make up their own minds. They must be allowed to say, write and publish whatever they want. Freedom of expression is the most basic, but fundamental, right. Without it, human beings are reduced to automatons.
More Quotes by Ma Jian
In 1989, I was on Tiananmen Square with the students, living in their makeshift tents and joining their jubilant singing of the Internationale. In the two decades since, each time that I have gone back, visions from those days seem to return with increasing persistence.
When the written and spoken word is censored, the urban landscape becomes a nation's only physical link to the past.
Living in London is like being on a luxury cruise liner.
I wanted to analyse and understand how the Chinese people could have their lives so crushed by fear.
I believe that the power of literature is stronger than the power of tyranny.
I am a writer. Being critical is a writer's responsibility.