September 22, 2005

Taiwan author riles China with acid speech

By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - Prolific and controversial Taiwan author Li Ao riled China on Wednesday by giving millions of Internet surfers and television viewers a taste of the self-ruled island's freewheeling democracy.

Li championed freedom of speech and took repeated swipes at the Communist Party in a no-holds-barred question-and-answer session at Peking University televised live by Hong Kong's Phoenix cable network which is seen by millions across China.

The Communist Party's propaganda mandarins were furious and ordered newspapers and Web sites not to give publicity to Li's speech, a Chinese media industry source told Reuters.

Without mentioning the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests crushed by the Chinese army, Li said: "Currently, all government rulers in the world possess machineguns and tanks. Hence, I say the people must be smart and rely on wisdom when striving for freedom of speech."

"Today, I talk about freedom of speech. They are afraid. What is there to be afraid of?" said the 70-year-old writer, who has published 100 books, 96 of which were banned until Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987.

China rolled out the red carpet for Li, host of a popular talk show on Phoenix and a member of Taiwan's parliament, apparently because he strongly opposed formal independence for Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed as its own since their split at the end of the civil war in 1949.

But transcripts of Li's acid speech, which compared freedom of speech to watching adult movies -- known as A rated movies in Taiwan -- disappeared from Chinese Web sites.

"Statistics in Sweden show that the number of rapists fell by 16 percent and the number of peeping Toms dropped by 80 percent. When everybody watches A rated movies all day, it becomes normal. Freedom of speech is the same," Li said.

"HOT POTATO"

Li's unorthodox style was an eye-opener for Chinese, who are used to staid, choreographed speeches by their leaders and political commentators on state television.

One Internet participant called Li a "cultural scoundrel". Another said he was a "hot potato".

Li, who lost a bid for Taiwan's presidency in 2000, said Peking University -- his father and sisters' alma mater -- failed to uphold its tradition of liberalism and was "cowardly".

Asked by a student whether he agreed with a threat by Peking University chancellor to expel anti-Communist academics, Li said universities should put up with all kinds of voices.

Responding to a question on whether he planned to visit the Great Wall, Li jokingly said he may end up in Beijing's notorious Qingcheng prison for political prisoners for his speech. He was jailed in Taiwan for five and a half years for helping a dissident flee the island.

Li arrived in China this week for a 12-day visit, his first since fleeing with his family to Taiwan in 1949 when the Communists swept to power in a revolution.

Taiwan opposition leaders visited China in April and May but were reserved when addressing Peking and Tsinghua universities.

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