Title: Freedom of Expression in China: A Privilege, Not a Right | Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Headings: Freedom of Expression in China: A Privilege, Not a Right
Freedom of Expression in China: A Privilege, Not a Right
Limited Freedom of Expression for China's "Free Speech Elite"
Ideological Elite
Intellectual and Professional Elite
Linguistic Elite
Financial Elite
No Freedom of Political Expression for Ordinary Citizens

Content: Financial Elite
While China's Constitution maintains that "the People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants," and Communist Party dogma claims that people in Western democracies do not enjoy freedom of the press because only capitalists who own the press can enjoy the freedom, the fact remains that China is one of the few countries in the world that has laws that actually require people to be wealthy before they can publish a newspaper or magazine. Article 11 of China's Publishing Regulations specifically requires that anyone wishing to publish a newspaper or magazine must have registered capital of at least RMB 300,000 (about US$ 35,000), a prohibitive amount of money in any country, but especially in China where the workers make less than US$100 a month. No Freedom of Political Expression for Ordinary Citizens
So what of China's billion-plus citizens who are not members of the free-speech elite? Although an average citizen could privately express sentiments similar to those published by Li Rui, if an average person had written and privately published what Li Rui wrote, or presented such sentiments in a speech to a large political gathering as he did, there is little doubt that Chinese authorities would prosecute them for subversion. For the average Chinese citizen freedom of publication is actually nothing more than the freedom to submit. In meetings with Commission staff Chinese officials have stated that anyone wanting to publish their opinions may submit their article or book to a government-licensed publisher, but if they are unable to find a licensed publisher, then the only way they can legally exercise their constitutional right to freedom of publication is to "enjoy their works themselves, or give copies to friends and family." Certain groups and individuals who are unable to obtain government authorization to publish do manage to put out books and periodicals on a small scale, but this is possible only through subterfuge and violating Chinese law (for example, by stamping publications as "not for external distribution," or by purchasing book numbers that licensed publishers illegally offer for sale). These private publishers are therefore subject to the threat of closure and arrest each time they exercise their right to freedom of expression. Two Men Jailed for Publishing Poetry
In January 2003 the website of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party, reported that a court in Hefei, Anhui province sentenced two men, identified only by the surnames He and Yu, to prison terms of nine and seven years respectively for "unlawful operation of a business." Their crime was publishing love poems without government authorization.