ABSTRACT
Freedom of speech has been a highly valued right for many Chinese over the years. Hu Ping published his first piece on freedom of speech during the Democracy Movement of 1978-79. Although this article was far-reaching and quite radical in its defense of the freedom of speech, he did not then make use of the language of human rights when describing it, nor did he refer to international human rights documents. His language and approach reflected the political situation of the time and the theoretical framework within which most Chinese were operating. He refutes the Chinese government's view on human rights point by point, strongly defending the idea that human rights are universal. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Paris. To reject human rights in the name of cultural relativism is a new tactic of the opponents of human rights which has appeared in the past few years.
