Ma Jian Quotes

A collection of quotes by Ma Jian.

Ma Jian is a Chinese novelist and contemporary dissident whose works have been widely celebrated for their exploration of political and social issues in China. Born in Qingdao in 1953, Ma Jian worked as a photojournalist before his work was banned by the government. He is the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including "Red Dust" and "Beijing Coma," which have been translated into multiple languages. Ma Jian's writing tackles themes of censorship, oppression, and the individual struggle for freedom in a repressive society. He currently resides in London and remains an outspoken critic of the Chinese government.

When history is erased, people's moral values are also erase

When history is erased, people's moral values are also erased.

My hope is that the Chinese government will come to realise

My hope is that the Chinese government will come to realise that it is futile to repress free speech, and that contrary to what they believe a regime's strength rests not its suppression of a plurality of opinions and ideas, but in its capacity and willingness to encourage them.

Strength

To become self-aware, people must be allowed to hear a plura

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.

Freedom

I meant that the Chinese people are not aware of their own e

I meant that the Chinese people are not aware of their own entrapment. They believe they live in a free society, but don't realize how much they are being monitored and controlled, how much the information they receive is restricted and warped, until they step out of line, that is, and feel the heavy hand of the state fall on them.

Society