MCLC: Yang Jisheng's speech

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Yang Jisheng’s speech
Source: Sinosphere, NYT (3/10/16)
The Speech Yang Jisheng, Barred From Going to U.S., Planned to Give at Harvard
点击查看本文中文版 Read in Chinese
By MICHAEL FORSYTHE
In China, as in other countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, journalists and authors intent on exposing wrongdoing and telling the truth inevitably find themselves at odds with the government. Such is the case with Yang Jisheng, a longtime reporter for the state news agency Xinhua who, after he retired, published a landmark book, “Tombstone,” documenting the deaths of 36 million people during the 1958-62 famine, one of the worst man-made disasters in history.
For his efforts, he earned the enmity of the Communist Party, which is increasingly intolerant of what it calls “historical nihilism” that tarnishes its stewardship of the nation. Mr. Yang, 75, was awarded the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism by the Nieman fellows at Harvard. He was to have received the award in person Thursday evening, but last month, his former employer told him that he was forbidden to travel to the United States.
Following are excerpts from the speech he would have given, translated from Chinese by Stacy Mosher, who was a translator of “Tombstone.” (A full transcript is available here.)
I thank the Nieman class of 2016 for giving me the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism. I feel overwhelmed by the weight of the words “conscience” and “integrity,” but they serve to encourage and spur me on. ...
I fervently love the profession of journalism. ... This is a profession that is despicable and noble, banal and sacred, shallow and profound, all depending on the conscience, character and values of the individual journalist. The truly professional journalist will choose the noble, sacred, profound and perilous, and remain aloof from the despicable, mundane, shallow and comfortable. ...
Insisting on being a journalist with conscience and integrity carries risks. When giving a lecture to a class of journalism students, I passed along a tip for avoiding danger: “Ask for nothing and fear nothing, and position yourself between heaven and earth.” By asking for nothing, I mean not hoping for promotion or wealth; by fearing nothing, I mean examining one’s own behavior and not exposing a pigtail for anyone to grab. Don’t rely on the powerful, but rather on your own character and professional independence. ...
Since China embarked on Reform and Opening, many journalists of conscience and integrity have emerged. In the face of enormous impediments, they’ve reported the truth, chastised evil and moved Chinese society forward. They aren’t attending this ceremony tonight, but they should share in its honor.
I’ve retired now and can no longer work as a journalist, so I write historical works as a journalist of past events. Yesterday’s news is today’s history. What news and history have in common is that both must be true and credible. Credibility is the lifeblood of both news and history. China’s historians have always put an emphasis on the ethics of history: fidelity to unvarnished historical fact, both positive and negative. Every age has included historians who consider it their responsibility to provide an honest record, and who consider distortion a disgrace. Many historians have preserved their moral integrity at the cost of their lives. Influenced by the spirit of China’s historians, I’ve recorded major events that I personally experienced: the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution, Reform and Opening. We must remember not only the good things, but also the bad; not only the brightness, but also the darkness. I want people to remember man-made disaster, darkness and evil so they will distance themselves from man-made disaster, darkness and evil from now on.
My book “Tombstone” recorded a horrific man-made disaster that lasted for several years. Although it could only be published in Hong Kong and remains banned in China, truth-loving people have found various means and channels to distribute it throughout mainland China. Pirated editions of “Tombstone” are being sold from the hinterlands of the Central Plains to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the Xinjiang frontier. I’ve received letters from readers all over China expressing their fervent and unwavering support. This shows the power of truth to break through the bronze walls and iron ramparts constructed by the government.
Fact is a powerful bomb that blasts lies to smithereens. Fact is a beacon in the night that lights the road of progress. Fact is the touchstone of truth; there can be no truth without facts.
Journalists are the recorders, excavators and defenders of truth.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on March 11, 2016
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