Chinese citizen can have freedom of speech if and only if it does not embarrass the government, said a Beijing prosecutor Zong Yuan through Beijing Daily, commenting on Chinese government’s arrest of a citizen Liu Yiming for he had questioned in public whether some local Zhejiang officials in a high-profile case had manipulated criminal justice to favor a rich suspect. Here is the full quote:

In our everyday life, it is understandable that ordinary citizens express their unsatisfactory feelings because of their distrust or misunderstanding of some administrative agencies. The government’s tolerance of these criticism shows our social progress and the confidence of our government. As long as it does not cause severe consequence or harm social stability, there should be nothing wrong for ordinary citizens to say something about their unsatisfactory or express a little criticism of the government.   But if it causes any chaotic result, that is a different story.

(Original text:

在日常生活中，普通民众出于对某些行政机关的不信任或误解，偶尔说些牢骚话发泄不满，是可以理解的。宽容对待民众对政府机关的各种批评，既体现了社会的进 步，也是表现政府的自信和勤勉。普通民众批评政府几句，责骂政府几句，只要没有造成严重后果，没有危害社会稳定，又有何不可？但真的造成混乱后果，则当别 论。)