This Chinese law professor and internet celebrity,
Had his social media account wiped
Was it for mentioning China’s organ harvesting?
Welcome to China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
This episode is sponsored by PC-Doctor Toolbox.
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your life miserable.
So in China, the constitution guarantees free speech.
Yes, it actually does.
It’s in Article 35.
Now you might think: But the Chinese government arrests people for things they say—so it’s
not following its own constitution!
But you’d be wrong.
You see, a few paragraphs later, the constitution clarifies that citizens, “in exercising
their freedoms and rights, may not infringe upon the interests of the State”.
So you can say whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t offend or expose people in
power.
Freedom of speech, with Chinese characteristics.
Just part of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
But surprisingly, one famous Chinese criminal law professor failed to understand this.
After one video of his started circulating online, he had years of work and millions
of followers on Chinese social media wiped out.
This is professor Luo Xiang.
He’s the director of the Institute of Criminal Law at a prominent university in Beijing.
But he’s much more than that.
Luo Xiang is like a rockstar.
Well, a rockstar among criminal law professors.
But still, over time he accumulated 2.5 million followers on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
Then, when Covid hit, his classroom lectures were moved online to Bilibili, China’s version
of YouTube—where he quickly gained 15 million followers.
He even got a stint on China’s hip new stand-up comedy show.
2020 was a magical year for me.
Out of nowhere, we were in a new generation of online learning.
Someone uploaded my class lectures on a video platform, and in one night I gained 10 million
followers.
I would have never thought that everybody’s favorite online class, turns out, is a class
on criminal law.
(audience laughs)
I have friends telling me to stop posting about these advanced topics, and to start
posting selfies.
But with this face?
Though it’s not particularly illegal, it feels pretty immoral.
Hold on, if Luo can make it big with mediocre jokes like that, how come I can’t get 15
million followers and an invitation to a Chinese comedy show?
My jokes are even more mediocre!
But while Professor Luo Xiang may have a lot of interesting things to say, it’s dangerous
to say some of them.
In a video that was circulating online a couple weeks ago, he touched the Chinese Communist
Party’s third rail topic: forced organ harvesting.
“People who have mental illness or are mentally handicapped, who eat from garbage cans, are
sent to the outskirts to be cleaned, raised pale and plump.
They are regularly sent to sell their blood, and even have their organs harvested!
People are raised like animals...
“If Social Darwinism goes to the extreme, If you truly don’t respect others, you’re
treating people like they’re just animals.
How could you not say this kind of behavior constitutes a crime?
It’s impossible!
It’s the crime of intentional harm.
If you remove both of a person’s kidneys, it’s the crime of intentional homicide.“
Luo was talking about cases like this one, from 2009, where a homeless man was killed
and his organs harvested.
Several doctors were implicated in the crime.
It doesn’t seem like Luo was talking about how the Chinese regime itself kills dissidents
and ethnic minorities for their organs.
But even mentioning forced organ harvesting is taboo in China.
Outside China, a lot of people already know the Chinese Communist Party is killing people
for their organs.
And if you didn’t, check out my episode “6 Things That Show China's Organ Harvesting
Is Real” An international tribunal confirmed it in
2019.
You can read all the evidence in their 60-page judgement.
Or you can just watch my listicle video.
The point is, forced organ harvesting is being carried out directly by the Chinese state,
in state-run hospitals.
But the Chinese state also gave itself the constitutional right to forbid any “free
speech” that “infringes upon the interests of the State.”
Which brings us back to professor Luo Xiang.
The Chinese Communist Party does not want anyone talking about forced organ harvesting—especially
when it’s trying to celebrate its 100-year anniversary this month.
And so Luo Xiang’s Weibo account was wiped clean.
It’s not clear whether authorities wiped his account or whether Luo did it himself
after being pressured.
Either way, it was the result of Luo Xiang saying things that could not be said.
Human rights activist and lawyer Teng Biao pointed out that this censorship shows how
“Authorities have repeatedly tightened control over speech.”
And “Intellectuals with a reputation and conscience like Luo Xiang are now forced to
quit Weibo and no longer have room to speak.”
Silencing intellectuals: a proud communist tradition.
But even before Luo Xiang’s Weibo account was wiped clean, he had made several controversial
statements.
A lot of his most popular videos criticized problems in Chinese society, and issues with
China’s legal system.
Like when he said Chinese laws are written in a vague way, and that makes it easier for
authorities to abuse them.
Even in this video, Luo is criticizing Social Darwinism, and how it runs rampant in modern
Chinese society.
Which could be seen as a criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.
The sad truth is that if you talk about problems with Chinese society, sooner or later you’re
going to get in trouble with the Chinese Communist Party.
Luo Xiang has been repeatedly harassed on Weibo by “patriotic” pro-CCP commenters.
And then there’s the fact that he’s criticized Chinese officials for having double standards.
In this post from January, Luo Xiang pointed out hypocrisy by China’s foreign minister
Zhao Lijian.
Zhao had pushed the theory that the coronavirus was a bioweapon created by the United States,
and sent out to infect China.
Zhao even called for the World Health Organization to investigate an American lab at Fort Detrick
as the possible origin of the coronavirus.
Professor Luo Xiang saw this and wrote, “Regarding the theory about America creating the coronavirus
as a bioweapon, is this not spreading rumors and false information?
How come there are no punishments for sharing this rumor?
In accordance with the law, this is a typical case of purposely broadcasting false and fear-mongering
news.
I hope officials can handle this accordingly.”
No wonder Luo Xiang’s Weibo account was wiped.
For now, Luo Xiang’s other videos aside from the organ harvesting one are still up
on his teaching platform, so he can still give his university lectures.
And his videos are still on Bilibili.
But it looks like he won’t be back on Weibo anytime soon.
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I’m Chris Chappell.
Thanks for watching China Uncensored.