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The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship
The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship. I worked on this collaboratively with Vanessa Periam (vanessaperiam.tumblr.com We wanted to experiment with objects as a means of communication. The elastic band portrays censorship and the breaking of this signifies the removal which then shows progress by being able to open the scissors freely.From:sthartcreativeViews:0 0ratingsTime:00:08More inAutos Vehicles

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The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship - Video

IT IS too easy to laugh. When Sakina Kamwendo invited three print journalists to discuss the media coverage of the African National Congresss (ANCs) Mangaung conference on her Metro FM show, the show was pulled at the last minute by the SABCs acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The reason he gave afterwards was simple: the show was not balanced because the subject was the ANCs conference and there was no ANC representative on the panel.

Now, as we all know, the SABC treasures "balance"; it honours "balance"; it reveres balance". Ja, right.

The irony, of course, is that far from making the discussion "balanced" by including an ANC representative, it would have made the discussion unbalanced as it would then plainly have excluded the voice of any political grouping other than the ANC. Somehow, this did not seem to occur to Motsoeneng.

The discussion included three of the most fair-minded journalists in the political game: Sthembiso Msomi from the Sunday Times, Sam Mkokeli from Business Day and Andrew England from the Financial Times.

Msomi actually tweeted afterwards that, ironically, one of the points he intended making was that the coverage of the conference by the SABC had been pretty fair to his mind.

In any event, Motsoenengs justification for pulling the interview was roundly ridiculed, as it should have been.

Someone joked that Top Gear has been pulled off the SABC too because nobody had consulted the ANC on its views on driving.

Personally, I feel for the presenters of the religious programming. You can imagine the conversation. "Hi, Mr Lucifer, we would like to invite you to join us on the Kingdom Come programme, because our policy requires a balanced approach at all times, and we would like to offer you the opportunity to, you know, present your side of the story."

Its all slightly comical and funny except that it isnt. For a start, the recent history of the SABC is just ridiculous, starting with Motsoeneng himself.

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Censorship at SABC is funny — but it’s not a joke

STOCKHOLM - This year's Nobel Prize in literature winner, Mo Yan, who has been criticized for his membership in China's Communist Party and reluctance to speak out against the country's government, defended censorship Thursday as something as necessary as airport security checks.

He also suggested he won't join an appeal calling for the release of the jailed 2010 Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, a fellow writer and compatriot.

Mo has been criticized by human rights activists for not being a more outspoken defender of freedom of speech and for supporting the Communist Party-backed writers' association, of which he is vice-president.

His comments Thursday, made during a news conference in Stockholm, appear unlikely to soften his critics' views toward him.

Awarding him the literature prize has also brought criticism from previous winners. Herta Mueller, the 2009 literature laureate, called the jury's choice of Mo a "catastrophe" in an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter last month. She also accused Mo of protecting the Asian country's censorship laws.

China's rulers forbid opposition parties and maintain strict control over all media.

Mo said he doesn't feel that censorship should stand in the way of truth but that any defamation, or rumours, "should be censored."

"But I also hope that censorship, per se, should have the highest principle," he said in comments translated by an interpreter from Chinese into English.

Mo is spending several days in Stockholm before receiving his prestigious prize in an awards ceremony next Monday.

He won the Nobel for his sprawling tales of life in rural China. In its citation, the jury said Mo "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary."

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Chinese Nobel winner says censorship necessary, dodges calls for dissident's release

STOCKHOLM (AP) This year's Nobel Prize in literature winner, Mo Yan, who has been criticized for his membership in China's Communist Party and reluctance to speak out against the country's government, defended censorship Thursday as something as necessary as airport security checks.

He also suggested he won't join an appeal calling for the release of the jailed 2010 Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, a fellow writer and compatriot.

Mo has been criticized by human rights activists for not being a more outspoken defender of freedom of speech and for supporting the Communist Party-backed writers' association, of which he is vice president.

His comments Thursday, made during a news conference in Stockholm, appear unlikely to soften his critics' views toward him.

Awarding him the literature prize has also brought criticism from previous winners. Herta Mueller, the 2009 literature laureate, called the jury's choice of Mo a "catastrophe" in an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter last month. She also accused Mo of protecting the Asian country's censorship laws.

China's rulers forbid opposition parties and maintain strict control over all media.

Mo said he doesn't feel that censorship should stand in the way of truth but that any defamation, or rumors, "should be censored."

"But I also hope that censorship, per se, should have the highest principle," he said in comments translated by an interpreter from Chinese into English.

Mo is spending several days in Stockholm before receiving his prestigious prize in an awards ceremony next Monday.

He won the Nobel for his sprawling tales of life in rural China. In its citation, the jury said Mo "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary."

Originally posted here:
Chinese Nobel literature winner: censorship a must

STOCKHOLM (AP) This year's Nobel literature winner Mo Yan, who has been criticized for his cozy relationship with China's Communist Party, defended censorship Thursday as something as necessary as airport security checks.

He also suggested he has no plans to join an appeal calling for the release of the jailed 2010 Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo.

Mo has been criticized by human rights activists for not being a more outspoken defendant of freedom of speech and for being a member of the Communist Party-backed writers' association.

His comments Thursday, made in Stockholm, appear unlikely to soften his critics' views toward him.

Awarding him the prize has also brought criticism from previous Nobel winners. Herta Mueller, the 2009 literature laureate, called the jury's choice of Mo a "catastrophe" in an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter last month. She also accused Mo of protecting China's censorship laws.

Mo said he doesn't feel that censorship should stand in the way of truth but that any defamation, or rumors, "should be censored."

"But I also hope that censorship, per se, should have the highest principle," he said in comments translated by an interpreter from Chinese into English.

Mo, a Communist party member and vice president of China's official writers association, spoke at a news conference in Stockholm, where he is spending several days before receiving his prestigious prize in an awards ceremony next Monday.

Addressing an issue that is extremely sensitive for China's authoritarian Communist regime, Mo likened censorship to the thorough security procedures he was subjected to as he traveled to Stockholm.

"When I was taking my flight, going through the customs ... they also wanted to check me even taking off my belt and shoes," he said. "But I think these checks are necessary."

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Nobel literature winner says censorship necessary