The Chinese Office of Propaganda

Here's a link to an American Scholar article by Ha Jin on the Chinese Propaganda Department. Chilling. True. Self censorship creates and manifests fear inside the system. 

He says, "Censorship not only chokes artistic talent but also weakens the Chinese populace, who are forced to be less imaginative and less inventive. The crisis in education has been a hot topic in China for years. Why are so many Chinese students good at taking tests but poor at analytical thinking?...Besides the commercialization of education, the absence of a free, tolerant environment has stunted the growth of students and teachers."

I made this exact argument in my novel, A Century Is Nothing, based on my experience teaching English for two years at a private Chinese business university in Fujian. 

Metta.

A rural Chinese elementary dorm. Eight kids per little blue room. "Fairyland to live. A paradise to learn. Cradle to become a useful person." 

The Propaganda People