民の発言を抑えるとどうなるか？
名称は忘れたがある中国の古典に、民の声が煩いというので、政府批判を厳罰の対象にして民を黙らせて得意になった或る王の話がある。得意になって自慢している王に向かって、或る家臣が「民を黙らせるとその内に大変な事になりますよ」と言ったが、王は全く気にしなかったという。そして、後日民衆が蜂起したという。
今の中国は、正しくこの道を歩んでいるのではないか？反スパイ法という脅しの道具で中国国民だけでなく、外国のビジネスマンの言葉も抑えてしまえば、短期的には効果があるだろうが、長期的には反政府のエネルギーの源泉にも成りかねない。
中国政府の要人は、早くこの事に気付いてもらいたいものである。
What happens if a king suppress people's speech?
In a Chinese classic, the book name of which I have forgotten, there is a story about a king who became good at silencing his people by punishing them harshly for criticizing the government because the voices of his people bothered him. A certain vassal said to the king who was proud of himself and said, ``If you keep the people quiet, you'll get into trouble soon,'' but the king didn't care at all. It is said that the people later rose up.
Isn't China currently on the right wrong path? Using the anti-espionage law as a threat tool to suppress the words of not only Chinese citizens but also foreign businessmen may be effective in the short term, but in the long term it could become a source of anti-government energy.
I hope that important people in the Chinese government realize this as soon as possible.
