The recent prosecution of writer Mo Yan has sparked a lot of discussion on the Internet, with many arguments for and against, and sometimes even verbal arguments. I haven't read **, and I'm not a lawyer, so I don't have a say in whether I should sue or not, and whether the prosecution is right or not. I just want to share some thoughts on this event, which sheds light on the three dimensions of law, democracy and society.
The first is the legal aspect。Prosecution is a right conferred on a citizen by law, regardless of his motives, even if they are malicious (which does not prevent him from using the means of the law). If the procuratorate or court accepts it, it means that the prosecution is in accordance with legal procedures. Of course, if the lawsuit is not accepted or the case is lost, it is wrong to declare the prosecution legally adjudicated. Mo Yan can also countersue him for false accusations. If he wins, it means that the law recognizes him. As a society governed by the rule of law, no matter who you support, you must also accept the ruling of the law. If there are loopholes in the law, it is a question of how to improve it later. So the key to this matter, who is right and who is wrong, is still up to the law.
The second is the democratic dimension。Although it is up to the law to judge what is right or wrong, everyone as a citizen has the right to express his or her opinion on things. Of course, Lao Hu also has the right to publish "Suing Mo Yan is buttoning his hat and taking it out of context". As long as it is not extreme behavior such as invective and personal attacks, mutual discussion and argument is a manifestation of a democratic society and a right worthy of all of us. Therefore, it is not advisable to easily escalate different opinions to the level of politics (such as love or not patriotism) and attack the other side, and it is easy to restrict different speech, of course, this is the easiest way to be invincible in the debate, but such a discussion loses its meaning.
Finally, there is the social dimension。Although this matter is a legal issue on the surface, it also reveals some deep-seated social phenomena. What kind of motive will lead to turning the fictional plot in a literary work (which may have a basis in life, but after all, it is **, and cannot be seated in the right place) into a real social problem to be held accountable? If this is the case, it may be that many literary works will not be able to withstand such scrutiny. This reminds me of when I was in elementary school, when I put the remarks of Confucius 2,000 years ago into the real world. Therefore, it is simple to do this just to earn traffic, but perhaps this is a more ponderable question than the rights and wrongs of the prosecution itself. It is much more difficult to form an open, relaxed, and positive social atmosphere than to go online at every turn.