Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I'm slightly disappointed about the level of discourse here about this. Visa issues are a side show - the real story is about the self censorship people are subjecting themselves to.

The important idea that Perry Link suggests is that US Universities should deliberately push at the very limits of Chinese censorship within China, so that academics will feel free to discuss thing within those boundaries.

It's quite a clever way of trying to avoid the self-censorship trap, which - as the author points out - is probably more dangerous than the actual censorship itself.




Welcome to the general level of internet discourse about China. Pretty much any internet debate about the Middle Kingdom tends to dissolve into:

* But look at the US * err... and that's it.


I don't believe that's coincidental: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party


Be that as it may, it doesn't have to be like that.

Notably, neither pro-PRC nor anti-PRC camps are helped by that discourse.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: