A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
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Yilu Zuo
Abstract
This article examines the human flesh search (Ren Rou Sou Suo), which may be the most salient and controversial phenomenon in the Chinese cyberspace. Unlike the conventional view that treats the human flesh search as illegal or trivial, this article argues that: first, the human flesh search may indeed have some ‘bad’ aspects (eg libel and privacy infringement), but the laws we have so far are sufficient in regulating these ‘bad’ aspects without scapegoating the entire human flesh search; second, and more importantly, every human flesh search is an online free speech mass movement. It gives millions of ordinary Chinese citizens a chance to express themselves in various forms and on wide-ranging topics, and allows them to create a new and more democratic culture. For the first time, activating the long dormant Article 47 of the Chinese Constitution and creating a culture ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ may become possible in China.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Professors Paul Gewirtz, Jack Balkin, Robert Post, Owen Fiss, Michael Wishinie, Amy Chua and Taisu Zhang for their helpful suggestions.
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- On the Relationship between International Law and International Constitutionalism
- Narratives of Constitutionalization in the European Union Court of Justice and in the European Court of Human Rights’ Case Law
- A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
- Constitutional Developments
- Austrian Constitutional Court: The Annulment of the Run-off for the Presidency
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Analysis in the Light of the previous Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Violation of the Principle of Free Elections
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Counterevidence and Influence of New Media
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Vegan Landowner Must Tolerate Hunting on his Property
- Hungarian Constitutional Court: The Limits of EU Law in the Hungarian Legal System
- Bosnian Constitutional Court: Unconstitutionality of the ‘Day of the Republic’
- Book Review
- Khaitan Tarunabh: A Theory of Discrimination Law
- David Kennedy: A World of Struggle: How Power, Law, and Expertise Shape Global Political Economy
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- On the Relationship between International Law and International Constitutionalism
- Narratives of Constitutionalization in the European Union Court of Justice and in the European Court of Human Rights’ Case Law
- A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
- Constitutional Developments
- Austrian Constitutional Court: The Annulment of the Run-off for the Presidency
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Analysis in the Light of the previous Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Violation of the Principle of Free Elections
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Presidential Election – Counterevidence and Influence of New Media
- Austrian Constitutional Court: Vegan Landowner Must Tolerate Hunting on his Property
- Hungarian Constitutional Court: The Limits of EU Law in the Hungarian Legal System
- Bosnian Constitutional Court: Unconstitutionality of the ‘Day of the Republic’
- Book Review
- Khaitan Tarunabh: A Theory of Discrimination Law
- David Kennedy: A World of Struggle: How Power, Law, and Expertise Shape Global Political Economy
