I am completely in favour of dialogue and engagement. But it must be a true, open dialogue. Ma Jian Read Quote
The Chinese have made a faustian pact with the government, agreeing to forsake demands for political and intellectual freedom in exchange for more material comfort. They live prosperous lives in which any expression of pain is forbidden. Ma Jian Read Quote
I left Beijing in the late 1980s to live in Hong Kong because, having been blacklisted by the government, I couldn’t publish my works on the mainland. Ma Jian Read Quote
When the written and spoken word is censored, the urban landscape becomes a nation’s only physical link to the past. Ma Jian Read Quote
The Beijing Olympics represent China’s grand entrance onto the world stage and confirmation of its new superpower status. Ma Jian Read Quote
China is completely lacking in self-awareness and as someone who has stepped outside that society, I have a responsibility to write about it as I see it. Ma Jian Read Quote
While I was writing ‘Stick Out Your Tongue’ in Beijing, the police began knocking on my door again. As soon as I finished the book, I moved to Hong Kong so that I could work undisturbed on my next novel. Ma Jian Read Quote
