Freedom of expression and its boundaries

Author: Wang Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This book primarily studies the legal boundaries of freedom of expression from the perspective of the relativity of rights. It begins with the boundaries of freedom of expression and ultimately concludes with the protection of freedom of expression. The restriction on freedom of expression is merely a means, while its protection is the ultimate goal. The main stance of this paper is that freedom of expression, as a fundamental political right of citizens, is also relative. The boundaries of freedom of expression are the concrete manifestation of its relativity, and these boundaries can only be set by law. The law itself must meet the dual requirements of procedural justice and substantive justice, which are the foundation of the legality and legitimacy of legal restrictions on freedom of expression. In practice, freedom of expression may conflict with citizens' private rights or between freedom of expression and public rights under specific circumstances. Therefore, judicial authorities may impose restrictions on freedom of expression in specific cases based on the balance of interests to protect national interests, public interests, and other concerns. Such restrictions, whether based on legal provisions or judicial lawmaking, must adhere to the principles of the rule of law, specifically procedural and substantive justice, which define the limits of the legal boundaries of freedom of expression. This book consists of a preface and seven chapters. The preface primarily introduces the necessity and significance of the research topic, the current state of domestic and international studies, and the expected goals of the paper. The first chapter introduces the fundamental theoretical issues of freedom of expression; the second chapter discusses the value of freedom of expression; the third chapter explores the relativity of freedom of expression from the perspectives of democracy, law, and morality, laying a theoretical foundation for the subsequent discussion of the legal boundaries of freedom of expression; the fourth chapter elaborates on the legitimacy of state public power restricting freedom of expression; the fifth chapter discusses the restrictions imposed by state public power on freedom of expression; the sixth chapter explains some principles for restricting freedom of expression; and the seventh chapter attempts to discuss the current state and future development of freedom of expression in China based on the arguments of the previous chapters, leading to the conclusion of the entire book. The conclusion is that freedom of expression is not an absolute right and must be subject to legal restrictions. Legislation must also undergo judicial review to ensure the fairness of the law itself. At the same time, the rule of law in a socialist country with Chinese characteristics requires reducing the non-legal operation of power and appropriately decreasing the influence of individual will on policy-making.