The slogan of freedom of the press was first put forward by Milton, a British political commentator and poet. 1644 in his speech on "freedom of the press" to the National Assembly, he criticized the religious system in Britain for hindering the development of science and education, and the "publication control law" for licensing the printing industry. He called for "giving me the freedom to know, the freedom to express my opinions and the freedom to discuss according to my conscience, which is the most important freedom of all."
1648, J. Li Erben, the leader of the British average faction, published the People's Convention, proposing that everyone is equal before the law, advocating universal suffrage and guaranteeing freedom of the press.
Historically, the concept of freedom of speech and publication has been confirmed by law, and it has only been 200 years since various modern codes of rights and human rights declarations began at the end of18th century. After the bourgeoisie gained political power, freedom of the press was enshrined in the Constitution as the political program of bourgeois democracy. 1789 The French bourgeoisie's Declaration of Human Rights declared: "Freedom of expression of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of human beings, so every citizen has freedom of speech, writing and publication." The 1793 Constitution formulated by the National Assembly controlled by jacobins and the 1848 Constitution formulated by the Constituent Assembly controlled by the bourgeoisie and factions also clearly stipulate that citizens have freedom of speech and publication.
1789 The Bill of Rights, the first amendment to the US Constitution, which came into effect in 179 1, stipulates that Congress shall not make laws that deprive freedom of speech or freedom of the press.
With the development of free capitalism, the publishing legal system that embodies and guarantees the freedom of the press has also undergone obvious changes. Many countries have gradually abolished the censorship system, the franchise system and the margin system that were widely used in the publishing industry in history, and established a publishing legal system with bourgeois democracy, freedom and the spirit of the rule of law. The general trend is to be relaxed and the scope of freedom of the press has been expanded. However, under the capitalist system, due to the private possession of the means of production, the freedom of publication, no matter what its manifestation, can not get rid of the control of capital on publication. Its essence is to safeguard capitalist private ownership and bourgeois interests, and in the final analysis, it serves the economic foundation of the capitalist system.
The struggle of the proletariat for freedom of the press. Before gaining political power, the proletariat took over the slogan of freedom of the press from the bourgeoisie and fought for freedom, equality and democratic rights for a long time. As early as 1842, Marx sharply criticized Prussia's censorship of books and newspapers, pointing out that this system hindered and suppressed the discussion of truth and imprisoned the spread of progressive ideas. He shouted for freedom of the press, saying, "Without freedom of the press, all other freedoms are in vain." In Russia before the October Revolution, Lenin wrote: "Freedom of the press means that all citizens can freely express all their opinions. ..... Soviet-style state power should distribute all printing houses and all newspapers fairly ... "
During the period of China's new-democratic revolution, Mao Zedong, on behalf of the broadest masses of the people and democratic public opinion, issued a strong voice: "We demand the abolition of all reactionary laws that suppress people's freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, thought, belief and body, so that the people can obtain full freedom rights." And pointed out that "these freedoms are the most important freedoms."
After the proletariat came to power, the first Soviet Constitution 19 18, which was formulated with Lenin's guidance and participation, clearly pointed out: "In order to ensure the real freedom of working people to express their opinions, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic eliminated the dependence of the publishing industry on capital, handed over all the material and technical materials for publishing newspapers, pamphlets, books and all other publications to the working class and poor peasants, and ensured their free dissemination throughout the country. On the eve of the founding of New China, the * * * Party and the people's government regarded freedom of speech and publication as a basic right of the people and included it in the political program and constitution to guarantee it. 1949 Articles 5 and 49 of the Same Program adopted at the first plenary session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference on September 29th stipulate that "the people of China have the right to freedom of thought, speech and publication" and "develop the people's publishing industry and pay attention to publishing popular books and newspapers that are beneficial to the people". 1982 65438+On February 4th, Article 35 of the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC) adopted by the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress stipulated: "The people and citizens of China have freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration. "
Socialist freedom of publication has fundamentally got rid of the control of capital on publication, which is wider and more real than capitalist freedom of publication. In China, in order to provide various conditions for people to exercise freedom of the press, many publishing houses, printing houses and bookstores have been set up from the central government to local governments, and they have given support in terms of funds, taxes and materials. The state supports and encourages competition between different academic viewpoints and styles. Writers, artists and scientists are free to publish their works and discuss major theoretical and practical issues. All publications are protected by law except illegal or harmful publications. Citizens can express their opinions on state affairs through books, periodicals and other media, and put forward opinions and suggestions to the staff of party and government organs until they are publicly criticized. These are all manifestations of people's freedom of speech and publication.
Although citizens in socialist countries enjoy the right to freedom of the press, freedom of the press must be based on certain material and spiritual civilization conditions. Marx said: "Rights can never go beyond the socio-economic structure and the social and cultural development restricted by the economic structure."
China is still in the primary stage of socialism with a low level of economic and cultural development. Therefore, there is still a process of continuous improvement to fully exercise the freedom of the press. First of all, the degree of realization of socialist civil rights should be compatible with the process of socialist democratic political construction. However, China's political system reform, especially the construction of democratic politics, has not yet reached its due legalization and institutionalization, and some specific forms that have been put into practice also need a process of constantly raising awareness and accumulating experience. With the deepening of reform, civil rights will inevitably continue to expand. Secondly, the realization of press freedom cannot be separated from economic and material conditions. At present, the level of social productivity in China is still low, which is manifested in the shortage of paper and insufficient printing production capacity. The degree of freedom of publication cannot be restricted by these objective material conditions. With the development of the construction of socialist two civilizations in China, the freedom of socialist press will be gradually improved.
Freedom of the press is not absolute and abstract, but relative, concrete and limited. It is protected and restricted by law. After stipulating that "every citizen has the freedom of speech, writing and publication", the French declaration of human rights of 1789 goes on to point out: "Under the circumstances stipulated by law, one should be responsible for abusing this freedom." In the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, there are also provisions to protect freedom of speech and publication from infringement. American constitutional scholars argue that freedom of speech and publication is not an absolute right of citizens, and freedom of speech and publication that endangers national security, undermines public order, affects social corruption and hinders judicial independence can be stopped according to law. As long as the restriction of freedom of speech is reasonable, it is not unconstitutional.
1948 the resolution of the United nations press freedom conference points out that "everyone should have freedom of thought and freedom of publication", and "freedom of publication also has its relative obligations and responsibilities. If it is violated, it must be punished and restricted by law. " After centuries of practice, the one-sidedness of the traditional theory of absolute liberalism is increasingly exposed and sharply criticized by public opinion. People gradually reflect on the drawbacks of the concept of absolute freedom and are gradually replaced by the theory of social responsibility.
In China society, the interests of the state and the collective are basically the same as those of individual citizens. Only when the democratic rights and fundamental interests of the broad masses of people are guaranteed and developed can the individual freedoms and rights of citizens be effectively guaranteed and fully realized. Therefore, the Constitution of China stipulates that "the people of China and the citizens of People's Republic of China (PRC) shall not harm the national, social and collective interests or the legitimate freedoms and rights of other citizens when exercising their freedoms and rights." Freedom of the press, like other freedoms, cannot exist in isolation. Freedom and law, freedom and obligation, freedom and social responsibility, freedom and morality, freedom and public welfare all have inherent dialectical unity and cannot be separated. The moral standard of press freedom will be measured by its responsibility to society.
Marx said: "The absence of legislation in publishing is to cancel the freedom of publishing from the field of legal freedom, because the freedom recognized by law exists in a country in the form of law." Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, although China has successively formulated some legally effective publishing laws and regulations in different periods, there is still no publishing law corresponding to the Constitution. 1987 In the political report of the 13th Congress of CPC * * *, it was pointed out: "We must promptly enact a press and publication law to protect the civil rights and freedoms stipulated in the Constitution, and at the same time stop the abuse of rights and freedoms according to law." China is formulating a publishing law that conforms to the national conditions and has the characteristics of the primary stage of socialism. Publishing law is a legal form and means to protect and promote the freedom of the press, which not only recognizes and protects people's freedom of the press, but also restricts the abuse of this freedom. Its punishment and struggle against the crime of using publications is a powerful measure to protect freedom of the press.