Description
Academic freedom (AF) in the Western world typically refers to the right to free inquiry and several responsibilities when conducting scholarly activities. Based on this value and standard, the practice of AF in mainland China has been largely argued as problematic. This type of evaluation and critique seems inevitable as new China has tried to model its modern universities along with the concept of AF in the West. However, different voices have been concerned that the Chinese scenario of AF is not and seems unnecessary to be simply a Western replica. In line with the latter claim, I argue that understanding a context-based AF and evaluating it through international comparisons is necessary, which could be impossible with a perspective overly influenced by Western conventions.
My argument is based on the empirical study of the de facto situation of AF in Chinese universities in 2022. The findings suggest that Chinese scholars had different understandings and practices of AF from the documented meanings and incidents in the West. While AF appears to reflect the notion of liberalism and democracy in the Western world, it should not deter us from reconceptualising its new meanings from the perspective of a socialist country.
