Rights and autonomy of scientists
pp. 155-166
in: Kees Doets, Daniele Mundici (eds), Structures and norms in science, Berlin, Springer, 1997Abstract
In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under the leadership of Mao Zedong seized the state power of mainland China, and the People's Republic of China was founded. As a radical Marxist, Mao Zedong set strict demands on scientists, such as: (1) natural scientists should exert themselves to develop natural sciences to catch up with the advanced level of the world quickly, and to give service to the industrial, agricultural construction and the national defense; philosophers and social scientists should research and interpret history, economy, politics, culture and international affairs with dialectical and historical materialism, to propagandize and justify the Party and Government's policies, to serve the socialist revolution and construction, (2) intellectuals including scientists should remold their ideology, abandon the bourgeois individualism, establish the proletarian communist world outlook, devote themselves to others without any thought of self, serve wholeheartedly the workers, peasants and soldiers, (3) scientists should obey the leadership of the Party, be the docile instruments of the Party, combat liberalism; in their scientific work, they should integrate theory with practice, their research should be brought in line with the state plan of construction. Although the first Constitution of the People's Republic of China (passed in 1954) stipulated that people had the freedom of speech, press, assembly and association, but was actually not guaranteed to implement. This kind of significant unbalance between rights and duties of Chinese scientists brought about disastrous effects. I would like to show these by the following cases:
