GP

June Holiday Assignments

2007-07-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Response to two articles

Freedom of speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. It is often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies. In practice, the degree of freedom varies greatly, and the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country.

The writer of the first article, Singer believes that freedom of expression is essential to any democracy and therefore should not be limited. Freedom of speech should be one of the basic human rights. It promotes certain societal values, such as assuring individual self-fulfillment, a means of attaining the truth, a method of securing participation by the members of the society in social, including political, decision-making, and maintaining the balance between stability and change in society. Normally, there will have both for and opposing viewpoints from the public towards any issues in the world. Because people believe in different “facts” which they think are true, the idea of any issue can be reflected from different angles through the freedom of expression. Generally, freedom of expression is the liberty to seek and speak the truth. To speak the truth is to bring to light any untruth, prejudice or hate. This ought to foster a better understanding of human beings and the world we live in. Therefore, the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression is very important. Thus, he believed that people should stand behind freedom of speech, and David Irving should be freed.

On the other hand, the writer of the second article, Szilagyi believes that more focus should be placed on social responsibility. The freedom of expression may cause the instability of the society such as the case of Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. After many countries publish the cartoon, some people start to say there should be a “no to freedom of expression”. He thinks the social responsibility play an important role, so newspapers should have considered the cartoons' potential effects on Europe's growing anti-Islam sentiments. Newspapers should not use a negative point about Islam in an environment where Islam is already getting extensive negative press through the coverage of hostage-takings, bombings and terrorist groups to make a point about self-censorship and press freedom. He surfaces the problem of the press that need to focus now is not solely on freedom but also on responsibility.

In the context of Singapore’s multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism, I think Szilagyi’s view should be adopted. As Singapore government has realized that it is easy to cause distrust and chaos between different religions and races through some propaganda or unnecessary expressions. Thus, the freedom of expression in Singapore is not as free as that in United States. Moreover, a license must be approved in order to stage a protest in Singapore. During the IMF World Bank Conference, protests are allowed in a conference room because all outdoor protests are prohibited. Although it is important to have the freedom of expression, it is more reasonable to limit some freedom of expression and focus on the responsibility. As it could ensure some people do not abuse their rights to cause society problems, since human are easily influenced by their circumferences.

George Orwell’s Article & Discussion Question

2007-04-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

1 George Orwell’s “A Hanging” has been described as a powerful condemnation of capital punishment। What techniques does Orwell use to draw from his readers the desired inference, as his condemnation is delivered indirectly rather than by more explicit means?

Orwell use the first person’s view to describe the whole process of the “a hanging” in detail. His feeling changed as before and after the process of “hanging”. From different person’s words and reaction, it indicates that it is normal for them to see prisoners to be capital punished. On the other side, it also reflects how fragile life is.

2 What are some of the arguments for and against capital punishment?

Capital punishment is a very contentious issue. Supporters of capital punishment argue that it deters crime, prevents recidivism, and is an appropriate form of punishment for the crime of murder. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it does not deter criminals more than life imprisonment, violates human rights, leads to executions of some who are wrongfully convicted, and discriminates against minorities and the poor.
From the passage:
For capital punishment:
“We looked at the lashed, hooded man on the drop, and listened to his cries –each cry another second of life; the same thought was in all our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!”

“Well, sir, all has passed off with the utmost satisfactoriness. It was all finished –flick!”

Against capital punishment:
“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide.”

“He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone -one mind less, one world less.”

3 What are your own views on capital punishment? In what circumstances (if any) can the death penalty be justified?

From my opinion, the capital punishment is needed to be apart of law. The purpose of capital punishment is to pay off what one has done deadly wrong. It is a kind of punishment and also a warning to the public what will happen if one against law. In some circumstances, such as murder, bringing drug, the death penalty is justified. All these action will destroy lives and raise the fearful feeling to people in the surrounding. To ensure the security of a country, death penalty has to be used. Without capital punishment, one may not see the serious consequences of hurting or even killing people. Without the fear of being punished, people may go to violent easily and tend to use harsh way solve problems. Although capital punishment is cruel and inhumane, it is needed as an example of the consequence to frighten the people who want to conduct crime. Human is a kind of animal that like to repeat their mistakes and never learn from their mistakes. Capital punishment is used since ancient time to ensure the peace and harmony in the society. Without it what kind of world we should see now?

Introduction

2007-03-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

I believe that everyone’s name has a special meaning, mostly is good wish or hope. It is a culture passes down from ancient China. Actually, my name also had a little story; the name that I am using now is my nickname which is given by my parents. In Chinese character, it means the first rays of the morning sun which carries the hope of a brighten life.

When my parents did the household registration, my name must be reported at the same time. However, my parents had not found a more suitable name for me as there were too many repeated names under the family name of Wang. Therefore, they wanted to use my nickname first, after they decided my name they could change it. But, there was another problem: the first word of my nickname is different from my parents’ family names. At that moment, the officer advised my parents to change my first word of my nick name to my mother’s family name as both of the two Chinese words have the same pronunciation. That was the history of my name. My parents had found many names for me, but when I grow older, the process became more and more complex, so until now my name has not been changed.

I have been studied in Singapore for three years. Now, when I think about it, it is just like yesterday. It is interesting to study in different countries. I can experience different education systems and make friends with different nationalities and life styles. I also can see the different strength of these types of education, In China, my Chinese is normal, but my Chinese becomes my strength in Singapore. The feeling of missing my country, my hometown, inspired my interests in Chinese. I cherish the memory of my childhood more. On the other hand, I am facing more challenges, such as switching my familiar language, Chinese to English for studying and adapt to the new environment.

I still keep my hobby, painting। It helps me release my stress and create the world in my eyes. One of my anther interests is sleeping. I fall asleep very easily without dream. However, I am also always wondering what the feeling of dreaming is. Maybe I am really in deep sleep or I cannot remember my dreams.

*GP*

June Holiday Assignments

George Orwell’s Article & Discussion Question

Introduction

GP