Xiao Qiang accepting on behalf of Zhang Jianhong
I am proud to stand here, receiving this honor on behalf of Zhang Jianhong.
This is a special award for Zhang, since he was a participant in 1989 Democracy Movement. From Tiananmen Square to the age of the Internet, Mr. Zhang reminds us that the spirit of free speech cannot, and will not be crushed by any forms of tyranny, whether they are tanks, machine guns, prison cells, or the Great Firewall.
An American Internet pioneer once famously said that “Information wants to be free !” I want to say that censorship in Chinese cyberspace will eventually fail because “Chinese people want to be free!”
Thank you, National Endowment for Democracy, for this recognition.
