There is a 50-minute youtube video of previous TV host and journalist Cui Yongyuan’s speech in a small hall in a school in Washington. Cui is a very famous and respected journalist in China, for his previous TV program Truthfully Speak （实话实说) and for his black humour. In this video he was fairly critical of CCTV, propaganda and the education system in China, etc.
Here is part of the transcription and translation. There is also a transcription online from the 19th minute on.
Unifying the statement, actually where is truth in this society? Unified statement is the only truth.
统一口径，其实这个社会上哪有事实？统一口径就是事实。
(Summary) In the late 90s when I first met journalists from Taiwan - I didn’t know there were journalists there, I thought they were all spies. I thought in Taiwan every day there were American guys driving Jeep with hot girls in their cars and hit people without being punished. And Taiwanese journalists thought we people from the Mainland ate banana skins all the time.
So it is good to have the Internet, though some websites are blocked, we could jump over the great firewall. Today our theme is education, but I haven’t said anything about it yet. I really don’t know much about education. It is like I have been a TV host for so many years, but I really don’t know what is journalism or broadcasting, I only know propaganda. Propaganda to unify statements.
所以有互联网真好，虽然有的网站都封了，而且我们可以翻墙。今天我的主题是教育，但是我还没说呢。真的不知道什么是教育；就像我做了这么多年的主持人，不知道什么是新闻和传播，我只懂宣传。宣传就是统一口径。
The education that I had when I was a kid - finishing school early and doing lots of extracurricular activities, that was quality education we call today. The current education is exam-oriented education, which is really terrifying. Education changes our mindsets. There are some mindsets that are not completely wrong, but really not precise. Some theories are not serious.
天天玩的教育是素质教育，现在的教育是应试教育，应试教育真可怕。
教育改变我们的观念，有的观念，不能说错误，但不大准确。有些观念还不够严肃。
Right now our children need to know that there is no universal value in China. I really don’t understand this. How come such a great thing exists everywhere else in the world, but not in my motherland China. In the past among our ancient and traditional philosophies like Confucius, Daoism, ain’t there universal value? Ain’t our kindness, solidarity, manners, intelligence and loyalty universal value? How come we don’t care much about liberty, freedom and human rights? I am very worried.
现在我们的孩子要知道，中国没有普世价值。我永远想不通这个事情。为什么这个一个好事情全世界都有，唯独我的祖国中国没有。我们过去的儒家，道家，我们那些传统的古代哲学，不是普世价值么？我们的仁义礼智信不是普世价值么？我为什么我们觉得自由，民主，人权都是我们可以不在意的事情呢？我非常担忧。
I remember around the beginning of 2000 suddenly we were told all of our articles can’t mention the concept of “taxpayers”. So I asked, ain’t there taxpayers? I was told, of course there are. Then how come we can’t say it? I was told, if the word keeps appearing all the taxpayers will realize that they are taxpayers.
我记得在2000初左右，说所有的稿件中不许出现纳税人这三个字，那我说，有没有纳税人呢？说当然有了，说为什么不能出现呢？说如果老出现，这些纳税人就会意识到自己是纳税人。
Since a few years ago, also we can’t mention the word “citizen”. I was told that we don’t say citizens, we just say we are all people. However, it is written in the Constitution that we are all citizens.
从前年开始吧，又不让说公民这两个字了，说我们没有公民，我们都是人民。可是我们宪法上写的我们都是公民。
What do they have to fear of citizens? Citizens are also taxpayers. There might be one thing that citizens could make some people feel uncomfortable, which is that citizens like to speak - they like to speak the truth. They think they have the right, are entitled, and they have the duty to speak the truth. You could read Global Times online, or some of the articles written by some professors from Renmin Unviersity. I can’t stand their writing. It seems like we are going back to the 60s. I really want to ask these writers, do you really believe in the theories you write about? If you just want to make a living, I think there are lots of decent ways to make a living in the world.
公民有什么可怕的？公民也是纳税人。可能有一点让大家觉得不舒服，就是他爱说话，爱说真话。他觉得自己有权利，有资格，有责任，有义务。你们可以上网看看最近环球时报，中国人民大学的一些教授写的一些文章，反正我是要崩溃了，看那个。我觉得好像回到了60年代。我真的想问这些作者，你们说的这些理论，你们自己信么？如果说就是为了挣钱的话，我觉得这个世界上有很多体面挣钱的职业。
The hope of the world depends on intellectuals’ capability and responsibility. If intellectuals don’t have the guts or consciousness and only speak based on other people’s preferences, there is no hope for a country. A sad thing in China is for example, for Duanwu Festival, every Chinese know that we should eat Zongzi, to commemorate Qu Yuan, an intellectual who jumped into the river because of political repercussion. However right now many Chinese don’t really know much about Qu Yuan, but everyone knows Zongzi.
一个世界的希望就是知识分子的能力和责任。如果知识分子都没有良心，都看着别人脸色说话，这个国家就没有希望。比如端午节吃粽子，当时因为政治不得志就愤然投江。现在中国人没有多少人知道屈原了，只知道粽子。
People say those who live abroad are very patriotic - they are not used to the food from other countries, so they are patriotic. I would like to speak to you earnestly, let’s love the country together. The best way to love this country is to make her better. So when we come across some problems we must bring them up, though we might not be understood right away, though we might endure some hardship.
都说出国的人爱国，因为在外面吃不惯，所以爱国。
我想诚恳地跟你说，让我们一起爱这个国家，爱这个国家最好的方式，就是让她变好。所以我们看到她有什么问题我们一定要提出来，哪怕一时不被理解，哪怕受一些委屈。
Some people choose to stay silent, but if you have read a bit of Chinese history you would know how many turbulence the country has gone through. When the country is facing difficulties, no one will feel safe or happy. So let’s love her well.
有的人选择明哲保身，但是你去读读中国历史，她有过多少变迁。国家遭难的时候，每一个个体都不会有安全感，也不会有幸福感。所以让我们一起好好地爱她。
I think only can one person love themselves, their parents, others, animals, plants, clouds and snacks, etc first can they love their motherland afterwards. If they don’t love any of the above first, how can they love their motherland?
我觉得一个人只有爱自己，爱父母，爱他人，爱动物，爱植物，爱云彩，爱小吃，才会爱祖国。如果连这些都不爱，何谈爱祖国呢？
The Chinese textbook since our primary school teaches us to love Beijing Tiananmen, and love our great leader Chairman Mao. While when we start to go to university we learn “a small step of civilization, a big step of progress. Come here fast, please leave with the toilet flushed”. Our education has gone backward. There are problems in our education.
我们小学的语文课本是我爱北京天安门，我爱伟大领袖毛主席。而大一我们学习的是文明一小步，进步一大步。来也匆匆，去也冲冲。我们的教育反了，我们的教育出问题了。
Some leaders are very afraid of enlightening the people. They don’t want the mass they manage to be smart. They want them to be stupid and confused.
有的领导人非常怕开启明智。他不希望他管理的民众聪明，他希望他们傻，糊涂。
If there is no qualified citizens, there is no hope for the country. I feel the country and the government will slowly recognize the real importance of these citizens.
没有合格的公民，这个国家拿不出手。
我觉得国家和政府会慢慢地体会到这些公民真正的作用。
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