The Weaponization of ‘Human Rights’
- Silencing CCP Criticism Through the Language of Human Rights and Autonomy
Recently, the Student Council of the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Seoul National University (SNU) labeled remarks critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), made by Professor A during a lecture, as "hate speech," and requested that the department convene a human rights committee. This action poses a serious threat to academic freedom. Moreover, it comes at a time when the CCP is advancing a covert and systematic infiltration not only in South Korea but across the globe. By ignoring this reality and targeting those who raise alarm, the student council has taken a position that is both ruinous and, frankly, traitorous. We issue this statement as a firm warning.
The totalitarianism of the Chinese Communist Party, now sliding further into an oppressive surveillance state under Xi Jinping's dictatorship, is a matter of international concern. And yet, the student council has framed Professor A's criticism of the regime as "anti-China hate," thereby suppressing free expression under the guise of political correctness.
The Mask of "Autonomy" and "Human Rights"
The terms "autonomy" and "human rights" may evoke democratic ideals, but here they serve as linguistic camouflage to justify ideological conformity. History reminds us that even the Soviet Union cloaked its totalitarianism with the rhetoric of autonomy. The recent conduct of the SNU student council is a textbook case of ideological repression disguised in democratic language.
While the CCP engages in organized surveillance, gross human rights violations, organ harvesting from political prisoners, dictatorship, and the cover-up of the lab origins of COVID-19, the student council remains shamefully silent. Instead, it chooses to attack a professor who dared to speak the truth. This is not just intellectual cowardice—it is collaboration with oppression.
The CCP’s use of the "United Front" strategy to infiltrate democratic societies is no secret. At SNU itself, there are known networks of Chinese students linked to the Chinese Embassy. The so-called Xi Jinping Research Archive on campus is emblematic of this infiltration. Some South Korean businessmen have even allegedly used admissions to SNU as a form of bribery to curry favor with CCP officials. And yet, the student council remains submissively silent on these matters while targeting internal voices of truth.
Totalitarianism Disguised as Friendship—The CCP Is Not Our Friend
While there are many Chinese individuals who seek friendship and freedom, the regime that deceives and exploits them cannot be considered our friend. The CCP, which seeks to dismantle the U.S.-Korea alliance and subsume Korea under its cultural and political influence through the Northeast Asia Project, is not a partner in peace—it is an adversary.
We opened our markets and extended the hand of free trade, hoping democratic ideals would take root in China. But over the past 30 years, the CCP’s ideology—rooted in Maoism and Han supremacy—has repelled liberty and threatened the world. To ignore this hard truth is to render the language of autonomy and human rights meaningless.
SNU is home to a wide range of Chinese nationals. Some are some are CCP elite or their children, whiles others are future reformers who respect Korea’s development and yearn for a freer China. We at Truth Forum stand with those Chinese students who oppose the CCP and aspire to build a democratic future.
Seoul National University must not become a playground for Marxist ideology or CCP influence. What we need now is the courage to speak the truth, and the resolve to confront those who seek to silence it.
End Totalitarianism in the Name of Human Rights and Autonomy
We understand that a human rights committee is scheduled to be convened. Should this committee be used to silence Professor A’s legitimate critique under the false charge of hate, then it will have proven itself not a human rights body, but a People’s Committee—a tool of ideological authoritarianism.
To criticize the CCP is not hate—it is an act of moral conscience. We therefore call for an immediate end to this totalitarian censorship cloaked in the language of human rights and autonomy.
For the sake of our beloved Korea and for the suffering people of China, we also strongly demand the immediate closure of the Xi Jinping Archive at Seoul National University.
June 19, 2025
Truth Forum at Seoul National University
snu.truth.forum@gmail.com
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