Freedom of the Press/History/Country sources/China
What is the oldest written source in this country that mentions this right?
China
One of the earliest references to press freedom came about in 1904, when “the newspaper Dongfang Zazhi (The Eastern Miscellany) published a leading article arguing that in a country where people were allowed to express their opinions freely, its citizens were wiser than those who lived in a country where press freedom was not guaranteed.” This article echoed the sentiment of many leading Chinese intellectuals at the time (Guo 89-90, 2020) .
Legally, Chapter III, Article 87 of China’s 1954 Constitution first protected freedom of the press. Today, similar language is located in Chapter II, Article 35 of China’s Constitution: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration” (The National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, “Constitution”).