“Freedom is not free”: CALD Joins International Conference on Freedom of Expression

To say that “freedom is not free” may appear to contradict the very nature of freedom, but this axiom is actually an accurate representation of the realities that many countries in the world confront.

In East and Southeast Asia, for example, the political histories of several countries show that freedom must be actively fought for, protected and promoted, especially in the face of a powerful authoritarian state. It was for this reason that the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) organized a panel in the 7^th Asia Centre International Conference on Freedom of Expression held on 24-26 August 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The CALD panel focused, in particular, on civil society activists and members of the political opposition in Cambodia, Singapore and Taiwan who were targeted during freedom of expression crackdowns, being the most prominent and most vocal in their criticisms of the government.

Detained Cambodian lawyer-activist Theary Seng, who was recently convicted of “conspiracy to commit treason” and “incitement to create gross chaos impacting public security” was the main subject of the first panelist. He related that Theary Seng’s conviction came after a sham trial where the factual basis of the charges against her were not even presented. Her case also reflects the plight of the dominant political opposition, whose leaders are either “in exile, in prison or waiting to go to prison.”

The second panelist, Terry Xu, publisher and editor of The Online Citizen, related his multiple run-ins with the Singaporean government over the news that he had published in the online platform.  He had been sued by the Prime Minister for defamation in 2019 and had recently been imprisoned for a letter in 2018 that was alleged to have criminally defamed the Singapore Cabinet. He is now on self-imposed exile, and is migrating to Taiwan to escape political persecution in his home country.

Pei-fen Hsieh, Spokesperson of the Democratic Progressive Party, ended the panel by presenting the long and arduous journey of Taiwan to achieve the freedoms that it is enjoying today, including freedom of expression. “Freedom is never free”, she said, and this also serves an apt reminder to the other participants not to be complacent when it comes to safeguarding democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The CALD panel, which was moderated by CALD Executive Director Celito Arlegue, was one of the sixteen panels in the International Conference. The event was attended by around one hundred in-person participants, while dozens more joined via Zoom.