Look around you and tell me what you see.

Books. Yes, we are in a book store, and there are many books here.

Are we allowed to read these books? Do we have the right to read them?

Dear contest chair, ladies and gentlemen,

Am I kidding to ask this question?

No, of course not.

We all have the right to read. It is one of the foundations of a democratic society. Reading allows us to meet people, to debate philosophies, and to experience events far beyond our own existence. Reading books also gives us a lot of fun, and it is particularly important during the time of pandemic when our mouths become privacy and our eyes can still open.

Raise your hand if you have ever bought a book from a bookstore.

Many of you have. I have, too.

Not long ago, I bought the paper version of Hong Lou Meng. It is a classic novel, and I enjoy reading it. If you like, I can lend it to you. In fact, I can lend it to as many people as I like. It is because we own the book we bought, and no one can forbid us to share the book with others. We all have the right to read, and we all have the right to share.

Raise your hand if you have such a device.

Yes, this is an e-reader. If I ever had an e-reader like this, and bought the e-version of Hong Lou Meng, most likely, I would not be able to lend it to others - this is not allowed.

Maybe you can say that why not get a copy of the book from the e-reader. If I had ever figured out how to get a copy of my Hong Lou Meng from the e-reader and sent it to my friends, my friends’ e-reader would simply refuse to open the copy - it would not work: because the software in the e-reader has malicious features called DRM, Digital Restrictions Management to forbid the sharing. The e-books are on-purposely designed like this so that only that particular device with that particular software with that malicious functionality can display them.

This is a denial to the individual’s right to read, a denial to our right to share.

If these policies were limited to one company, we’d bypass them, but the other e-reader dealers’ policies are roughly similar.

Raise you hand if you have a wechat group.

Many of you have. I have many wechat groups.

Once a group member sent a message in the group and asked

• How do you like the article I shared?
• Which article? I see nothing from you.
• Really? Let me see.

The member sent a screenshot for her chat history - the article was shared. However, only she, herself could see it in the group. The other members saw nothing. The shared article was blocked.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it doesn’t have to be this way. Reading is fun, sharing is good. Reading and sharing ought to be legal, and preventing sharing by restricting readers is unethical. We must demand our right to read and share.

Look around you. We still have the same old freedoms in using paper books. But if e-books replace printed books, those freedoms will not transfer.

How would you feel if someday you are only allowed to read the books you bought for just one time?

How would you feel if someday your children are not allowed to share books with you?

How would you feel if someday you are not allowed to read without having an e-reader to track you?

I feel very frustrated. We all have the right to read and share, but we all face the danger to be deprived of it.

It’s time to fight for our right to read, and it is time to defend our right to share.

Are you ready?

Back to contest chair.