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The new Red Guards: China's angry student patriots

Ms. Yang said the air in the US was "sweet and fresh

Half a century ago millions of Chairman Mao's Red Guards gathered in rallies in Tiananmen Square to chant slogans and wave their red books of his quotations in a show of loyalty to the ideas of the "Great Helmsman".

The 21st Century successors to the Red Guards are not a physical presence. After the chaos of the Cultural Revolution and the tragedy of the Beijing massacre in 1989, young people are not allowed to demonstrate in China.

But some now hound their enemies online. The underlying rage is reminiscent. The instinct for intimidation is the same. Despite all its strengths and all its engagement with the world, China is once again prey to political groupthink and fear.

The irony is that the very backlash against her has only served to make her point about the want of freedom of speech in her homeland. It has also highlighted a conflict between a commitment to free speech in Western countries that host large communities of Chinese students and the growing determination of the Chinese government and some of its citizens that free speech should be limited when it comes to talking about China, even beyond Chinese borders.

Freedom of speech is any society's feedback loop. It means precisely the freedom to say what is different or what may even offend. Of course, different societies have a different view on how much of this is appropriate. But if China's freedom of speech goes no further than parroting the leader and attacking those who dare to speak from a different script, then its spirit is lurking in the shadow of the Mao era.

The Dalai Lama frequently gives speeches at universities around the world

This week's mobilization against Shuping Yang, complete with commentaries in leading state media, is part of this drive for "positive patriotic energy.

All of which causes some bafflement on the campuses concerned. Students from countries with a tradition of free speech may feel irritation with someone who criticizes their homeland in a public speech, but their instinct is usually to shrug it off or make a joke. Likewise, when Chinese state media deploy students from Western countries praising China and its policies, such individuals do not become hate figures for outraged student associations or national newspapers.

That's because liberal societies take differences of opinion for granted. In the US, in Europe and in Australia, citizens regularly excoriate their own governments and praise other countries in the media, and on satirical TV and radio shows. They also mount protests against their leaders.

It is vital to Beijing that these habits should not rub off. So in Chairman Xi's era, the numbers of Chinese students studying abroad is going up but their tolerance of diverging views on China is going down.

In one respect, this is puzzling. At great expense, young Chinese have chosen to move from the confines of China's tightly-controlled education system to the fresh air of campuses which cherish tolerance and which offer all the tools to explore a range of different narratives of their own place in the world through reading and debate. But it is not so puzzling if you factor in these students' prior ideological education, the pressure on them to perform academically, and the ever-present and watchful eye of the Chinese state.

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