One of China’s most prominent Mideast scholars, Fan Hongda from the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, is expressing solidarity with anti-government protestors in Iran on social media. At the same time, he’s pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable online speech for a Chinese academic.
“Iranian friends often complain about why the #Iranian regime always does not listen to the voice of the people but acts against the people,” Fan said in a post on Twitter published on Tuesday. “As a #Chinese in Shanghai for the past two years, I have come to understand the feelings of these Iranian friends more and more,” he added.