Chinese economist Mao Yushi and his wife have moved permanently to their daughter’s home in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Chinese economist Mao Yushi of the banned independent economic thinktank Unirule recently wrote a message for Chinese youth.
I am very old and won’t live much longer. The world of the future is for the young. You should be more anxious than I am about the kind of society you will face. It is everyone’s responsibility to make progress in society, and if society goes backward, it will be caused by all of us. If society goes backwards, it will be caused by each and every one of us. by @MaoYuShi
Independent Spirit
Free Thought
Mao Yushi
January 13, 2024 in Vancouver
Interview with Mao Yushi via YouTube in Chinese
Translation of Mao Yushi’s (@MaoYuShi) last few Twitter posts from 2015
- Don’t think that the failure of a college student to start a business is his personal business. It is actually a national GDP loss. On the contrary (no matter who) entrepreneurial success is GDP increment. Therefore, we should not blindly encourage entrepreneurship, but should encourage those who are more certain to succeed in entrepreneurship. I estimate that the probability of entrepreneurial success for college students is relatively small. Their strength is that they have specialized knowledge, but their weakness is that they do not understand society and the market. It is only after learning about society and the market that they can have the conditions to start their own business.
- The Nobel Prize for Science has been added to the Economics Prize since ’69, indicating that economics has become a rigorous science. Every year since then, one to three people have been awarded the prize. Among these about one hundred economists who have won the prize, none of them has deepened the doctrines of Marx. It shows that Marx’s economics is misguided. Modern mainstream economics is now used exclusively to guide our economic policy. But the guiding theory of China is still Marx — China is unique in the world in that way.
- Why is corruption so serious in China? In some countries, such as Northern Europe, corruption is a unique phenomenon. The reason for this is that the social climate is different in each country. Most of the embezzlers in China would not be corrupt if they lived in the Nordic countries. It can be seen that the individual is mainly responsible for the problem of corruption, but society is also responsible. It is not objective to put all the blame on individuals, nor does it help to completely eliminate corruption. Improving the social environment deserves attention
- Some people are so self-contained and confined in their minds that they are unwilling to listen to any voice that thinks differently from their own, and they shut themselves up in the darkness and live in it all their lives, and they still think that they are right to a fault. They are not to blame for this phenomenon, the problem lies in our education. People are taught by indoctrination instead of being encouraged to think with their own minds. They will only accept the existing programs and reject new things. The fact that China’s 1.3 billion people don’t get a Nobel Prize in science has something to do with it.
- Our civil servants are accustomed to handling official business with the posture of the dictatorship of the proletariat. If their service could be like that of the flight attendants in the first class cabin, the conflict between the government and the people could probably be reduced by more than half. The difference is that the flight attendants serve the guests well because they have bought expensive first class tickets. Civil servants do not appreciate that the people also pay a lot of tax and do not feel at all that they are supported by tax money. To improve the service attitude of civil servants, it must be emphasized over and over again that tax money feeds the Government.
See his Mao Yushi’s Wikipedia biographical article Mao Yushi
Mao’s essay on 2006 visit to USA 2006: Chinese Economist Mao Yushi on his Trip to the US
I went to several Unirule talks while at US Embassy Beijing in the late 1990s.
Liberal scholar Mao Yushi’s 95-year-old move overseas raises concerns
January 18, 2024
WASHINGTON – Recently, images of a 95th birthday celebration for Mao Yushi, a prominent liberal Chinese economist who has been banned for several years, and his wife, Zhao Yanling, who left Beijing in the middle of last year and settled in a suburb of the southwestern Canadian metropolis of Vancouver, have been circulating on overseas social media, with some friends organizing a celebration of his 95th birthday. The fact that the afflicted couple has traveled far away from home at such an advanced age has triggered emotions among many netizens. Some commentators were pleased that the outspoken intellectual had finally escaped the repression and surveillance of the Chinese Communist Party authorities and had come to a free country to enjoy his old age in the company of his loved ones. A source told Voice of America about the recent situation of Mr. and Mrs. Mao Yushi and disclosed some little-known inside information.
On January 14, Professor Sheng Hong, former director of the Beijing Tianze Institute of Economic Research, posted on the overseas social platform X (formerly known as Twitter), sharing a number of congratulatory messages from a group of friends and colleagues celebrating Mao Yushi’s 95th birthday. Overseas independent current affairs commentator Cai Shenkun posted on the X platform about a birthday banquet held in Vancouver for the old-timer. The news of Mao Yushi’s overseas appearance after several years of silence quickly spread on the Internet, drawing the attention of many netizens to the economist, who had made many controversial remarks earlier, and his recent situation.
Settled in Canada
Mao Yushi’s friend, current commentator Cai Shenkun, told the Voice of America that the old man is currently not convenient to accept media interviews, but his physical condition and all aspects are good.
Cai Shenkun: “His condition is quite good. Because he is now older. Just out, settled in Vancouver, basically he does not intend to go back. Whether from the age, or from the reality, now the political situation, certainly they are already settled, so he will not go back.”
Cai Shenkun said, Mao Yushi couple came to Canada after living in their daughter’s home, living conditions are good.
He said, “his daughter over here, all aspects of the situation are also still very good, anyway, life is also more stable.”
Talking about the physical condition of the two elderly, Cai Shenkun said: “Auntie Zhao’s health is very good, walking, doing things are very good, including treating people, she is busy, she has no problems. Mr. Mao’s ears have a little need to use hearing aids, and for walking he needs crutches.”
Mao Yushi Believes China Will Move Toward Democratization
Voice of America reporter Ye Bing: Is Mao Yushi still concerned about current events?
Cai Shenkun: He certainly cares about current events. But under the present circumstances, he cares only about some of his personal views in the past. The current situation, he also thinks that the dark period will not last long. Throughout history, anyway, always encountered such a dark period of time. He is optimistic that it will not last long. But he went on to say, “I probably won’t see it” (laughs). I hope that China will move towards the rule of law, democracy and freedom. This day, he thinks it won’t be too far away.
Ye Bing: What impressed you most about meeting them this time?
Cai Shenkun: The old man is still relatively optimistic about the future (attitude), he is not so pessimistic. He believes that China will definitely move towards democracy and the rule of law, and become a modern country integrated into world civilization. In fact, he himself has spoken a lot.
Overseas Chinese writer Gao Falin posted on X platform to relay Mao Yushi’s message to young people. The message said, “I’m very old and won’t live long. The world of the future belongs to the young. What kind of society will you face? You should be more anxious than me. It is everyone’s responsibility to make progress in society. If society regresses, it is also caused by each one of us.”
The picture in this post shows that Mao Yushi on January 23, 2024 handwritten by the master of the national academy Chen Yinkan in 1929 made Wang Guowei monument inscription: “the spirit of independence and freedom of thought”.
As for what Mao Yushi hopes to see in the future of Chinese society should be, Cai Shenkun said: “China needs popular elections, competing political parties ah, to have a multi-party system is not it ah? The judiciary has to be independent, the people have to vote, and that’s basic for a civilized country. He said you are still a – he didn’t talk about an authoritarian dictatorship – he talked about China is still a traditional country now. The old man speaks very precisely and clearly.
Cai Shenkun disclosed that Mr. and Mrs. Mao were allowed to leave the country
In December 2018, a reporter in Beijing with his photographic assistant went to Mao Yushi’s home to make an exclusive interview about China’s reform and opening up over the past forty years, asking the scholar, who was nine years old at the time, to comment on the current situation and political and economic development. His views were clear and logical, and his criticisms of Xi Jinping for amending the Constitution to reinstate the life tenure system for leaders and for denying the reforms and engaging in a Cultural Revolution retrogression are still relevant today. Shortly thereafter, this outspoken representative of private market economics was once again banned by the authorities and rarely appeared in public.
Link to video in Chinese: Mao Yushi on 40 Years of Reform: Economic Development is Guaranteed by Political Clarity
As an influential liberal scholar and critic of Mao Zedong who has advocated restoring him from the altar of the gods to a human being, Mao Yushi’s ability to take his wife overseas came as a surprise to many as China’s space for expression has tightened and the border controls on critics have escalated markedly.
Cai Shenkun told the Voice of America that he had learned some inside information and speculated that the authorities’ permission for Mr. and Mrs. Mao Yushi to leave the country was a sign of “shaking off their burdens”.
He said: “When he [Mao Yushi] asked to leave, it was the Ministry of State Security that took the initiative to put him on the plane. They could not wait for him to leave as soon as possible. (Laughs) Nobody want to cause trouble about it. For years he had not been allowed to speak out or to give interviews. He has been silent for so many years. And then came the pandemic. Both of them got COVID but they got through it and both of them are fine now. .
Gongzi Shen commented on the consequences of the CCP’s stifling of free speech
Gongzi Shen, the host of the Canadian video program “Gongzi’s Commentary,” is currently in Taiwan to observe the election and visit the country after the election. He told VOA that friends had invited him to Mao Yushi’s birthday banquet, but he regretted that he could not attend due to his schedule.
Gongzi Shen had this to say about the Mao Yushi he knew.
“Mr. Mao gives a lot of very pertinent advice to the decision-making level of China’s policies. And is worried about the country and the people, in the past has been committed to promote the development of economics in China, especially the popularization of the public, I think made a very outstanding contribution. When I was in middle school, I even bought a book written by him. So he has made a great contribution to the progress of Chinese society. But even such a gentle old man, who devoted his whole life to China, to improving the lives of the Chinese people, to changing China’s policies, to making China more rational and scientific and common-sense, such a patriot was subjected to some unfair treatment in his later years. He eventually left the country and came to Canada to retire.”
Since Communist Party leader Xi Jinping took office, he has continued to tighten the scale of ideological and theoretical publishing controls, and the space for speech has tightened dramatically. in 2014, the writings of a number of authors, including Mao Yushi, were banned from circulation by authorities by name. Previously, he had been labeled a “traitor” after publicly speaking out against or criticizing Mao’s idolization, the one-child birth control policy, the construction of aircraft carriers, and about the disputed Diaoyu Islands (Japan’s Senkaku Islands), among other sensitive issues, as well as making recommendations that have led to a barrage of abuse and siege by Mao’s followers and those of an ultra-leftist persuasion, He was labeled as a “traitor”, a “lackey of the U.S. Empire”, and “anti-national, anti-Party, and anti-socialist”.
Overseas media personality Gongzi Shen pointed out that under Xi Jinping’s rule, there is no room for mild-mannered public intellectuals like Mao Yushi, and there is less room for speech and survival, forcing people to vote with their feet and leave the country, leading to a growing trend of people wanting to “run” abroad.
He said: “In this kind of period, in fact, there are a lot of Chinese entrepreneurs, the Chinese middle class is also trying to find ways to flee abroad. The whole situation has changed in a way that makes it very difficult for such a mild-mannered old man to continue to speak out in China, to continue to contribute his passion and knowledge. I think this shows that China is now going backwards, and it is extremely regrettable that the trend of progress in the past has been reversed. Educated people are leaving the country, and those who stay in China will only become more and more mediocre, more and more ignorant, and more and more opposed to science and truth. That’s why many people want to leave China, and old Mr. Mao Yushi is one of them. It is clear that under Xi Jinping’s rule, China has completely lost the little space for freedom of expression that it had in the past, and that the future will only be more closed and more desperate.”
Bumpy experience
According to Wikipedia, Mao Yushi was born in Nanjing and came from a famous family. he attended the National Chiao Tung University to study business administration and mechanics before 1949, and then went to Heilongjiang province to work as a railroad worker, where he worked as a train driver and railroad engineer. he became an assistant researcher at the Academy of Science and Research of the Ministry of Railroads in 1955, and was later labeled as a rightist. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and was sent to Datong Locomotive Factory for labor, during which he made great efforts to study economics and had some significant accomplishments. He proposed the principle of merit-based distribution in 1979. In 1979, he proposed the principle of merit-based distribution and was transferred to the America Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences as a researcher. 1986, he went to Harvard University as a visiting scholar.
In 1993, Mao Yushi, Sheng Hong, Zhang Shuguang and other economists co-founded the Tianze Economic Research Institute, a private think tank financed by U.S. foundations and private capital, and he is the honorary chairman of the institute and chairman of the Society for Humanistic Economics. In March 2012, Mao was awarded the Milton Friedman Freedom Prize of $250,000 by the Cato Institute, a think tank in the U.S. He is also the author of The Principle of Meritocracy and The Moral Prospects of the Chinese People.
In November 2018, the consulting company hosted by the Tianze Economic Research Institute had its business license revoked by the Beijing Bureau of Industry and Commerce for engaging in unauthorized educational activities. In August of the following year, the Tianze Institute was forced to close down after being accused of violating regulatory requirements.
2013 VOA:
Maoist Left Protests Mao Yushi’s Changsha Speech Hooliganism as a Legacy of the Cultural Revolution?
May 6, 2013 18:39
- (translated from English) Haiyan
HONG KONG -Some Maoist leftists in China recently protested in Changsha, Hunan province, in an attempt to prevent Mao Yushi, a prominent liberal economist, from holding a public lecture in Changsha. However, after announcing the cancellation of the speech, the organizers temporarily changed the venue and held the speech.
Mao Yushi, winner of the 2012 Friedman Prize for Freedom and an outspoken advocate, was scheduled to speak on May 4 at the invitation of the Changsha Simmering Bar Book Club. However, some leftists rushed to Changsha to protest and try to block the speech.
These Maoist leftists gathered in the city with banners that read, “Traitors are always on the street”, “Mao is a scourge to the country and a disaster to the people”, and “Those who oppose Mao Zedong’s thought deserve to die”, and they waved Mao Zedong’s portrait and “Mao Zedong’s death”. They also waved Mao Zedong’s portrait and a red flag reading “Long live Mao Zedong Thought”.
A Changsha netizen familiar with the situation told the Voice of America on Monday that the Maoist-leftists’ actions smacked of the Cultural Revolution and Chongqing’s “Red Star” protests, which was puzzling.
He said, “The news was released earlier, causing these Maoists to make some early deployments, and many of these Maoists came to Changsha from Henan, Hubei, and Yueyang in their own province, ready to obstruct the speech. This also led to the decision to cancel the speech. This was also due to pressure from many quarters. Because this was canceled temporarily, so many people felt depressed. After careful discussion among the organizers, the location was changed and it was held as scheduled.”
Changsha police denounced for selective enforcement
Changsha police reportedly did not intervene in this rally of Maoist-leftists, and the police did not even show up, causing dissatisfaction among liberals and netizens, who criticized the officials for obvious acquiescence and selective law enforcement.
The netizen, who attended the lecture, said Mao Yushi’s speech was very rational, although there were dissenters in the audience, but they communicated through calm dialog.
He said: “These listeners who participated in the lecture are quite rational, but also hold some questions to discuss with Mr. Mao Yushi, including listening to Mr. Mao on the spot, there are different opinions or doubts, on the spot to Mr. Mao or other scholars to seek a solution. All in a very rational, very academic environment to communicate. I think this is the kind of verve we should have in an era of openness.”
Mao leftist leader Sima Nan said in a microblogging, “Mao Yushi Hunan lecture, originally had local support \ police protection \ fan uproar \ foreign media curtailing \ and with the precedent of Shenyang having arrested skeptics to make an example of them, he cancelled the appearance. Cursing Mao Zedong has become commonplace and Mao Yushi, who is honored as a ‘life coach’ by Zhang Weiying and others, may have made a mistake: it is unwise to treat Chairman Mao’s hometown to a ‘rightist show’.”
This is not the first time Mao Yushi has been besieged by Maoist leftists. In his 2011 article “Reducing Mao to a Human Being,” he criticized Mao for starving more than 30 million people to death during the Great Leap Forward during his reign, and for 50 million deaths due to political reasons after the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Mao Yushi’s repeated anti-Mao remarks have earned him the ire of leftists and a place on the “Top Ten Traitors.
Speaking to Voice of America on Monday, Mao Yushi said it was normal to have different views and opinions and to debate them, but slandering his opponents and beating them with sticks is the style of the Cultural Revolution and of hooliganism.
I think most of these people, barring a few, don’t know where their interests lie,” he said. People who are somewhat rational should know that it is hooliganism for you to spread rumors about me, to threaten me, to come to my house and harass me. If your cause is in line with justice, you do not need to use hooliganism to harm the justice of your cause.”
The netizen from Changsha said he was puzzled by the fact that some young people are labeled as believers in Mao Zedong Thought, and believes that there are still many leftist figures in society who are misleading young people and preventing these young people from understanding the truth about the Cultural Revolution.
He said, “It should be said that the legacy of the Cultural Revolution is still very strong, and if this country does not conduct a real and thorough historical reckoning with the Cultural Revolution, and remove this poison from the minds of future generations, they will continue to be poisoned by paranoid people who are still doing this kind of ideological propaganda. These people their behavioral manifestations, the banners, the so-called political advocacy, the slogans ah, can be seen in the extreme bias of thought.”
Mao Yushi, 84, said it was naïve for many people to be dissatisfied with the reality of the disparity between the rich and the poor and to be nostalgic for the Mao Zedong era and his ideas.
He said, “Thinking that Mao could bring a good life to everyone, this is totally wrong. I also feel that an objective evaluation of Mao is now very urgent on the mainland.”
The Global Times, an affiliate of the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, commented on Mao Yushi’s May 4 speech in Changsha, which was besieged, and his April 25 speech in Shenyang, which was marred by leftists, with the article “Being the focus of popular politics, Mao Yushi’s choice”.
The commentary said that Mao had made some “obvious” forays into politics. His “hard-core” supporters and opponents have a well-established circle. The former are Chinese liberal intellectuals and some Western elites. The latter are activists among the so-called “leftists” or “50-centers”.
The commentary also says that the civilization of “political debate” is sorely lacking in China’s court of public opinion, which often turns into a struggle between left and right.
自由派学者茅于轼95高龄移居海外引发关注
2024年1月18日 01:35
华盛顿 — 遭禁言数年的著名中国自由派经济学者茅于轼携夫人赵燕玲去年年中离开北京，到加拿大西南部都市温哥华郊区定居，近日一些友人为他举办95诞辰贺寿活动的图文信息在海外社交媒体热传。这对患难夫妻如此高龄还远走异国，引发众多网友感慨。有评论人士为这位敢言的知识分子终于摆脱中共当局压制和监控，来到自由国土，在亲人陪伴下安享晚年感到欣慰。一知情者对美国之音介绍茅于轼夫妇的近况，并披露了一些鲜为人知的内情。
1月14日，原北京天则经济研究所所长盛洪教授在海外社交平台X（前称推特）发帖，分享一众友人和同事庆祝茅于轼95寿辰的多篇贺词。海外独立时评人蔡慎坤在X平台上发布了在温哥华为这位老前辈举办寿宴的帖子。沉默数年的茅于轼在海外露面的消息很快在网络上传播，引起许多网友对这位早前曾多次发表极具争议性言论的经济学者及其近况的关注。
定居加拿大
茅于轼的朋友、时评人蔡慎坤告诉美国之音，老先生目前不便接受媒体采访，但他的身体状况和各方面都不错。
蔡慎坤：“他的情况还挺好的。因为他现在年纪大吧。就出来了，就定居在温哥华，基本上也不打算回去了。无论从年龄，还是从现实，现在的政治情况，肯定都是已经定下来了，不回去了。”
蔡慎坤表示，茅于轼夫妇来到加拿大后就住在他们女儿家，生活条件都好。
他说：“他女儿在这边，各方面情况也都还很好，反正生活也比较安稳。”
谈到两位老人的身体状况，蔡慎坤说：“赵阿姨身体很好，行走、做事都非常好，包括待人接物，忙前忙后，都没有问题。茅老师耳朵有点点需要借助助听器，还有行走需要拐杖。”
茅于轼认为中国将走向民主化
美国之音记者叶兵：茅于轼现在对时事还关心吗？
蔡慎坤：时事他肯定关心。但是现在这种情况下，他关心也只是他个人过去的一些观点吧。目前这个情况，他也是觉得黑暗的时期不会长久。纵观历史上，反正总是会遇到这样的这个黑暗的时期嘛。这他认为是不会长久的，还是比较乐观的。不过他自己接着说，“我可能看不到了”（笑）。希望中国走向法治、民主、自由。这一天，他认为不会太远了。
叶兵：这次见到他们的印象最深刻的是什么呢？
蔡慎坤：老爷子对未来还是保持比较乐观的（态度），他不是那么悲观的人。他认为中国肯定会走向民主法治，成为一个融入世界文明的一个现代化国家。其实他自己讲了很多话。
在海外的中国作家高伐林在X平台发帖转达茅于轼给年轻人的寄语。寄语说，“我已经很老了，活不了多久，将来的世界是年轻人的。你们将面对什么样的社会？应该比我急。社会要进步，这是每一个人的责任。若社会倒退，也是我们每一个人造成的。”
此帖中图片显示，茅于轼2024年1月23日手书的国学大师陈寅恪1929年所作王国维纪念碑铭文：“独立之精神 自由之思想”。
至于茅于轼所希望看到的未来中国社会应该是怎样的，蔡慎坤说：“它的标志就是要有民选，政党要有竞争啊，要有多党制是不是啊？司法要独立，人民要选票，这才是一个基本的文明国家。他说你现在还是一个——他没讲专制独裁国家——他讲中国现在还是一个传统国家。老爷子他说话基本上滴水不漏。
蔡慎坤披露茅夫妇获准出国内情
2018年12月，记者在北京与摄影助理到茅于轼家中作了关于中国改革开放四十年的专访，请这位时年九秩的学者点评时局及政经发展。他当时阐述的观点可谓相当明晰，逻辑性强，尤其对习近平修改宪法恢复领导人职务终身制和否定改革搞文革复辟倒退等方面的批评，如今看来依然适用。此后不久，这位敢言的民间经济学界代表人物再次遭到当局禁言，并且很少在公共场合露面。
茅于轼谈改开四十年: 经济发展要有政治清明作保障
在中国言论空间更加收紧、对批评者边控明显升级的情况下，作为一位有影响力的自由派学者和主张把毛泽东从神坛还原为人的批判者，茅于轼能带夫人润到海外，让许多人颇感意外。
蔡慎坤对美国之音披露了一些他所了解的内情，推测当局准许茅于轼夫妇离境有“甩包袱”的意味。
他说：“当他（茅于轼）提出要出来的时候，是国安主动把他送上飞机的。巴不得让他早点走。（笑）谁也不想惹事嘛。原来不让他在国内发声，也不让他接受采访。等于说，他实际上就是沉默了这么多年了。正好又碰上疫情，两个老人都染上病毒啦。都还好，平安的过去了。
公子沈评中共扼杀言论自由后果
家住加拿大的油管视频节目《公子时评》主持人公子沈目前正在台湾参加观摩大选实况和选后参访等活动。他对美国之音表示，朋友们已经邀请他参加茅于轼的寿宴，但由于行程安排而无法出席，深感遗憾。
公子沈这样评价他所了解的茅于轼。
“茅老先生给出很多的非常中肯的建议，给到中国的政策的决策层。而且是忧国忧民，过去一直以来致力于在中国推动经济学的发展，特别是大众的普及，我觉得做出了非常突出的贡献。我上中学的时候还买过他写的书。所以说他对中国社会的进步做出了很大的贡献。但是即使是这样的一个温和的老人，把自己的一辈子心血都放在中国，改善中国人生活，改变中国政策，让中国更有理性科学常识，这样的一位爱国者却在晚年遭到一些不公正的待遇。他最终还是出国了，到了加拿大来养老。”
中共领导人习近平上任以来，不断加强意识形态和理论出版管控尺度，言论空间大幅紧缩。2014年，茅于轼等多位作家的著作被当局点名禁止发行。此前，他曾就偶像化毛泽东、一胎化计生政策、建造航空母舰以及涉及主权争议的钓鱼岛（日本称尖阁列岛）等等敏感议题公开发表反对或批评言论，提出建议，因而遭到大批毛粉和具有极左思潮色彩的人群谩骂和围攻，被冠以“汉奸”、“美帝走狗”、“反民族反党反社会主义”等标签。
毛左抗议茅于轼长沙演讲 文革遗毒流氓行为？
海外自媒体人公子沈指出，习近平统治下的中国容不下茅于轼老人这样温和的公共知识分子，言论和生存空间大不如前，迫使人们用脚投票，远走他乡，致使人心思“润“的风气愈演愈烈。
他说：“在这种时期呢，其实也有很多中国的企业家，中国的中产阶级也在想方设法润出国。整个形势变化让这样的一位温和的老人都很难在中国继续发声，继续贡献自己的热情和知识。我觉得这说明了现在中国已经正在走向倒退，过去进步的趋势已经被逆转了，令人极为遗憾。有识之士都是出国，留在中国的那只会是越来越平庸，越来越愚昧，越来越违背科学和真理。所以说很多人都想离开中国，茅老也是其中之一。可见在习近平的统治下，中国已经彻底失去过去仅有的一点儿言论自由的空间，那未来只会更加封闭，令人更加绝望。”
坎坷经历
据维基百科介绍，茅于轼出生于南京，出身名门，1949年以前曾就读国立交通大学学习工商管理和机械，后到黑龙江省做铁路工人，曾任火车司机和铁路工程师。1955年任铁道部科学研究院助理研究员，后被打成右派。文革期间受迫害，被发配至大同机车厂劳动，期间努力钻研经济学，取得成就，1979年提出择优分配原理。后调入社科院美国所任研究员。1986年赴美国哈佛大学做访问学者。
1993年，茅于轼和盛洪、张曙光等经济学家共同创建了由美国基金会以及私人资本资助的民间智库“天则经济研究所”，是该所荣誉理事长和人文经济学会理事长。茅于轼的代表著作有《择优分配原理》、《中国人的道德前景》。2012年3月，茅于轼获得美国智库加图研究所（CATO）颁发的“米尔顿·弗里德曼自由奖”，奖金25万美元。
2018年11月，天则经济研究所承办的咨询有限公司被北京工商局以擅自从事教育活动为由吊销营业执照。次年8月，天则所被指控违反监管规定，遭强制关闭。
毛左抗议茅于轼长沙演讲 文革遗毒流氓行为？
2013年5月6日 18:39
香港 — 中国一些毛左人士近日在湖南长沙抗议，试图阻止著名自由派经济学家茅于轼在长沙举行公开演讲。不过，主办方在宣布取消演讲后，又临时改变地点，举行了演讲。
美国弗里德曼促进自由奖2012年得主、一向敢言的茅于轼原定5月4日受长沙熬吧读书会的邀请举行演讲。但是，一些左派人士赶到长沙举行抗议，试图围堵演讲。
这些毛左人士拉起写有“汉奸过街人人喊打”、“茅老贼祸国殃民”、“反毛泽东思想罪该万死”等橫幅在市区聚集，并挥舞毛泽东画像和“毛泽东思想万岁”的红旗。
一位熟知情况的长沙网友星期一向美国之音表示，这些毛左人士的做法很有文革时期和重庆唱红的味道，令人不解。
他说：“消息放出去的比较早，造成这些毛愤提早作了些部署，从河南、湖北和本省的岳阳，很多这样的毛愤来长沙，准备阻挠这次演讲。这也造成熬吧做出决定取消演讲。这因为也是受到许多方面的压力。由于这个被临时取消，所以许多人都感到很郁闷。经过组织者慎重商量，改变了地点，如期举行。”
*长沙警方被斥选择性执法*
据报道，长沙警方对这次毛左人士集会没有干预，警察甚至不曾露面，引起自由派人士和网民的不满，批评官方有明显的默许行为，是选择性执法。
这位参加了演讲的网友说，茅于轼的演讲非常理性，不过听众中也有不同意见者，但是大家是通过平和对话进行沟通。
他说：“参与讲座的这些听众都是相当理性的，也抱着一些问题来与茅于轼先生商榷，包括在当场听了茅先生讲的有不同意见或有疑惑的，当场向茅先生或其他学者谋求解决。都是在一个很理性、很学术化的环境下交流。我觉得这才是我们开放时代应当有的气魄。”
毛左派领军人物司马南在微博中称，“茅于轼湖南讲座，原本有地方支持\有警察保护\有粉丝起哄\有外媒策应\又有沈阳抓走质疑者的范例在先，但掂量再三，还是自己取消了。诅咒谩骂毛泽东巳成习性，被张维迎等尊为‘人生导师’的茅于轼, 可能犯了一个错误：把毛主席家乡当成‘右派原生态秀场’实属不智。”
茅于轼受到毛左分子的围剿已非首次。他2011年发表《把毛泽东还原成人》一文，批评毛泽东在位期间，大跃进饿死3000多万人，中共建政后因政治原因死亡达5000万人。茅于轼多次发表反毛言论，受到左派人士的嫉恨，被列入“十大汉奸”。
茅于轼星期一对美国之音表示，有不同看法和意见是正常的，可以进行辩论，但是污蔑对手、乱打棍子，是文革作风，是流氓行为。
他说：“我觉得这些人大部分吧，除了少数，不知道自己的利益在哪儿。有点理性的人应该知道，你给我造谣、威胁我，到我家里来骚扰，这都是流氓行为。如果你的事业是符合正义的话，你用不着用流氓的办法嘛，损害你事业的正义性。”
长沙的网友表示，他对一些年轻人标榜信奉毛泽东思想感到不解，认为社会上仍有许多左派人物在误导年轻人，不让这些年轻了解文革的真相。
他说：“应该说文革的遗毒还是非常重的，如果这个国家不对文革进行真正的彻底的历史清算，把这个流毒从后代人的思想里剔除，由偏执的人还在做这种思想宣传，他们还是会受到毒害的。这些人他们的行为表现，打的横幅，所谓的政治主张，打的标语呀，都可以看出思想的极端偏颇。”
84岁的茅于轼说，许多人对现实的贫富悬殊不满，怀念毛泽东时代和他的思想，是幼稚的。
他说：“以为毛泽东能给大家带来好生活，这个完全错误了。我也感觉现在大陆对毛泽东的客观评价非常的迫切。”
中共人民日报旗下的环球时报针对茅于轼5月4日长沙演讲被围堵，以及4月25日在沈阳的演讲被左派人士闹场事件，发表“做大众政治焦点，茅于轼的选择”的评论。
评论说，茅对政治做了些所有人都“看得很清楚”的涉入。他的“铁杆”支持者和反对者都有很固定的圈子。前者是中国自由派知识分子、西方一些精英人士。后者是被称为“左派”或“五毛”中的积极分子。
评论还说，中国舆论场上非常缺乏“政治辩论
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