Nobel laureate Mo Yan defends censorship

STOCKHOLM -- This year's Nobel Prize in literature winner, Mo Yan of China, defended censorship Thursday as something as necessary as airport security checks.

Mo, a Communist Party member, has been criticized by human rights activists for not being a more outspoken defender of freedom of speech and for supporting the Communist Party-backed writers' association, of which he is vice president. His comments, made during a news conference in Stockholm, appear unlikely to soften his critics' views toward him.

Awarding him the literature prize has brought criticism from previous winners.

Mo, in Stockholm to receive his award Monday, said he doesn't feel that censorship should stand in the way of truth but that any defamation, or rumors, "should be censored." "But I also hope that censorship, per se, should have the highest principle," he said in comments translated by an interpreter from Chinese into English.

Mo likened it to the thorough security procedures he was subjected to as he traveled to Stockholm. "When I was taking my flight, going through the customs . . . they also wanted to check me -- even taking off my belt and shoes," he said. "But I think these checks are necessary."

-- AP