I remember sometime after the Formation of Malaysia my father was hopeful that he could renew correspondence with his friends and university mates in China. He was happy to be able to send a parcel of two books by Bertrand Russel to one friend.
He took us kids to the post office after he wrapped the two books in thick "cement paper" for at that time, plastic bags were not in fashion yet.
He wrote the address in Chinese and English. We thought that he had a very good handwriting. He seemed very happy to send off that parcel and had a hearty conversation with the counter lady whom he knew.
And then we waited, and waited.
About 4 months later, we received a notification from the post office that he had a parcel. So we thought that he had gotten something from a friend.
We could see how disappointed he was when the parcel was returned to him, with markings on it saying that Bertand Russell books were not allowed in China. That was when I saw the reality of censorship!!
And he was also very sad, thinking that he might have harmed his friend in China. My father harboured a lot of fears of persecution to the ends of his days. Perhaps that was because he had lived through so many different political eras in his life: the Foochow Settlement under Methodist Rev James Hoover, the Brooke Government, the Republic of China government, the Japanese Occupation, the BMA, the Colonial Government and the Malaysian Government.
He passed away not long after the "parcel" incident in 1965, never having received any acknowledgement letter from his friend. Even today I too wonder, after more than 50 years, what actually happened to his friend in China. Did the two books in the parcel harm his friend?
We still have several books by Bertand Russell at home, bought by my father.
Postscript (P/S)
My father was a great reader. Among his books were many Bertrand Russell books, including the two brand new books he bought for his friend in China. He was imprisoned for possessions of English books, records and a radio during the Japanese Occupation for 10 days. It must have been the most painful days of his life.
Bertrand Russell,3rd Earl Russell OM FRS[68] (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British polymath, philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist, and Nobel laureate.[69][70] Throughout his life, Russell considered himself a liberal, a socialist and a pacifist, although he sometimes suggested that his sceptical nature had led him to feel that he had "never been any of these things, in any profound sense".[71] Russell was born in Monmouthshire into one of the most prominent aristocratic families in the United Kingdom.[72]
In the early 20th century, Russell led the British "revolt against idealism".[73] He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, colleague G. E. Moore and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. He is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians.[70]
Russell was a prominent anti-war activist, championed anti-imperialism, and chaired the India League.[75][76][77] Occasionally, he advocated preventive nuclear war, before the opportunity provided by the atomic monopoly had passed and he decided he would "welcome with enthusiasm" world government.[78] He went to prison for his pacifism during World War I.[79]
In 1950, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought".[81][82](Wikipedia)
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