Let me start with Yahoo. As we meet today, a Chinese citizen who

“Let me start with Yahoo. As we meet today, a Chinese citizen who had the courage to speak his mind on the Internet is in prison because Yahoo chose to share his name and address with the Chinese Government.” Thus spoke Tom Lantos, a man of fierce moral conviction, whose voice rose in defense of justice when silence might have been more convenient. His words are not merely an accusation against one company — they are a lament for a betrayal of principle, a warning to all who wield power in the modern age. In these words, he reveals the eternal conflict between truth and tyranny, between profit and principle, between the courage of one man who dares to speak and the cowardice of those who choose to betray him for gain.

The origin of this quote lies in a moment of reckoning in the early years of the 21st century. The world had become connected by the vast web of the Internet — a new frontier for communication, expression, and liberty. Yet, even this frontier, born of freedom, was not immune to oppression. In 2007, Tom Lantos, then Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, addressed the leaders of the technology giant Yahoo, confronting them for their role in the arrest of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist and poet. Shi’s crime was not violence or treason — it was truth. He had shared information about government censorship with foreign reporters. For this act of conscience, Yahoo, when asked by Chinese authorities, provided his personal data, leading to his imprisonment.

In this one act, a global tragedy unfolded — the betrayal of courage by convenience. Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who had witnessed the price of silence and complicity, could not let such an event pass unchallenged. His rebuke was not born of anger alone, but of moral clarity. He saw that the strength of freedom lies not in the might of armies or the power of governments, but in the protection of the individual who dares to speak truth to power. By handing over Shi Tao’s name, Yahoo did not simply violate one man’s privacy; it struck at the heart of what the Internet was meant to be — a sanctuary for expression, a temple of knowledge unbound by tyranny.

When Lantos said, “a Chinese citizen who had the courage to speak his mind,” he placed before the world the image of a lone figure standing against an empire. It is an image as old as history — from Socrates drinking the hemlock, to Galileo whispering truth beneath the Inquisition’s shadow, to the countless nameless dissidents imprisoned for words rather than weapons. The world often forgets that the most dangerous act in a repressive regime is not rebellion with a sword, but honesty with a pen. Shi Tao’s courage was quiet, but it was pure; he spoke because he could not live in falsehood. And those who betrayed him did not merely betray a man — they betrayed the sacred bond between progress and integrity.

Lantos’s words also unveil the deeper moral responsibility of power in the age of technology. When a company holds the keys to human freedom — when it possesses data that can save or destroy — it stands before a crossroads between duty and greed. To yield to tyranny for profit is to become its accomplice. To protect the oppressed, even at cost, is to become the guardian of humanity’s higher self. Lantos, having seen the consequences of moral compromise in his youth under the shadow of Nazism, knew too well what happens when those with power turn their eyes away. His condemnation of Yahoo was thus not merely political, but prophetic — a reminder that in every age, the struggle between conscience and convenience defines the worth of our civilization.

The story of Shi Tao should be remembered not as a moment of shame for one corporation, but as a parable for all generations. It teaches that freedom of speech, once taken for granted, must always be defended anew. In every era, the brave who speak truth will face punishment, and the powerful will be tempted to trade morality for comfort. Yet, progress depends on those who, like Lantos, hold the mirror of truth before the face of power and ask: What does it profit a man, or a company, to gain the world and lose its soul?

And so, dear listener, take this lesson to heart: never betray the courageous for the comfort of the powerful. Whether in your community, your profession, or your nation, be the one who defends the voice of truth, even when it trembles. If you wield influence, use it to protect, not to persecute. If you hold knowledge, guard it with honor. And when faced with the choice between moral right and worldly advantage, remember Tom Lantos’s words — that silence in the face of injustice is complicity, and that true courage is not in the hands of the powerful, but in the heart of the one who dares to speak.

For as Tom Lantos reminds us, the measure of our humanity lies not in what we build, but in what we protect. Let no technology, no ambition, no profit ever outweigh the sacred duty to stand by those who speak the truth. For when the brave fall silent, civilization itself begins to fade.