Although he did not say it outright, his meaning was already very clear.
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Formal/written. Often appears in legal, contractual, or news contexts (合同明言..., 法律明言...). Spoken Chinese prefers 明确说 (míngquè shuō) or 直说.
culture
Ming dynasty writer 冯梦龙's famous story collection is called 《喻世明言》 (Stories Old and New) — here 明言 carries the older sense of 'wise/illuminating words', i.e. maxims.
