Ominous Signs For Free Speech And Netizens During China’s Party Congress

Nov 192012
 

So how open was the Chinese Communist Party’s  Congress. For netizens the answer would be “not even a little bit”.

In a demonstration that the old idea of say nothing and make sure no-one else does either the congress was marked by censorship, widespread internet outages and other attempts to suppress free speech. Any thought that things may be easing for China’s netizens were quickly dismissed.

The best account of what went on during the Congress comes from free speech advocacy group Global Voices.

As China’s new generation of leaders were officially presented to the world this week at the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th National Congress, Chinese netizens experienced severe Internet interruptions. As the longtime Beijing-based blogger and businessman Bill Bishop described it, “these have been the most draconian few days of Internet restrictions I have experienced.”

Several weeks before the Congress, netizens began to report frequent disruptions when accessing Google services, foreign websites and virtual private networks (VPNs) – important tools for Internet users to circumvent the “Great Firewall.”  Interruptions to Internet access then cranked into high gear on November 9, one day after the start of the Congress, when Google services were reported to be fully blocked in China, and their domain name systems were deliberately redirected to unknown IP addresses in Korea. Please see Greatfire.org for more detailed reports and analysis.

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Chinese Bloggers Expose More High Level Corruption – Netizens Advance The Rule Of Law

Oct 252012
 

Chinese netizens are managing to do what the authorities including the police, state security apparatus and the ruling communist party’s internal disciplinary bodies cannot or will not do – expose corruption.

In what is becoming a regular and hopefully growing trend Chinese officials have been forced to launch an investigation after microbloggers uncovered another high ranking official with millions of dollar in property and assets.

Quoting state media, wire service AFP, said the Southern Guangzhou city will investigate urban management official Cai Bin, 56, who has 21 homes valued at 40 million yuan ($6.4 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

Cai, who earns about 10,000 yuan a month, failed to report all his holdings as required by the state, the report said.

Nothing as to how this vast wealth was obtained by a man on such a modest salary. Perhaps it a case of putting a little aside each month and watching how quickly it builds up; alternately  Cai is a corrupt, thieving villain who deserves everything coming to him. It is a matter for the courts to decide. But one thing is certain – it will not be swept under the carpet.

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Chinese Policy On Protests Then And Now – Directives From the Ministry Of Truth

Sep 212012
 

The China Digital Times excellent column “Directives from the Ministry of Truth” highlights the instructions officials hand out to media regarding how they want stories covered or not.

Recently they released an archived set of instructions relating to dealing with protests around the Beijing Olympics. It provides and fascinating insight into the tiny minds of the censors.


A pro-Tibet protester tries to take the Olympic torch, 2008. (Yang Zhen Dong)

This week’s featured directive, issued in April 2008 by the Province information portal, shows the power of “guidance” (引导) over in China. At that time, the Olympic torch relay was plagued at every stop by human rights groups and Tibet independence supporters. After a wheelchair-bound torchbearer was attacked in Paris, netizens called for a boycott of the French hypermarket Carrefour. “The biggest shareholder of Carrefour donated huge money to the ,” fumed the netizen demanding the boycott, “and even the French president has announced boycott of the .”

The directive below instructs provincial websites on how to direct online discussion of the boycott. Read the original Chinese here:

On-duty staff at the Internet office: Each website in every locality must adopt measures concerning netizens boycotting Carrefour and related management prompts to properly tamp down online discussion and prevent a loss of control from influencing domestic . Prepare your reports, guidance and management according to the following requirements:

(1) Give protection to the patriotic fervor of netizens who support the Olympics, who oppose “Tibet independence” and who denounce Western media’s distorted reporting and insults to China. Direct the discussion at the Dalai clique’s secessionist forces, as well as the vile material produced by CNN and a small number of other Western media.

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China’s Authorities Release Child Rape Victim’s Mother Following Online Protest But Is It A Sign Of Real Change?

Sep 212012
 

, mother of an 11-year-old who was kidnapped and forced into prostitution in 2006, petitioned and publicly expressed her disapproval of how the courts dealt with her daughter’s tormenters until she was detained for social order offenses.  She has since been freed

On line ezine the China Digital Times said that Tang was upset at what she thought were too lenient sentences she badgered the authorities to take a tougher stance. Eventually they did but her ongoing campaign lead to her being sentenced to 18 months reeducation for disturbing the social order.

Massive online protests and public outrage at the actions saw Tang swiftly released. But while it was a victory for one person nothing has been done to change the system that punishes people for demanding tough penalties for those who force 11-year-old girls into prostitution.

Like all authoritarian regimes blunt instruments like censorship and criminalizing free speech because it embarrasses the authorities are tools no-one in power wants to give up. They are just too useful for maintaining a certain group in power.

What China’s leaders need to keep in mind is that suppression of the truth and attacks on those who are seek legitimate redress simply creates a pressure cooker society and one that eventually will abandon social order in a way far more destructive than persistent letter writing and protests.

For the background to this case a fuller account below.

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Chinese Netizens Get Around Censors To Post On Bo Xilai scandal

Apr 122012
 

Chinese netizens are finding ways round the blanket ban by censors to any online references to disgraced former high flying politician, Bo Xilai, who has enmeshed in a scandal involving corruption, murder of a British businessman and other offenses.

Once seen as a possible future leader for the country Bo is now in serious trouble. Those in power find the whole sordid affair embarrassing and potentially harmful diplomatically.

They have cracked down on any mention of Bo, his wife or anything closely related to him on social media and online networks.

But the Christian Science Monitor reports that Chinese netizens have been finding a way round the ban.

“Clever word play allowed many to skirt the restrictions, reimposed after being very briefly relaxed in mid-March when Bo was sacked as Chongqing party chief.

By Wednesday morning, there were more than 230,000 postings on “big news,” and “Wude,” a reference to the Chinese name of murdered Briton Neil Heywood, had racked up some 100,000 postings.

The official Xinhua news agency said late on Tuesday that Bo’s lawyer wife Gu Kailai and their son had been on good terms with Heywood but that they had fallen out over “economic interests”.

“Today’s biggest news – people who don’t lack money can murder someone because of money. Who’s going to believe that?” wrote K_ankan. Continue reading »

Censorship Glitch Lets Chinese Netizens Flood President Obamas Google+ Page

Feb 272012
 

Hundreds of Chinese took advantage of an apparent  glitch in China’s censorship system to post about human rights and green cards on President Obama’s google + page.

President Obama and his administration have put huge efforts into online media to get their message out for electoral and policy purposes.

But this latest developement is unlikely to have been foreseen by even the most tech savy of his staff.

A report by Wire Service AFP carried on Yahoo News says Google+ — the US Internet giant’s social networking site — has been unavailable in China since it was launched last year, apparently blocked by the nation’s strict censorship system, dubbed “the Great Firewall of China.”

But over the past few days, Chinese netizens say they have unexpectedly managed to get onto the site, and have decided to concentrate their presence on Obama’s page.

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“Who Guards The Guards”: Chinese Netizens Step Up To Hold Media To Account

Dec 082011
 

“Who guards the guards” is an old latin proverb about who or what is the overall watchdog in a society. Generally in a free democracy it is the people. A key part of their ability to fulfil that function is knowledge usually obtained through a free and independent media.

But in one party states like China which control a significant portion of the media directly and restrict the remainder via censorship and legal action the media is unable to hold up those institutions to the light.

The role is now falling to the country’s netizens and recently they demonstrated their power with a strong and comprehensive reaction to reporting in the state media about recent violent protests.

The China Digital Times reports that Hundreds of protesters gathered Oct. 26-27 in the streets of Zhili, a township in Huzhou, northern Zhejiang Province, to demand an end to tax hikes and various local “fees.” One such tax includes a “machinery head tax” on factories. Many turned violent, smashing windows and setting fire to cars. Rioters attacked an Audi while it drove by, forcing the driver off the road and leading him to hit ten bystanders. Riot police were called in to quell the protests.

What followed was an excellent example of people stepping up and creating an accurate record of what happened and how state policies were being skewed to the public.

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Chinese Officials Turn To Micro Blogging For Peoples’ Views

Sep 052011
 

Chinese authorities are looking to social media and micro blogs in particular to learn what people are saying and thinking.

According to the People’s Daily newspaper officials have greatly increased their use of micro blogs to become more familiar with netizens’ opinions, according to a survey by people.com.cn, one of the paper’s online news portals.

By August 1, more than 10,000 government departments and officials across China had opened micro-blog accounts, with 266 of them being used by senior officials ranked at deputy-city level or above, according to the survey.

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China Train Crash – Media Muzzled But Netizens And Journalists Defy Censorship

Aug 012011
 

While the Wenshou train crash has been a good example of how Chinese journalists and netizens can and will defy government censorship orders the net result is for the authorities to further tighten media controls. 

The China Media Project  reports the authorities are turning to screws on the media to put forward only the official line on the tragedy. This follows the excellent coverage from journalists and netizens who refused to be intimidated.

The China Digital Times reports that yesterday morning, July 30, CMP Director Qian Gang (钱钢) delivered a “letter from home” on RTHK Radio. Addressed to the journalists of China and Hong Kong, the letter looked back on a tumultuous week of coverage of the July 23 train collision in Wenzhou, full of victories and setbacks. The message of the “letter” was largely positive, remarking how July 29 had marked a rare high point for mainland Chinese media in particular, with bold and broad coverage of the Wenzhou crash and its implications.

But just as Qian Gang’s message was hitting the airwaves, he was watching the weather change online. Strict controls on China’s media had been rolled into force just the night before, with authorities saying that “public opinion inside and outside China has begun to become complex.” A notice demanded that Chinese media immediately cool down their reporting and commentary on the July 23 Wenzhou train crash, and scores of Chinese media had to move frantically to fill the gaps as planned reports on the crash were suddenly off limits.

Yes, as the China Real Time blog reports, not all media were cowed into silence. The Economic Observer prepared a special report on the crash over the weekend:

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Chinese Netizens Cut Off From Circumvention Tool

May 272011
 

 Chinese netizens trying to use Virtual Private Networks to allow them to bypass China’s state censors are finding they can no longer access the tools.

 The Asia News Network reports VPNs used by hundreds of thousands of netizens in China to circumvent state blockage to foreign websites has been disrupted, denying them access to alternative information sources.

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