Censorship in the People's Republic of China
Encyclopedia
Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China
(CPC). The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
have their own legal
systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply there.
Notable censored subjects include but are not limited to, democracy, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
, Falun Gong
, Tibetan independence, Taiwan independence
, corruption, police brutality
, anarchism
, disparity of wealth, food safety
, pornography, news sources that report on these issues, religious content, and many other websites.
Censored media include essentially all capable of reaching a wide audience including television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging
, instant messaging
, video games, literature
and the Internet
. Chinese officials have access to uncensored information via an internal document system.
Reporters Without Borders
ranks China's press situation as "very serious", the worst ranking on their five-point scale. China's Internet censorship policy is labeled as "pervasive" by the OpenNet Initiative
's global Internet filtering map, also the worst ranking used. Freedom House
ranks the press there as "not free", the worst ranking, saying that "state control over the news media in China is achieved through a complex combination of party monitoring of news content, legal restrictions on journalists, and financial incentives for self-censorship."
According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese government issues orders on a regular basis to 'guide' coverage of individual sensitive issues. Media organisations thus submit to self-censorship, or run the risk of being closed down.
. Censorship helps prevent unapproved reformist
, separatist
, "counter-revolutionary", or religious ideas, peaceful or otherwise, from organizing themselves and spreading. Additionally, censorship prevents Chinese citizens from discovering or learning more about past and current failures of the Communist Party that could create or inflame anti-government sentiment. Measures such as the blocking of foreign governments' websites may also be intended to prevent citizens from learning about alternative systems of governance and demanding similar systems.
In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics
, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for reporting during the Games: political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed: topics such as Pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements
and food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water" were not to be reported on. As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
broke in September 2008, some western media evoked suspicions that China's desire for a perfect games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula
, which has given more than 50,000 babies kidney stones and killed at least 4 infants although the Central government denied this.
On 13 February 2009, Li Dongdong, a deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, announced the introduction of a series of rules and regulations to strengthen oversight and administration of news professionals and reporting activities. The regulations would include a "full database of people who engage in unhealthy professional conduct" who would be excluded from engaging in news reporting and editing work. Although the controls were ostensibly to "resolutely halt fake news", it was criticized by Li Datong, editor at the China Youth Daily
who was dismissed for criticizing state censorship. Li Datong said "There really is a problem with fake reporting and reporters, but there are already plenty of ways to deal with that." Reuters
said that although Communist Party's Propaganda Department micro-manages what newspapers and other media do and do not report, the government remains concerned about unrest amid the economic slowdown and the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy protests in 1989
.
In January 2011, Boxun revealed that Politburo member responsible for the Propaganda Department, Li Changchun, issued instructions for the Chinese media to downplay social tensions on issues such as land prices, political reform and major disasters or incidents, and to ensure reporting does not show the Communist party negatively. The Party warned that media must “ensure that the party and government do not become the targets or focus of criticism”, and any mention of political reforms must reflect the government in a favourable light.
, foreign literature and art forms, religious works and symbols, and even artifacts of ancient Chinese culture were deemed "reactionary" and became targets for destruction by teams of Red Guard
.
Although much greater cultural freedom exists in China today, continuing crackdowns on pornography, the 2006 banning of foreign cartoons
from Chinese prime time TV, and limits on screenings for foreign films could be seen as a continuation of cultural-minded censorship.
, particularly extreme pornography, and violence in films.
in China, and information concerning the treatment of some religious groups is also tightly controlled.
The Falun Gong
spiritual movement is subject to suppression in China, and virtually all religious texts, publications, and websites relating to the group have been banned, along with information on the imprisonment or torture of followers.
Christian Bibles are allowed to be printed in China but only in limited numbers and through a single press.
In 2007, anticipating the coming "Year of the Pig" in the Chinese calendar
, depictions of pigs were banned from CCTV
"to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities". This is believed to refer to China's population of 20 million Muslim
s (to whom pigs are considered "unclean
").
.
In February 2007, the website of the French organization Observatoire International des Crises was banned in the PRC after it posted an article on the risks of trading with China.
"How do you assess an investment opportunity if no reliable information about social tension, corruption or local trade unions is available? This case of censorship, affecting a very specialised site with solely French-language content, shows the [Chinese] government attaches as much importance to the censorship of economic data as political content," the organization was quoted as saying.
Tsinghua University
professor Patrick Chovanec has speculated that the Chinese ban on Facebook
, Twitter
, and YouTube
may have been done in part to grant a business advantage to the websites' Chinese competitors. Similarly, China has been accused of using a double standard in attacking Google for "obscene" content that is also present on Chinese competitor Baidu
.
The 2D version of the blockbuster film Avatar was also reportedly pulled from screens in the country for taking in too much money and seizing market share from domestic films.
, the mainland media came under tremendous pressure from authorities. Ming Pao
reported on the Publicity Department's "hitherto unimaginable extent" of pressure to screen out any related content. The journal reported two incidents in 2008 which caused official concern, but which could not be proven to be deliberate challenges: Beijing News published an image of an injured persons being taken to the hospital on 4 June; Southern Metropolis Daily
reported on unusual weather in Guangdong province with the headline of "4 storms in June," which both journals insisted were due to carelessness. Some newspapers have therefore instructed their editors to refrain from using the numbers '6' and '4' in their reports during this sensitive period. Furthermore, the numbers cannot be used in the headlines lest the Publicity Department disapproved.
, BBC World Service
, and Bloomberg Television
are occasionally censored by being "blacked out" during controversial segments. It is reported that CNN has made an arrangement that allowed their signal to pass through a Chinese-controlled satellite. Chinese authorities have been able to censor CNN segments at any time in this way. CNN's broadcasts are not widely available throughout China, but rather only in certain diplomatic compounds, hotels, and apartment blocks.
Numerous content which have been blacked out has included references to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
, the Dalai Lama
, the death of Zhao Ziyang
, the 2008 Tibetan unrest
, the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
and negative developments about the Beijing Olympics.
During the Summer Olympics in Beijing
all Chinese TV stations were ordered to delay live broadcasts by 10 seconds, a policy that was designed to give censors time to react in case free-Tibet
demonstrators or others staged political protests.
In January 2009, during a television report of the inauguration
of U.S. President Barack Obama
, the state-run China Central Television
abruptly cut away from its coverage of Obama's address when he spoke of how "earlier generations faced down fascism and communism.". On November 16, 2009, Obama hosted a "town hall" event in China, and commented, "I should be honest, as president of the United States, there are times where I wish information didn't flow so freely because then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticizing me all the time. ...But the truth is that because in the United States information is free, and I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me, I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear. It forces me to examine what I'm doing."
Like Internet censorship, enforcement in television censorship is increasingly ineffective and difficult because of satellite signal hacking systems which give direct access to channels and programs on any satellite that services the Asian Pacific region.
China has no motion picture rating system
, and films must therefore be deemed suitable for all audiences to be allowed to screen.
For foreign-made films, this sometimes means controversial footage must be cut before such films can play in Chinese cinemas. Examples include the deletion of scenes showing hanging laundry in Shanghai during Mission: Impossible III
, the removal of a reference to the Cold War
in Casino Royale
, and the omission of footage containing Chow Yun-fat
that "vilifies and humiliates the Chinese" in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics
, the PRC administration announced that "wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals" were banned from audio visual content.
Regardless, Chinese censors still clear only twenty foreign films a year to show within the country. Despite this, almost all internationally released foreign films are freely available in Chinese and English language versions through the counterfeit trade in DVDs.
All audio visual works dealing with "serious topics" such as the Cultural Revolution
must be registered before distribution on the mainland. Films by PRC nationals cannot be submitted to foreign film festivals without government approval.
that are intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates. Resultingly, the ratio of official-to-pirated books is said to be 40%:60%. According to a report in ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China. The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings on unapproved yet popular "spiritual pollution" literature, though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel booksales.
by American rock band Guns N' Roses
is banned in China, reportedly due to supposed criticism in its title track
about the government
and a reference to the Falun Gong
. The government said through a state controlled newspaper that it "turns its spear point on China".
The album X
by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue was released as a 10-track edition of the album by EMI Records
. The album got three tracks banned due to strict censorship in the People's Republic of China. The tracks that were omitted were "Nu-di-ty", "Speakerphone" and "Like a Drug".
. Certain search engine terms are blocked as well, and 52 cyber dissidents are reportedly imprisoned in China for their online communications. Falun Gong and others have been working in the field of anti-censorship software development. More recently, through individual negotiations with the Chinese government, Wikipedia, Google and YouTube have been opened up for public viewing with certain restrictions for those who access these sites from within mainland China. Although China has opened up Google for public viewing, it is google.cn as opposed to google.com. This .cn Google follows China's set rules for what is allowed to be shown through a Google search. All versions of YouTube have been completely unavailable in China since April 2009.
Reporters in the western media have also suggested that China's internet censorship of foreign websites may also be a means of forcing mainland Chinese users to rely on China's own e-commerce industry, thus self-insulating their economy (for example censorship of large game sites such as newgrounds.com which have no political agenda). In 2011 although China-based users of many Google services such as Google+
did not always find the services entirely blocked, they were nonetheless throttled such that users could be expected to become frustrated with the frequent timeouts and switch to the faster, more reliable services of Chinese competitors.
(text messaging) surveillance centers. As of early 2010, cell phone users in Shanghai and Beijing risk having their text messaging service cut off if they are found to have sent "illegal or unhealthy" content.
In 2003, during the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome (SARS) outbreak
, a dozen Chinese were reportedly arrested for sending text messages about SARS. Skype
reported that it was required to filter messages passing through its service for words like "Falun Gong" and "Dalai Lama" before being allowed to operate in China.
During protests over a proposed chemical plant in Xiamen
during the summer of 2007, text messaging was blocked to prevent the rallying of more protesters.
In 2004, the Ministry of Culture set up a committee to screen imported online video games before they entered the Chinese market. It was stated that games with any of the following violations would be banned from importation:
The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games.
Examples of banned games have included:
As with films, piracy makes acquiring banned video games in China very easy.
PRC history by downplaying or avoiding mention of controversial historical events such as the Great Leap Forward
, Cultural Revolution
, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In 2005, customs officials in China seized a shipment of textbooks intended for a Japanese school because maps in the books depicted mainland China and Taiwan using different colors.
In a January 2006 issue of Freezing Point, a weekly supplement to the China Youth Daily
, Zhongshan University
professor Yuan Weishi published an article entitled "Modernization and History Textbooks" in which he criticized several middle school
textbooks used in mainland China. In particular, he felt that depictions in the books of the Second Opium War
avoided mention of Chinese diplomatic failures leading up to the war and that depictions of the Boxer Rebellion
glossed over atrocities committed by the Boxer rebels. As a result of Yuan's article, Freezing Point was temporarily shut down and its editors were fired.
New Threads, a website for reporting academic misconduct in China such as plagiarism or fabrication of data, is banned in China.
A new standard world history textbook introduced in Shanghai high schools in 2006 supposedly omits several wars; it mentions Mao Zedong
, founder of the PRC, only once.
Zhang Ming, the dean of political sciences at Renmin University of China
, was fired on 16 March 2007 after complaining about academic freedom in China among other issues.
In the FRONTLINE, four students from Peking University
are seemingly unable to identify the context of the infamous Tank Man
photo from the 1989 unrest sparked by Peking University
students, though possibly, the students were feigning ignorance so as not to upset the party official who was monitoring the interview with clipboard in hand. The segment implied that the subject is not addressed in Chinese schools.
Indeed, on 4 June 2007, a person was able to place a small ad in a newspaper in southwest China to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests reading "Paying tribute to the strong(-willed) mothers of 4 June victims". The accepting clerk claimed that he was ignorant of the event and believed that 4 June was the date of a mining disaster.
have been accused of practicing self-censorship
in order to exchange for permission to expand their media business into the mainland market and for greater journalistic access in the mainland too.
At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists Association
(HKJA) and "ARTICLE 19
" in July 2001, the Chairman of the HKJA said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border." For example, Robert Kuok
, who has business interests all over Asia, has been criticized over the departures of several China desk staff in rapid succession since he acquired the South China Morning Post
, namely the editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam. Lam, in particular departed after his reporting had been publicly criticized by Robert Kuok.
International corporations such as Google
, Microsoft
, MySpace, and Yahoo!
voluntarily censor their content for Chinese markets in order to be allowed to do business in the country. In October 2008, Canadian research group Citizen Lab
released a new report saying TOM
's Chinese-language Skype
software filtered sensitive words and then logged these, with users' information to a file on computer servers which were insecure. In September 2007, activists in China had already warned about the possibility that TOM's versions have or will have more trojan
capability. Skype president Josh Silverman said it was "common knowledge" that Tom Online had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations ... to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities."
Even with the harsh censorship practices that exist in China, people find ways to bypass the restrictions. On the Internet, people use proxy websites that allow anonymous access to otherwise restricted websites, services, and information.
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
(CPC). The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
have their own legal
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply there.
Notable censored subjects include but are not limited to, democracy, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
, Tibetan independence, Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
, corruption, police brutality
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
, anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, disparity of wealth, food safety
Food safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
, pornography, news sources that report on these issues, religious content, and many other websites.
Censored media include essentially all capable of reaching a wide audience including television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, video games, literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
and the Internet
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
. Chinese officials have access to uncensored information via an internal document system.
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
ranks China's press situation as "very serious", the worst ranking on their five-point scale. China's Internet censorship policy is labeled as "pervasive" by the OpenNet Initiative
OpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
's global Internet filtering map, also the worst ranking used. Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
ranks the press there as "not free", the worst ranking, saying that "state control over the news media in China is achieved through a complex combination of party monitoring of news content, legal restrictions on journalists, and financial incentives for self-censorship."
Subject matter and agenda
Censorship in the PRC encompasses a wide range of subject matter. The agendas behind such censorship are varied; some are stated outright by the Chinese government itself and some are surmised by observers inside and out of the country.According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese government issues orders on a regular basis to 'guide' coverage of individual sensitive issues. Media organisations thus submit to self-censorship, or run the risk of being closed down.
Political
Censorship in China is largely seen as a measure to maintain the rule of the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. Censorship helps prevent unapproved reformist
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
, separatist
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
, "counter-revolutionary", or religious ideas, peaceful or otherwise, from organizing themselves and spreading. Additionally, censorship prevents Chinese citizens from discovering or learning more about past and current failures of the Communist Party that could create or inflame anti-government sentiment. Measures such as the blocking of foreign governments' websites may also be intended to prevent citizens from learning about alternative systems of governance and demanding similar systems.
In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for reporting during the Games: political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed: topics such as Pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements
East Turkestan independence movement
The East Turkestan independence movement is a broad term that refers to advocates of an independent, self-governing East Turkestan in the region now known as Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the People's Republic of China.-Historical background:...
and food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water" were not to be reported on. As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
2008 Chinese milk scandal
The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in the People's Republic of China, involving milk and infant formula, and other food materials and components, adulterated with melamine....
broke in September 2008, some western media evoked suspicions that China's desire for a perfect games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula
Infant formula
Infant formula is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid . The U.S...
, which has given more than 50,000 babies kidney stones and killed at least 4 infants although the Central government denied this.
On 13 February 2009, Li Dongdong, a deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, announced the introduction of a series of rules and regulations to strengthen oversight and administration of news professionals and reporting activities. The regulations would include a "full database of people who engage in unhealthy professional conduct" who would be excluded from engaging in news reporting and editing work. Although the controls were ostensibly to "resolutely halt fake news", it was criticized by Li Datong, editor at the China Youth Daily
China Youth Daily
The China Youth Daily is the official newspaper of Communist Youth League of China , and is a popular official daily newspaper and the first independently operated central government news media portal in the People's Republic of China.In 1980s it was regarded as the best newspaper in mainland...
who was dismissed for criticizing state censorship. Li Datong said "There really is a problem with fake reporting and reporters, but there are already plenty of ways to deal with that." Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
said that although Communist Party's Propaganda Department micro-manages what newspapers and other media do and do not report, the government remains concerned about unrest amid the economic slowdown and the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy protests in 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
.
In January 2011, Boxun revealed that Politburo member responsible for the Propaganda Department, Li Changchun, issued instructions for the Chinese media to downplay social tensions on issues such as land prices, political reform and major disasters or incidents, and to ensure reporting does not show the Communist party negatively. The Party warned that media must “ensure that the party and government do not become the targets or focus of criticism”, and any mention of political reforms must reflect the government in a favourable light.
People who have power, they can cover up the sky.
Cultural
The PRC has historically sought to use censorship to mould or protect the country's culture. During the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, foreign literature and art forms, religious works and symbols, and even artifacts of ancient Chinese culture were deemed "reactionary" and became targets for destruction by teams of Red Guard
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
.
Although much greater cultural freedom exists in China today, continuing crackdowns on pornography, the 2006 banning of foreign cartoons
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
from Chinese prime time TV, and limits on screenings for foreign films could be seen as a continuation of cultural-minded censorship.
Moral
Usually, this type of censorship is mainly used to prevent political conflicts from happening within the social environment. Usually, people are allowed to talk about politics on the internet, but certain websites containing anti-government material would be blocked. Some censorship in China has been justified as upholding proper morals. This includes limitations on pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, particularly extreme pornography, and violence in films.
Religious
A number of religious texts, publications, and materials are banned or have their distributions artificially limited in the PRC. Foreign citizens are also prohibited from proselytizingProselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
in China, and information concerning the treatment of some religious groups is also tightly controlled.
The Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
spiritual movement is subject to suppression in China, and virtually all religious texts, publications, and websites relating to the group have been banned, along with information on the imprisonment or torture of followers.
Christian Bibles are allowed to be printed in China but only in limited numbers and through a single press.
In 2007, anticipating the coming "Year of the Pig" in the Chinese calendar
Chinese calendar
The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...
, depictions of pigs were banned from CCTV
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
"to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities". This is believed to refer to China's population of 20 million Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s (to whom pigs are considered "unclean
Unclean animals
Unclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...
").
Economic
In recent years, censorship in China has been accused of being used not only for political protectionism but also for economic protectionismProtectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
.
In February 2007, the website of the French organization Observatoire International des Crises was banned in the PRC after it posted an article on the risks of trading with China.
"How do you assess an investment opportunity if no reliable information about social tension, corruption or local trade unions is available? This case of censorship, affecting a very specialised site with solely French-language content, shows the [Chinese] government attaches as much importance to the censorship of economic data as political content," the organization was quoted as saying.
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
professor Patrick Chovanec has speculated that the Chinese ban on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
may have been done in part to grant a business advantage to the websites' Chinese competitors. Similarly, China has been accused of using a double standard in attacking Google for "obscene" content that is also present on Chinese competitor Baidu
Baidu
Baidu, Inc. , simply known as Baidu and incorporated on January 18, 2000, is a Chinese web services company headquartered in the Baidu Campus in Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China....
.
The 2D version of the blockbuster film Avatar was also reportedly pulled from screens in the country for taking in too much money and seizing market share from domestic films.
Newspapers
On the twentieth anniversary of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen SquareTiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, the mainland media came under tremendous pressure from authorities. Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
reported on the Publicity Department's "hitherto unimaginable extent" of pressure to screen out any related content. The journal reported two incidents in 2008 which caused official concern, but which could not be proven to be deliberate challenges: Beijing News published an image of an injured persons being taken to the hospital on 4 June; Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily is a daily Tabloid newspaper published in Guangzhou, sister to the Southern Daily and part of the giant Southern Media Group. It circulation is mainly in the Pearl River Delta area, contains Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau....
reported on unusual weather in Guangdong province with the headline of "4 storms in June," which both journals insisted were due to carelessness. Some newspapers have therefore instructed their editors to refrain from using the numbers '6' and '4' in their reports during this sensitive period. Furthermore, the numbers cannot be used in the headlines lest the Publicity Department disapproved.
Television
Foreign and Hong Kong news broadcasts in mainland China from TVB, CNN InternationalCNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
, BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, and Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
are occasionally censored by being "blacked out" during controversial segments. It is reported that CNN has made an arrangement that allowed their signal to pass through a Chinese-controlled satellite. Chinese authorities have been able to censor CNN segments at any time in this way. CNN's broadcasts are not widely available throughout China, but rather only in certain diplomatic compounds, hotels, and apartment blocks.
Numerous content which have been blacked out has included references to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, the death of Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
, the 2008 Tibetan unrest
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
, the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
2008 Chinese milk scandal
The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in the People's Republic of China, involving milk and infant formula, and other food materials and components, adulterated with melamine....
and negative developments about the Beijing Olympics.
During the Summer Olympics in Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
all Chinese TV stations were ordered to delay live broadcasts by 10 seconds, a policy that was designed to give censors time to react in case free-Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
demonstrators or others staged political protests.
In January 2009, during a television report of the inauguration
Inauguration of Barack Obama
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...
of U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the state-run China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
abruptly cut away from its coverage of Obama's address when he spoke of how "earlier generations faced down fascism and communism.". On November 16, 2009, Obama hosted a "town hall" event in China, and commented, "I should be honest, as president of the United States, there are times where I wish information didn't flow so freely because then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticizing me all the time. ...But the truth is that because in the United States information is free, and I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me, I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear. It forces me to examine what I'm doing."
Like Internet censorship, enforcement in television censorship is increasingly ineffective and difficult because of satellite signal hacking systems which give direct access to channels and programs on any satellite that services the Asian Pacific region.
Film
China has a large diversity of different foreign films broadcasted through the media and sold in markets.China has no motion picture rating system
Motion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
, and films must therefore be deemed suitable for all audiences to be allowed to screen.
For foreign-made films, this sometimes means controversial footage must be cut before such films can play in Chinese cinemas. Examples include the deletion of scenes showing hanging laundry in Shanghai during Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt....
, the removal of a reference to the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
in Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
, and the omission of footage containing Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
that "vilifies and humiliates the Chinese" in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, the PRC administration announced that "wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals" were banned from audio visual content.
Regardless, Chinese censors still clear only twenty foreign films a year to show within the country. Despite this, almost all internationally released foreign films are freely available in Chinese and English language versions through the counterfeit trade in DVDs.
All audio visual works dealing with "serious topics" such as the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
must be registered before distribution on the mainland. Films by PRC nationals cannot be submitted to foreign film festivals without government approval.
Literature
China's state-run General Administration of Press and Publication (新闻出版总署) screens all Chinese literatureChinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
that are intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates. Resultingly, the ratio of official-to-pirated books is said to be 40%:60%. According to a report in ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China. The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings on unapproved yet popular "spiritual pollution" literature, though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel booksales.
Music
The album Chinese DemocracyChinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
by American rock band Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
is banned in China, reportedly due to supposed criticism in its title track
Chinese Democracy (song)
"Chinese Democracy" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the title track from their sixth studio album of the same name. The song was released as the band's twenty-first radio single on October 22, 2008 and was released on the iTunes Store on November 9, 2008...
about the government
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
and a reference to the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
. The government said through a state controlled newspaper that it "turns its spear point on China".
The album X
X (Kylie Minogue album)
X is the tenth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It is her first release since the greatest hits compilation Ultimate Kylie , and her first studio album since Body Language . X was preceded by lead single "2 Hearts" and released worldwide in November 2007...
by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue was released as a 10-track edition of the album by EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
. The album got three tracks banned due to strict censorship in the People's Republic of China. The tracks that were omitted were "Nu-di-ty", "Speakerphone" and "Like a Drug".
Internet
China's Internet censorship is regarded by many as the most pervasive and sophisticated in the world. According to a Harvard study, at least 18,000 websites are blocked from within the country. Banned sites have included YouTube, Facebook (from July 2009) and FlickrFlickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
. Certain search engine terms are blocked as well, and 52 cyber dissidents are reportedly imprisoned in China for their online communications. Falun Gong and others have been working in the field of anti-censorship software development. More recently, through individual negotiations with the Chinese government, Wikipedia, Google and YouTube have been opened up for public viewing with certain restrictions for those who access these sites from within mainland China. Although China has opened up Google for public viewing, it is google.cn as opposed to google.com. This .cn Google follows China's set rules for what is allowed to be shown through a Google search. All versions of YouTube have been completely unavailable in China since April 2009.
Reporters in the western media have also suggested that China's internet censorship of foreign websites may also be a means of forcing mainland Chinese users to rely on China's own e-commerce industry, thus self-insulating their economy (for example censorship of large game sites such as newgrounds.com which have no political agenda). In 2011 although China-based users of many Google services such as Google+
Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
did not always find the services entirely blocked, they were nonetheless throttled such that users could be expected to become frustrated with the frequent timeouts and switch to the faster, more reliable services of Chinese competitors.
Short Message Service
According to Reporters without Borders, China has over 2,800 Short Message ServiceShort message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
(text messaging) surveillance centers. As of early 2010, cell phone users in Shanghai and Beijing risk having their text messaging service cut off if they are found to have sent "illegal or unhealthy" content.
In 2003, during the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome (SARS) outbreak
Progress of the SARS outbreak
-November 2002:On November 16, 2002, an outbreak of what is believed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome , began in the Guangdong province of China, which borders on Hong Kong. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County...
, a dozen Chinese were reportedly arrested for sending text messages about SARS. Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
reported that it was required to filter messages passing through its service for words like "Falun Gong" and "Dalai Lama" before being allowed to operate in China.
During protests over a proposed chemical plant in Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
during the summer of 2007, text messaging was blocked to prevent the rallying of more protesters.
Video games
- See also: Video gaming in the People's Republic of ChinaVideo gaming in the People's Republic of ChinaVideo games in the People's Republic of China is a massive industry and pastime that includes the production, sale, import/export, and playing of video games...
and Video game controversy, China
In 2004, the Ministry of Culture set up a committee to screen imported online video games before they entered the Chinese market. It was stated that games with any of the following violations would be banned from importation:
- Violating basic principles of the ConstitutionConstitution of the People's Republic of ChinaThe Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions—those of...
- Threatening national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity
- Divulging state secrets
- Threatening state security
- Damaging the nation's glory
- Disturbing social order
- Infringing on others' legitimate rights
The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games.
Examples of banned games have included:
- Hearts of IronHearts of IronHearts of Iron is a grand strategy computer game developed by Paradox Interactive and published by Strategy First, set in the years 1936-1948. In the game you can control any one nation as World War II unfolds. It was released for Windows-compatible PCs in 2002. A Macintosh version was also...
(for "distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity") - I.G.I.-2: Covert StrikeI.G.I.-2: Covert StrikeI.G.I.-2: Covert Strike is a computer game developed by Innerloop Studios and released by Codemasters in 2003. The game is a stealth-based first person shooter. It is the sequel to Innerloop's Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In. The original, published by Eidos Interactive, offered only single-player play...
(for "intentionally blackening China and the Chinese army's image") - Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour (for "smearing the image of China and the Chinese army")
As with films, piracy makes acquiring banned video games in China very easy.
Education
Educational institutions within China have been accused of whitewashingWhitewash (censorship)
To whitewash is a metaphor meaning to gloss over or cover up vices, crimes or scandals or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data. It is especially used in the context of corporations, governments or other organizations.- Etymology :Its first...
PRC history by downplaying or avoiding mention of controversial historical events such as the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
, Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In 2005, customs officials in China seized a shipment of textbooks intended for a Japanese school because maps in the books depicted mainland China and Taiwan using different colors.
In a January 2006 issue of Freezing Point, a weekly supplement to the China Youth Daily
China Youth Daily
The China Youth Daily is the official newspaper of Communist Youth League of China , and is a popular official daily newspaper and the first independently operated central government news media portal in the People's Republic of China.In 1980s it was regarded as the best newspaper in mainland...
, Zhongshan University
Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University, also unofficially referred to as Zhongshan University , is a prominent university located mainly in Guangzhou, China. The University is named after Dr...
professor Yuan Weishi published an article entitled "Modernization and History Textbooks" in which he criticized several middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
textbooks used in mainland China. In particular, he felt that depictions in the books of the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
avoided mention of Chinese diplomatic failures leading up to the war and that depictions of the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
glossed over atrocities committed by the Boxer rebels. As a result of Yuan's article, Freezing Point was temporarily shut down and its editors were fired.
New Threads, a website for reporting academic misconduct in China such as plagiarism or fabrication of data, is banned in China.
A new standard world history textbook introduced in Shanghai high schools in 2006 supposedly omits several wars; it mentions Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, founder of the PRC, only once.
Zhang Ming, the dean of political sciences at Renmin University of China
Renmin University of China
Renmin University of China; RUC, also known as People's University of China , colloquially Renda , is a major research university in Haidian District, Beijing, China. Its campus neighbors those of Peking University and Tsinghua University....
, was fired on 16 March 2007 after complaining about academic freedom in China among other issues.
In the FRONTLINE, four students from Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
are seemingly unable to identify the context of the infamous Tank Man
Tank Man
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international...
photo from the 1989 unrest sparked by Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
students, though possibly, the students were feigning ignorance so as not to upset the party official who was monitoring the interview with clipboard in hand. The segment implied that the subject is not addressed in Chinese schools.
Indeed, on 4 June 2007, a person was able to place a small ad in a newspaper in southwest China to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests reading "Paying tribute to the strong(-willed) mothers of 4 June victims". The accepting clerk claimed that he was ignorant of the event and believed that 4 June was the date of a mining disaster.
Self-censorship
Although being independent from the mainland's legal system and hence censorship laws, some Hong Kong mediaMedia of Hong Kong
Media in Hong Kong are available to the public in the forms of: television and radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. They serve the local community by providing necessary information and entertainment.-Overview:...
have been accused of practicing self-censorship
Self-censorship
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own work , out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities of others, without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of authority...
in order to exchange for permission to expand their media business into the mainland market and for greater journalistic access in the mainland too.
At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists Association
Hong Kong Journalists Association
The Hong Kong Journalists Association was established in 1968 for practising journalists in Hong Kong "to enhance press freedom and the integrity of news coverage"...
(HKJA) and "ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19 is a London-based human rights organisation with a specific mandate and focus on the defence and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide...
" in July 2001, the Chairman of the HKJA said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border." For example, Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok Hock Nien , is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net worth is estimated to be around $12.5 billion on May 2011, making him the richest person in Malaysia and Southeast Asia....
, who has business interests all over Asia, has been criticized over the departures of several China desk staff in rapid succession since he acquired the South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
, namely the editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam. Lam, in particular departed after his reporting had been publicly criticized by Robert Kuok.
International corporations such as Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, MySpace, and Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
voluntarily censor their content for Chinese markets in order to be allowed to do business in the country. In October 2008, Canadian research group Citizen Lab
Citizen Lab
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Canada. Founded Professor Ronald Deibert, the Citizen Lab focuses on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media, global security, and human...
released a new report saying TOM
TOM Online
TOM Online is a mobile Internet company in China, operating the popular Chinese-language Internet portal and offering a variety of online and mobile services, including wireless internet and online advertising. The TOM Group is the majority shareholder...
's Chinese-language Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
software filtered sensitive words and then logged these, with users' information to a file on computer servers which were insecure. In September 2007, activists in China had already warned about the possibility that TOM's versions have or will have more trojan
Trojan horse (computing)
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
capability. Skype president Josh Silverman said it was "common knowledge" that Tom Online had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations ... to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities."
Even with the harsh censorship practices that exist in China, people find ways to bypass the restrictions. On the Internet, people use proxy websites that allow anonymous access to otherwise restricted websites, services, and information.
See also
- Blocking of Wikipedia by the People's Republic of China
- Censorship in Hong KongCensorship in Hong KongCensorship in Hong Kong has been lax since 1970s when the British government negotiated the sovereignty of Hong Kong with the government of the People's Republic of China...
- Freedom of religion in the People's Republic of China
- Human rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
- Internal media of the People's Republic of China
- Internet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
- Internet freedom
- Media of the People's Republic of ChinaMedia of the People's Republic of ChinaMedia of the People's Republic of China primarily consists of television, newspapers, radio, and magazines. Since 2000, the Internet has also emerged as an important communications medium....
- Propaganda in the People's Republic of ChinaPropaganda in the People's Republic of ChinaPropaganda in the People's Republic of China as interpreted in Western media refers to the Communist Party of China's use of propaganda to sway public and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of proscribed views and an active cultivation of views...
- Radio jamming in ChinaRadio jamming in ChinaRadio jamming in the People's Republic of China is a form of media censorship that involves deliberate attempts by state or Communist Party organs to interfere with radio broadcasts...
- Sino-Japanese Journalist Exchange AgreementSino-Japanese Journalist Exchange AgreementThe Sino-Japanese Journalist Exchange Agreement is a term that collectively refers to several agreements for a journalist exchange between China and Japan.- 1964 Memorandum of Agreement :...